Aggresive or scaried lovebird

[jancijen]

but i have here a lot of cables so i ll hide them behind wardrobe but there are two (ethernet cables=for internet) which go upstair through the wall :/ can u help me ? i wanna get him out in 1 or 2 hours Thanks

[Eric&Rebecca]

Just cover them with a towel or something or tuck them away One cable probably won't be an issue but a mass of cables and wires is and things like blind cords... Don't worry just cover them or tuck them away or place something so he can't get to them easily. You'll be there the whole time. if they on the wall just make sure he doens't get stuck that's all.

Go slow though! Read Michael's guide first before you try anything and start with that. You never know he might do it so follow that first. I only use my way because I've had birds around me my whole life.

See if you can do it with Michael's method and go slow. Or just try another thing i did with another wild bird is leaving the cage door open and see if he comes out. Worked pretty well for me but I really would say Michael is more the expert than me.

[jancijen]

thx. and one more question - as u can see on video he is bitting between cage bars too. it is not agressive behavoir ? or when i change food, too he wants nip me

[Eric&Rebecca]

Pellets are food not for cooking or burning. Look them up online TOPS cockatiel pellets. As for your mums birds as she has not had a lot of time they will be become untame because you have to work to keep that. Also hormones play a big part in this it's coming towards the end of cockatiel breeding season but most likely I think this is where your mom hasn't hasn't the time to spend.


Yes your new bird will put its beak through the cage... He's trying to get out to fly or to get to your fingers because sometimes you give him hands treats, it could be a begging behaviour. When you change the food you're taking it away. If someone took your food away then you'd say something!

If when he bites he really bites hard then you will need to go back a couple of steps. Refer to michaels training guides. Your bird will come aroun but you need to be prepared to be nibbled. It's important not to react or to pull your hand away suddenly. Slow and controlled movements around cage.

[jancijen]

Now i tried give hand to him to the cage. 1stly he tried it with beak and then he nipped me harder what to do pls ? help now I am really discouraged to spent time with him

[Eric&Rebecca]

If you do that yes you will get bitten. NEVER just put your hand in the cage of an untame bird and expect it to stop biting.

As I said to you DO NOT put your hand in the cage... he doesn't like it. Forcing him to step up while in the cage get your bitten and you won't get anywhere. You can't just skip and go straight into getting up on your hand it will NOT work, I have given you plenty of advice on this. All you need to do is go slow, be patient and try again. But please don't put your hand inside the cage and expect him not to bite because he WILL and that won't change if you don't follow the training manual

You need to have WAYYYYYY more patience. You need to use Michael's guide, go back to the beginning to his training manual in the link I sent you and start again. You need to be prepared that this will take weeks or months.

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Go right back to the beginning with this training. You can't force your bird into making progress your just making him scared of hands not more accepting. You can't be discouraged because it doesn't work once. It took me 3 weeks to train my cockatiel to just step up and I'm quite experienced with the taming down process.

I also said, birds bite... you can do things to help and discourage but its you that needs to adapt your behaviour and not the bird. Use Michael's guide. You need to go right back to the beginning. Hands are a long way off yet!

[jancijen]

i am really confused in this guide what should i do 1st pls ? i am slovak guy so i am not so good in english

[Eric&Rebecca]

Well first you need to go right back to basics. Your bird is now scared of hands or becoming that way. Everything that's happening is expected and natural for a new bird so you just have to take it. Sorry but there's no other way. Your bird is nowhere near as bad as some and you must spend a lot fo time just sitting in the same room as your bird. If you just don't because he's not doing what you want you won't get anywhere. If you want the bird to respect you you need to respect it and it's behaviours.

Few things first though:

1. DO NOT put your hand in the cage yet at ALL. Not until you've completed the training.
2. Expect to be bitten- if you don't like bites then there's not a lot you can do because your responsible for this bird now. Bites come with having a bird. DO NOT react to the bite or make ANY sudden movements when bitten. If you get bit its not the bird's fault it's YOURS. There's no such thing as a BAD or MEAN or EVIL bird its the previous owner or you that's made it that way and its up to you to correct.
3. You MUST be patient, this doesn't happen in one or two days, taming and training is a long process.
4. If one step of the training goes wrong lots of times, STOP and return to the previous step and start again.

Translation of Michael's guide: (This is a very basic overview):

1. IF your bird will take a treat from your hand through the bars then start here (if not let me know and I will write on how to get to this stage).

2. You need to use this treat to gain trust with your new bird. Get the bird to eat the treat through the cage bars. Do NOT chase the bird with you hand around the cage, just sit in one place and wait for the bird to take it. Do not react or get excited when this happens, just let the bird do it. You may need to wait for hours on end.

3.Before you start training, do not let your bird have food for 2 hours. Do this at the same time everyday until the bird takes the treat from your hand very quickly and is comfortable with your hand being there.

4.Clicker training- (YOU WILL NEED A CLICKER or you can use a voice command or click your fingers on your other hand) After the bird has been taking treats from your hand for a week or so use the clicker when the bird eats the treat use the clicker or your finger click (on the hand you are NOT holding the treat in). This makes the bird OK with the click noise and associates it with something good. I used a clicker you can get for a dog. It should take 1-3 days for the clicker training but maybe longer. At first click when the bird grabs the treat, then gradually click first, the bird will come to you and then give the treat.

5. When the click sound is linked to something good you can move on. Target or 'touch training' take a small thin stick (a chopstick is useful for this). Put the stick in the cage a about 10cm from the birds beak. DO NOT put your hand in the cage and wait for the bird to touch the stick. When it does take click, withdraw the stick and treat your bird by holding the treat through the cage bars as you remove the stick to distract him NOT in the cage. DO NOT chase your bird with the stick just wait until he touches it.

6. When your bird touches the stick everytime then you are ready to move on. Point the stick left of the bird for a touch, when it touches. Wihtdraw and treat, then move it to the right and repeat the cycle but mix up the order so not left right left right... maybe right right left right left left right right right left. So its not all the same.

7. You can now teach your bird to target where to walk. As your bird now bites hands you will need to teach it to step on a perch first. So put a perch near the open door of the cage and have another one for it to step on outside the cage. Use the same method as before- target it towards the stick and when it climbs onto the stick on to touch it say 'STEP UP'. Again click and treat the bird. You will need to use one hand for this because your other hand will be holding the perch. There is a picture in the original guide how to do this.

8. Once your bird can do this you can then use the same method onto the hand.

Does this make sense?- The first thing you need to do then is get a clicker, get a clean chopstick and your birds favourite treat and start at step one. Don't move on to the next step till you've got it completely.

You see it can be a long process but if you see how tame Michael's and my birds are it is very worth the time. You don't get anywhere without putting the effort in first

Also if you look on youtube there are videos of this which might help the language barrier. Look up Michael, Kili and Truman- bird training or target training etc. You can see what Michael does.

[jancijen]

Do u think that clicky sound with mouth is enough ? I cant get clicker now D And i am trying to target training with him about 2 or 3 days but he is bitting the target stick and doesnt wanna realease stick what should i do ? i think that he is more interested of stick like of treat

[Eric&Rebecca]

That's because you're missing the first parts- you're moving too fast and getting to ahead of yourself. You need to start again completely. You need to be able to distract him with a treat to be able to remove the stick- you haven't spent enough time on the first stages so you are getting problems further down the line. Forget the target stick for now and just start from the very very beginning as if the bird was new. Take 2-3 days complete break from anything to clear his mind then start at step one.

You can order a clicker very easily online from most places. Try ebay- if you're having a few days break anyway use that that time to find the correct materials.

What are you using for a target stick?- This could be another reason he's biting it!
What treat do you feed him with your hands?- If its too small your hand is probably too close to the treat which is encouraging biting. Millet spray is good or a sliced apple so the treat size distances your hand from the bird at first.

Also your bird probably isn't hungry when you train. Before training the bird must be hungry, 2-3 hours with no food before training and always at the same time of day- Yes you will have to arrange your schedule around training.