Ask Lafeber

How to build trust

Hi, i had gotten a red rump parakeet, a female about a year old that was separated from her parents at the farmers market i found her about a month ago, but as i was transferring her to her new cage she got out the carrier and i had to put her in her cage with my hand covered in a towel and i feel like that is making it hard for her to trust me. I can hand feed her at times or give her treats but if i get too close, she gets panicked or backs off so i don’t try to push it afterwards. I know it takes patience for these things, but i feel bad for letting her be in the cage and i don’t know how i can build the trust for her to step up or when i can let her out knowing she will go back in with no problem so how would i be able to know when i can let her out of her cage or how can i bond with her?

Hi,

I don’t quite understand how you got this bird, or even know the age? Is this a wild bird? I’m not sure what you mean about it getting separated from the parents. Once a red-rump, and most parrot species, have their adult coloration, there is no way to know their age. A 1 year old bird would look the same as a 10 year old bird. If the bird was with its parents, it wouldn’t be more than 3 maybe 4 months old – once fully weaned and finding its own food, the parents make the offspring leave and find their own flock.

As for earning trust, this is a slow process and it’s best to have a better understanding or behavior and how to work with a wild parrot. You will need to be very patient, and not all parrots can be tamed. It’s a good sign that she takes food from you. Since parrots are a prey species, they do not like being grabbed or reached for. This makes them feel like a predator is trying to catch them. Let her approach you. I’ll give you the links to our behavior and training pages to help you understand her and how to work with her.

Pet Bird and Parrot Behavior

Teaching Your Bird

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda