Originally Posted by Chris Kieffer
Sadiemae, I have heard the best way to gain a bird's trust is to hand feed it special treats, just like you mentioned earlier. I have an umbrella cockatoo, and two of her favorite treats are chicken (cooked of course) and toast with a little peanut butter. She nibbles on ALOT of what we eat. Our breeder told us the only things she absolutely couldn't have were: chocolate,rhubarb,onion, and avocado. He said anything else was okay in moderation along with her daily seed mixture. Hope this helps a little!
I use Cheerios because they are easy for Snick to get ahold of. As she is a cockatiel I break them in half so she has an easier time getting ahold of it. But as your birds are bigger you wouldn't have to do that.
They recommend you start a new food by putting in a dish seperate from the seed dish and replace any fresh food after 30 mins if it isn't eaten.
I have put cheerios in a dish and just leave it in the cage for a few hours. There is nothing to go bad with cheerios. If your bird gets the taste of the cheerios then you can work on getting him to accept your hand holding the cheerios.
You can also take a stick or a string and put cheerios on it like making a garland. Then hang it in the cage. If you can get your bird interested in the food you offer he will eventually ignore the hand and think about the food.
You can also do the garland thing with dried fruits.
Always always keep your hand below the bird when working around him. He will not feel as threatened that way.