Getting a "hands off" eclectus into a crate for visit to the vet

[WingDing]

The day has some to take Toby the Eclectus to the vet for a wellness check and grooming. He really hates hands, especially mine. He is flighted but has never been a good flyer. What is the best way to get him off his playstand and into a travel crate? Try to towel him? Use thick gloves? Both? I could try to get him to step up on my hand first.

My first concern is having him fly off to hit a wall or window. The last we did it, my son who is a bird-monster to Toby, got him with gloves, but not after Toby crashed into things first.

We are working through the no-hands thing, but any progress gets lost quickly.

Thanks!

 

[chris-md]

This is typically done one of a few ways.
One is toweling, as you noted.

Another is the use of a stick. Typically hand phobic birds are moved around on a stick or t stand. The bird needs to be trained to step up to this stick well beforehand, however.

the other is targeting. If the bird is target trained, you can 1) teach the bird that the crate is good, and 2) target him into the crate. This again requires weeks of planning and pretraining, and can’t be done for the first time the day of the vet visit.

 

[WingDing]

This is typically done one of a few ways.
One is toweling, as you noted.

Another is the use of a stick. Typically hand phobic birds are moved around on a stick or t stand. The bird needs to be trained to step up to this stick well beforehand, however.

the other is targeting. If the bird is target trained, you can 1) teach the bird that the crate is good, and 2) target him into the crate. This again requires weeks of planning and pretraining, and can’t be done for the first time the day of the vet visit.

Thanks, Chris.

Yeah, training him to step up on anything has been a major work in progress. Target training is moving very slowly forward.

I think I'm going to try a quick step up on my hand and gently move him into the crate. If that doesn't work, I'll go for the towel.