White Capped Pionus Taming HELP!

[scottcol]

I have a 7 month old pionus that was hand fed as a baby but was taken to his first home at 3 months old. He then was put in a small cage and forgotten about until I saw a ad on Craigslist for a "parrot that needs a new home" I called the lady and talked, I set up a time to come meet the little guy....

Now, I have a 4 year old SI Eclectus female that was hand fed by the breeder until she was on one feeding a day and then I finished her weening. She had a tough time getting used to people and liked to bite. But over time she came out of her shell and is now the perfect parrot. She was easy to train because she is a big bird and is slow (especially as a baby).

Where im having problems is with the pionus. I went to the ladies house and the poor guy was in a cat carrier (I think she might have sold the cage but could not sell the bird) i open the door and tried to get him out. WHAM! he bit down so hard and would not let go. I know not to jerk back and to not make a scene because that just reinforces that behavior. I brought him home and put him in his 25x25x64" inch cage and covered him for the night. The next morning i uncovered him and decided to take him out. i was able to catch him but it is not easy as he is speedy. After a hour of sitting on the couch with me holding him on my arm and my arm against my chest he will settle down and let me scratch his head. We now do this for about 45 min twice a day. If i put him on my finger he jumps off to my chest and tries to get away. I''m not sure what to do. and he will not eat out of his cage, I was wondering if there was anyone out there with Pionus experience. How do i begin to gain his trust. I am not afraid of him and i dont think he is afraid of me. he will sit by me all day and let me look at him eye to eye when he is on his play top. he runs when he sees my hand.

Any help is appreciated. I have all the time in the world for my new little buddy. I just want to do it the right way. I don't think the method i used with Emma my Eclectus will work because I didn't hand feed him like i did with her. and he is very very fast. I usually have to catch him by grabbing him in my palm. At least now he deasnt bite me about 80% of the time.

[thegreatkatsby]

wow, i come from a similar background (experience with a larger, slower parrot), and have the same problems with my new fid (also a white-capped pionus!).

Pi doesn't seem to want to do anything with me except (1) watch me do things, and (2) occasionally hang out--but on HIS terms. i found his breeder online, and she told me that the previous owner returned him to her once for re-training because of his defiant refusal to "step up". personally, i find him to be rather shy compared to other birds that i have had experience with, and i'm happy to let him hang out on top of his cage if that's what he wants to do. if he flies off the cage, he has no trouble stepping up onto my hand, but once he's within a 3-4 foot radius of his cage he flutters off of me and back onto the cage. i only get bitten if i chase him around the top of the cage with my hand, which i realize i probably shouldn't do anyhow. once in a while he will step up if i ask authoritatively... but there's no rhyme or reason to it, and sometimes i just get nipped for being too pushy. his previous owner (between the person who bought him from the breeder and me... i.e. whoever surrendered him to the humane society) apparently let him fly around freely all day, and provided no routine or structure for his days--so when I adopted him he wasn't used to routine or living in a cage. additionally, from what i've read, i am lead to believe the species tends to have a rather independent streak to it.

in my situation, i'm just going to give him time and space to figure out his confidence, and keep working with him every day to encourage him to step up, and reward him when he does (with praise, since he doesn't seem to be food motivated at all). i'd be interested to hear if anyone else has any experience that might prove insightful?

[scottcol]

Thank you for your reply. He is making noticeable progress every day. I am now able to get him to step up to my finger as long as he is not inside his cage. He will sit on me and watch tv with me as long as I let him decide where he sits. He still will not eat from my hand but I think that will take time.

Last night he fell asleep under my chin as I scratched his head. He doesn't seem to like perching on my finger for any amount of time. He jumps to my chest and then flutters up to my shoulder.

[scottcol]

wow, i come from a similar background (experience with a larger, slower parrot), and have the same problems with my new fid (also a white-capped pionus!).

How long have you had you Pi. Ive only had mine for 3 weeks. I adopted him from a lady that was about to give the bird back to the breeder she purchased him from. who was going to sell him again, as a breeder bird.

The first week I had him he was very agitated and nervous. He would chomp down on my finger very hard. every bite would be even harder than the last. and would not let go. He would bite any time my hand was near him. He never chased my hand or anything. It was mostly a running away from the hand thing. And once I caught him he would yell and bite down and not stop. I was able to curb this behavior. I began to take him out of the cage by opening the door and leading him towards the door with my hand behind him, and then I could get him on my hand from the top of the cage, sometimes he would step up other times I have had to force him to step up.

From the cage I would then go to another room where I would sit down and hold him against my chest in my palm. He would be making a lot of noise at first, but after a few min he would quiet and stop struggling. and after about 10 min he would stay there without my hand on him. Recently he began to let me scratch his head neck and back.

After 2 weeks he began to show interest in stepping up, just not from inside his cage. He will step up from his playtop about 50% of the time. If the cage door is open he may try to run back in. If I carry him away from his cage and stay standing up he will step up repeatedly from index finger to index finger.

His biting has almost gone away. The only time I got bit in the past 5 days was when he was perched on my index finger. He reached down and nibbled on my thumb but it was not a aggressive bit. (didn't hurt).