Coaxing shy boy out of his cage

[Bruce & Karen]

Does anyone know a treat irresistible to parrotlets? Our 4 mnth old is afraid of everything; even millet! He needs to come out to socialize. Ideas PLEASE!!!

 

[Mizzely]

My quaker, Bobber, is untamed and a nervous bird. I just sit about 10 feet away from his cage and pay zero attention to him while eating something, particularly something crunchy. Gets him out every time The less I push him to come out, the more he comes out on his own. If I push him, he won't come out at all. Patience with birds like this will always get you farther!

 

[Milo]

Your definition of "need" and his definition are very different things right now. What he needs is time to get used to you and not be forced into anything. Try sitting next to the cage or just leaving the door open and completely ignoring him and see what happens. He's still very much a baby so new things could be very scary for him. Patience is the key here

 

[Bruce & Karen]

Agreed!

 

[Shinobi]

This how I bonded and built trust with an aviary bred IRN and have used it on other birds. I obtained an aviary bred IRN 8 years ago who we named Bluey. When people approached Bluey he would thrash around the cage in fear. So I needed some tools to address this problem. 1 was a clicker, 2 was training treats, 3 was T-perch.

Clickers are the best for training. Do some research? B F Skinner is a good start. Clicks won't confuse the bird. Where has words can. Without realising, words can be changed. It doesn't seem much, but it is to a bird. Has an example you might be saying "good boy". Then you say "that's a good boy" or you’re a good bird. Clickers are a bridge to identify wanted behaviour between you and your bird.

Finding a Training treat; I put five different foods on a plate and watch which one Bluey ate first I used sunflower seeds, corn kernels, pine nuts, grapes and balls of millet. This became Bluey's training treat and I removed this food from Bluey diet. Whatever your bird picks, it must not be part of the bird’s diet otherwise it defeats the purpose of being a training treat. Bluey picked sunflower seeds.

These are the procedures I used to calm and interact with him.
Bluey was in a cage in the lounge room. With the clicker in my hand, I entered the lounge room and went to the furthest point away from the cage. Then I would slowly approach the cage until Bluey showed signs of fear. When your bird becomes small and "skinny," and the bird's crop often looks sucked in, and all the feathers lie flat on the body. It usually means the bird is scared.

I would stop and stand there until Bluey relaxed.
Relaxed feathers and wings, standing on one foot, preening and /or grinding his upper and lower mandible together to produce a scratchy or "zippy" noise. The bird is probably content and relaxed. But the bird might not display all these signs but relaxed feathers and wings, standing on one foot are a sure sign.

When Bluey relaxed, I click the clicker and took 3 slow steps backwards waited 20 to 30 seconds. Then, again I would slowly approach the cage until Bluey showed signs of fear. But this time I got a bit closer to the cage. Then I would stop and stand there until Bluey relaxed.

When Bluey relaxed I click the clicker and took 3 slow steps backwards waited 20 to 30 seconds. I repeated this procedure and with each approach, I would get a bit closer to the cage until I was standing next to the cage and Bluey was relaxed.

When this was achieved I would leave the room for 20 to 30 minutes. Then I would repeat this procedure for 5 to 7 times that day. By the end of the day you should be able to slowly walk up to the cage and the bird should stay relaxed. This could take 1 day or 1 week it's up to the bird.

Next stage was to get Bluey use to my hands. I used a spray of millet first has it was a larger food treat and it allowed Bluey to get use to my hand. Once Bluey became use to my hand I started to reduce the size of the millet until I could use sunflower seeds.

Note: This is important and that is, not to force the bird to do something it doesn't want to do. Let it approach the millet.

Once I was able to walk up to the cage without Bluey being scared, I then started to train Bluey to come out of the cage.
The first stage is with the clicker in one hand and a spray of millet in the other.

I would offer the millet to Bluey through the cage where the perch is attached. If he didn't take a bite of the millet within 15 seconds, I would remove the millet from his sight for 20 to 30 seconds.

Then I would re-offer the millet. When Bluey took a bite I click the clicker and withdraw the millet but kept it in Bluey sight. When Bluey finished eating the millet. I repeated the procedure and did this for 15 minutes then took a 30minute break and repeated this 3 more times.

Note: By removing the Millet from the Bird's sight you encourage the "what have I just missed out on. Was that food? Where did it go? Then when you re-offer the millet. The bird thinks I'm not going to miss out again.

The next stage. With the clicker in one hand and a spray of millet in the other. Open the cage door and offer the millet at the entrance of the cage.
Note: Don't put your hand inside the cage has the bird could see this has invasion of their territory.

If Bluey didn't approach the millet within 15 seconds, I would remove it from his sight for 20 to 30 seconds. Then re-offer the millet. When the Bluey came to the cage entrance and took a bite I click the clicker and withdraw the millet but kept it in Bluey sight. I did this for 15 minutes then took a 30minute break and repeated this 3 more times.

The next stage is to place a T-perch just outside the cage. When Bluey flew to the T-perch and took a bite I click the clicker and withdraw the millet but I kept it in Bluey sight. I did this for 15 minutes then took a 30minute break and repeated this daily.

You can use the T-perch to return the Bird to the cage. I found that a T-perch is better than a piece of dowel. The bird can run down a piece of dowel and bite the hand. But with the T-perch the bird can run from end to end but the hand is out of reach.

This is more towards interacting with your bird to build trust/bonding. Once you have establish a bond of trust with your bird you can start to train basic tricks. Then advance to more tricks if you desire.
Use the clicker to identify the desired behaviour and the training treats and praise to reinforce that desired behaviour.

 

[Bruce & Karen]

Thanks, Shinobi, for your detailed reply! Is Bluey's room absent of other birds? Our blue boy is not but can be.We've a female in separate cage and he calmed immediately upon placing where he can see

 

[Shinobi]

we had taught Bluey about windows in the lounge and dining rooms but not the kitchen has bluey didn't have access to the kitchen. One day bluey managed to fly into the kitchen and flew into the window and broke his neck and died.

 

[Mizzely]

I would not keep the birds in separate rooms, especially if the female is tame. Your boy can learn about you through watching your interactions with your other bird.

 

[Bruce & Karen]

Thank you, Shawna.
Peter, so sorry to hear about Bluey. We lost our first bird the same way and it broke our hearts. It's nice talking with an Aussie. You guys have a great day.