FINCHforum

hello every one I am hand feeding 2 gouldian chicks and today 2/7/11 they are 1 month old. well I came across a video on youtube where this guy has 5 gouldian chicks and they would fly to him every time he would call them.....I really want to do this with my birds but how can I do this or is it to late to train them? is there a video that teaches this or something.

You could politely ask the guy who posted the vid on YT.

Usually you train with positive reinforcements like food treats. Some finches will remain tame others will resort to bird behavior. The key is to work with the finches alot..... the more time invested the more trained pet you will have. When you are working with multiple birds it is somewhat harder to get the finches to pay attention to you, many times they get distracted with the other birds.... much like trying to train 4 puppies at the same time in the same room If possible you may work with each bird individually and also as a flock. Best of luck

It could also be that the guy had handfed these babies, and so they look to him as Dad. When I had handfed babies, once they fledged, they would fly to me and land on my shoulder, etc., begging for food. But once they weaned, I became the big predator in the room, and they no longer would come to me--which was fine with me, as I wanted them to be birds, not tame pets.

L in Ontario wrote:You could politely ask the guy who posted the vid on YT.

did that but he never responded "( oooowell

Sally wrote:It could also be that the guy had handfed these babies, and so they look to him as Dad. When I had handfed babies, once they fledged, they would fly to me and land on my shoulder, etc., begging for food. But once they weaned, I became the big predator in the room, and they no longer would come to me--which was fine with me, as I wanted them to be birds, not tame pets.

oooo I dont want that to happen, I want mine to be very tame. im to in love with them, and if they were to ever decide they dont want nothing to do with me I think I will cry like a baby wuaaaaa "(

I really think that is the case.. I have handfed a bunch and most will do like Sally said & forget about you once they ween, but every once in awhile one will stay tame... I had an Owl finch that stayed tame for a couple of years until I gave her a mate, then she quickly forgot me, lol... The coolest I ever saw was a handfed Honey Creeper a few years back that was tame..

I have handfed a bunch and most will do like Sally said & forget about you once they ween

Same thing happens with my birds. Once they don't need you they forget all about chasing you down for that meal.

I personally have only seen this done once. A friend/breeder hand fed out 4 little zebra finches. They were about 6 months old when I last saw them and kept in a cage to themselves in an room where there was constant contact with humans.

She let them out of the cage often and worked with them (millet in hand). When I would go over for a visit she would let them out and they buzzed around her never straying more than 3 ft from her and followed her from room to room while flying, perched on her head, shoulders and hand. It was really neat to see this. She moved shortly after my last visit so I am not sure of the long term relationship between her and the finches.

If you attempt this and mix them with a flock or give them a mate and parenting duties....I agree they will forget you or at least not be as social torwards you.

There is a member on the forum that did this with Java finches.

I think it all depends of the birds. I only hand-raised two chicks of Green Singers: the first forgot about me shortly after she weaned, the second still jumps on my finger and she is a year old. I don't do this regularly, maybe once a week, but she still remembers me and she shares cage with other waxbills that are very frightened.
She jumps on my finger, so I let her fly in the room. Later when she wants back in the cage, she jumps on my finger again and I put her back in the cage.

cindy wrote:I personally have only seen this done once. A friend/breeder hand fed out 4 little zebra finches. They were about 6 months old when I last saw them and kept in a cage to themselves in an room where there was constant contact with humans.

She let them out of the cage often and worked with them (millet in hand). When I would go over for a visit she would let them out and they buzzed around her never straying more than 3 ft from her and followed her from room to room while flying, perched on her head, shoulders and hand. It was really neat to see this. She moved shortly after my last visit so I am not sure of the long term relationship between her and the finches.

If you attempt this and mix them with a flock or give them a mate and parenting duties....I agree they will forget you or at least not be as social torwards you.

There is a member on the forum that did this with Java finches.

im not planing on putting them in the larger cage with the other birds so maybe they will stay tame.