adopted cockatoo

[simca357]

I think I would work on step up first.

okay, thank you very much

[Wolf]

Would love to see pictures of your new friend and to learn her name.

[Pajarita]

I would wait a bit before I start even target-training at all because she sounds as if she is terrified. Cockatoos practically live on the floor and one of the biggest problem we have is to get them off it (they like to go after feet) so if she is not going to ground, she is very very very scared and training when they are so scared is actually counterproductive. You would be much better off in the long run to wait until she is more comfortable in her new surroundings.

Also, I warn you, there is no such thing as birdproofing for a cockatoo! These birds will chew your house down from the window sills to the walls to the floors and even the ceilings if they can reach them! They are demolition experts! I had two umbrellas that, one breeding season, they decided they did not like their 'usual' nest (under a wooden coffee table I had given them) and chewed a hole in the wall almost a yard in circumference and were already halfway through the beams in one single afternoon! Another example, my husband removed the flooring in the birdroom yesterday so as to replace it with new linoleum and, when I went in this morning, Freddie, a lesser sulfur cockatoo, had started chewing the hardwood floor pulling long slivers of the edges of the boards!

[simca357]

I would wait a bit before I start even target-training at all because she sounds as if she is terrified. Cockatoos practically live on the floor and one of the biggest problem we have is to get them off it (they like to go after feet) so if she is not going to ground, she is very very very scared and training when they are so scared is actually counterproductive. You would be much better off in the long run to wait until she is more comfortable in her new surroundings.

Also, I warn you, there is no such thing as birdproofing for a cockatoo! These birds will chew your house down from the window sills to the walls to the floors and even the ceilings if they can reach them! They are demolition experts! I had two umbrellas that, one breeding season, they decided they did not like their 'usual' nest (under a wooden coffee table I had given them) and chewed a hole in the wall almost a yard in circumference and were already halfway through the beams in one single afternoon! Another example, my husband removed the flooring in the birdroom yesterday so as to replace it with new linoleum and, when I went in this morning, Freddie, a lesser sulfur cockatoo, had started chewing the hardwood floor pulling long slivers of the edges of the boards!

ok noted and what i meant for bird proof is close the windows and possible tight places she could possibly go if she is down on the ground, and i have witnessed there joy of destroying things she went up on the computer and threw all my papers and folders but she never went down i think its because she was always tethered in her perch. thanks for your advice

Would love to see pictures of your new friend and to learn her name.

i would post pictures after my camera is fixed, all of our phones are not colored and no cams haha sorry. i have another question, as micheal posted here in the forums, training step up is holding the target out of range so that she would decide to stand on my arm but as i have seen on this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbav1ugF3Nk he didnt target it, which is better, targeting it or luring it directly with food? thanks

[liz]

I have learned with my kids that the more freedom they have the tighter they bond with me.

I once told a member from Australia that it must be wonderful to see a flock of cockatoos at a bird feeder. She replied that no one puts feeders out for them because of the destruction they can do while hanging around. Examples include what they can do to the shingles on the roof.

[Wolf]

To tell you the truth, I have never had to use either way, because once the bird decides to trust you it will usually step up on its own, However, I would cast my vote with treats as bribery can work wonders with a bird.

[simca357]

I have learned with my kids that the more freedom they have the tighter they bond with me.

I once told a member from Australia that it must be wonderful to see a flock of cockatoos at a bird feeder. She replied that no one puts feeders out for them because of the destruction they can do while hanging around. Examples include what they can do to the shingles on the roof.

haha yess thats what i have learned from my african lovebird too but i cant seem to let my cockatoo walk around but she does go up on the computer and because of that i think shes trusting us more

To tell you the truth, I have never had to use either way, because once the bird decides to trust you it will usually step up on its own, However, I would cast my vote with treats as bribery can work wonders with a bird.

ok Wolf thanks for your advices and help will be posting pictures soon

[Pajarita]

I don't do training sessions and have never used a target stick or a clicker but all my captive-bred birds step up on command because, it's as Wolf says, once they trust you and like you, they want to be on you so you don't really need anything to get them to step up - although you sometimes need a bribe to get them to step down from you