Advice?

[friedsoup]

Here I go again (question are his wings clipped? if so do you have a "T" perch? and access to a pair of chopsticks or wooden spoons ?) When you can answer yes to these questions you are ready to train your new best friend. Place your bird on a perch and start to pet him from two side at once when (and I say when because he will try to grab one of the sticks) calmly keep petting him with the other and work the other away from him and pet him for about one min. stop and take a break give him a treat and walk away and let him consider what just happened. Then come back and do Step-up with him for one minute then start petting him again when finished return him to the cage or play gym and give a treat. Do this twice a day for five days or until your bird stops trying to grab the stick when he does then cheat the stick back into your hand until your using your fingers to pet and do step-ups with your bird. Don't lose your sticks you can then start using them for target training and trick training. Hope this helps you with your new friend I know this works I took a bird who could bite through wielding gloves into a handleable bird in one week and now use him to help train other birds by birdy see birdy do . And a Clicker is sold at the pet store it is just a childs toy metal inside a plastic case when you press it it clicks giving a sound that the bird or dog can associate with a action that gets them a treat or reward. Looking forward to your post about your progress.

 

[Jayserileytekno]

Ok I can give that a shot, his wings are clipped- both... Not sure of its ment to be only one or both (I didn't do it) I think I have chopsticks and will get a T perch. Only real q- if he's still freeked out or semi freeked out about me being close to him, how do I go about getting him on, and to stay onthe perch? Treat him each time
He gets on? Because when I do treat him he runs away from my hand/finger and then slowly comes back to suss it and gains the courage I take it and then rushes bal Afew steps.

Got home from work today to find he's figured out where I keep the scourour pad to scrub his poo off the tiles, and has had a peaking fest with it. 2nd time
It's happened, so I've put some paper shapes in the cage to see how that goes to stop him finding the scourour

 

[Oedipussrex]

Most people on here i think will agree that both wings clipped is better than just one. Only clipping one wing is a legitimate clip which people use, but is designed to deliberately put them off balance, and does not allow them to have any sort of control to float to the ground if they do jump or fall a distance, and even has the capacity to make them lose control/balance and fall more dangerously than they otherwise would.

Got home from work today to find he's figured out where I keep the scourour pad to scrub his poo off the tiles, and has had a peaking fest with it. 2nd time It's happened

i take it you left him out whilst at work?
I would be vigilant on this, especially if he has chosen the scourer. It depends on the brand, but they can come made of stainless steel, to aluminium, to galvanised... and you don't want him using any toxic metals as a chew toy.

If he is scared of your hand, which is stopping you being able to give him a treat, it might help to put a little bowl on the stand, and just drop the treat in there when he earns one so he doesn't feel pressured to approach your hand yet, and allow you to take it slower with him...

 

[Jayserileytekno]

Yeah I leave him out, just so he has more mobility. The scourer was left under the cage under some stuff... Lazy on me I guess. It's not stainless... It's some sort of fibre but agree it shouldn't be his chew toy.

Oh yeah, that's an idea! Thanks

 

[DebsFlock]

I personally would not ever clip one wing. My thinking about clipping is that it is purely a safety measure used to limit the range my birds can travel unsupervised. So I want a trim that allows them good control to get from cage top to ground safely. Heavy clipping or one-wing clipping means they have less control and are more likely to crash, which not only could cause injury, but could cause a real loss of confidence. I'm not personally a fan of clipping to try to make a bird less dominant.

 

[Jayserileytekno]

My next question is, is it a good idea to let him to get out of his cage during the day while I'm at work or keep the door closed all day and wait till I get home before opening the door? The cage isn't a small one

 

[BoomBoom]

If no one is around for more that 30 minutes, I'd personally keep him in his cage, doors closed (and locked if necessary). If he is a chewer, he may end up getting to harmful things around the house: live wires, rusted metals, treated leather and wood, condiments in the pantry, cleaners, etc.

 

[friedsoup]

Never leave him out while unsupervised he could find an electric cord and that would be bad or some cleaning solution and drink it or chew up some of the wood trim in the house and get sick from the finishes and on and on just too much to list and it will make you coming home something he looks forward to even more.

 

[DebsFlock]

Unless you have a totally secured bird room, I agree. With cats in the house, mine go in the cages if I'm doing more than walk into the kitchen to grab a soda or something like that.

 

[headfeathermistress]

Here is a quick video:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z-yiDIjn2s]Clicker Training Made Easy - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGb6bn73MJk"]Kili & Truman - Modelling Target Training (1st Step) - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Jayserileytekno]

Update. He was real good yesterday morning where I was able to move my hand with a treat right up to his beak and he would take it and then back off Afew steps to here he felt safe. No idea what happened afterwards but the next time it was a no hope and was very weiry on me trying it again.
But have been at it today so far with the clicker & treat and so far so good, can see in his body language he anticipates the next click/ treat. But he hasn't got the confidence/trust do let me do it outside his cage yet. So we go at his pace

 

[headfeathermistress]

That is great! Just keep going at his pace. You are doing well