adopted cockatoo

[simca357]

hey guys i am new to this forum and i made this account for guidance in parrot keeping, i have recently adopted a 2 year old sulphur crested cockatoo she is wingclipped from her previous owner, she is not tamed but she doesnt bite as well every time i try to touch her she walks away, and the worst part for me is she doesnt even have a cage, she sits on her perch 24/7. i dont really know if i should provide her with cage because she might get depressed and start plucking since its her comfort zone for now. i have sorted out her favorite treats and last morning i started target training her. any tips on what should i do best? is target training the best method since she doesnt have a cage? please help ::(

[Wolf]

The first thing is to earn her trust and that is done by spending lots of time with her and talking and singing to/ with her. I would also set her on the floor after making sure that she can't get anyplace that would be difficult to get her from such as under furniture or any other touchy place. She may be clipped for now, but she still needs to wander about under supervision.
If I might suggest it you need to make or get her a playstand or something similar you need to have something other than the perch she is on if you are going to do much in the way of target training, at the very least another perch. She could easily learn to touch the target stick in a few minutes and without somewhere to target her to you are pretty much out of options.

[simca357]

The first thing is to earn her trust and that is done by spending lots of time with her and talking and singing to/ with her. I would also set her on the floor after making sure that she can't get anyplace that would be difficult to get her from such as under furniture or any other touchy place. She may be clipped for now, but she still needs to wander about under supervision.
If I might suggest it you need to make or get her a playstand or something similar you need to have something other than the perch she is on if you are going to do much in the way of target training, at the very least another perch. She could easily learn to touch the target stick in a few minutes and without somewhere to target her to you are pretty much out of options.

hi thank you for your help, i would like to clarify something. i would bird proof my house, put her on the floor with the perch on sight or with the perch out of sight? and i do that now or after i gain her trust?

about the playstand i have bought her a driftwood that has many branches but i would still put the toys on it, should i force her to go to the playstand or let her go on her own? and do you mean i would target train on the playstand? sorry if i dont get your mssg clearly english is not my 1st language.. thanks for your help

[Pajarita]

Are we talking about a wild-caught, a parent-raised or a bird that is simply not friendly or trusting with you?

[simca357]

Are we talking about a wild-caught, a parent-raised or a bird that is simply not friendly or trusting with you?

she is captive born, i dont know if hand reared but im leaning on hand reared because when you touch her she just run away she never bites but when she bites its not even painful. i think shes just not trusting me

[Wolf]

I would parrot proof the home right away and let her have time to walk around every day. If the bird is afraid of the playstand then place it where she can see it and you spend a bit of time playing with it while spending time with her so that she can see you and learn that it won't hurt her. then gradually move it closer to her perch and let her go on it herself when she is ready to do so. The quickest way to destroy any trust that you earn is to force her to do anything so never force the bird to do anything.
Please feel free to ask me anything as many times as needed so that you understand, I do not mind at all.

[simca357]

I would parrot proof the home right away and let her have time to walk around every day. If the bird is afraid of the playstand then place it where she can see it and you spend a bit of time playing with it while spending time with her so that she can see you and learn that it won't hurt her. then gradually move it closer to her perch and let her go on it herself when she is ready to do so. The quickest way to destroy any trust that you earn is to force her to do anything so never force the bird to do anything.
Please feel free to ask me anything as many times as needed so that you understand, I do not mind at all.

she is not chained in her perch since i find it useless because she cant fly and would just make her movement limited, but she wouldnt go down the floor, when she moves around its always her feet attached something on the perch. and btw i wouldnt start target training yet? thankyou

[Wolf]

I am glad to hear that she is not chained to the perch as that would be very dangerous for her and I would never recommend doing such a thing. She doesn't come off the perch because she doesn't want to get hurt as she knows that she can't fly. They are very self aware just like we are.

[simca357]

I am glad to hear that she is not chained to the perch as that would be very dangerous for her and I would never recommend doing such a thing. She doesn't come off the perch because she doesn't want to get hurt as she knows that she can't fly. They are very self aware just like we are.

ok thanks i have targeted her this morning and she made progress she made 2 steps away from her comfort zone and one last thing, should i target train her for me to hold her or i should target step up first?

[Wolf]

I think I would work on step up first.