Confused dot com

[viki]

Im a new owner of a beautiful named skittles. Iv been having difficulty gaining the trust of my baby. Myself and my boyfriend bought him together from a man with an aviary. We picked him because he old us he sold a sene to a shop we regulary went to visit before deciding on a sene. but he was very expensiv and we wer offered a lower price for a ird whos a year old. When we went to see him his aviary was lovely, clean and all the birds seemed friendly enough although none were hand rared. But ours had been living wth another family who hand rared him after birth. Our baby seemed very quiet and good. he climbed on the mans arm and didnt bite him he even gave him a little cuddle alhough he had just been on a 2 hour drive to get to the aivary.
so we thought he was definately used to people.
But once we got him home he was scared. which waas expected. A week later he was as bad, and we rang the man up for advise. He also told us he wouldnt sell him to us without clipping which i wasnt happy about. so he clipped on one side, he has a little flight. but not full. I only agreed because i was happy with the price and hopeful theyd grow back and hed regain full flight.
But back to my point. Im into my 3rd week now and there doesnt seem to be any progress, sometimes we feel wev made some but the he attacks us or he makes warning signals at us even when were across he room. Although when we leav the room or sometimes when we open the door to leav he whistles and screams to call us back. But even if we turn to talk to him he makes more warning signals.
So the bird is confusing me.
But not only that but iv been reading Micheals blog and iv noticed everything he says seems to be the opposite to the guy we call for advice. such as clipping him, such as spraying with with water for scrathing himself too much (which i dont do, i want him to like water) and putting him away in his cage for being bold (i also felt it was wrong because i felt he should see being in his cage as punnishment but as bed time and his secure place).
He has also told me to put the food in his cage in the morning, after he eats take it out and dont give him more until night. But im afraid encase hes too hungry. Is he wrong or right?
Can anyone tell me what they did to show their bird they can trust them. Iv been bitten too often now, and am fighting the fear of him.

PLEASE HELP, I'm desperated

[sidech]

First, please go get him clipped properly. You can't have just one wing clipped. Both wings have to have an equal amount of feathers clipped, if not the birds will hurt himself because he's unbalanced.

Next, you need to take your time with this bird. Don't expect everything to happen overnight. At firts, leave him in his cage, or let him come out, but only on his own term. Sit next to him, talk to him, read outloud, just make sure he gets used to you. Slowly, he will be more curious of you. You can then start to offer petting where he likes it, such as the beak, or front. Go very slowly, and don't push anything. Wait until he asks for it almost.

You have a lifetime to build a relationship. There is no rush. It is not unusual to take a whole month to build trust. It took me 3 weeks with Jazz, and he was a baby.

Ands as far as food is concerned, I personnally don't believe in witholding food from a bird. Mine gets at least 3 bowls with different foods at all times. You don't have to go that far, but he should always have something to munch on. Especially now that you're trying to build the trust, you don't want him to be anxious about eating.

Good luck !

[GlassOnion]

Sounds like the man doesn't know what he's talking about. I wouldn't listen to him.
Yes, definitely get both wings clipped- birds NEED balance in their wings just like we need equal lengths in our legs for balance.

Don't push him, you're getting bitten because you're forcing him what he doesn't like. Best way to deal with a parrot when it comes down to biting, is to NOT get bitten in the first place. If he doesn't want to be touched, don't touch him. Parrots are not dogs, and do not respond to punishment or dominance.

Also, if he's screaming, don't go to him. Wait until he's quiet before you go to him. Otherwise, you're gonna teach him to scream whenever he wants attention. Teaching birds a bad habit is extremely easy, correcting a behavioural problem is excruciatingly difficult and wearing.

I'd let him settle for a while, and start target training with a clicker and a stick from inside the cage.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I agree with the clipping issue -- one wing clipped is kind of the worst of all worlds. You get uncontrollable flight. Ideally a clipped bird should be able to land in a controlled way but not get a significant distance. I'm not the norm here, but I actually think starting out with him clipped isn't such a bad thing. It will help him stay safer while you are learning about having a bird in your home, and you can always let the flights grow in.

As for the tameness, I think starting with Michael's basic from-scratch taming instructions isn't a bad plan. Go slow, you have all the time in the world. What you want is to teach your bird that it's nice to be with you. Putting him away when he misbehaves is only effective if he'd rather be with you, and if he's doing it because he wants to be left alone, it will actually reinforce the behavior you don't want. Think more in terms of rewarding him for what you want than trying to make behavior you don't want stop. You can worry about the latter when you have a solid basis for interaction.

The kindest thing I can think to say about the seller of the bird, based on your description, is that he's woefully out of date in his approach. Hopefully he did sell you a healthy bird with no serious ingrained behavior problems. Has the bird been to the vet for a checkup? This is a good idea with a new bird, and you could get the wings evened up while you were there. It does cost some money, and I'm guessing you may live somewhere where access to a vet with avian experience is limited.

[viki]

thanks all of u guys for all the advise....made me feel more at ease...so far it seems to be every second day. 2 days ago he loved me and was begging to b petted and begging for me to take him around the house so he could explore and when he saw something he wasnt sure of he cuddled close to me which i loved because it seemed he trused me rather then flying away like usual.
But then yesterday when i let him out after an hour of makin warning signals, and i only talked to him from the other side of the room, he flew at me to attack me. Today he seems happy talkin and chatting and rocking left and right. so funny to watch. but im afraid to let him out today untill my boyfriends home encase he attacks me again.
will go to vet a the weekend, still haven been able to find one, if i cant get one by sunday ill go to the man we bought him off soe can clip him so at least thats fixed and fingers crossed everythings good.
Thanks for all yer help, so glad i joined here and got my facts straight.
Ill be sure to let ye know