New Alexandrine Parrot.. New to Birds

[morto89]

Hey Everyone, I just got myself an Alexandrine Parrot and he still quiet young but is on seed food..
I am finding he is very attached to his cage and i can have a hard time getting him to come out of his cage at times.. Once i have him out of the cage he will always look for the cage even when we take him inside the house..
He doesn't seem to respond to Target Stick Training as i have tried to Engage in it with him and he kinda just looks at the stick and doesn't do anything with it...
Any tips would be great.. Its seeming to me that he is still quiet scared of me as i have had him just over a week.. Also he isn't very vocal at all and keeps pretty quiet..
Also i find he has been trying to strike me when i put my hand out or even when i try to get him to step up onto a stick..

 

[MonicaMc]

If he's afraid of leaving his cage, I don't recommend forcing him out. Forcing him out could potentially result in cage aggression.

It might be better right now to move slowly around him, and to back off when he's terrified. If you can, whenever you go by his cage, leave him a treat.


When I took Jayde in, a 3 year old rehomed red throated conure, she was terrified of leaving her cage. If I didn't have to handle her, I didn't! Instead, I'd move the cage around the house so she could be "with" me without having to be *on* me. This allowed for her to visit with me without leaving the safety of her cage. After a couple of days, I put a perch on the outside of her cage so if I was sitting down, she could climb down to the perch and be about shoulder height with me, thus yet again being closer. I gave her the choice to leave her cage and now that she's flighted, she just flies to me! Unlike your alex however, Jayde actually *wanted* human interaction, she was just terrified of it at the same time! Talk about confusing behavior!



I also have a wild caught african ringneck that's probably around 3+ years old now. She's been with me for a little over a year now, and before I found out she was wild caught, I was trying to work on gaining her trust. I did this by putting Nutriberries inside her cage as a treat, then would sit up to 5 feet away observing her without looking directly at her. Over time, I got closer to the cage where she would continue eating without flying off. After finding out she is a wild caught import, I kind of "gave up" as I did not feel that she should be a *pet* bird, but an aviary bird with others of her type, since I am unable to take her back to the wild. Even if I could release her where she was captured, I don't know at what age she was captured at, so I don't even know if she knows how to survive in the wild! I just know that her behavior doesn't seem typical for a *captive* raised bird!

A bit over a year later, she's living with my flock of cockatiels in an aviary and I decided to feed the tiels by hand. (aka last week!) I started feeding them millet, which they love and the tiels were flying over to my hand to eat. Now, my tiels range from hand tame and friendly to skittish ex-breeder of unknown age but is over 17 years old. Still, they've learned not to fear me and will eat from my hands - a behavior I started 8 years ago with budgies! I gave the millet to my SO (who is a fish enthusiast, but has a new found love of parrots! :54: ) so he could find the joy in feeding the tiels by hand as well.

Well, Sylphie (the ARN) ended up flying over as well and trying to scare off the cockatiels so she could have some millet, too. Still not trusting of humans, she ended up freaking out and flying away. I decided to try with some seeds instead which brought the tiels over. Sylphie, after watching, once again came over to get some food and attempted to scare the tiels off (the ex-breeder was ignoring her...). After the tiels left, she once again freaked out and flew away! Still, she got within inches of my hand, a behavior she has never shown before! And she chose to do it on her own!


I'm considering continuing the behavior to see if I can gain her trust and get her more comfortable with humans. I'm still thinking she may do best in an aviary situation, but now I'm kind of curious. I started the feeding by hand with 5 adult, flighted budgies that were not tame, just as a little "experiment". And it worked!

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUx81WHTUwk"]1 Bird in hand Leads to Many - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlSm4uFZzVU"]More Budgies!!!! - YouTube[/ame]


And then I had a (previously hand raised then ignored and rehomed) cockatiel that decided she was also interested in this behavior... although it took me too weeks to figure out that's what she wanted! -bangs head against wall-

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q88bN30qOjo"]Sunshine in the Morning - YouTube[/ame]


And when I got another rehomed cockatiel (been in 3 previous homes, don't know if parent raised or hand raised - not tame/friendly), she watched the first one and decided she wanted to participate as well. As you can see, there's quite a huge difference in behavior between the first video and the second!

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9w9w8nMRmw"]Hesitant Faye - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH9ZWxhCSAE"]Not So Hesitant Faye - YouTube[/ame]


Which lead to feeding the rest of the tiel flock by hand as well... (ignore Casey, the third tiel! She's the hand raised one but the second tiel, the one with the partial bald head is the ex-breeder and father to the first tiel, Sunshine)

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjKmHswgiHs"]Cockatiel Feeding - April 24th - YouTube[/ame]




Here are a couple of great articles worth reading that may be beneficial.

Working with Fearful Parrots: A Study in Videos | Learning Parrots

Parrot Behavior Myths: Building Trust | Learning Parrots

 

[Betrisher]

Thanks for that thoughtful and useful post, Monica. There's lots to think about in there and I do love your method of not forcing birds to confront their fears, especially when they're 'new'.

I'd add that one week is not very long to have a bird at home and expect it to start training. Sometimes, birds can take a few weeks to really settle in and feel at home. During that time, odd things like loud noises, too much traffic past the cage, other animals in the house etc etc can all add to the stress the bird might feel. So my 2c worth would be to wait for a good while before trying to winkle your bird out of his cage. Just let him be near you and speak slowly and softly to him. If he'll take treats, spoil him rotten with them during this honeymoon period. You want him to grow to trust you and to find your company so worthwhile that he'll ignore his fear to come to you. That's why you use treats: he'll learn very quickly that you're the source of all things tasty.

You also don't say how old your bird is. He may be weaned, but he may also still be very young and not quite ready to venture too far from the safety of his cage. As Monica suggests, just start by sitting near him and reading or talking to him gently. Once he's quite happy with that, open the cage door while you sit there but make no attempt to reach for him. Gradually, offer a treat through the open door - a spray of millet is good because it's long and you don't have to get too close to nervous birdie.

Everything depends on how patient you can be and how un-threatening you are around your bird. Sometimes, you can reach a bird within a couple of days. Other times, it might take longer. Just remember that if you frighten your bird unwittingly it'll put the whole process back to square one. On the other hand, if you get it right and slowly teach your bird to trust you, you'll have a companion for life!

Alexandrines are extremely clever birds and learn quickly. It's worth mentioning that many of them very much DO NOT like to be touched or stroked on their bodies: they seem to like their personal space. Some don't mind it, but don't be surprised if your bird is reluctant to let you touch his head or face or wings. The worst thing you can do to a touch-me-not Alex is reach for his head or face. Once he's learned to step up and sit on you, you'll find it difficult to get him off, however, because they LOVE their human company and just want to be with you. They also speak and learn tricks very well, so there's a lot ahead for you and your bird (what's his name?). Do stay in touch and ask your questions here - we're all happy to help.