ISSN 1492-8132
Issue Number 56,
Copyright © 2002
All rights reserved,
No reprints without permission

"I have what is called 'environmental asthma', which is triggered by dust, including the dust in my bird room. One thing I can add to your excellent comments is this:

"Always wear a mask when cleaning your cages, because no matter how diligently clean you are, there is still dust on the paper from seed and especially from bird feces. This dust is very dangerous to our lung tissues. We can't help but scurry up the dust when we are cleaning the cage.

"For years I did not wear a mask, but I find my breathing remains normal if I protect myself, with no shortness of breath as I normally would get without the mask. I buy the good quality surgical masks at the Health Solutions shop, not the cheap ones that have no adjustment on the nose piece. They cost around $12 for 50 masks."

Here's another great birdie chew toy. This product is a long strand of woven palm fibres - you simply cut a piece off the strip, and fasten it in your bird's cage. Most birds are fascinated by it, and love chewing and shredding it. This is the perfect renewable toy, cheap, safe, and easy to use. As a bonus, you won't have to worry about your bird shredding the paper on his cage floor, with this to chew on!

* Do you have or sell a great bird product? Send us a sample, and have it reviewed for Flock Talk readers! We will be reviewing foods, cages and cage accessories, toys, and other bird items we have direct experience with in upcoming issues. To arrange for a review, send your inquiry and a brief description of your product(s) here, to Robirda

A stressed bird will divert the blood flow from the digestive tract to the nerves and muscles in preparation for a 'fight or flight' response. The result is a loss of electrolytes and dehydration that can lead to a variety of other health problems.

'Energize' contains balanced electrolytes to help replace lost body salts and long chain poly glocomers to provide a sustained energy boost just when it is needed the most.

Use before and after planned stresses such as shows, trips to the vet or relocation. Also use whenever birds look fluffed or stressed.

For more info visit birds2grow.com

Our next issue is due Oct 27th - until then, may you and your birds enjoy all the best of everything!

Robirda
Oct 13, 2002

Welcome to Robirda's Companion Birds eZine

For breeder or pet bird owners who care.

Feature Article

This issue we are priviledged to share a story written by one of Flock Talk's long-time readers with you. Her tale of the adventures and discoveries she and her young bird shared during handtaming makes for wonderful reading.

by J. Johnson
Copyright © Oct 2002

I have to tell you about the sweetest little variegated blue canary that followed me home one day last spring.

Oh, I know - my husband didn’t buy that story either, but he held the door open for us just the same, as I carried the travel cage and my new pal up the steps. This little bird was a young thing, just six weeks old, and he'd captured my heart the moment I saw him.

His breeder had called me earlier in the day to let me know that he had a clear dominant white canary for me to look at, knowing I was considering adding a white bird to my feathered family. As attractive as that bird was, my eye kept drifting over to this little variegate sharing the same cage.

As I stood there watching him, I recalled Robirda telling me that when hand taming canaries, younger ones were usually more adaptable and easier to work with. I had tried it before, too, but never managed to follow through. I’d just get to the point where they'd eat from my hand and even perch on my finger for a bit, when life would get busy, causing taming plans to drop by the wayside.

Well, I had time now. How could I resist? I just had to bring this sweetie home and find out if I could tame him!

His breeder knew from our previous conversations that I was aware of a young canary’s special needs, and had no reservations about letting me take one of his youngsters home, so he kissed my new bird on the forehead then placed him in my carrier - a departing ritual he always performs.

I made sure to practice proper quarantine, and set my new bird up in a pet size cage well away from my other birds, at the other end of the house. I decided to give him a couple days to get use to the sights and sounds of his new environment before starting our taming sessions. Placing him in a sparsely furnished cage of a size that could be easily moved would make things easier, too.

The limited space would offer less room for distraction. I'd consider moving him into a larger cage once our friendship was well established, but for now, my hand and the treat it held would be the cage's focal point during our initial sessions.

I quickly settled on the name 'Shadow', for that's what first came to my mind seeing the way his melanin feathers played against the white. Though his gender is still unknown, I tend to refer to him as 'he'. If he turns out to be a hen, that will be fine too.

Shadow's diet was a real smorgasbord since he still had growing to do. There was always a good handful of chopped kale, broccoli raba, or some other variety of dark leafy green available. These greens were mixed with coarsely grated carrot, and usually he also had a supply of dry rolled oats, some couscous, and a freshly prepared soak seed mix in front of him; he loved it all!

Before starting, I refreshed what I had learned earlier by reading through Robirda's handtaming article once again. (Editor's note; see robirda.com/handtame.html)

For training purposes, I chose a green that, though not nutritious, was found to be enticing to this little canary - leaf lettuce. It helps to use something that your bird finds irresistible! After each session, I'd leave behind a very small sample, so he'd get a taste of what it was he was missing out on. (Editor's note - if you wish to use lettuce for a bird treat, try to get it organically grown - commercially-grown lettuce has had a lot of pesticides used on it!)

I removed all other foods from the cage during each session to avoid distraction and to make the hand held treat even more tempting. With their fast metabolisms, these small birds have to eat often, and you can use this to your advantage in hand taming.

A nervous canary tends to hop back and forth from perch to perch within the cage. This activity is an instinctual reaction that keeps him alert and ready, hopefully less apt to become a predator's snack.

This same reaction ends up being one of the very actions that helps in hand taming. As Shadow hopped from one side of his cage to the other, the probability of his making accidental contact would become more and more likely. He’d eventually learn through enough inadvertent contacts that my hand was not something to fear.

So with a small piece of fresh crispy leaf lettuce in hand, I entered the cage for our first taming session.

Despite my soft, disarming, idle chatter, Shadow was quite nervous. After all, until now, a human hand that strayed into his cage had been something to be watched out for lest it suddenly grasp him.

For this reason, I limited this first session to only ten minutes. I don't believe that Shadow even realized that there was a treat on the scene in his eagerness to remain as far from my frightening hand as possible. That's okay; this was new and he was doing what all little birds do at first. He never did get all that upset, though, with my unmoving hand in his cage.

If he had been throwing himself against the bars in a panic, or panting in distress, I would have immediately stopped and tried again later, after he'd calmed down. I made sure to end our session on a positive note, leaving a tiny piece of the treat behind, already eagerly planning another training session for the following day. It turned out to be a repeat of the first. Still, I again left Shadow a tiny taste of the treat I'd held.

I was aware that this whole thing would be a lesson in patience, and perhaps even a battle of wills. I was determined to be more patient than Shadow and outlast him - though I'm sure he hoped otherwise!

But despite being prepared for a long haul, we made great progress on only the third day of training. After a bit of perch hopping, Shadow 'accidentally' brushed his wing against me as he flew across the cage and over my hand.

He did this several times, and also let his tail brush my fingers on different occasions as he turned around on the perch. Now, I knew Shadow could maneuver quite well in that cage without letting any part of himself touch me. After all, he had spent two entire days doing just that. This was, it seemed to me, a way for him to investigate my hand without coming into more direct contact - like an accident done on purpose; oops!

Finally, several minutes later, Shadow thrilled me, and dared to take a taste of the lettuce treat that I held! Such a brave little bird!

My bet is that he knew from the beginning of this session that he was going to get some of what he had learned was a pretty nice snack. His desire for that treat outweighed any trepidation that he held about stretching ever nearer to my hand. Mmmm-yumm!

He lingered on the perch leaning in and tasting. Then, almost absentmindedly, he placed one of his feet onto my pinky finger for balance, as he was reaching over further for an even better taste!

Oh, I have to tell you that this small step thrilled me to no end! I never expected that he'd dare take a taste of what I held and initiate a more direct touch with his warm delicate foot, in just three days of training! One small step for Shadow, and one giant suppression of my desire to leap and yell "WAHOO!" for me. I dared not move, lest I spook Shadow and set our training back - patience and more patience; that was the key!

I chose to have two sessions the following day; our usual one in the morning, and another in the late afternoon. The first went much like the previous day except that it took Shadow far less time to come over for a taste of the treat I held. In fact, he was over in a flash!

I decided to hold the lettuce in a different way for the second session, making it more difficult to reach. I'd wanted him first to feel comfortable enough to venture near but with the perch nearby so he could have the option of closing in without stepping completely onto my hand if he wasn't quite ready yet.

But now, holding my hand as if I were pointing, I placed a piece of lettuce upright, holding it between my thumb and forefinger as far back as it would go - in the 'crook' of my thumb, so to speak. This allowed Shadow the security of a familiar perch, yet it also put the treat at a distance where he'd have to hop onto my finger in order to indulge. Holding it like this left my forefinger free to perch on, if he were so inclined.

Well, in next to no time at all, and to my great delight, Shadow was indeed so inclined! This occurred about half way through our session. He spent a few minutes perch hopping, looking and yearning, hoping and hopping, but suddenly stepped from the perch where I rested my hand, and hopped on board, solidly planting both of his feet upon my finger.

He landed in a surprisingly decisive way, and proceeded to chow down on that lovely tempting piece of lettuce. YES!!! On just the fourth day of training, I had Shadow perching on my hand!

I was so excited! I'd never expected results so soon, and was very careful not to move my hand no matter how elated I felt. Though my heart leapt, I held perfectly still, saving my happy dance for when the session was over. Believe me, that wasn’t easy, as I so wanted to celebrate the moment Shadow stepped up with both feet!

Shadow became ever more at ease with each passing day and was soon hopping onto my hand the moment I placed it in his cage. He eventually adapted to slow movements and learned to remain perched, even ducking as I passed my hand under his swing.

I lingered at this stage longer than I probably needed to. My reluctance to proceed came from the fact that the next step was to bring my hand, accompanied by my sweet Shadow, outside the cage. I wondered if he'd become preoccupied with the higher ceiling and his new-found freedom of flight, and no longer give me another thought.

Finally I knew I had stalled long enough, and moved Shadow's cage to a small room that I had bird-safed ahead of time. Getting him to step up as was our practice, I slowly removed my hand from the cage.

Just as I had thought, he immediately took off, once outside his cage, and circled the small room - once, twice and then a third time... but then he surprised me pleasantly and landed on my shoulder, as familiar and as comfortable as he had been stepping up onto my hand! It was wonderful to see that in this unfamiliar room, Shadow trusted me and considered me a safe haven. I slipped my hand in front of him and he transferred there with ease.

In the time since that first 'landing', Shadow has learned that I'm more than a source of tasty treats. On occasion he'll offer to feed me a tiny piece of what I've offered to him; we've quickly become quite a team. He spends his daily free flights with me, occasionally flying off to circle around the living room, only to quickly return. Should he venture into the other room, he soon starts calling out for me, as if to touch base when I'm no longer in sight.

Shadow is a jester, and never fails to make me laugh. One of his favorite antics is to hang from a hank of my hair and lean around, poking his head in on my side of my reading glasses, peering through the lens with me - only to just as suddenly swing around to the outside, where he ends up looking in at me, looking out at him - such a pie-face, to be sure - how can I help but laugh?

Reading the newspaper has become a challenge when the Shadow is cast, as he'll either be perched on my hand taking in the wild ride whenever I bring my hands together to turn each page, or precariously perch himself top and center, curling the edge downward only to suddenly find himself surfing down the length of the newspaper, one foot held in front of the other, sliding and landing in my lap!

These days, it takes me a bit longer to read the Press as I admittedly find myself sometimes having to re-read the same paragraph repeatedly, due to the distractions Shadow causes. I tell him what a pest he is and he gives me birdie kisses - I think I'll keep him!

This dear little canary, gram for gram, is packed with as much charm as any of the larger birds one typically thinks about when considering hand taming. I may never be able to skritch his chin or stroke his head, but that's okay. There are different levels of tameness and I'm thrilled with where we stand right now.

I encourage anyone who has a bit of time and patience, to consider taking a few minutes out of each day to spend on getting to know one of these charming little birds from a very different perspective. Making such a connection with one of these little charges and being able to interact on a more personal level is truly rewarding.

Some may not get quite as far as I have, while others will attain an even greater level of tameness. No matter what level you go for, patience is the key, as it is with taming any creature. Canaries may be just a whisper of feathers, but their personalities are huge! Some may think that hand taming a canary is for the birds - well, I'm here to say, "It is!" It's also for people. Any kind of people.

Though light as a feather, Shadow's decision to light upon my hand that day was a bold one, as he perched without hesitation. I found myself on cloud nine from the elation I felt over this sign of trust, and know I will never forget the thrill of feeling Shadow's light upon my hand.

by J. Johnson
Copyright © Oct 2002