toweling

[BennyIsMyBird]

We've had Benny for about a month now. When we first brought him home from PetSmart, he was VERY poorly socialized. He'd panic when I put my hand in his cage. I've got him to take treats from my hand. I then, (with the aid of a 'clicker') got him to softly 'beak' my finger for a treat. I have tried to get him to 'step up', but he doesn't trust human hands. He'll back away and has a very distinctive warning when I get too close. By accident, I've found that 'toweling' him makes him somewhat docile. While toweled, he lets me rub his head and I've even got as far as under his wings. He seems to enjoy it, though the initial 'toweling' puts him on the defense. So what do y'all think? To be honest, I've had more luck 'bonding' with Benny via toweling than I have had giving him hand treats while he is on his perch in his cage. Don't get me wrong, I realize these milestones I have listed above are huge, but when it comes to 'toweling', your thoughts?

 

[BennyIsMyBird]

BTW, Benny is a Jenday...If my pic doesn't tell!

 

[mygirl]

if hes scared of human hands as most birds are when you first get them, try an over mitt or a glove let him play with it make it a game, i probly wouldn't towel him if freaks our bird out and i reckon it makes them feel trapped

 

[Spiritbird]

Conures love to be in a towel. I think it gives them security. You need to move very slowly with the bonding process and know that bonding with a bird is not fast. It can take months and months, especially when they come from a pet store. Study up on what to do and it will happen. Be calm and slow with new bird.

 

[darkling]

That makes sense, Spiritbird because Pi loves to get under the blankets and she's much more inclined to let me scritch her head when she's in her happy hut. Pi is funny about hands too. She'll climb into my shoulder and if she flies off and lands on something she'll get onto my hand if I slide it under her belly like a scoop.

 

[Nakiska]

Well my experience with towling is this:

We felt sorry for, therefor - purchased a completely untame cockatiel. He was wild! Hissing, biting, flapping all over his cage and absolutely would NOT sit on our finger for a split second. And when he bit, he drew blood, no "testing" for him!

We gave him a few weeks in his cage, just talking to him, offering him treats..which he would NOT even consider taking and putting our hand in his cage and just holding it there...he'd stay in the corner, shaking...and if we moved our hand, he'd hiss and lunge his head in an attempt to bite.

After several weeks, I felt like absolutely NO progress was being made with him, so I opted for a more direct route. I put a cushion in our bathtub, brought our tiel and his cage in the bathroom, toweled him out, shut the shower curtain, sat down on my cushion and let him loose. He was clipped so he couldn't do much, and being in the bathtub, he couldn't get away either. I kept my finger under the towel so I could tollerate any bites without reacting and I worked with him until I felt we'd made progress with him stepping up on my finger.

I did the same thing the next day, and the next.

We made quick progress and by the 3rd day, although I had to towel him OUT of the cage and back IN the cage, once he was out, he was happy to perch on my finger and let me talk to him.

After the 3rd day of toweling, I'd always offer up my finger 1st to get him out of the cage, if he reacted poorly, I just toweled him without a fuss, got him out and went about having "happy time" out of his cage. I still had to towel him to get him back in his cage too at this point.

I started letting him walk about on my bed with our other tiel, I'd lay down a big towel and sprinkle "treats" on it for them to forrage and he LOVED that!

Within a couple weeks time, he happily jumped up on my finger and let me take him out of his cage without toweling, I still had to towel him to get him back IN his cage, because as soon as I'd get close to his cage, he'd fly off and climb up on it and get all defensive when I'd try to get him on my finger. So I'd towel him, no fuss, and put him in his cage.

It's been a total of 3 months that we've owned him...he does not need the towel EVER, he absolutely loves to come out of his cage, go back in his cage, sit on our fingers, arms or shoulders. He talks up a storm now and is developing quite the vocabulary. He's a very very very happy bird. Now we are slowly working with him being touched and scritched...that I have more patience for as we are building the trust and Chicken Little, just this week started preening my husband and I...before-he'd just sit with us not moving...LOL!

I think if I didn't towel him, we'd still be in the "let me put my hand in your cage" phase with him maybe staying on his perch instead of cramming himself in the corner scared to death. I don't have THAT kind of patience so I went with a more direct approach and I'm glad I did.

In my profile page is a picture of my son holding both our tiels...Chicken Little is the gray pied whom this post is about. As you'll see by his pictures, he's quite a content little guy

I think toweling can be a very effective and efficient way to train a bird if used correctly and for the right reasons. I think if it's working for you, then keep doing it, and my advice to you is when you feel ready...try first without the towel...and if your bird doesn't respond they way you are hoping, then, don't make a fuss, don't get upset, don't keep trying to push the issue to the point of being annoying...just towel and move on. So if you have your bird on your finger and you go to scritch or pet and he or she bites, hisses and or flys off...then go towel, do your scritching/petting what ever for a few minutes, then be done..until next time where you try first without the towel...

Hope that makes sense.

Good Luck!

Toni

 

[BennyIsMyBird]

Thanks Nakiska, your story is very encouraging.

 

[Nakiska]

Thanks Nakiska, your story is very encouraging.

Awww...thank you, don't give up hope. I read everything I could get my eyes on about taming birds and all the advice about the time, time, time and patience patience patience and the itty bitty baby steps and for me...this first step....like I said I just don't have that kind of patience. I've trained lots and lots of animals...horses, goats, cats, dogs and a few birds.

The purpose for me toweling him was because I wanted to be able to have him perch on my finger and not be scared...once THAT was taught, everything else I have patience for. He still don't let us scratch his head or anything, but that's okay...he talks, sings, perches on our hands, arms, shoulder, he comes TO us and doesn't run from us and he's even started preening us (he's a bit shy about it, but he's starting)...he's only 6 or 7 months old and when we try to scratch his head, his reactions are getting less less and although it may be several more months...eventually we'll be rubbing his head.

If toweling is working for you then keep it up until you don't need to. The other thing is...keep your emotions out of it...just towel and get to business, whether that be scratching or teaching him/her to perch on your finger...don't get upset, angry, frustrated if things aren't going along as you want them to because your bird will pick up and feed off your emotions.

If for instance, you are scratching your bird and he fly's off and when you go try to get him...he hisses and bites at you, instead of trying to keep at it with your finger, getting angry and frustrated, risking getting bit...just towel and return and start over.

Keep the lessons relatively short and ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS end on a GOOD Note! Several short lessons a day goes a lot further then one big long drawn out exhausting lesson.

Keep us posted on your progress too

Take care and happy training,

Toni

 

[BennyIsMyBird]

Thanks again Toni. Since I posted this thread, Benny has made milestones. When I have a little more time, I'll post his progress. In short, when he's in on his play area outside of his cage, he will let me pet his head (depending on his temperament at the time). I ask him, 'can I pet your head?' If he lets me, I click the clicker. I still have to towel him in and out of his cage, but he's realizing we are his family are not going to hurt or eat him! I thank you again because you helped encourage me to take this approach.

 

[Nakiska]

Excellent! I'm so happy for you...don't get discouraged about toweling in and out of the cage...I had to with Chicken Little for a couple weeks, but I always gave him a chance, before going to the towel...then one day, it was like it clicked...I offered my finger, looked, he thought...I said...STEP...he thought some more, then he stepped on my finger, when I started moving my hand toward the door...he was a little nervous and I could see him considering flopping off and going back to his perch, but I just talked to him, told him he was such a good boy and once we got out the door, I made a big deal of him staying on my finger and really talked to him a lot and then I put him down for his "tiel treat walkabout" Which he thoroughly loves to this day. After that, I had to towel him another week or so getting him IN the cage, but once he did it right one time...he was pretty much set.

Now if he starts to attempt to fly at his cage, I just turn around and block him from flying off...once he's settled back down on my hand, I'll turn around and go for his cage...Now I can just set him on the door opening and he climbs on in himself.

Toni