Is is hard to tame a 3years old bird

[Cozzy]

Recently, a local parrot shop has a 3 years old meyer's and the bird has been sitting in the cace since the day it came from south africa.....
By now after 3 years in the cage. Is it sill possilbe to hand tame or train it easily?

[pchela]

It is possible to hand tame it but it won't be easy. It will take lots of time and patience but in the end could be very rewarding.

[Cozzy]

Does anyone have any experience in taming such bird, all my 3 birds went to my home in fairly young stage......3-4 months
Is there any different in taming young bird and old bird?

[issy]

I got my Rainbow Lorikeet (Sheldon) when he was a year old.

He was a bred aviary bird and had no human contact before I got him. I think it depends on when the bird trust's you enough, it has taken me about half a year to completely hand tame Sheldon.

[pchela]

I would start by finding a treat that he likes. Offer it to him from your hand through the cage bars at first. If he takes it use a bridge like a clicker or the word good immediately. Continue with this until eventually you can get him to take it out of the cage or through the open cage door and then eventually he may step onto your hand for the treat. It's just a long process of positive reinforcement training. Also, spend time talking or singing to the bird and generally making it clear that you are not a threat. 3 years old is still a very young bird so I think it would be reasonable to assume that this bird can be tamed fairly quickly.

[bmsweb]

Have a look at the Thread Michael wrote on taming and getting your bird out of the cage
http://theparrotforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=227

My budgies and Cockatiel were all young birds but in no way tame. My cockatiel managed to bite me hard enough to cause bleeding . . and yes it hurt like hell. Taming these birds was pretty straight forward as I basically followed Michaels steps.

I now have 2 Green Check Conures which I've purchased for breeding, but I still wanted to tame them as I like to take my birds out of the cage for cleaning up the cage etc and I didn't want to do this and stress the birds. Both birds were in the 18 month to 24 month range and never been handled by people. I still followed Michaels steps and they now tolerate me and will step up etc I must say it was a lot more work with these two birds than it was with the younger birds but it is still possible.

I suggest reading Michaels thread twice to make sure you understand it and I'm sure you will get there.

[Cozzy]

If the same skills of taming young birds apply, than I think I should be able to do it.

I had a closer look at the bird yesterday, the bird is quite claim, when I walked to the cage, he still stay quite clam.

As this is most likely to be the last chance to get a meyers, becasue in HK there is only one importer and they are not going to import any meyers anymore, as noone is willing to buy them.

This brid was the last one on the market. I will go to the store on saturday and try to hand feed him from the cage and see how it goes.

What should I look for when purchasing an older bird.

[pchela]

Same as with baby birds, you want to make sure the nares are clear and the vent is not soiled. Also look for bright, alert eyes and smooth feathers. Just basic signs of health.

[Cozzy]

I am sure the bird is in good health, but not sure if I am albe to tame him.