taming advice for newbie please :)

[katfriis]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and also new to keeping birds and would be very grateful for any advice Thanks.

My family and I got a Green Cheek Conure two days ago and I haven't been able to find any really good advice on how to tame it.

Its 8 months old, unsexed and has been with a previous owner for the last 3 months. She did not interact much with it although she said it would come out of its cage and sit on her knees and eat grapes...She wanted to rehome it due to not having time enough for it.

We are working from home so have time to spend with Tuki and are enjoying it very much
Only yesterday it escaped from its cage while I was trying to put a new toy in there for it. It desperately flew around the room, while perching on paintings, mirror, photos, etc. in between. it then settled on top of its cage for a while and seemed happy there for a bit. It even let me hand feed it seeds while sitting there! But it was absolutely impossible to get it to go back in and we all ended up rather stressed As evening approached and it got darker, we turned all the light off in the room and left it on its own. Eventually it climbed inside, maybe thinking it was bedtime... I felt awful though because it got so stressed and its frightened enough already from moving home

My questions is: Can I hand tame it from inside the cage without letting it out again? I dont want to repeat yesterdays stress and am thinking it would be best to have its wings clipped for its safety, so it wont fly into the window again or the like... I am just wondering if it would be best to have the wings clipped the sooner the better - or to wait to try and tame it first so that the visit to the vet and the wing clipping wont be another stressful experience for it??

Any advice greatly appreciated!!
Many thanks everyone!

Kat x

 

[brittani299]

Hello Personally because the parrot is new to you and for its safely you should have the wings clipped. Its great it knows how to fly and will be able to retain that knowledge. Training is easier when the bird has clipped wings. So what I would do is with the door closed just sit by the cage and read out loud or just talk to it. It will see you arent a threat and will slowly become more adjusted to you. Then after a while open the door and let it out. start doing things like target training this is helpful for both of you. It takes time to develop a bond so just keep working on it

 

[weco]

Welcome to the forums & congrats on your new feathered friend.....

Clipping is a touchy subject in many bird groups, but, as Brittani mentioned, a properly clipped bird often responds to training faster and while clipping does restrict a bird's mobility for a while, it is not a permanent condition, with flight returning with the bird's next molt.....

Along with clipping, patience is the operative word when getting acquainted with new flock members. You mentioned not being able to find good training information, there's a lot of information & experience in the forum's archives...some is relatively easy to find & others need a bit of digging to ferret out...here's a few links you might find interesting:

http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/39650-taming-help-advice.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/49652-advice-hand-taming-please.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/amazons/34860-hand-taming.html



My family and I got a Green Cheek Conure two days ago and I haven't been able to find any really good advice on how to tame it. Although you might need specie specific information for some topics, taming is not necessarily one of them.....

Its 8 months old, unsexed and has been with a previous owner for the last 3 months. She did not interact much with it although she said it would come out of its cage and sit on her knees and eat grapes...She wanted to rehome it due to not having time enough for it. I think you'll find that as long as you are patient, talk softly to your new friend & don't chase it all over the house, your new feathered friend will come to you...trust is really what you have to establish...as long as a bird has not been frightened or lost trust in humans, it is generally not too difficult to establish a measure of trust with a new bird...even establishing a trust factor with a bird that may have been abused is usually possible, but will take longer.....

We are working from home so have time to spend with Tuki and are enjoying it very much
Only yesterday it escaped from its cage while I was trying to put a new toy in there for it. It desperately flew around the room, while perching on paintings, mirror, photos, etc. in between. it then settled on top of its cage for a while and seemed happy there for a bit. It even let me hand feed it seeds while sitting there! But it was absolutely impossible to get it to go back in and we all ended up rather stressed As evening approached and it got darker, we turned all the light off in the room and left it on its own. Eventually it climbed inside, maybe thinking it was bedtime... I felt awful though because it got so stressed and its frightened enough already from moving home You didn't mention other household animals...Actually, turning off the lights is a good way to coral a flighty bird...clipping/restricting a bird's flight is not just for your convenience, but should take into consideration the bird's ability to protect itself from other dangers & predators...

My questions is: Can I hand tame it from inside the cage without letting it out again? Probably not, but you can work on establishing a trust factor while it's caged... I dont want to repeat yesterdays stress and am thinking it would be best to have its wings clipped for its safety, so it wont fly into the window again or the like... I am just wondering if it would be best to have the wings clipped the sooner the better - or to wait to try and tame it first so that the visit to the vet and the wing clipping wont be another stressful experience for it??

Once you've established the trust factor and the bird allows you to handle it, take it around to all your windows & mirrors, let it beak and/or even tongue it/taste it so that it will know that there is a hard surface there and not a continuation of free space.....

As you're learning about being a parront/new bird person, keep in mind that everything that is purportedly made for companion birds is not always good for or safe for our feathered friends...even when sold by pet stores and in some cases, stuff sold by veterinarians.....don't be afraid to ask questions, we all learned the same way and keep in mind common sense goes a long way in caring for a feathered friend.....

Good luck.....

 

[Flboy]

If he is at all trained to step up, use a long stick for him to step onto. He will feel safer working with you at a distance! He will come around quickly, they thrive on closeness!