Niu Niu's Trust: A Journey to Overcoming Fear and Forming Connections from Day 2
I brought my green budgie, Niu Niu, home on the second day. I started taming her.
Around 7 AM, I uncovered the blanket on the cage to wake up Niu Niu. I refilled the water and food and realized she appeared less fearful. However, she remained inactive and seemed less nervous when she woke up and saw me.
I offered Niu Niu a long millet treat while in her cage. At first, she appeared to be hesitant and scared. Eventually, she started eating it. However, she did not seem to have much of an appetite. I tried different methods to encourage her to eat, but nothing worked. Then, I tried to shorten the millet and found it more effective, so she willingly came closer to my hand to eat it. Surprised, she even stepped onto one of my fingers to eat the millet while eating. I felt happy that I started to bond with Niu Niu and get closer to her.
Moreover, I tried to hold the short millet in my palm; Niu Niu reached over and ate it. She also ate the grains that fell on the side of my palm. This is excellent progress.
I wanted to take a further step; I attempted to pet Niu Niu, but she initially avoided my touch. However, she finally accepted it after a few attempts and stopped dodging. Once I finished rubbing her, I promptly rewarded her with a millet.
At about 1 PM, I opened the cage door, and Niu Niu flew out, twisting her waist and walking around on the ground. I closed the bedroom and bathroom doors to prevent Niu Niu from getting scared and flying around the house. I did not want to force Niu Niu back into the cage, so I placed it on the ground. Meanwhile, I moved the cage closer to Niu Niu while she walked towards it. To my surprise, she recognized her cage and climbed back into it after wandering around. It was amazing to see how intelligent Niu Niu was, having only been in the new environment for a day and a half.
At around 4 PM, I tried to feed Niu Niu millet. While she was eating, she stepped on one of my fingers. I tried to move the millet back and forth, and she unintentionally followed it and ended up standing on my palm with her tiny feet. She liked millet very much, so when she saw it, she couldn't resist it.
Around 7 o'clock, after finishing my dinner, I held a millet in my palm. Niu Niu ate carefully this time and didn't step on my palm. I thought she was not hungry and realized she was still scared of me, but that's understandable since it had only been here for two days. Overall, I was delighted with the performance today.
