Need a little bit of help

[Taz93]

Hey peeps,

So Taz my Major mitchells cockatoo is a Big sook in his cage, he lets me scratch him, pat him all over his body, under the wings and beak, whilst giving the cutest baby like cry (he still nips every now and then tho when he's not in the mood) not really territorial at all. But as soon as i let him out of the cage onto the bed its like he's all of a sudden scared of me, generally he'll walk away or back up when i go to touch him (he's not scared of my hand near him, i just can't touch him) ive been trying Michaels method (finding his discomfort zone, pushing it a little, waiting till he calms down, remove discomfort, then reward) but it doesn't appear to be working, its hard to find his discomfort zone because one minute he'll let me scratch him on the side of the head (only for the tinyest amount of time, i reward him for this) before backing up, then next minute he wont even let me touch him before he backs up or walks away (i try to predict when he's going to back up so i can stop my hand before he does but it doesn't work, he'll still just walk away (talk about frustrating lol), he will however let me give him a good scratch but ONLY when he's tired or just sitting there doing nothing. Ive been trying this method for a few days now with minimal progress. Is it true that trick training helps strengthen the bond?

If theres any questions u'd like to ask please feel free to ask as i really want him to be tame outside the cage. He does know step up (still mastering it) but doesn't know target training yet. He's only 4 months old, ive had him for 12 days (and yes i know this isnt very long but id like to hear some tips so i can work on it in the comming weeks) i know it takes alot of patience but it just doesn't feel like were getting anywhere. The breeder told me that he used to come up under his chin all the time for scratches and cuddles.

Thanks in advance for ur help, would really appreciate it

[terri]

Your bird is gorgeous!!! Hope I come across right. Im always amazed at how long it takes a bird to settle in [even just weaned ones] .My average with my birds [I started paying attention] is you start seeing a change in about 2 months.I would work on building your birds trust first then.Like having your in and out of cage time and trying to handle him .But I would let him call the shots and let him be curious about you.So keep things structured but let your relationship develop before you jump into the other training.

[friend2parrots]

Im always amazed at how long it takes a bird to settle in [even just weaned ones] .My average with my birds [I started paying attention] is you start seeing a change in about 2 months.I would work on building your birds trust first then.Like having your in and out of cage time and trying to handle him .But I would let him call the shots and let him be curious about you.So keep things structured but let your relationship develop before you jump into the other training.

+ 1

it does take a long time for birds to adjust to their new homes. sounds like yours is comfortable with his cage, but not the room outside of it yet. i agree with terri that it sounds like he needs some time to settle down in his new home.

[Taz93]

Thankyou

Yeh the only things ive taught him is target training (started about 2 days ago) he's already quite good with that and step up. I wasn't going to teach him anything else until he fully settles down and becomes more used to me. He will let me pat him most of the time when he's on top of his cage and when he's on my hand, its just when he's on the bed that he doesn't like being touched. Now im concentrating on earning his trust away from his cage (by the way the bed is in a different room to the cage). Thanks for the tips, hopefully ill see a change in him in another month or 2

I actually bought this really good book that talks about clicker training and different types of behaviours like biting and being afraid etc, it talks about how to overcome these problems with ur bird via clicker training and positive reinforcement. Its helped me alot so far

[terri]

Sounds like your on the right track.Just to be aware most young birds nip [and it does hurt].The best way for that to get better .Is learn your bird and dont let him do it .You will learn his body language.