trying to get my blue fronted amazon to accept me.

[Polarn]

I did use the word accept since thats basicly what you are doing to begin with when taming, is to get the bird to accept you well enough to be able to start building bonds.
Thought I would start a thread and try keep it updated to as what we do and any progress he might do, I wanna start the thread for two reasons, one being, well I just have to spill my happiness somewhere. the second being others, you fellas, that has tamed birds before might have tips and tricks that I am not even thinking about.

Anyways short about Polarn, he is born in June this year, so dont want to put him on a training diet or something, well I am but thats more excluding something he likes from the food in his bowl, rather than removing the bowl when it is not time to eat thingie. So I've decided atleast for now to not treat him to any peanuts or apple in the bowls, becouse he seems to enjoy these quite a lot. Anyways, he just got to me last sunday, so he has been here for 4 full days now. He is raised by his parents and hasn't had any real handling while he was a baby, good or bad, his bowls has bin refilled and the cage cleaned thats about any interaction he has had. so being allowed to get right next to the cage without him being upset or intimidated was solved during the first evening, during day 1 and 2 I tried to get him to see that my hand brought him treats by placing treats on his perches and wait for him to go get it, and doing this moving closer and closer to him each time i placed em until I was able to touch his feet and place it right next to him, if he backed off and didnt let me touch his foot, I would take the treat away again and try it again in a few minutes. yesterday I was allowed to rub his lower tummy gently before giving him the treat straight from the hand.
Today I had a minor setback, he hasn't bin climbing down to the lower perch to eat or drink from the bowls or use his bath, he loves the spraybottle tho. so I decided to remove his upper perch, forcing him to sit next to the bowls, I did this as he was out flying in the room, he has bin out for several hours each day. and when he returned to the cage he imidietly went to the bowl and did eat and drink and after about an hour he was bathing
Note: he has bin eating since the first day he arrived, just that ive had to place the food onto his upper perch in order for him to take it, same with water.

all in all removing the upper perch seemed like a good idea, he seemed to accept sitting lower, the cage doesnt look as fun since you barely see him behind the bowls and stuffs when he is sitting on the perch, but he still climbs up and down the ropes and playes with his toys. The minor setback I had today was after the perch was removed, all of a sudden he would become skittish once i opened the cage and entered. and I was no longer allowed to give him treats, through the bars or inside the cage or even place em on the perch with him staying put, something i was allowed todo straight off in the morning. feeding him straight from my hands with long slices of apple and gently touch his tummy.
Now just 30 minutes ago he was still fluffed up when i got up to the cage, so i decided to place my hand right beside him on the bars outside of the cage, this made him look streamlined and he was stretching, and well you know how they look like when getting anxiouse, i kept my hand there he didnt walk off and within 2 minutes he fluffed up again, so i clicked and gave him a treat, I then spent about 15 minutes doing this getting closer and closer, still outside the bars, I started to touch his beak while giving him the treat (no longer long strips of apples, but tiny tiny peices of peanut so that he actually had to get his beak in between my fingers to take it, something i so far hasn't bin allowed to treat him with couse he hasnt dared to take it) but moving further and further up with one finger on the side of his beak, i eventually got to the point where i was allowed to gently touch his neck without him even trying to bite or back away, becosue he now knows that when i get to touch him i click and reward.
So the minor setback i felt when removing his perch and he seemed to feel unfonftible being lower with me inside the cage as i entered now seems as if it didnt matter to much, he seems happier when alone in the cage having everything in reach, more space to jump around swinging ropes. But the feeling of being allowed to gently pet your bird for the first time behind the head without him seeming to unconftible with it is worth having had to spend a day opening and closing the cagedoor and rewardning him when allowed todo this without him flinging around again.
So tomorrow when i proceed working with him i hope i can extend the time he actually allows me to hold his beak or stroking his neck before clicking and treating. and hopefully be allowed inside the cage and do the same.

Im starting to feel as if I'm writing an essay.. but kinda wanted to give a little bit of background backtracking the days he has been here. if you have any questions or suggestions or comments or anything feel free to post.

PS! this is the first time I actually attempt handling a untamed bird, the birds my family had when I grew up were alrdy tame when I was born. and ive been helping out with parrots before with behavor issues such as biting but all of the friends who has had parrots biting their fingers has actually had parrots that do know what a treat is and that you get it for doing what is wanted, so its basicly just been beeing there to give another face and person for the parrot to train these things with in order to get them to accept company and not become "one-person birdies".

[Polarn]

ok, so i decided yesterday to not make me handling him a negative experience so I didnt want to life Polarn back into his cage, especially since he doesnt step up yet so if I were to get him into the cage to sleep in it I would have to force him but grabbing him over his back and lift him in... so i placed some treats in the cage... He didn't go into his cage yesterday well not before I went to bed, so i decided to let him sleep on his perch outside of the cage, to get him to enter his cage volunterely... But for as long as i was awake he was still sitting outside of his cage, however when i woke up this morning i sat inside the cage sleeping, so i decided to leave the cage open until he woke up and went outside again.
So when he woke up he took a little flight around in here and then after about an hour he went back into the cage for a bath. so i decided to close the cage then. and after about another hour I opened the cage and left the door open. he was still occupied in his cage with his toys for about 10 minutes before he went out for a flight again. And now he seems more willing to go into the cage to drink, eat and bath than he previously has been.

I do have a question tho, is there any issues that might make him behave weird or something by letting him sleep outside of the cage them nights he don't wanna go in?
meaning, would it be better for his health, mental or fysical, to have me grab him and lift him in to the cage?

My guess is they might start showing dominant behavior, but I'm also guessing the risk of this is bigger if you try lure him into the cage and he kinda wins over you by you giving up, what I am talking about is basicly leaving the cagedoor open and have him enter and exit as he pleases? as of right now he is locked inside the cage, but he doesnt show a need to get out, he kinda occupies himself with the windchime thingie, alternating with eating drinking and bathing.

[liz]

I have a blue front, Myrtle, who came to me in poor condition. She stayed in her cage for a year - never made any noise - lived on water ond seed. She was scared half to death by a grey and was mentally on shaky ground. I put her little cage in the middle of the dining room table and opened the door. It took a while but she came out and hung around her cage. She has progressed into a beautiful, intelligent, loving and social bird.

For lack of something better I gave her a tree branch in a Christmas tree stand. She claimed it and sleeps on it every night. When it started getting cooler I tried to get her to sleep someplace warmer but it did not work. I clipped a paper grocery bag on an upward perch that is attached to a horizontal perch. Now she sleeps in her bag every night.

As long as your bird sleeps in the same place every night I see no harm. In the same place means if there is an emergency you will be able to find it fast.

It sounds like your baby is happy and well adjusted. Mine only use their cages to keep their stuff in.

[Polarn]

thanks for the reply liz, and yeah I dont mind him sleeping ontop of his cage or on his branch (previousely called it a perch, but he has no smooth perches. everything he has to sit on it cut down trees and branches. And I always close my bedroom door when sleeping so Polarn can't really get too far off so should be easy enough to find him if there is something here that happens.

I've red somewhere that when they get sexually mature they can get to sexual about you if they can see your bed while your sleeping or something like that, but that will have to be a later problem if it occurs. I kinda live in a crowded house .. hrm. like a hippie collective.. part from the singing and weed we dedicate our time to horseback riding and bringing "city kids" out to spend some time with our animals horses, hen, goats primarily.. also some bunnies and cats ... and dogs around
So atleast for now I have claimed my bedroom to be mine and Polarns, atleast until he is stepping up and willing to walk with me around the house and might not be disturbed by the dogs. but thats all for the future

[liz]

Okay - I picked up on weed. You don't think pot fumes have an effect on your bird????

[Polarn]

Think you misunderstood my post. I coompared my living situation tho that of hippies except that we are NOT using weed. Just live in a collective.