Pictures The T stick.

[Lady Jane]

No drill, bad hands. I use a long ladder to get the birds down from high places. Think I will continue to use that. They are used to that. It's mostly for Murphy because he does not like hands and will occasionally bite but his bites don't hurt. Thanks for your how to make one.

 

[Hjarta5]

Great reminder! Especially now with the spring season upon us, I have heard too many ppl complain about being fed up/scared/etc of their birds because of biting. I have often felt guilty of not using my hand (but a short rope perch bent into an upside down U shape) to have my sennie step up because of my fear of his bite, but Im glad to hear Im not alone

 

[redindiaink]

They clipped Rosie's wings to prevent air attacks, but she outsmarted us all and runs across the floor to carry out her attacks. The first time we let her out of the cage she ran for my partner and latched onto one of his legs. I looked down and realized I had bare feet so ran for my gum boots while killer attack macaw was going after one of T's ankles. I've been trying to think about how I'm going to go about training her to step up and a myriad of other things the other birds have zero issues with, but I know a 1" dowel isn't going to be enough, I have visions of her running up my arm ...

 

[txdyna65]

We used a T-stick for awhile to help my wife with Lucy when I was gone to work. Now she steps up perfectly for my wife and daughter as well.
Im glad she isnt scared of the stick in case we need it when she gets hormonal.

 

[JLcribber]

They clipped Rosie's wings to prevent air attacks, but she outsmarted us all and runs across the floor to carry out her attacks. The first time we let her out of the cage she ran for my partner and latched onto one of his legs. I looked down and realized I had bare feet so ran for my gum boots while killer attack macaw was going after one of T's ankles. I've been trying to think about how I'm going to go about training her to step up and a myriad of other things the other birds have zero issues with, but I know a 1" dowel isn't going to be enough, I have visions of her running up my arm ...

My T stick has a 2 1/2" dowel (16" long) as a top and a 24" long PVC handle (1 1/2"). Big enough for any bird.

 

[Princessbella]

I will say it again. This is why I have a cockatiel. But this is great information. It is too bad that people aren't aware of this before getting a big bird.

 

[redindiaink]

I will say it again. This is why I have a cockatiel. But this is great information. It is too bad that people aren't aware of this before getting a big bird.

I knew and made a mental note of it. When we let Rosie out the first time we thought she'd climb up to the top of her cage like she had done many times at the shelter, but she had other ideas once she got home. We also weren't expecting her reaction to my partner because at the shelter she was completely OK with him.

@JLcribber IIRC there is someone on the forum with one with a clear screen to prevent the bird climbing higher ... I want one of those!

 

[suileeka]

T-sticks are great for little birds, too! My tiny 60 gram Lior never liked hands, but she loved her t-stick. It gave me an easy and stress free way to get her on the scale, in her carrier, or just transport her from point A to point B (at her request, since she couldn't fly well!) when she was hormonal and bitey and I didn't want her using my shoulder as her vehicle.

 

[lotus15]

If I tried to put a Tstick near BScoot he would freak out and jump off his atom or wherever and break a blood feather! Must look up YouTube for stick training!

If BScoot isn't a biter then there's no need for a stick.

Conditioning is done the same way as any new scary thing. It starts out far away but in view. Very slowly it gets closer and you start to handle it without ever getting close to the bird. Soon you have it with you whenever interacting with the bird. The idea is to normalize this thing just like a spoon/toy/bowl/clothing/glasses whatever.

Lola was terrified of our T-stick at first, but we had a long bout of training that first involved just being okay with it within her line of sight and eventually getting to the point where stepping up meant a WHOLE almond. It took many, many almonds, but now she's very conditioned to it. She's not a biter either, but she is typically very timid about new people and will try to run away rather than step up, but when she sees the stick she knows to go to it now because there's a reward. Plus, who knows, hormones might rear their ugly head one day in my sweet little girl!

 

[MagpieDragon]

Can this be a sticky?
Thanks so much for the write up John, I reckon this'll really help with Nedd
Its also good to know before getting a bird, or during spring IMO.

 

[Icey]

Good advice John.
Luckily for me, all my birds have stepped up with no problem/biting.
However, having said that, we are going on holiday in June and hubby's daughter will be coming to take care of them while we are gone, so I will have hubby make one.
Is PVC the best thing to use?
I don't want a frantic call while we are away to say she can't feed the birds because one of them bit her, which I can foresee happening.

 

[JLcribber]

Good advice John.
Luckily for me, all my birds have stepped up with no problem/biting.
However, having said that, we are going on holiday in June and hubby's daughter will be coming to take care of them while we are gone, so I will have hubby make one.
Is PVC the best thing to use?
I don't want a frantic call while we are away to say she can't feed the birds because one of them bit her, which I can foresee happening.

It doesn’t matter what you use for the handle. It’s best that the top is made of wood and on the larger diameter size. Better to be too big then too small.

 

[BirdManDan]

I couldn't disagree more. You won't build any trust with your bird doing it that way. It doesn't matter how mean or aggressive your bird is he/she can build trust with you if handled correctly in a short amount of time and a T stick is not the way to go. If anyone has questions about this private message me and we can discuss more.

 

[JLcribber]

I couldn't disagree more. You won't build any trust with your bird doing it that way. It doesn't matter how mean or aggressive your bird is he/she can build trust with you if handled correctly in a short amount of time and a T stick is not the way to go. If anyone has questions about this private message me and we can discuss more.

You can’t build trust with an animal you can not handle because to do so is physically dangerous. Perhaps you’ve never been faced with such a situation because if you had you’d realize this is a “tool” to bridge that gap and get to that trusted space.

No need to take things private. Enlighten us all. Please explain how you would handle a physically dangerous bird who “will” physically wound you if let them on your person (providing the opportunity).

 

[BirdManDan]

You don't put yourself in that position Ii the first place. You build trust while he is in the cage. I said to go private so as not to belittle your methods publicly but if thats what you want. Several of your comments are exactly the opposite of what professional birds trainers tell you to do.

I have only rescued birds that were not in great places and we're aggressive and mean when I first rescued all of them. I have never bought from a store or breeder. When I first rescued my 2 Macaws I couldn' even get close to the cage without them lunging at me. They are my 2 favorite birds now I go on walks with them take them out shopping. I even take them with me when I harvest my palm nuts and Pandanus Kernels/Keys. Never once did I use a T stick. I built their trust up from within the cage over time using posative re-enforcement, touch training, clicker training and the power pause. If you are fighting to keep your bird away with a T bar clearly something is wrong with that training method.

 

[Shinobi]

BirdManDan

I do agree that positive re-enforcement, touch and clicker training are the go when you have birds that are cage- bound due to aggression. Personally I wouldn't let that type of bird out of it's cage until it was adequately touch trained. However with that said, there are some birds who will happily take a treat from a hand while in a cage or on a stand, but will bite if asked to step up, especially from within a cage. There is also birds who will happily step up onto a hand and then reach down and bite a finger. I believe this is from learnt bad behaviour. So while the bird is not lunging, it's still biting when attempts to have it step up or after it has stepped up.

If the bird needs to be moved to another area, then the choices a person has, is to grab the bird and get bitten, towel the bird and get bitten and destroy any trust, ask the bird to step up and get bitten, hope that the bird will go to where the person want's it to go to, ( doubtful) or use a T-perch. I found that a T-perch is better than a stick. The bird can run down a stick and bite the hand. But with the T-perch the bird can run from end to end but the hand is out of reach.

Birds use their beaks like a third hand and they will use this "third hand to help them onto your hand when you are start the training of step up. This is because the bird is unsure how stable your hand is so they test your hands stability with their third hand before stepping up.

This scenario happens when an inexperienced owner is not clear in their signals to the parrot. For example, when offering a hand for the bird to step up, an inexperienced owner often isn't quite sure of him/herself... so their hand motion is uncertain. The bird may wish very much to climb on, but is unsure of the stability of the hand will reaches with its beak (The beak functions as a third hand) to steady the human hand. The human, afraid of that beak, pulls their hand away. Now the bird is confused!

Now each time the human's hand is offered, and the bird attempts to grab the hand with its beak to hold it steady so it can climb on. The human jerks their hand away. The bird has no idea what has happened but if the scene is repeated (as it usually is), the bird will learn that it's beak will make the hand go away. The bird doesn't really want the hand to go away, but it is fun to control one's human's hand so the behaviour will happen again and a-gain. Once again, the parrot has no idea it has done anything wrong. This becomes learnt bad behaviour and they will actively hunt out skin to play this wonderful game of entertainment.

I think that people should use whatever method that works for them to achieve the end results. So if that means using a T-perch then that's the way to go for them.

 

[JLcribber]

You don't put yourself in that position Ii the first place. You build trust while he is in the cage. I said to go private so as not to belittle your methods publicly but if thats what you want. Several of your comments are exactly the opposite of what professional birds trainers tell you to do.

I have only rescued birds that were not in great places and we're aggressive and mean when I first rescued all of them. I have never bought from a store or breeder. When I first rescued my 2 Macaws I couldn' even get close to the cage without them lunging at me. They are my 2 favorite birds now I go on walks with them take them out shopping. I even take them with me when I harvest my palm nuts and Pandanus Kernels/Keys. Never once did I use a T stick. I built their trust up from within the cage over time using posative re-enforcement, touch training, clicker training and the power pause. If you are fighting to keep your bird away with a T bar clearly something is wrong with that training method.

Nobody is "fighting" to keep a bird away. We just need to be able to handle the bird safely without personal injury. I too have always rescued birds (37 years worth). You've obviously never encountered a situation that required you to use a tool.

This is not about trust. You still didn't answer the question I asked you. How would you handle a bird a that is head over heels in love with your spouse and has blood in his eyes if you even enter the room or look at her? According to you this bird will need to spend the next 18 months inside a cage while you try to win him over which isn't going to happen because he only sees you as competition. The spouse does not handle the bird (because it just feeds the problem). Only you do.

 

[BirdManDan]

Never once did I say anything about 18 months so don't put words in my mouth. I personally don't think you should handle a bird until you have established trust so the it is a positive experience for both you and the bird. I just haven't forced a bird to trust me and haven't used a t-bar to keep from being bitten but rather earned trust first then worked with the birds outside of the cage afterwards. Typically just a few days. If done properly trust can be earned in a very short period of time even in as little as a day or two. I have no problem with using tools but the way it came across initially was to keep a bird from attacking you using the T-bar. That's not a tool that's a defensive weapon. Two of my macaws were lungers and biters and after clicker & touch/target training with positive reinforcement one was great after 2 days of proper trust building methods and the other took 4 days, both stepping up without biting. Who ever is having the issue (aggressiveness from the bird) needs to use clicker & target/touch training from the cage and make it a positive experience for the bird. Even getting a reward for reaching towards the target stick. Until the bird is comfortable with that person the reward or treat can be dropped into the treat/food bowl until it can be handed to the bird without aggression. I would not put the bird in the situation where you need to keep it away with a T-bar. You need to set yourself and the bird up for success not failure. I think using a T-bar for protection is setting you and the bird up for failure. If the bird loves one human and not the spouse the one that is loved needs to put the bird back in the cage before any interaction/training (mentioned above) is done with the spouse that is hated. You (the disliked spouse) don't need to handle the bird in the open if it is aggressive towards you until the trust is built first. You can't force a bird to love the spouse it has to be earned.

 

[BirdManDan]

Shinobi,

You are correct that the beak is like a third hand and is often used for stabilization. I do however advocate that the beak should not be used for helping the bird with any bodypart contact unless it is necessary. In other words I teach my birds that it is okay to use their beaks on other things but not my body. If they use their beaks for stepping up on my hand I don't reward that behavior with a treat but do if they don't use their beak to step up on my hand. I will however reward them if they use their beak to step up to a perch. This will help prevent any accidental biting.

 

[Clueless]

For what it's worth, I've owned 2 wild caught blue front amazons (both DNA male) for several years.

Secret would never come out of her cage without that T stick to stand on.

Secret loves me. She willingly takes treats and steps up willingly on the transfer stick. She is also known to tear out hunks of flesh from my hands. That was during our first hormonal season together but it was vicious and I remember it too well.

In my eyes, a transfer stick is golden. It also enables people in my home, like my husband, to transfer the birds to playstands.

It is a tool to prevent bites.

I'd much rather use that than let my birds remain in their cages.