Single Baby VERY Shy After a Month! Help!

[Ellen S.]

Hello, Bird Lovers! This is the first time I've written here, but not the first time I've owned parakeets. I have a single baby, "Poggie-Boy," who is the shyest baby I have ever had! I've been able to train birds within a week if there was another trained bird in the house to model behavior, but this time around it's only Poggie and me. I do the soft music thing, I talk to him but I get out of his face if he seems nervous, and he's gotten nothing but gentle friendliness from me. I can tell he's interested but still super nervous. He will chirp and do the saucy scolding and is beginning to show a little interest in exploring his large cage and toys. (But not much!) Yesterday and today he treated me to a couple of head bob sessions, so I take that as a positive sign. I read on this site that it can take up to a month for the little darlings to open up, but it's been more than a month. He's been out of his cage a handful of times, but only once because he seemed to want to come out. (The other times he seemed startled into doing it. His cage has a really large door and I leave it open a couple of times during the day, so he knows he has the option of coming out. I always sit close by and talk to him during that time, and that's when the head bobbing happens.)
Are there parakeets in anybody's experience that are duds??? I am fond of the little boy, but he's taking so long to tame that I wonder if he's not ultimately that tameable. I take his food away for an hour in the morning, then feed him a breakfast of millet that he eats from my hand (in the cage, of course!). I do a couple of ten-minute training sessions a day when I put my hand in the cage and get him to step on my finger. He's always scared at first, but I never chase him around the cage and he will finally step up. But forget about moving him closer to the cage door! He hops off immediately.
I would really, really appreciate some help and advice. I once had a parakeet who was kind of tame for the first six months we owned her, but then really warmed up when we moved across country for a five month sabbatical. So I keep hoping Poggie will "flip a switch" and start to act like the adorable parakeet I want to believe is under those denim-blue feathers.
Oh, one thing that is positive: the last couple of times he's been out of his cage he seems to want to be closer to me rather than farther.
Help!!!

[Sarah]

Hey Ellen! Try not to worry so much- Poggie is not a 'dud.' That's like accusing a child who learns slowly at first or is very shy around new people of being a dud. Every bird is different, with his own personality, experience and needs. He may take a little more time, or you may need to try something new and different to have a break through.

I would suggest this. When I was taming my pair of hens, one was particularly nervous and flighty, always wanting to dash back to the cage and cower. So, I started setting a time limit I 'required' her to stay with me before she was allowed to go home. I would take them from the cage to another room where they could not see home, and just sit with them. If they flew off, I restarted the counter. I think I probably started at something easy, like three minutes, and moved up a few minutes every time. My birds very quickly learned that a. I wasn't going to eat them up, b. the better behaved and obliging they were the less time they had to be away from the cage over all. This exact tactic might not be necessary for you because you are not taming two birds, but we can adapt for your situation. Why not gently scoop up little Poggie and take him to another room where the first thing on his mind can be checking you out instead of coming up with an escape route back to his cage. Take a bunch of treats with you, and see what happens.

The other alternative is that he is not sure what is expected of him. You could try perch training for now. Take a long thin dowel and gently rub it against his lower chest and legs while clearly and loudly saying "Step Up!" in an animated and happy voice. When he does it, praise him and reward him. After the third or so time, he will get the idea and not even think about it. This can be a great bridge to learning to step onto your hand.

[Ellen S.]

Hi, Sarah, thanks for your suggestions, I was hoping you'd "chirp in." (Pun intended, sorry.)
Yeah, I would really appreciate a breakthrough. I keep hoping it's around the corner. Poggie will already get on my finger in the cage, so should I still try getting him to step on a dowel? If I try to get him out of the cage on a ladder, he comes close to freaking out. However, if he's out of his cage he WILL get on the ladder and then I can get him closer to my face for a visit. He'll step off the ladder onto my finger and then do the finger ladder trick for a bit.
I like the suggestion of having him do a certain amount of time with me away from the cage. I will try that. Do you think that's best done in a different room? The room I train him in is the dining room, and it's easy to close the doors and keep out the "roving carnivore," our cat Fuzzy. Fuzzy is old and not at all interested in the bird, but I figure the bird doesn't know that. I've heard that some people like the bathroom for training, but I don't have a bathroom on the first floor and the cage is too big to schlepp up the stairs. I'm trying to introduce him to his smaller travel cage, but that can only happen when he's come out of the big cage. He didn't come out today or yesterday, but he looked like he wanted to. Today I got a little more head bobbing and he was interested in his toys for awhile. Well, I guess I just have to stay patient. He is a sweetie, and I think he'll be a great friend once he really learns to trust me. He might not ever get to the point where he'll let me scratch his head, but I don't know that. I've only ever had one parakeet who let me do that.
Thanx again for your input.