which parrot?

[Pixelette]

hello all! Im new here and own 1 male parrotlet (along with a lot of poultry but they dont count here lol)

We got our little boy back in May from a breeder - we fell in love with him but he had had no handling and was already 10 weeks old (if not a little more). We love him to bits but he has made no improvement at all in handling - not only is he flighty , he aggressively goes for hands anywhere near him. We have tried lots of things, I think this is just the character of bird we have and we love watching him, he is very entertaining but I yeared for years for a bird I could handle.

So - I am going to visit a breeder soon and get some advice. Initially I am thinking of getting a hen parrotlet to keep him company - although his cage is in our family room and we are home all the time. I am also considering a seperately cage kakariki, conure or linne and wondered what people here would advise please? We dont want a loud, shrieky bird, I DO want a cuddly, tame one. Thanks!

 

[ChristaNL]

If you want a tame one ...do not add another bird in the mix for now.


Have you read the sticky's yet?
bonding & building trust is a great one to start.


The main trick is to chill .
If hands are scary..there al a lot of other fun things you can do before you tackle that one.
Your bird is still very young, so you can do a lot.


(Actually: if you own poultry you already got a headstart at reading bird-bodylanguage, you can even use them as guineapigs for things you want to try with your parrotlet / running the risk you will end up with lap-poultry.
I know someone who actually has a lap-rooster, he even follows her around when she visits the neighbours down the road and will just walk into their house searching for her.)

 

[Pixelette]

thank you i will read them

haha yes we have ‘lap poultry’ - several who come into the house when the door is open. Ducks who do several things on command (they are my little boy’s pets) and several who come for a cuddle.

as soon as a hand goes near our boy’s cage he flies at you, beak open and sinks it in. Ive tried using gloves but he drew blood through it! Tried using millet spray and offering him treats. He is happy to walk all over us and even lands on the dog and takes a ride (supervised!!) but he hates our hands anywhere near him.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Here are a couple of the threads Christa was recommending.

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

General Parrot Information - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community


I have reduced biting to almost zero over the decades... not because I've changed the bird, but I have changed me. And a lot of that has involved giving up on a lot of my desires/expectations. After years of battle, I "compromised". I don't do stuff that gets me bitten. I NEVER do stuff that makes him mad... I don't touch others when he's out; I rarely try to get him to step up onto my hand first. Hand-held perch first, then hand. In some ways, I swallow my disappointment at having such a little monster for a pet, but he is what he is. I ALWAYS wear my hair down when he's on my shoulder, so all he can bite is hair. Really, I don't involve hands much... he doesn't like them. He seems to think the real ME is my head, perched on a weird moveable tree with questionable appendages.

Since he's fully flighted, the ONLY way I get him into the cage is to toss a chile pepper in and he flaps in after it. So food reward is a necessity for me. Time-out doesn't exist in the Rb's kingdom.

I have had some success with using the "earthquake" technique for biting. When he bites, give your hand a swift shake... it should make him let go. The idea... every time he bites, a mysterious earthquske shakes him up. Some people feel this is mean and/or engenders lack of trust. The same can work for clothes biting... give your shoulder a shake, or jump! For me, it has helped.

But please... listen to and try all the good advice you'll get here. Chris is very wise.

Don't compromise until you know you've done your best. Then just accept and love whatever/whoever your bird turns out to be.

Parrots aren't always easy pets to understand and control, and your bird sounds ALL-PARROT!

My Rickeybird is in some ways kind of a worse-case scenario, but we have it all worked out between the two of us.

Parrot-owners usually wind up determining their own personal comfort level with various behaviors.

Good luck, and good for you for reaching out.


Hang in there!

 

[condobirds]

In the bird world 3-4 months is not that long. Keep trying to handle him. He will come around. Years ago, I had a cockatiel that was not hand raised and was not coming around to being friendly. I had him to the vet and needed to give medication so needed to towel him. While toweling him for the medication I spent time doing head scritches and other calming things. It wasn't long before he was more comfortable with being handled and started to step up. After that it was much easier to work with him.