Big Scooter's training begins

[saroj12]

He's 23, doesn't like being touched on his body. Steps up like a champ and never bites during stepup. Is 110% trustworthy to get beak kisses from. He's not an aggressive bird. Allows me to scritch his head and neck when he wants to, but moves away any other time. He's been with me for nine years and made a lot of progress but I need to be able to pick him up around his body if I need to. Like a couple of days ago he got into a tunnel (greyhouse) via an unsealed porthole, the main entrance to the tunnels was shut. Would not come out and I had a meeting to go to. So I grabbed him and walked 15 feet away to his cage, getting the thumb webbing mangled horribly. Since then he's not been allowed on the greyhouse in the mornings, until we block off the portholes on saturday.

My hands are very dry from an alcohol based hair oil treatment. This is the day 2 of the bite



back to the training suggested by the vet,( I ditched the clicker for now). I'm rewarding him with pistachio chunks if he lets me put a finger on his neck. At first he was lunging to bite but eventually he wasn't able to look away from the pistachio and ate the big chunk from my right hand while i petted the left size of his neck. While he was eating the pistachio firmly held in my grip, he allowed me to touch his neck. Five reps and I called it a night. Onto more of the same tomorrow. Any input appreciated. @Macawnutz

 

[Macawnutz]

I'm rewarding him with pistachio chunks if he lets me put a finger on his neck. At first he was lunging to bite but eventually he wasn't able to look away from the pistachio and ate the big chunk from my right hand while i petted the left size of his neck. While he was eating the pistachio firmly held in my grip, he allowed me to touch his neck. Five reps and I called it a night. Onto more of the same tomorrow. Any input appreciated. @Macawnutz

I couldn't do it any better. Everyday it will get better.

OUCH!

 

[Danita]

My Timneh is really skitzy too Saroj.

Newman, will switch around to bite, turn on a dime and is fast. The WPR rescue birds, there were about 14 Timnehs and they were all "Sassy" as the foster mom describes them.

Did you ever see his bucket I made?
http://forums.avianavenue.com/index.php?threads/a-boy-and-his-bucket.10637/#post-180876

He will ALWAYS step up on it, so its my emergency thing.

I could never imagine having to pick him up around his body, omg, he would flip out and bite the crap out of me and attack my face lol

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Ouch, that looks like a painful bite in a place that's hard to heal! Sorry you got hurt!I think your plan with the training sounds good. A little at a time will work wonders eventually.

 

[DQTimnehs]

Yeah I don't think mine would take kindly to being grabbed around the body either. They generally don't like their backs touched at all although I can sometimes hug Darwin. Other times he turns his head suspiciously before I get my hand on him and then it's not ok to do. Quack is usually not ok with it but occasionally I can touch her back but lately she takes it as a "move" as she is hormonal and starts regurgitating for me.

I doubt this is something you can train him to be ok with as it is something totally offensive to them.

 

[DQTimnehs]

And I'm sorry about the bite, Saroj! Ouch!

 

[Begone]

So sorry for the bite, but both of mine would do the same if I would try to hold them, so forgive him!

The way I train this is that I make a big tunnel of my hands and inside their is a treat. For every success day the tunnel gets smaller and after some days your hands will touch his body, but it's him that make that choice, that's is why this method work really good.
In the end I make the tunnel so small so they almost have to dig themselves into the tunnel to get the treat. And I never move my hands or touch them when training this.
This is only a way for them to accept your hands.

Good luck!

 

[DQTimnehs]

So sorry for the bite, but both of mine would do the same if I would try to hold them, so forgive him!

The way I train this is that I make a big tunnel of my hands and inside their is a treat. For every success day the tunnel gets smaller and after some days your hands will touch his body, but it's him that make that choice, that's is why this method work really good.
In the end I make the tunnel so small so they almost have to dig themselves into the tunnel to get the treat. And I never move my hands or touch them when training this.
This is only a way for them to accept your hands.

Good luck!

This is a really good method, JT! And will work for more trusting birds but greys, I still doubt.

 

[WendyN]

Oh no, sorry about the bite.
Heal well.