I need your help about taming Moustached Parakeet

[lelong]

Hi ! The First, i'm sorry for my bad English and bad video quality, hope you'll understand.
i'm form vietnam and I have a Moustache parakeet about 3 months years old, i have some problem and need you help :
when i have bought him from store, i placed him on cage, when i try to touch & catch him so he try to run out of me and climb on cage. i cant' touch him ! So i change to feed him by play stand,not in cage , but when i touch him so he still cant friendly ,this's my video, hope you understand what i say



i have try to do target stick , but when i hold a stick, he's so scare of me

I need you advice, plz help me

[Eric&Rebecca]

Ok well the first part looks good, he's not scared of you approaching him and you can pet him. He's not scared of that you just need to do it more gentle and slow than you are doing. If he's scared of the stick you can try another way. He's not completely untame so you're doing well! We did this with our new cockatiel and we tamed him in less than a week, he hated the target stick and screamed and ran from it... he was parent raised bird so he was wild!

Your hand is too big, for him. It's fine when you are stroking him because he can't see it but putting the whole hand under him to get him to step up is a bit intimidating for him especially as its right in his face or like a wall next to him which is why he is moving away from it. It's like WOW what is that crazy large thing! Try using just one finger and gently push up on his belly between his tummy and his feet then he should just hop up. If he has a favourite treat give it to him each time he does this. Our try a flat palm but not sideways or under his nose always between the feet and the tummy.

If not, try placing a small amount of seed in your hand and hold it near him. Not up his face but just by his feet. Get him to eat that. Then once he's mastered that, move the seeds just enough so he will have to stop on you to reach. Again don't put the hand up in his face, its scary, put it lower and you should see an improvement
He looks a little bit skinny, what is his diet like?

[Eric&Rebecca]

Also don't chase after him with your hand.... slowly move it to the position between the tummy and the feet and just leave there and slowly push up on the tummy. It's all about slow movements.

[mrbowlerhat]

Okay um..... So Eric&Rebecca's answer was great!
Though I feel the need to comment on the fact that you actually chained him to the perch? ...Please don't. Ever.

Also, I'm sorry but it really bugs me that you're chasing him with your hand trying to pet him when he doesn't want to. I honestly don't mean to sound harsh, really, but to me it just looks so stressful for him.
I know you're not doing it on purpose, and you probably didn't know that you shouldn't ever chain him to the perch - but I just can't help but cringe.

With that said, I think you should try target training out. Give him lots of treats if he's close to the target stick without being afraid, and soon enough he should hopefully get that it's not as scary as he thinks and you can start with the training.
(I don't know, but maybe even try starting targetting when he's inside the cage? Pretty sure he feels more secure in there since you said he would climb into the cage when you tried touching him before you... Chained him to the playstand? Sorry if I misunderstood something but that doesn't look or sound good at all.)

But yeah, please don't chain him to... Anything. And good luck with training him!
Sorry again if I sounded rude. I mean, the fact that you're asking about him on here shows that you actually care about him and that's awesome, you probably just don't know better.

[marie83]

I watched your video earlier but didn't get chance to reply, nor did I see the chain....
Mrbowlerhat is right anyway, never chain a parrot, their legs are alot more delicate than birds of prey. Other than that all the advice you have been given is very good. Keep coming back and asking if your unsure of anything, besides that we like updates

[lelong]

Thanks all of you , i feed him by corn, rice and sunflower seed, combine with vita-sol



when i try to stroke him from his belly between his tummy and his feet by one finger, he still run away, and i use target stick, he's run. And when i try to catch him stand on my hand, he find the way to jump out of my hand, so i really complicated

[Cockatielsongs]

Take it slowly, from what I can see, he is really scared, he is thin and has his wings apart. Please never chain him, ever ever never. Just offer food from your hands for now, let him associate good things with your hand, if he doesn't want to be petted don't do it
BTW sunflower seed regularly is very unhealthy as they are high in fat and should only be given sparingly as treats

[Eric&Rebecca]

Wow ok, DO NOT CHAIN YOUR BIRD. This could break its legs, kill him and cause serious psychological harm.

You say you stroke him on the belly- it's not about stroking his tummy. Just hold the finger there and gently push up. If he runs away then you going to need to try it with food. Take the food out the cage about 2 hours prior to this but leave water in. SLOWLY, place your hand inside the cage with the food in the hand. Wait there till he takes it. This can take hours.... But don't do it for more than one hour at a time or more than 2 times per day or you will stress your bird. Also it helps not to look at the bird, put your hand in and look at the television. Even if he moves and eats don't look or move! You'll scare him away, when they get it it's really exciting but you must not move! Repeat this even when he's doing it.

Your problem is you chase him with your hands and he is now scared of your hands. Also you're movements are far too fast! You have to be in slow motion and don't chase him with your hands just remain still and let him come to you.

You need to be patient because you this could take days, weeks or months. Also you need to do something about his diet, Sunflower seeds are great for training treats but not for day to day food. Corn has very little nutrition so not much point feeding him that and the rice should be brown rice only and very thoroughly cooked. You need to give your bird fresh fruits and vegetables but please check what is ok to feed. We can tell you that. Also you need to find a parakeet seed mix, prestige are a good brand and some pellets Harrison's or TOPS.

[lelong]

Thanks Eric&Rebecca so MUCH , i'll not chained him anymore and put him into cage , maybe i'll try it more, and how about target stick, what can i do with it ? he's scare it

At Vietnam isn't have Harrison's or TOPS, just Kaytee , but it's very very expensive

[Eric&Rebecca]

Thank you for listening and please never chain your bird. Throw that chain away!!!

Ok you need to get the Kaytee. That's what your bird needs to be healthy and it won't be healthy if you keep this diet. The Kaytee pellets aren't the best of the market but if that is what you have access to then that's what your bird needs so go get some. Also get a better seed mix, then take out the sunflower seeds. Canary seed or millet is ok, it's still fatty but slightly better than sunflower seeds. Or you can try and get a premade branded mix like prestige parakeet mix.

Changing the diet is difficult, he probably won't eat the Kaytee at first so you need to convert the diet gradually. Be careful with this because its very easy for the bird to starve. There should be threads about pellet conversion on here. Or you can make a new post about it. It's important to give fresh fruits and vegetables though please check what is ok before feeding him, there are many things birds cannot eat. Also birds are lactose intolerant so absolutely no dairy, milk or yoghurt!

If he's scared of the stick, don't use the stick. You can try this training outside the cage as well. But you need to just stay still and wait. Put your hand in the cage slowly and remain still if he flaps and runs and panics then you will not be able to do this in the cage. Try then having him on his perch and slowly putting your hand with some food as near to him as he is comfortable. Then leave it there and wait. If in one hour nothing happens. Stop try and again the next day.

Once you get him taking food from your hands you will be able to reward him for good behaviour. for now let him settle for a few days. Let him calm down. He can still come out on his perch but just let him sit and do as he wants. Sit near his cage and talk softly but don't put your hands near just be around. All people in your house should move slowly and quietly around the bird make him very calm. It's easier to train a bird when it's not terrified and stressed.