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Parrots scared of toys?

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Re: Parrots scared of toys?

Postby GMV » Fri Jul 25, 2014 6:36 pm

my GCC is scared of everything, even his training wand and clicker. i just let them stay in his cage for a while, the next day hes fine with it.
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Re: Parrots scared of toys?

Postby Pajarita » Sat Jul 26, 2014 11:50 am

No, no, no placing scary objects in their cage. For one thing, it's plain cruel (how would you like it if somebody locked you in a small room with something you feared?), for another, this is called flooding and it's frowned upon and never recommended. You can get them used to objects they fear but it should be done gradually and at the bird's pace so you place the object far away from the bird's cage for a few days and, when you see the bird doesn't even react to it any longer, move it a couple of inches closer and leave it there until, again, the bird doesn't even notice it anymore, then another couple of inches closer, etc. until you can put it next to their cage and they don't react. When you put a scary object in their cage you are stressing them out something terrible and forcing the bird to accept your will over theirs. Not good. Stress kills birds by depressing their immune system and shortening the part of the DNA that determines how long they will live. And forcing them to accept something they don't want to is not a firm basis for a relationship of mutual respect (how can the bird trust you when you are doing things that scare him?).
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Re: Parrots scared of toys?

Postby Matt Alyk » Wed Dec 10, 2014 11:12 pm

Lily was EXTREMELY jumpy about everything I introduced to her, including a target stick (for some reason, if the stick was yellow she would run right up to it. If it was raw wood, she would retreat to the corner of the cage). I eventually learned to have her introduce herself to then. I would place her a couple of feet from the object, than I would play with it myself and act very interested. After some time, she would come over to check it out with me. That seemed to work quite well. I would guess that if you had more than one parrot, and one wasn't scared of the toy, have the timid one watch then react with it.
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Re: Parrots scared of toys?

Postby Matt Alyk » Wed Dec 10, 2014 11:15 pm

Also, take a few days and have the item far enough from the cage so they don't feel threatened, but close enough so they can see it. After a few days they might be a little "desensitized" to it, so getting them to check it out might be a bit easier. Remember, all at the parrot's pace. Rushing is never advised in training.
Little light, lead us through the night, and if we die, burn down the forest.
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Re: Parrots scared of toys?

Postby liz » Thu Dec 11, 2014 12:18 pm

Matt Alyk wrote:Also, take a few days and have the item far enough from the cage so they don't feel threatened, but close enough so they can see it. After a few days they might be a little "desensitized" to it, so getting them to check it out might be a bit easier. Remember, all at the parrot's pace. Rushing is never advised in training.


Good response.
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Re: Parrots scared of toys?

Postby Matt Alyk » Thu Dec 11, 2014 5:20 pm

liz wrote:
Matt Alyk wrote:Also, take a few days and have the item far enough from the cage so they don't feel threatened, but close enough so they can see it. After a few days they might be a little "desensitized" to it, so getting them to check it out might be a bit easier. Remember, all at the parrot's pace. Rushing is never advised in training.


Good response.

Thanks, but I just realized I'm two years late :lol:
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