Training a very aggressive jenday conure??

[gibson2503]

A few days before Christmas, I posted a very a very aggressive jenday conure named Ari for rehoming. Since then, I have had a change of heart. Even though she is very aggressive, she is still very much loved. Our home is her first home after Petsmart and we don’t want her to go through being rehomed. Instead, we are looking for tips on how to train her.

We’ve heard of tricker and target training, but we have been concerned about her biting during the training. She has been known to draw blood. So, how do we go about training such an aggressive bird. Articles? Books? Videos? All of the above?

 

[ParrotGenie]

A few days before Christmas, I posted a very a very aggressive jenday conure named Ari for rehoming. Since then, I have had a change of heart. Even though she is very aggressive, she is still very much loved. Our home is her first home after Petsmart and we don’t want her to go through being rehomed. Instead, we are looking for tips on how to train her.

We’ve heard of tricker and target training, but we have been concerned about her biting during the training. She has been known to draw blood. So, how do we go about training such an aggressive bird. Articles? Books? Videos? All of the above?

Click and stick target training, you use the stick to get her attention and to avoid getting bit.

Here a good video on target training, believe this guy a member here as well?

With Frankie I just used one of his perches to get him to step up as he was aggressive and could not be handled, as he had a nasty habit of running up people arms and attacking your face. After that I target train him then also instead of using perch I use my arm till he stay on it without attacking me and then awarded him and I would move the toys in his cage around to keep from from getting cage aggression and trained him away from his cage using a stand similar to what he using in the video below. It took me about a week for him to start bonding to me and a month to socialize him to others. My only problem was my male U2 Cooper use to fly after him and chase him, if he saw him. It took me another 3-4 months to resolve that issue. As couldn't keep them out at the same time.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqtptXFyb2c"]How to Target Train Your Parrot | Parrot Training - YouTube[/ame]

 

[noodles123]

Also--- as much as you should not put yourself in situations where you will be bitten (because it means you are generally missing your bird's signals/body language), you cannot be afraid of a bite--- or your bird will know it too (so DO NOT ignore your bird's warnings, but also, do not get super nervous/twitchy). Bottom line: most at your bird's pace and don't push what he/she isn't ready for, but if you find yourself in a situation, try to remain calm.

 

[gibson2503]

Also--- as much as you should not put yourself in situations where you will be bitten (because it means you are generally missing your bird's signals/body language), you cannot be afraid of a bite--- or your bird will know it too (so DO NOT ignore your bird's warnings, but also, do not get super nervous/twitchy). Bottom line: most at your bird's pace and don't push what he/she isn't ready for, but if you find yourself in a situation, try to remain calm.

When it comes to something she isn’t ready for, how do I address that?

 

[noodles123]

You can't push it---you have to warm her up to the idea and it may take a very long time. Pair it with as many positives as possible, and try to make her feel like it was her choice.

 

[ParrotGenie]

Also--- as much as you should not put yourself in situations where you will be bitten (because it means you are generally missing your bird's signals/body language), you cannot be afraid of a bite--- or your bird will know it too (so DO NOT ignore your bird's warnings, but also, do not get super nervous/twitchy). Bottom line: most at your bird's pace and don't push what he/she isn't ready for, but if you find yourself in a situation, try to remain calm.

When it comes to something she isn’t ready for, how do I address that?

You have to push her, only way she overcome it, as dealt with birds that are way to aggressive and waiting sometime don't work as some birds are use to being cage bound and scared of hands and won't accept treats, or target training easy. There are other methods that we use at the rescue to rehabilitate birds that have behavior issues, I leave that out for now, unless methods of positive reinforcements doesn't work. Just don't ever chase bird around, or get to aggressive as you can lose trust and be harder to regain it back. Target training is best way to get started, but you likely have to get her away from cage as it consider her safe spot and she likely won't want to listen and will have cage aggression. It best to get her to a different room on T stand for training sessions some way. Birds are more willing to step up when they are on the floor it also a trick you can use to get her away from cage, if bird use to being cage bound, or just way to aggressive. You can also use her perch she familiar with to get her to step up on it. Try not to show fear, or stop if she bite, if you give in, she learn that biting is a way to get her way and will be more willing bite more, but also give a break every so often.

 

[noodles123]

Also--- as much as you should not put yourself in situations where you will be bitten (because it means you are generally missing your bird's signals/body language), you cannot be afraid of a bite--- or your bird will know it too (so DO NOT ignore your bird's warnings, but also, do not get super nervous/twitchy). Bottom line: most at your bird's pace and don't push what he/she isn't ready for, but if you find yourself in a situation, try to remain calm.

When it comes to something she isn’t ready for, how do I address that?

You have to push her, only way she overcome it, as dealt with birds that are way to aggressive and waiting sometime don't work as some birds are use to being cage bound and scared of hands and won't accept treats, or target training easy. There are other methods that we use at the rescue to rehabilitate birds that have behavior issues, I leave that out for now, unless methods of positive reinforcements doesn't work. Just don't ever chase bird around, or get to aggressive as you can lose trust and be harder to regain it back. Target training is best way to get started, but you likely have to get her away from cage as it consider her safe spot and she likely won't want to listen and will have cage aggression. It best to get her to a different room on T stand for training sessions some way. Birds are more willing to step up when they are on the floor it also a trick you can use to get her away from cage, if bird use to being cage bound, or just way to aggressive. You can also use her perch she familiar with to get her to step up on it. Try not to show fear, or stop if she bite, if you give in, she learn that biting is a way to get her way and will be more willing bite more, but also give a break every so often.

MMM....See I disagree with this a bit...Yes, maybe in a "baby steps" way--perhaps a nudge, but PUSHING (as people often do) can cause a bird to turn away even more....It depends on why the bird is aggressive, but pushing a scared bird will only harm the relationship, In my experience, building that relationship and trust is key (and not rushing things....keeping things positive and not locking the bird up). If the bird is as aggressive as OP says, even a little push will involve chasing the bird around...My cockatoo bit me early on and I tried to "push" through it...set us back at least a few weeks because after that, she was even more angry/annoyed. If the bird feels the need to bite, there is a reason--- they don't really do this in the wild. Now, if you let the bird out and it starts coming after people in a violent way, that is when you would need to "push" the bird (i.e., not reacting, placing it back on the cage, and not showing it that those dive-bomb sessions cause people to react or leave or , DO leave the room if you are a favorite person who the bird wants around)...

 

[ParrotGenie]

When it comes to something she isn’t ready for, how do I address that?

You have to push her, only way she overcome it, as dealt with birds that are way to aggressive and waiting sometime don't work as some birds are use to being cage bound and scared of hands and won't accept treats, or target training easy. There are other methods that we use at the rescue to rehabilitate birds that have behavior issues, I leave that out for now, unless methods of positive reinforcements doesn't work. Just don't ever chase bird around, or get to aggressive as you can lose trust and be harder to regain it back. Target training is best way to get started, but you likely have to get her away from cage as it consider her safe spot and she likely won't want to listen and will have cage aggression. It best to get her to a different room on T stand for training sessions some way. Birds are more willing to step up when they are on the floor it also a trick you can use to get her away from cage, if bird use to being cage bound, or just way to aggressive. You can also use her perch she familiar with to get her to step up on it. Try not to show fear, or stop if she bite, if you give in, she learn that biting is a way to get her way and will be more willing bite more, but also give a break every so often.

MMM....See I disagree with this a bit...Yes, maybe in a "baby steps" way, but PUSHING (as people often do) can cause a bird to turn away even more....It depends on why the bird is aggressive, but pushing a scared bird will only harm the relationship, In my experience, building that relationship and trust is key (and not rushing things....keeping things positive and not locking the bird up).

It case by case dealing with a caged aggressive bird, or scared of hands as was a pet-smart bird is way different then dealing with a bird your just trying to bond with and adapted. Like Pepper my cockatiel feared my hands and you could leave millet and he won't dare go near it, as he also was a pet store bird and kids use to go into enclosure and grab him at random. I opened the cage waited till he was out leaving the room as he would never step up and then once he was away from cage I was able to get him to step up even through he was still scared, but didn't bite and stay on and then made a habit of doing this till he step on without have to wait till he was out of cage and did on his own. Then he bonded to me fully afterwards. I had to push him and did it without having to be to aggressive. It only took me 3 weeks to tame him.

If I waited till he was fully ready to, it would have taken months and years and reason you see so many untamed birds on craigslist. I use to dealing with aggressive birds that have behavior issues and it pretty much different from bird to bird. Same method doesn't always work.

Baby when harness training her, she hated it at first and I showed it to her and even let her play with it, but as soon as you tried to loop it on her she would go into bite mode. The trick is I didn't give in and I didn't stop I just adapted and found away around and used the larger loop so she won't get tangle worst case and worst case I would get bit. To my surprise it was her bluff bite as I refer to it as and she allow it to be looped after 4 attempts give her a break for a few minutes in-between, then second day was able to get it fully on her correctly and using the head loop this time and rewarded her and took her outside for a couple of hours to get her use to the harness as she would pick at it and outside magically she forgot it was even on. 3rd day she put her wing out and help me put it on her, she realized I guess it meant going outside. If you give in to your bird that same training could take a year, You have to learn when to call their bluffs and not give in is key without getting to aggressive, there is a fine balance and every bird is a different approach.

Never lock the bird up, if anything get that bird away from the cage as likely cage aggression. Train bird in different room altogether using a t stand as guy above shows in video.

 

[Laurasea]

I like this article a lot. It covers a lot of good stuff..

First I would suggest doing some objective observations. And try to not have those observations colored by what you think, or what you know. Really try to observ with fresh eyes. What the flock dynamic is, the environment, everything. I did this when having a problem with my GCC attacking my budgie. What I observed suprised me! My Quaker was driving my GCC nuts, that was inturn causing her to lash out. I ended up giving her time out of the cage without the Quaker. They still needed time together as they are bonded and act like mates, but she needed time away from him too. What a wonderful difference I saw with thesex changes. How more relaxed my GCC was.. so do your observations with eyes open. See if their are causes for the agression.

https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/stress-reduction-for-parrot-companions/

 

[gibson2503]

Where can I get a good T stand that isn’t very expensive? From what I have seen on Amazon the good ones are very expensive and the inexpensive one are not very good.

 

[Laurasea]

If you have access to crepe myrtle trees, with not pesticides. And you clean them up. And bake them , you can make your own..
Attach to a wooden tv tray.

 

[gibson2503]

If you have access to crepe myrtle trees, with not pesticides. And you clean them up. And bake them , you can make your own..
Attach to a wooden tv tray.

I live in Indiana. No access to myrtle trees.

 

[gibson2503]

What the wood dowel rods at some place like Lowes?

 

[Laurasea]

You also buy the cheap wood Walmart perches and make your own from that.

 

[gibson2503]

You have to push her, only way she overcome it, as dealt with birds that are way to aggressive and waiting sometime don't work as some birds are use to being cage bound and scared of hands and won't accept treats, or target training easy. There are other methods that we use at the rescue to rehabilitate birds that have behavior issues, I leave that out for now, unless methods of positive reinforcements doesn't work. Just don't ever chase bird around, or get to aggressive as you can lose trust and be harder to regain it back. Target training is best way to get started, but you likely have to get her away from cage as it consider her safe spot and she likely won't want to listen and will have cage aggression. It best to get her to a different room on T stand for training sessions some way. Birds are more willing to step up when they are on the floor it also a trick you can use to get her away from cage, if bird use to being cage bound, or just way to aggressive. You can also use her perch she familiar with to get her to step up on it. Try not to show fear, or stop if she bite, if you give in, she learn that biting is a way to get her way and will be more willing bite more, but also give a break every so often.

MMM....See I disagree with this a bit...Yes, maybe in a "baby steps" way, but PUSHING (as people often do) can cause a bird to turn away even more....It depends on why the bird is aggressive, but pushing a scared bird will only harm the relationship, In my experience, building that relationship and trust is key (and not rushing things....keeping things positive and not locking the bird up).

It case by case dealing with a caged aggressive bird, or scared of hands as was a pet-smart bird is way different then dealing with a bird your just trying to bond with and adapted. Like Pepper my cockatiel feared my hands and you could leave millet and he won't dare go near it, as he also was a pet store bird and kids use to go into enclosure and grab him at random. I opened the cage waited till he was out leaving the room as he would never step up and then once he was away from cage I was able to get him to step up even through he was still scared, but didn't bite and stay on and then made a habit of doing this till he step on without have to wait till he was out of cage and did on his own. Then he bonded to me fully afterwards. I had to push him and did it without having to be to aggressive. It only took me 3 weeks to tame him.

If I waited till he was fully ready to, it would have taken months and years and reason you see so many untamed birds on craigslist. I use to dealing with aggressive birds that have behavior issues and it pretty much different from bird to bird. Same method doesn't always work.

Baby when harness training her, she hated it at first and I showed it to her and even let her play with it, but as soon as you tried to loop it on her she would go into bite mode. The trick is I didn't give in and I didn't stop I just adapted and found away around and used the larger loop so she won't get tangle worst case and worst case I would get bit. To my surprise it was her bluff bite as I refer to it as and she allow it to be looped after 4 attempts give her a break for a few minutes in-between, then second day was able to get it fully on her correctly and using the head loop this time and rewarded her and took her outside for a couple of hours to get her use to the harness as she would pick at it and outside magically she forgot it was even on. 3rd day she put her wing out and help me put it on her, she realized I guess it meant going outside. If you give in to your bird that same training could take a year, You have to learn when to call their bluffs and not give in is key without getting to aggressive, there is a fine balance and every bird is a different approach.

Never lock the bird up, if anything get that bird away from the cage as likely cage aggression. Train bird in different room altogether using a t stand as guy above shows in video.

Where can I get a good T stand that isn’t very expensive? From what I have seen on Amazon the good ones are very expensive and the inexpensive one are not very good.

 

[gibson2503]

A couple of days ago I tried using a stick for target training my jenday. She didn’t want to even get near the stick. So I put the stick away. I hit the clicker and gave her a small piece of banana chip. I repeated that 3 times. Then I moved on to step up. I showed her a piece of banana chip then held out my finger for her to step up. She wouldn’t do it at first. After a couple more minutes she finally stepped up. So I hit the clicker and gave her the banana chip piece. Did that three more times then we were done for the day. Today she wasn’t interested in training at all and even bit me a little. So I left her alone. What should I do if she remains disinterested in training?

 

[ParrotGenie]

A couple of days ago I tried using a stick for target training my jenday. She didn’t want to even get near the stick. So I put the stick away. I hit the clicker and gave her a small piece of banana chip. I repeated that 3 times. Then I moved on to step up. I showed her a piece of banana chip then held out my finger for her to step up. She wouldn’t do it at first. After a couple more minutes she finally stepped up. So I hit the clicker and gave her the banana chip piece. Did that three more times then we were done for the day. Today she wasn’t interested in training at all and even bit me a little. So I left her alone. What should I do if she remains disinterested in training?

Just keep trying and award when she does step up eventually she get the point and allow you to again. The fact she did step up 3 times earlier is a good sign. I usually get them away from cage as they will usually try to stay around, or in cage as it is their safe spot. Reason why you need a T stand to move her to after a while.

 

[1oldparroter]

You can make one of wood, pvc pipe, or used microphone stand; with a bird safe wood tree branch as the perch part. The perch part needs to be o f a size for the birds foot to grasp easily. Like if your birds toes would (front and back) touch in a 1 inch circle without overlapping, the perch would be 2 inches in outside diameter (for instance). The birds toe circle would be like if you made a circle using your thumb and forefinger. So the perch would be twice their grip distance. Peeling the bark off the branch is good thing to do, too. Use a wooden upright to the branch as a mounting area and shape the top of it to the perch branch and mount it with 2 or 3 screws. DON'T glue or epoxy the connection and if you do at all, make very sure to remove any excess after it dries (don't want the bird to chew it).
The base needs to be as wide as possible and heavy enough to not wobble when your bird lands on it. It is looking for a secure spot, lol. Feel free to contact me via the forums message system or through a moderator and be willing to furnish a phone number, I'd rather talk you through it, if you need help. jh

 

[Laurasea]

Banna chip might not be a high motivation food. Seeds usually work best. Takes lots of repition