Video So I'm trying to work on cage agression with my quaker.

[Ninjatoine]

As the title implies I just adopted a quaker and he's nippy, more so when inside of his cage, so i took an approach that i was told is good and i wanted to know everyone's thoughts. I have a video of the situation here:

On the bright side he allows me to give him millet or food in the cage, but if i try to move things around or even touch his cage he'll throw a tantrum stomping his feet even! So I've taken some advice in trying to remodel his cage every couple of days to help lower aggression, is this something that can work? I've got plenty of patience and am working with him every day, this is his 3rd home after-all, I can see it being frustrating for him.

 

[Cynthia & Percy]

i do not know what to sugest but a few days is not long enough

 

[DWRVT]

Hmm - quakers are known to be very cage territorial - some to the point of aggressive. This behaviour may have nothing to do with you being his 3rd home.
My quaker was given to me as a 12 week old baby and she is never mean to me unless she is in her "house".

 

[tozie12]

my quaker is mildly cage aggressive. she will rush you if you get too close, chastise you in her lil quaker voice for touching her stuff, and generally be a hostile lil snark if i move her stuff.

your idea of moving stuff around is an accepted method of reducing cage aggression.

i personally follow a different approach. i mean, i'd get pretty hostile if my best friend came over and rearranged MY living room furniture, ya know?? i generally let her keep her cage and her 'nest' that she's built INSIDE the cage as she chooses. i dont stick my hand in there when she's in there, tho. i simply open her door and if she comes out, fine, if not that's okay too.

quakers are well known for cage agression.

congrats on your new feathered friend!

 

[Ninjatoine]

Thanks everyone for your input I've known about the cage aggression with Quakers i did some extensive research before adopting, but it is something that as a wannabe trainer i would like to conquer even if a little bit, Sheldon's going to be with me for 20 or more years and I want to make sure he doesn't feel like he needs to be agresssive anywhere in my home/outdoors or around other people!

 

[Dartman]

Pionus are known for it too. My first Maxi Nerd was aggressive about anyone getting close to his cage, and he had areas by his cage he claimed as well so we had to watch it but most times he would just make a big show or just pinch.
Lurch is the same way, get too close and he starts flaring and all that and he will bite if your not paying attention and get close enough for him to reach.
Nerd got to the point he trusted me enough I could reach in and do what I needed or sometimes grab him but I tried to respect his wishes and home so I tried not to push it.
Not too worried about Lurch as we just let him have his spot and distract him or clean and change things while he's out somewhere hanging out before he see's whats up and rushes back to defend his domain.
Even a rescued female House Finch we got as a baby was like that but she couldn't bite hard enough to do damage and would eventually give up after a short bit and hop on the finger she was just attacking with all her might
Good luck and I think with some gentle work you'll get him to where he'll be somewhat OK with it after some complaining and show but he seems pretty happy and probably likes you from the look of the video, 3 days is NOTHING to a bird, Lurch hast taken 5 years to get to where he's at.

 

[Ninjatoine]

He's okay if i give him a bit of millet and do what i need to do in his cage quikly but if i dilly dally he goes back to butthead mode haha... but yea I'm definitely going to put my best foot foward, i've trained plenty of very intelligent dogs, and i just look at this as a challenge! to me seeing his progress is rewarding, and I have 30 years to work with him i'll make every day count, And I don't know as long as my motivation holds up I'll keep vloging his progress on youtube today is day 7

 

[JLcribber]

You're not "earning" any trust/respect right now. That is the name of the game.

Please read this. Parrot Trust Account

Look at this from the "birds" perspective for a moment, as in your whole world has been turned upside down, you're in a strange place with strange people and scared out of your wits. It's only been 3 days and this giant keeps invading the only place you have in the world right now which is your cage. He expects me to be friendly and trusting when I don't know him from a hill of beans.

After only 3 days your expectations are way too high, way too soon. You have to earn that relationship my friend.

 

[Ninjatoine]

You're not "earning" any trust/respect right now. That is the name of the game.

Please read this. Parrot Trust Account

Look at this from the "birds" perspective for a moment, as in your whole world has been turned upside down, you're in a strange place with strange people and scared out of your wits. It's only been 3 days and this giant keeps invading the only place you have in the world right now which is your cage. He expects me to be friendly and trusting when I don't know him from a hill of beans.

After only 3 days your expectations are way too high, way too soon. You have to earn that relationship my friend.

I've updated his progress, he's doing well were actually on day 7 now, and i whistle to him after opening his cage door and he knows that's his cue to step up onto my shoulder and come out for play time, I dabble in his cage from time to time, and play games/sing/whistle next to his cage all day when i'm off work, in the video it was the most "intrusive" I've been since getting him, only to show where he is as far as his aggression goes. When i picked him up from the previous owner she attempted to touch his cage and he squawked for 10 minutes stomping his feet around angrily, you could tell she didn't work with him at all... in this video he still displayed that behavior, as of last night, he's quieted down a lot other then morning and night squawking. I haven't seen any temper tantrums because being near touching or being inside his cage That will be my next progress video, I've been using treats to show him that good things happen if he stays calm when my hands are in his cage, or when i get close to him and there is no lunging.

There ofcourse is MUCH to do, I still can't get him to step up on bare skin yet, I use my sleeve for now or he just climbs on to my shoulder, but when he does come with me I take him to another room away from his cage so we can both relax, I feel like I'm doing mostly all of the right things and it's just going to take time to build trust with him, then i want to start target training, stepping up and potty training, I've set 3 small goals to start my adventure with my new little buddy building trust is number 1 then we'll see what's next ofcourse!

 

[Begone]

Very good post from John and Beth. And I agree with 100%.

I would say that ALL parrots are being some kind of cage aggressive, but I think that is a normal behaviour. The cage is theirs. We are only slave that clean them when they are not in their.
If you still have problems after 3 month of building trust come back and get new advice, but not after 3 days!

 

[tozie12]

i've trained plenty of very intelligent dogs, and i just look at this as a challenge! to me seeing his progress is rewarding, and I have 30 years to work with him i'll make every day count, And I don't know as long as my motivation holds up I'll keep vloging his progress on youtube today is day 7

you're already making the biggest mistake many new parrot owners make. you are in TOTALLY NEW territory here. a parrot has as much in common with a dog as a apples have with monkeys. i dont use the old apples and oranges cliché because at least apples and oranges are both fruits. parrots are prey. dogs are predator. dogs have alpha social system. parrots have more of a communal every member is equal social system. when your parrot doesnt do as you ask its not so much a subordinate refusing a direct order as a good friend declining an invitation. you have 30 years to build a wonderful friendship. because that is what parrot ownership is: friendship. but its not about the destination its about the journey. friendship is why i dont mess with my quaker's cage. i would get mad if someone messed up my living room. she deserves my respect because she's a companion. have you considered the possibility that the previous owner didnt 'work with' him and his cage aggression because she didnt see it as a problem?

 

[lupe]

I cant agree more with Beth. Elvis has this THING about me re-arranging his toys in his cage and will literally flare up and lunge at me..like, hey, dont mess with MY stuff...at first, always being a dog person I thought as you...boy did Elvis correct ME!!! now I place him on his playstand and respect his wishes while I change his toys around...it's a whole different ball game with birds my friend....patience, ALOT of patience. Eventually you will gain his trust, however he just might remain a tad cage aggressive...respect his wishes and open the door to the cage, let him come out as he pleases...birds dont take orders...

 

[ZoeyFredrik]

Quakers do tend to be cage aggressive. I have had Sammy (or he has had me lol) for more than seven years. He still charges at me if I approach his nest, but he never actually does anything. He knows that what "step up" means and when I say it I mean it. As long as he obeys this rule, he is allowed to create a nest and "pretend" to be super territorial. One approach I like is placing a small perch on a door. When the bird wants to come out he learns to go to the perch. Once the door is opened the bird is now on the outside of the cage on a perch. Then step up is used to get the bird on your hand. I notice your door flips down, but the same concept can be used, teaching the bird where to go when it is ready to see you. I see this as a better way to earn trust that sticking a big human hand in the bird cage. As prey, that can be frightening. I also try to not stare at them directly, as our forward facing eyes make us predators.

Oh yes, Sheldon is adorable! Congratulations on becoming a quaker- parront. Quakers are wonderful and full of Quakertude .

 

[Ninjatoine]

Day 8 update, beak scratches and petting inside on top of his cage... but not the happy hut... that's his alone space I have had him out all day with me as it's my day off and he hasn't left my side... i put him on his cage so i could cook some lunch, since he was good i went to give him a bit of millet for going in his cage nicely, but he pushed his beak into my hand and asked to be pet ^_^ he's going to be such a good friend.

 

[Ninjatoine]

progress!

 

[ZoeyFredrik]

So adorable! You are definitely earning his trust! In my opinion, a bird must trust you a lot to allow you to you touch not only his head but beak. I'd say you are making a lot of progress! Sheldon is definitely a cutie!

 

[Dartman]

Your doing great and he certainly likes Daddy

 

[petiteoiseau]

Well, for one thing, you should never have a bird's cage covered with anything unless the bird is sick, this promotes cage aggression. For another, the reason why quakers are cage aggressive is because they are the only species of parrots that live in a nest all year round. This nest is communal and the entire family (related through the females) lives there but each couple have their own apartment which they 'protect' from the others. This is an ingrained, instinctual behavior specific to quakers and the ONLIEST way for them not to be cage aggressive is when they regard you as their mate and trust you 100%.

Changing things around in the cage works for cockatiels and other birds, it doesn't work with quakers, you are just stressing him out and not achieving your goal. You would be much better off concentrating on bonding with him than changing anything in the cage.

The cage is too small, he needs a much bigger cage unless he only uses it for sleeping. He also needs 'building' materials because their favorite activity is to build and tweak and improve their nest constantly (little branches, leaves, popsicle sticks, paper, molted feathers, etc -mine would steal the double pages of the New York Times from the floor when I am cleaning the cages and carry the whole thing in her beak to her 'nest' where she would cut it and weave it through the bars -she also comes when you call her and takes the paper from your hand -LOL).

I think potty training a bird is absolute folly and potentially dangerous to the bird. Birds have a very fast metabolism and need to poop very often so they should NEVER be expected to hold it for any period of time. If you dislike him pooping on you, wear an old Tshirt or a cloth draped around your shoulders. Good parrot keeping is about you adjusting to them and not you training them so it's easier on you.

 

[Ninjatoine]

The cage is too small, he needs a much bigger cage unless he only uses it for sleeping. He also needs 'building' materials because their favorite activity is to build and tweak and improve their nest constantly (little branches, leaves, popsicle sticks, paper, molted feathers, etc -mine would steal the double pages of the New York Times from the floor when I am cleaning the cages and carry the whole thing in her beak to her 'nest' where she would cut it and weave it through the bars -she also comes when you call her and takes the paper from your hand -LOL).
.

To be fair the cage is pretty big, it's very tall, but it's not very square it's what came with him when I adopted him, I have a buddy sending me a cage from overseas that's more appropriate. And i understand what you mean about re-arranging i've been told by posts above you it's not the best idea so i stopped touching his things but despite that his cage aggression hasn't been displayed for 2 days (here's hoping he's a special kind of quaker right?) I've watched a ton of parrot wizard videos and read part of his book, and I don't plan to have Sheldon poop on command because i did learn they can hurt themselves by holding it in for treats etc, but more to have him tell me when he has to go, so i can get him to his cage or perch when he has to go. Not to have him hold it until i tell him it's ok as I've seen some other people do.

 

[ZoeyFredrik]

@Ninjatoine

Sammy is "potty" trained, in the same way that you are speaking about. He will tell me if he has to go. He will either squat slightly with a tail wiggle, or lately he has just been telling me "go poopie". Then I know that I need to bring him to a pooping area (towel, trash, etc.) and Sam knows, if I don't listen to him, he is free to poop where he likes. He never holds it and I would never expect him to.