When rescuing we need to accept the fact that our new bird might not immediately trust us or allow us to handle them. Usually, we do not have all the details about their previous life and how they were treated. Taking this into consideration you would need to accept that you might not have the cuddly, friendly, and loving feathered friend of your dreams right off the bat.
Director Nicola rescued Orochi a Galah in September of 2019 from a breeding situation. This meant that he was not at all trusting of humans. A few months ago after being with her almost a year he finally started accepting treats from her hands. While he’s not the cuddliest bird he has an absolutely amazing personality and has taken to training so quickly.
Team member Marianka rescued Chloe a Sulfur Crested Cockatoo in December 2019. She had been severely neglected in a previous home. When she came home she bonded with Marianka’s boyfriend who can do nothing wrong in Chloe’s eyes. Marianka however has to use a ladder to be able to move or relocate her since she won’t step up for her. She has to work regularly to keep their trust and relationship strong.
Finally, team member Marzanne adopted a Sun Conure named Raji from Cheeky Beaks. He was also neglected in his previous home and was terrified of hands or people walking up to his cage. The first few months he was mostly cage bound which can be expected of a bird whose whole life was just uprooted (this is not always the case though). After about 2 months he was more accepting of hands and recently after about 7 months even got up on Marzanne’s shoulder.
All these stories are meant to show that not giving up pays up eventually in most cases. It might also be that the bird is not bonding with you specifically but had chosen someone else in your home.
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