Extremely territorial!

[Gizly]

I got Jack, my rescue parrotlet, last October. So I have had him just over a year now. At first he was just very, very wary of me and would nip quite a bit as well, but I kept working with him and he slowly starting coming around! If I just left his cage door open he would usually come out and see me. Sometimes nippy but he'd let me scratch his head and was starting to get used to my hands (extremely hand shy when I first got him). Over the past month or so, all progress has completely stopped and seems to have gone backwards quite a few steps He is EXTREMELY cage territorial- even looking at him will get him going. When I reach in to change food and water he freaks out. Even leaving the cage door open he won't come out now. I'm not sure what changed? Or what I am able to do to work on this?

I've moved everything around in his cage a few times, doesn't help. Tried using millet to bribe him, he just bites it and doesn't eat it. Even just sitting next to the cage talking to him, he still gets crazy.

Is there anything I can do to get on the right path with him again? Or should I just leave him alone? I feel like I am just stressing him out and maybe he is just happiest doing his own thing

Hopefully someone can help me out with this, give me some ideas why he is acting like this! Thank you!

 

[mindee77]

We have a little guy also we got him as a baby. Our little man thinks he is as big as our African Gray it's crazy he goes nuts I mean crazy nuts over dumb things. Since we have had him as a baby he is very sweet. He is bonded with me.. If I am in the room he wants me.. goes right under my hair and just watches if you try to pet him he will attack to make sure I am safe. I do have a resuce bird and it's hard because they are set in there ways. Continue to work with him. When getting him out you are doing it right let him come out when he is ready. Just continue to love him talk softly and with time it will get better. Thanks for taking on rescue bird. It can be hard but its so worth it.

 

[Monica]

How were you training him?

Are there any other treats that he likes besides millet?

 

[Ankou]

Does he ever come out of his cage anymore and have somewhere to go safely outside his cage besides you? (In addition to Monica's question.)
Also how large is his cage?
Also how old is he and is it possible he's just extra hormonal right now?


Thing is, parrotlets are known to be territorial and I'm not sure this is something you can really avoid.

Lovebirds are similar to parrotlets in many ways, and while Peanut always did better outside her cage, inside her old cage there was no way I could interact with her due to how territorial she was. There was no working through it, she was either outside her cage and her normal self or inside her cage and completely untouchable and enraged if I tried. Training just had her lunging at the bars and growling. And yes, palm-fulls of treats will get me bitten to this very day when she's acting up (because, in addition to violating her territory I'm now touching her food... which is also her territory. It just pisses her off more.)
If you do want to try bribery, put the treat in a dish (preferably one that makes it awkward for him to bite you.)

I ask if Jack is hormonal because those were the main times I just had to give up and leave Peanut in her cage for as long as a week. When she was 2-6ish years old the door was open but she wouldn't come out willingly until her hormones settled down again. Eventually she'd be back to normal and come out on her own.
Also, while I didn't deliberately train her to do this, I would open the door and hold my hand outside her cage and she'd jump for it when she wanted out. If I reached into her cage at all she would just go into automatic 'defend territory' mode and never step up without latching on and biting.
Maybe that's something you could actually try to train Jack to do?

I also ask if he has somewhere to go if you leave the door open other than you, since approaching the cage may trigger his instinct to defend, but just leaving the door open and a way to get to a play area may let him settle down enough to try to come out on his own. The play area outside his cage will likely be more neutral ground and he might be more approachable once there.

Lastly, I ask about cage size because smaller cages frequently lead to more territorial birds. This isn't always the case, but larger cages can sometimes help.
Peanut was already settling down with age when I upgraded her cage, but with the upgrade came a huge reduction in her cage-related territorial behavior. Before there was lunging and biting air, now she'll press her body up against the bars for a goodnight kiss and scritch.
If someone had told me Peanut would ask for and accept scritches inside her cage 8 years ago I would have called that person crazy!

Anyway, sorry if this post is long but I hope something in my own experiences dealing with a tiny terror is helpful to you.