Bonding is crucial to your bird’s happiness… and yours. Time is by far the main factor in this equation. As stated before, most animals will pretty much trust you and love you within days. Birds make you earn it. Most other pets are predators, birds are prey. That and they’ve only had a couple hundred years being beside humans whereas cats go back to Ancient Egypt and “man’s best friend” has been with us since we were living in caves. So those will be factors to consider. However, patience will be your #1 virtue in bird ownership in general but also with bonding. I have seen posts about people who have adopted Greys and cockatoos that they’ve had for over a year and then one day they just came over to them and started to snuggle. They were so excited and overwhelmed that they took a picture of the bird on their arm and posted it. So be patient.
So when was the best time to ask your mom for stuff? When she was tired and didn’t want to deal with anything. This can be a double edged sword. The cliche “let sleeping dogs lie” isn’t a cliche by mere coincidence. But, if you simply scoop your limp lump of feathery floof up out of his cage and put him in a nice warm, cozy spot then you’ll be well on your way to bonding with your bird. This works with any small bird of pretty much any age but it’s especially important for young birds. Getting them used to being in your shirt or shirt pocket while working on the computer or watching TV will allow them to be by you, which they almost always want to be, but to also be warm and feel safe.
Have a flannel shirt with a pocket specifically for your bird. Take the bird and put him just inside the flannel between it and your shirt on the left side just above the pocket. Where the index fingertip is on the pic below.
Keep them here when you’re on the computer at night or watching TV. This is a GREAT way for your bird to bond with you. It’s best if its dark but as long as you are prepared for the possible dash to nowhere you’ll be fine. Granted a dark room where the bird doesn’t know where it is or is going can be harmful. They can hit their head and crash into walls which can kill them but most will be content and cozy in your flannel especially if its dark. They’ll just think they’re where they normally fall asleep. After a couple of days you can even try to do pocket bird. Like a child with almost instinctively learning a new language because they grew up with it and that’s what they’re used to, they accept and learn it much easier than adults do. In a similar instance, rarely will a bird be ecstatic about going into a pocket as an adult. Inside the flannel next to your pectoral muscle/shoulder not so much but if you can get them to chill in the flannel pocket as a baby you may be able to have a pocket bird for life. Here is Holly in my pocket.
Yes, I know my moobs in the picture below in the green flannel are spectacular but that’s actually 2 little lovebird juvies in each of my flannel pockets.I took old flannel pants that were ripped that I was going to throw out and used that soft fabric and made another pocket. It’s larger than the original pocket but the original pocket works just fine. The birds are nice and cozy warm in there. I’ve had them in there for about 90 minutes as I’ve been typing this. If I get up and get a soda or wash my hands, all the while they’re still in there. Every once in a while I’ll get a sneaky peeker but usually they’re content. Just be ready that when you put them back in their cage… they’ll need to poop so be ready with the all-important facial tissue or be by a designate “drop zone” like a garbage can or a washable table cloth.
From getting used to being in the pocket, the next step is to teach them to step up. From there they will be a lot more trusting of you. This is also a good time to begin the ritual of trimming their nails, when they’re half asleep. Take them out when it’s still dark and have one of you hold the bird. Then turn on the light and while one holds the other clips. If you’re alone, get the bird to trust you first before you start snipping since clipping too much can hurt the bird but that’s how you start out your progress on making your bird tame.