Cant get your parakeet used to you

[budgiebuddy]

I know sometimes it can be frustrating when you cant get your bird to like you or let you handle them well i have something that will help with small birds that have this problem ok first gt them out of there cage and to a place they are comfortable if there isnt a place besides inside there cage put them on the outside of their cage. ok after letting them sit there for awhile pick them up from behind and hold them till they calm down AS SOON AS THEY CALM DOWN give them a treat do tis repetively and after a few days they will get used to you and let you hold them after that you can do things like lay them on there back in your hand if you do not know how to hold them wacth some videos on you tube if you have questions or concrns on this method just reply

[Kathleen]

This method is called flooding. It works on budgies, I guess, though I personally think it's a bad idea.. I highly recommend anyone with a parrot that has a bigger beak to never use this method or you're going to get your fingers ripped apart.

[budgiebuddy]

i probably sould have put that it is only for smaller birds but at the time i thought that it was in there i do think the only way to use this is if there small and dont really draw blood when they bite

[Chicklet]

personally I don't think this is a good method of training as it doesn't create a bond or trust between the bird and you. This method doesn't give them a choice and it just forces the bird to obey. Ideally to form a bond with an animal you need trust and mutual respect..just my opinion on this method of training.

You could compare it to, say I have an incredible fear of spiders and to "cure" me of it, you force me to be near the spiders. Now after a while I may realize the spiders won't hurt me, but I will have lost all trust in the person because they made me stay in the room even when I was petrified of spiders.

[Titanius]

I guess this would be something you'd do if all else failed. Including the clicker training and such. I remember Michael mentioning flooding as a way to get a parakeet to trust you since they only would link you with the reward.

[Michael]

You are describing positively reinforced flooding. It works pretty good. But don't rely exclusively on this. Also use target training and other methods of exclusive positive reinforcement. Pure flooding is where there is no reward for putting up with being held (or whatever) and it just forces them to deal with it. I know that positively reinforced grabbing works though and can even be desired by the parrot. I was having trouble with Kili flying away from me when she got her flight so I started rewarding her for letting me grab her, so now she walks or leans into my hand when I reach for her because she wants to be grabbed. So just make sure that if you use flooding, that you apply it slowly and make it super rewarding so that the parrot would have no regrets and even look forward to being grabbed.

[budgiebuddy]

yeah i will do that i think you explained it way better than i did

[alight15]

Actually, I did this whenever i needed to hold him for something;releasing only when he'd calm after I'm done,along with a treat; but I have a different method I've been using lately.

I've been trying to give him head rubs and pets,but he doesnt like it,thought he rubs his head on me if I've been holding him for a while.

So,to get him used to my extended fingers and hands above his head,I've been doing this at random:
Touch closest wing, next his wing,his back or his tail,;one of the previous spots I havent touched yet, then either his beak, chest or head, then the rest of the spot i didnt touch.

I did this cause I've been kinda kissing his back sometimes,and recently I found I can nuzzle his back,or neck and even his head with the tip of my nose without protest, and once he even returned the nuzzle by grabbing my nose with his foot and rubbing his head against my nose when I held him to my face.

The progress isnt so good,as he's now rubbing his head on my fingers,and nails especially which ever nail he sees as the longest; 'even used my fingerprints against his cere ,but he's still skittish when I'm trying to start petting him. Because of this, whenever I need to hold him,I've been giving him a quick double pat/pet on his head, when he's calm, before letting go,and hes allowed that more so that not and remained calm before being released.(It depends on why I needed to hold him to begin with)

[RichL001]

So, In general, is it a good idea to use this method to get the bird to trust you?

I remember when i got my cockatiel Rocky, he wasnt hand reared and was scared of me when he was at home, and it seemed to take ages!! for him to like me, but now i cant even remember what i did to make him be friendly towards me. Im trying to remember so that i can do the same with Jeeves my Senegal Parrot.

He flaps about when i put my hand in the cage but when ive got hold of him and have him in my hands he calms down and enjoys me rubbing his head, but as soon as i let him go he flaps about again, so would this method of picking him up until he relaxes and then putting him back down again be a good idea to do with Jeeves? im not able to feed him a treat as he will not take any food from my hand, but would putting him back down count as a treat?, or should i give put a piece of apple in his cage after or something?

Help!!

[spiritpaw]

I think this is a last resort method if you are trying to tame a bird, and ushually uneccsary if you have alot of patience and are willing to work with positive reinforcement for weeks and yes somtimes months. But the bond is worth it. Try the target training then move to step up. Or are you just trying to get youre already tamed bird to let you pet him? becuase then yes this would be similar to how to do that. just do very lil touches and scritches with something majorily reinforcing. I did this with rhea who is of a speicies that dosent enjoy much touching even from each other. Food wasent gona cut it for him so his reward for just letting me stroke a wing for a quick second is a kissy noise that makes me look really stupid, but it is the only thing reinforcing enough for him, to give me the reinforcement of mammilian, cuddles.