New Quaker

[jamcq]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and new to being a birdy father.... so the bird is currently teaching me a lot!

I have a hand raised blue quaker that I have named Hercules.....the bird shop I purchased him from said he is from the most recent lot of new babies and season here is usually about december/january.

I have brought him home a week ago and setup a fairly good sized cage with all the usual amenities and toys and now I am trying to bond with him. He seems to prefer his cage to anywhere else and is mostly either in the cage or sitting on top of it or perched on the open door. He will come to my finger and take treats... so far he loves cooked corn, sunflower seeds, and sultanas and I am working on converting him from a seed to pellet and other fresh food diet.

I am trying to use clicker training but he seems pretty indifferent to the clicker despite having been given many treats with the clicker and if I use the clicker to get a response he just seems to ignore it. He will step onto my hand to reach a bowl of seed sitting on my wrist.... but thats about it..... haven't been able to make stepping-up worth his while yet.... Interestingly he would step up in the shop.... guess the environment is the big change.... now he just licks my finger and walks away....

Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for training?

How long do I just give treats and click for? I know the answer is the guide is 3 days or so..... he's done twice that and seems like he just doesn't notice it.

On the couple of occasions he has been sitting on a seed bowl on my hand he has walked onto my shoulder and preened and seemed relatively comfortable. But after a little while he will try to fly away and inevitably crash land as his wings were clipped at the shop. He avoids my hands but doesn't seem to be afraid of them... more its just him doing exactly what he wants. Do I just wait indefinitely to get him away from the cage?

I offered him a bath yesterday and he enjoyed that... so I guess thats a bonus!

Also the cage is up to my chest and I'm 185cm tall... so hoping the height of it isn't a problem.... I am still higher than him but not by a huge amount.

Appreciate any assistance. I want to get him to the point where he will step-up and come to me so I can get him away from the cage to do maintenance etc...if there is any advice I'd be grateful.

My procedure at the moment is open cage and let him climb out in his own time (often its pretty quickly). Then I put my finger on the edge of the cage and when he comes to it I click and give a treat..... my efforts to move beyond this point haven't been successful... when I point onto my other finger he will put one foot on and take a treat then back away..... I tried placing a little pressure to his little chest with my finger... he will back away..... I tried gently moving my other hand behind.... he just avoids the situation so I don't want to be more forceful as I want to train him so that he wants to come and is not forced....

Oh he also calls when I leave the room but then when I come back he isn't any more motivated to interact.....

Thoughts? suggestions? where am I going right/wrong?

John.

[Wolf]

Hi John ;

It sounds to me that over all you are doing a splendid job with your baby. I am happy to hear that you are willing to go slow and wait for the bird to cooperate with you instead of trying to force the issue, This will promote trust and in the long run a better and stronger bond between you and later that in going to help you a lot because it will be tested.
I am amused that the myth of height dominance is still hanging around, Truthfully birds do not think in terms of dominance, in their flock setting all are equal. so how tall you cage is makes no difference in that regard.
I don't have any problem with you attempting to start training early on provided that you don't over do it as that will end up being counterproductive and destroy the bond and the trust that you have earned.
You have a baby Quaker, you have had it for 1 week, and it came to you clipped and eating a seed diet. The first item on my hit list is diet, and you have the right idea. At this stage of development your bird could really use a little extra in the form of soft food twice a day, at least for another month or two. Cooked pasta, old fashioned oatmeal, veggies cooked until soft, things of this nature should do the trick. Pellets are somewhat controversial. some like them some don't. I won't try to advise you on them but will share what I know and think concerning them. Pellets are hard and dry, for me this means that they are difficult for a young bird as their beak just doesn't have its full strength yet and the dryness means that they will pull moisture from any other food present in the birds crop, drying out everything and slowing digestion. Birds don't drink very much water to begin with so I feel that pellets have limited usefulness. Pellets in my opinion are like fast food to us, meaning they are convenient, which is their main advantage. There are other opinions and you will have to decide for your self as to whether to use them and the place they occupy in your birds diet.
I am sorry that your baby has clipped wings and I heartily recommend that you do not allow this practice to continue and allow your baby to regain the ability to fly. The majority of evidence shows that wing clipping is detrimental to the physical as well as the psychological health of your bird.
As for training, just don't get in a rush. Although your baby will be able to learn quite rapidly, you need to slow it down somewhat and focus your time on bonding with him and developing trust. At this point your bird is afraid, this is why it prefers its cage to any other place. The cage is your baby's home, it is its safe place, try not to violate this. Baby bird is surrounded by a totally new environment, its cage is its only safe place where it can stop being afraid and relax physically and mentally. The only other thing that it has to count on for safety is you and you are also new to it. I would use the cooked corn as a treat for training or even better use the sunflower seed. Cut or break the seed in half and use it to assist you in Step up training. Do not feed the treat food for meals, only give it as a reward for the birds cooperation. I would spend the majority of my time just sitting with the bird and talking to it and let it come to you on its own , except for a little of step us training. The time spent just gaining the birds trust will eventually be rewarded.

[cml]

A lot of good and sound advice from Wolf in his post here, so I'll just add a few things:

*Step up training is much easier to accomplish if your bird knows target training, so I would start with that. If you do it this way, you dont have to push your finger into the birds stomach, but instead the bird will willingly step up through positive reinforcement.
See this for more info:
http://trainedparrot.com/taming/
In the above link you will also find lots of info on how to proceed during the first few months and how to establish a good working routine for training, which will help you build up a bond and trust with your parrot.
I dont train mine for them to be able to do tricks, I train so that we maintain a relationship based on mutual trust, and so that they maintain their tameness.

[jamcq]

Thank you for the replies....

Everything makes sense.... I had what i view as another little success tonight... he actually went back inside the cage by himself albeit quite late and the poor thing looked pretty tired but it meant he got to do his own thing without me interfering which I think is a good thing.... and helps teach him home is a safe place.

Wolf thankyou for the advice about food. I didnt get that when I purchased him and was actually advised to feed pellets but knew from my own research to try fresh foods and my own observations that pellets seemed to hard....even on my teeth! and I will definitely give all those items you mentioned a go.... and I have others still to try as well .... in a way he has actually taught me that he likes softer stuff right now through his responses to different foods.... this is one of many reasons why I say he is teaching me.... and im doing my best to try and hear the messages!!!

Re training im not in a hurry.... just want to make sure I begin in a good way and be able to do what I need to to give him everything he needs..... as he settles more ill get some photos to share....

Its great to have somewhere like this to ask questions as a new owner... thank you... im sure it will help me be a better daddy to my little guy....

[jamcq]

Oh and I meant to say I intend to let his feathers grow..... they were clipped before I ever met him.... already I can see that he has instincts to go places using his wings and cant... but he will be able to.... and I will be glad to stop worrying about crash landings!

[cml]

Oh and I meant to say I intend to let his feathers grow..... they were clipped before I ever met him.... already I can see that he has instincts to go places using his wings and cant... but he will be able to.... and I will be glad to stop worrying about crash landings!

Dont worry, you will soon need to worry about where he will land instead , and its a wonderful thing!
You'll have to start parrot proofing your house, its like baby proofing but from floor to ceiling instead of just ground level !

[Pajarita]

Quakers are EXCELLENT eaters and will gladly eat a large variety of produce (try fresh corn on the cob lightly steamed, if you can find it and, if you can't, buy the frozen one and allow to thaw but don't cook it -it's always too soft already - quakers ADORE corn) and yes, he need soft food still. Their beaks are not that strong or hard when they are babies so soft foods and seeds (like millet, for example) are better for them than just adult food. I don't believe that pellets are the best option for parrot so I feed whole grains cooked and mixed with vegetables and raw produce for breakfast and small, measured portion of a good quality seed mix for dinner.

As to training, he is not learning because he has free access to what should be the treats (seeds). If you feed him gloop, mash or chop for breakfast and seeds for dinner, you can schedule a 15 minute training session for the late afternoon (before the sun sets) when he will be more than eager for the treats. To teach him to step up, put your hand in front of him and hold your treat (it could be a safflower seed or a small piece of walnut or almond) on your other hand, close enough that he can see it but far enough that he will have to step onto your hand and reach out in order to get it and, when he does it, praise, praise, praise and give him the treat. He will learn in no time at all.

[jamcq]

At this stage of development your bird could really use a little extra in the form of soft food twice a day, at least for another month or two. Cooked pasta, old fashioned oatmeal, veggies cooked until soft, things of this nature should do the trick.

Hi all,

I have tried to feed my baby oatmeal, pasta and many cooked veggies...... seems the only other thing he likes is cooked peas

Right now he is eating probably 90%+ seeds with the occasional little bit of pellet that i suspect is by accident as I mixed a small amount of pellets with the seeds in his bowl..... he will also eat sultanas.

I have tried leaving him with only healthy food for a couple of mornings and afternoons and he just didn't eat. Just gently persist each day?

Suggestions?

[Wolf]

Getting a parrot to try out new foods can be quite the chore all by itself. They have a natural tendency to be distrustful of new things and especially new foods. You really have to get creative when introducing them to new foods. For example you offer them carrots, you try whole, chopped, diced, sliced, you then try cooking them again whole, sliced, diced, drawn and quartered all to no avail . Then quite by accident you find out that your really loves them but will only eat them if they are shredded and offered with cooked peas. Well we could go through this with every fruit and veggie, but you get the picture. That being said the best way to get them to try something is to share it with them. They watch you eat and enjoy and they start getting curious and you offer them a very small piece and they may eat it or not, but do it several times and on one of these times they may choose to eat the food. Just make a game of it and keep offering them different foods in different ways.