by nerdybird » Fri Aug 08, 2014 2:33 am
I've had my parrotlet Zelda for a little over two weeks now. She came from a home where she was never let out of her (never cleaned) cage, but she's under two years old so she's adjusting quickly.
I tried target/clicker training her once she was comfortable with me, but she wasn't quite comfortable with the environment yet. A couple days ago however she suddenly wanted to play for the first time. In the last three days she's learned that the chopstick end = millet, and now she's obsessed! She will walk all over the table, fly to my hand or knee, in and out of the cage to get to that stick. When I try to put it away, behind my back, etc. she just cranes her neck or digs under wherever I've tried to hide it. She was already stepping up, most of the time, but this is helping her response time.
Other than target training I'm working on improving her flight skills. Her wings were clipped by her breeder but not since. She can fly but is still a bit awkward, and she has trouble going down. She is also still very nervous about me touching her feet, back, etc., although she is hand tame otherwise and loves head scratches or to sit under my neck in a scarf. I'd like to eventually get her as tame as your birds, where she can be handled easily and is relaxed. I haven't seen/heard about any parrotlets becoming that hand tame, but I'm going to try.
Thank you so much for these excellent training articles! When I was considering getting a bird this website was immensely useful, by far the best resource I've found for training/bonding. If I hadn't found this website I may not have had the confidence to even get a bird. Can't wait to get your book!