behaviorist needed for rosella

[sportzchikki]

my name is kristin. i have a beautiful rosella named skittles. i have had skittles for little over a year. i bought him/her from petco. i am his 3rd owner. the 1st owner brought him back because he bought him for his son and the son was bit. the 2nd owner did not have the time and patience to tame skittles so he was once returned again.


i can tell skittles is used to me from a distance. he listens to me as i talk and whistle to him. as soon as i go up to the cage he goes away from the front of the cage. he does not let me touch him or put my hand near him. he only watches me intently as i change his food water or add toys to his cage. when he gets scared he makes this screeching noise. i had to take him to get his wings clipped once so i got him with a towel and he bit me hard enough so i started to bleed. i get very nervous when i have to towel him. every time he gets out of the cage so i can try to train him he hides to get away from me. he only wants to be in his cage.


i feel horrible because he cant stay cooped in his cage his whole life. i have a cockatiel and he is just fine. i got him already tamed. i get determined to train skittles but each time i try i get very discouraged. i don't want to give up on him. i know with training he could have potential. i don't know what to do anymore. please help me. i need advice and help training skittles. thank you.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

I don't believe we have any certified behaviorists on the forums, if that is your goal, and you can afford the investment, most veterinarians could refer you to a number of professionals in your area - there is no shortage in the LA area there.

Though I do have experience with animal behavior in general and I try to offer what guidance I can though it is somewhat limited being online: it's easiest to deal with a behavioral problem when it can be seen first hand. This can be partially remedied by thorough descriptions of everything Skittles does - often things people would not think are relevant to a pets behavior are the things that really matter.

That said, to get started I'm curious what you do when you try to 'train' her. You say you take her out for training, what do these sessions entail: what do you try to teach, how do you do it, and how does she react?

In general in such a situation the first step is merely earning trust. You might call this training, but it does not (should not) really entail formal training sessions. Essentially I'd start with getting her to come out of her cage and approach you on her own. First just leave the cage door open and go sit at the other end of the room - read a book or magazine and just wait quietly, perhaps talking calmly on occasion but if she wants to cower in her cage let her. Do this every day - perhaps a few times a day if practical. If/when she comes out you can offer some calm praise, but do not approach; she should see that she can come out to explore or go back in her cage on her own terms. Perhaps you could leave treats just outside or on top of her cage so she gets something good for coming out.

Next - when she starts coming out on her own and does not seem nervous - leave her cage open and make it so she can get to the ground perhaps by putting a perch or latter against the cage opening (alternately depending on the room set up you can make it so she can get to a table, desk, or counter near her cage.) Again leave treats outside the cage, but a little farther out each day. At first she just needs to step out to get her treat, then she will have to venture out a bit farther. You will still sit there calmly - talking to her if you wish, but do not react in any way to startle her.

This process will progress with the treats getting closer and closer to where you are sitting. Once she okay with leaving the cage and approaching you we can talk about how to get her to let you pet her or pick her up.

The whole idea of this first phase is that she is allowed to come out ON HER OWN TERMS and you do not respond in any significant way.

Toweling her to go to the vet is probably a necessary evil at this point. Don't worry about doing that if you need to, but try to minimize it.

 

[sportzchikki]

thank you so much yes i will try to leave the cage open and let him come out on his own. by me trying to "train" him i have toweled him and talked to him in a soothing voice and pet his head through the towel once he sees my finger to pet his head without the towel he tries to bite me. i don't want to make him scared in anyway but i don't know what to do. i have heard to towel him and not to towel him. now i wont unless i absolutely have to. he does come to the front of the cage to listen to me as i talk and whistle to him from across the room. hopefully i will continue to do this while the door is open and he will come out eventually.

i also was curious if it is okay to have his cage next to my cockatiels cage. they don't seem to pay much attention to each other. once i had the cockatiel on the top of his cage to relax when he jumped to the rosellas cage. they started checking each other out. the were practically touching the rosella inside while the cockatiel outside they were fine until my cockatiel went to bite the rosella. i instantly grabbed him and took him away from my rosella. would they ever get along?

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Yes, please pass on the toweling as much as possible. That's a scary and unpleasant experience for them - you don't want that associated with you, and certainly not with your fingers.

Will the two ever get along? Judging solely on that description I'd suspect they will in time - as first meetings go that sounded like a very positive one. I don't see why their cages couldn't be close, but perhaps have at least a partial barrier between them - perhaps a curtain or blanket blocking half of the cage - so they can see each other if they want, but they can also have areas in their cage where they can "hide" and not have to see the other one.

Other than that I would not work on introducing them much more until you start building a relationship with Skittles.

The key to building that relationship is to try to make every experience calm and pleasant.

 

[sportzchikki]

ok thank you so much. i really appreciate everything. i feel like things are looking up now. i feel more confident about the training. i cant wait. i just cant wait for the day that i will be able to hold him and give him love.

 

[sportzchikki]

well so far things are looking good. he comes all the way to the front of the cage while the door is open and just sits there. if he were to take 1 step forward he'd be out of the cage. i have a desk right where the opening is so i have a treat sitting right there for him to go get. he seems curious but still hasn't come out yet. is this how i am supposed to do it?

also i found this sound where it plays rosellas chirping like their call. i played it and he gets really curious like he wants to know where it is coming from. im not sure if he like it or not.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

well so far things are looking good. he comes all the way to the front of the cage while the door is open and just sits there. if he were to take 1 step forward he'd be out of the cage. i have a desk right where the opening is so i have a treat sitting right there for him to go get. he seems curious but still hasn't come out yet. is this how i am supposed to do it?

Great to hear ... what a quick change from what, just a day or two ago. Yes it sounds like it's just right. It may take a bit for her to venture out of the cage to get that treat, don't rush it - let her go on her own time. Just keep offering and wait. [Sounds a bit like the plan of a religious evangelist... at least a respectful mature one]

As far as the song, birds can have quite a variety of reactions to conspecific sounds, almost always curiosity or attention but then that can either be paired with 1) an interest to approach and explore, 2) aggression, or 3) fear or anxiety. It's pretty easy to tell these apart by watching their body language - obviously if her reaction is #2 or 3 then don't continue, but as long as she is contently curious it may provide good 'intellectual' stimulation for her.

I've never involved bird sounds in training pet birds as the reactions are so varied and unpredictable, but as long as the reaction is good keep it up.

I've played dusky conure calls for Auggie and he sure perks up.

 

[sportzchikki]

GREAT NEWS!!!!! well today I put a treat just outside the cage for Skittles to come get. Well not long after I was working on an essay he came out to get it. I was so busy working on my essay I didn't even notice. All of a sudden I heard a thud at the bottom of the cage from skittles dropping his treat. He likes to take his treat to his favorite perch and eat it. He occasionally drops it. Its one of those balls of seeds he has to work on to eat. He LOVES them.

Its exciting because I have only opened the cage 2 times since you told me today being the third because I was out of town for 2 days. He instantly went to go get his treat. Only just approx 7min had past before he went to go get his favorite treat.

Now I am going to continue this faithfully until he comes all the way over to me. Once that happens I will let you know. I will keep following up with you on how everything is going. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I now have that boost I needed to keep working with Skittles.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Great to hear. Thanks for sharing. Keep it up, and let me know when she is coming out farther and getting closer to you. You can try to talk calmly to her as she does, but avoid getting startled or excited when you see her come out (which could startle or scare her).

 

[falelos (GREECE)]

Look at this!!!!! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig2PZimgQsM&feature=PlayList&p=23953EE390929C17&index=71]YouTube - Rosella Love[/ame]

 

[falelos (GREECE)]

i also have a couple of rosellas and a similar problem,when i approch them they scream!!!

 

[Stacye and Tiki]

Congratulations on the lovin! Glad to see you guys are getting along better. All it takes is some patience and understanding

 

[antoinette]

Hi there Skittles is adorable so cute
Follow AD advise, wonderful tips given, and they seem to be working.
Patience, love and dedication go a long way
Good luck