Help with two young caiques

[drkares]

Hi!
We need help. We have two young caiques less than two years old. The previous owner didn’t really show them affection or hand train them. They can be aggressive at times. One of them has come around a little and only bites if annoyed. Loud which is expected. When they are upset or makes it clear they don’t want to step up we give them space. They can now fly and would like to eventually get them comfortable enough with us to someday put a harness on them. Any advice on how to help them trust us. We sit with them and chat periodically, give treats and praise. Rework and switch out toys in both cages they share, one of the cages is huge it’s more like a habitat so they have space. We ensure they get several hours of sunlight a day and free time. They are eating well. Love fruits and vegetables especially sugar snap peas and apples.

 

[Xoetix]

@Irishj9

 

[Irishj9]

It sounds like you are doing things right. Patience and attention will get you 80% there. Watch closely and learn their body language and dont force anything.

That is what brings their trust. They know that you are just a dumb human limited to verbal communication, ( like me) but AT LEAST YOU CAN BE TRUSTED TO HEED THEIR WARNINGS.

Biting can be learned too.

Back off when they do not want to be disturbed. Youre the huiman and YOU must think 2 steps ahead of them.

Watch that sugar. They love it and its very bad for them

 

[drkares]

Thank you! I really want them to be happy and I’m sure they miss their evening walk but I don’t feel safe bringing them out without a harness for safety. So I let them play by the screen door to enjoy the breeze and sunlight.

I’ll keep an eye on the sugar and let my husband know to do so as well.

We got them last December so I guess I need to be more patient.

Finally got them to eat broccoli and cucumber. Kale and spinach is a mild struggle but they nibble.

Thank you again!

 

[Irishj9]

Dont worry about bringing them outside. Its a mixed bag of results.
In nature they hide and play in the treetops. Open exposure on a lawn can terrify them.

I DO put mine out on the lawn in cages, but with a towel covering half the cage so that they can hide when they want. Typically when a predator passes overhead, etc

A window is just as good. They see everything and are in full control of their escape

 

[drkares]

We use to lay a sheet in the grass and let them walk around before they could fly. When they got tired they would come to us and just hang out or eat.
As for being in trees they have never done that but now thinking about it it does seem risky.
Thank you!

 

[2fruitcaiq]

Although my BHC is easily triggered and often goes into short periods of pinned eyes and wanting to kill something he has always been super receptive to treats and training so we use that to our advantage. He seems to respond to keeping routine consistent and positive reinforcement. I still need to pay a lot of attention to his body language and keep on top of what might trigger him. Patience is definitely key with parrots and it sounds like you're already on the right path to success.

Maybe prioritise the most important behaviours you need to build good trust and relationships with them then work from there.

For my boy, we used positive reinforcement to get him to step up onto a stick and/or to go into his cage. These are the 2 scenarios where he was the most aggressive because in his mind he was having fun and being picked up or put away was such a negative thing that his only way to communicate that was to bite. Really hard.

On the flip side, be careful not to train when they're in a heightened state, or watch body language and halt training if they start to get heightened. This can also bring out biting or unwanted behaviours. Theres a YouTube channel called Bird Tricks that's good for explaining this.