Still taming but I would prefer not to clip... what to do?

[waggygee]

So I got a young Senegal parrot recently and am still in the taming process, he's unclipped and I would prefer keeping him unclipped. Looking ahead to when I'll start taking him out of the cage, I am worried that he'll fly off and I'll have a hard time getting him back into the cage. Do you have any tips for me one how I should go about this? Clipping is a last resort as I would really prefer him being able to fly around when he is tamer

FYI: the petshop guy said hes about 2.5-3months old. He isnt tame yet and still gets nervous for some time when I sit next to his cage and talk (just walking to the far end of the perch and slightly nervous body language for a minute or 2)

[pennyandrocky]

until you have him trained make feeding schedule around the time he needs to be caged and only feed in the cage. when i first adopted mya she hated her cage to the extreme that as soon as i closed the door she would violently pull her feathers out. so at bedtime i would put her favorite treat in her cage now she sees her cage as a happy safe place to go.

[waggygee]

until you have him trained make feeding schedule around the time he needs to be caged and only feed in the cage. when i first adopted mya she hated her cage to the extreme that as soon as i closed the door she would violently pull her feathers out. so at bedtime i would put her favorite treat in her cage now she sees her cage as a happy safe place to go.

Thanks for the tip. How long would you recon it would take for him to know the feeding schedule? (days? weeks? a month?). Once again, im still in the early stages of taming and am just trying to plan ahead. My parrot doesn't seem to have any problem with being in his cage, but I'll make it a point that he knows that its where the food will be

[pennyandrocky]

he should figure it out right away. as long as no food/treats given until he's got the regular schedule. i'm a stay at home mom so i am able to allow mine out from 7am-7pm. at night at 7 mya flies back to her cage when i say bedtime and penny whistles for me to pick him up to put him to bed he is flighted too but he likes me to kiss his back before bed. it may take a week or two just show him you're putting food and fresh water in his cage. if it's a work schedule do it maybe an hour or 2 before you have to leave so you're not in a rush.

[Michael]

Ok, but if the bird is only a few months old, it's just a baby. Instead of withholding/scheduling food you must focus on offering as much food as possible. The bird should be tasting different foods, learning what treats it likes, and growing still.

Usually when the bird is that young (if it was properly raised) you should really be able to do most of what you want without clipping and without training. Hand raised baby parrots are very docile (Senegals very much so) and looking to humans for guidance. Although the bird is flight capable, it's probably not flight aware. It might not even know it can fly. It may not yet have had the experiences to fly. Also its wings are probably weak from not using them. So if you let it out and it flew around a little, it would get tired quickly and land some place. Then you could just pick it up.

Sometimes the bird is just fine but the owner is terribly inexperienced and can't read the bird to realize it's all alright. I do private consultation sessions over video skype and can help you figure out if the bird really is difficult or not and the best course of action. I'd say my typical training advice holds true for practically any parrot over 1 year old. However, with younger birds it depends more on their upbringing and the inexperience of the owner.

Oh and don't clip the wings! It won't make the bird one bit more tame! It's all about what you do and the relationship you build. Clipped or not the bird can love or hate you. It all comes down to how you treat it. And being the kinda person to want to limit its ability to fly isn't a good start.

[waggygee]

he should figure it out right away. as long as no food/treats given until he's got the regular schedule. i'm a stay at home mom so i am able to allow mine out from 7am-7pm. at night at 7 mya flies back to her cage when i say bedtime and penny whistles for me to pick him up to put him to bed he is flighted too but he likes me to kiss his back before bed. it may take a week or two just show him you're putting food and fresh water in his cage. if it's a work schedule do it maybe an hour or 2 before you have to leave so you're not in a rush.

Thanks for sharing. I will keep this in mind

[waggygee]

Ok, but if the bird is only a few months old, it's just a baby. Instead of withholding/scheduling food you must focus on offering as much food as possible. The bird should be tasting different foods, learning what treats it likes, and growing still.

Usually when the bird is that young (if it was properly raised) you should really be able to do most of what you want without clipping and without training. Hand raised baby parrots are very docile (Senegals very much so) and looking to humans for guidance. Although the bird is flight capable, it's probably not flight aware. It might not even know it can fly. It may not yet have had the experiences to fly. Also its wings are probably weak from not using them. So if you let it out and it flew around a little, it would get tired quickly and land some place. Then you could just pick it up.

Sometimes the bird is just fine but the owner is terribly inexperienced and can't read the bird to realize it's all alright. I do private consultation sessions over video skype and can help you figure out if the bird really is difficult or not and the best course of action. I'd say my typical training advice holds true for practically any parrot over 1 year old. However, with younger birds it depends more on their upbringing and the inexperience of the owner.

Oh and don't clip the wings! It won't make the bird one bit more tame! It's all about what you do and the relationship you build. Clipped or not the bird can love or hate you. It all comes down to how you treat it. And being the kinda person to want to limit its ability to fly isn't a good start.

Got it. I gave him some banana slices yesterday, I think he almost swallowed the bowl too! I wonder what else he'll like.

Thanks, I watched the vid in that link and read the article too. My parrot isn't that calm around me yet, I haven't seen him be agressive or lunge at me to attack or anything. He just gets nervous when I come to the cage (when I started getting him used to me, he'd climb the walls and all just to get as far away as possible. now he just turns a bit and looks like hes ready to leave for about 30 secs) but calms down after some time. Wow, it would be awesome to have a consultation, since I am an inexperienced bird owner and have accumillated my knowledge from various sources, it would be helpful to discuss it in a two way conversation.

Thanks, I really look forward to having a happy flighted (and potty trained) bird around with me in the future.

[spidy]

hi. just got an senegal at 3.5 months old ( 7 days due time ) . and its not tame at all. got food from the parents. but im wondering. would it be hard to get it tame. ie: landing on my hand /shoulders?. it really exploring shit right now so im really carefull what to bring into my room and what not. im 31 years old. still living at home. but got an huge room . and also got 3 lovebirds. wich is probably 1.5 years old. one hand/fed. and the other two are sister/brother(s). but not tame ( got food from the parents as well.. ) .. http://space.ocean5.org <<- some bird pictures under the category of senegal..