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Basics of Parrot Taming and Training - Complete Guide

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Re: Basics of Parrot Taming and Training - Complete Guide

Postby khellvine » Fri Jul 15, 2016 8:38 am

How exactly can i achieve a strong bond with the bird then?
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khellvine
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Re: Basics of Parrot Taming and Training - Complete Guide

Postby Pajarita » Fri Jul 15, 2016 10:30 am

It is not through touching their bodies that you achieve a good bond with them (you are thinking dogs, cats, horses) As a matter of fact, people should never touch their birds anywhere else but on their heads, necks and cheeks. The rest of the body is a 'no touch' zone although, most of them (not all, mind you) would have no problem whatsoever with you touching them anywhere if it's bonded to you and trusts you implicitly.

You bond by spending hours and hours and hours with them in their own terms. You let them out of the cage (you don't push them to come out, you just open the door and walk back) and talk, sing, whistle, offer them a treat every now and then and, basically, just keep them company. All parrots are highly social and naturally affectionate so, before you know it, they will be approaching you for closeness and, when this happens, training them is easy. But, for training to be really effective, you need to identify a high value item to use as the reward.
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Re: Basics of Parrot Taming and Training - Complete Guide

Postby Wolf » Sat Jul 16, 2016 11:10 am

Use the method that I described to you in the PM's, where I described starting off with talking to them and offering them a treat and letting them come to you all the way through to allowing them to step up for you of their own free will.

I gave you that in response to your question about stepping up, but you should also spend many hours each day in their presence both in and out of their cage just hanging out with them so to speak. This also gives them the opportunity to get accustomed to you and to watch you and it provides additional chances for them to come to you on their own. Petting a bird should be limited to their head, neck and beaks otherwise the only thing that you are doing is getting them sexually aroused which is not what you want to do.

No one knows exactly how a parrot choose who to bond with or exactly when they begin the bonding process, but from my observations, in most cases it seems to begin when the parrot become familiar enough with you so that it is no longer afraid of you and then begins to trust you enough to start coming to you even just a little. Every thing that you do with a parrot needs to have trust as its basis because without this trust the bird will always try to avoid any interaction with you. This is something that must be given freely by the bird, it can be encouraged but it can not be forced and this is why you must allow the bird the opportunity to make its own mind up. It is one of the primary reasons for never chasing a bird about or trapping the bird to make it step up for you. If the bird does not do what it is requested to do, then you simply wait a short time and ask again.

Please take the time to look over the rest of the forum as there is a lot of very useful information to be had. Also you will find that you will probably get more responses to your questions if they are asked in the main body of the forum. We have several very knowledgeable members that watch the post just waiting for the chance to help you with your birds and to answer your questions.
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Re: Basics of Parrot Taming and Training - Complete Guide

Postby Megschristina » Thu May 09, 2019 9:21 pm

I have a IRN that is 5-6 months old. Should I use force and reconcile or the other slower method?
He was hand raised but only was tame to the person who hand raised him
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Re: Basics of Parrot Taming and Training - Complete Guide

Postby Michael » Thu May 09, 2019 9:23 pm

Slow and steady and targeting is always the safer method. However in cases where the bird is pretty relaxed and not too scared to just be pulled out of the cage, the training goes much quicker when done on a training perch instead of in the cage.
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Michael
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Re: Basics of Parrot Taming and Training - Complete Guide

Postby Pajarita » Fri May 10, 2019 8:56 am

What you call 'force and reconcile' is a flooding technique, something that became obsolet years ago and is no longer recommended for training. It works in the short term but backfires in the long and, for an IRN, it's even worse because they are not birds that bond deeply to humans, only to their own species so it behooves you to follow the right advice: go SLOOOOOWWWW. Easy does it when it comes to parrots,
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Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Flight: Yes

Re: Basics of Parrot Taming and Training - Complete Guide

Postby Ardaoz » Thu Oct 10, 2019 7:23 am

Will it affect the 2 month old fledged and flighted hahns macaw detrimentally if he is clipped in order to train him to step up? He is currently with the amateur breeder and he is asking permission to clip his wings because he is flying away when trying to train him. I'd rather he did not clip his wings. What would you advise?
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Re: Basics of Parrot Taming and Training - Complete Guide

Postby Michael » Thu Oct 10, 2019 8:27 am

Someone has to be terribly inexperienced to have to clip a baby macaws wings in order to train them... probably best to avoid this breeder entirely.
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Michael
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Re: Basics of Parrot Taming and Training - Complete Guide

Postby Pajarita » Thu Oct 10, 2019 9:12 am

Sheesh! Yes, I am 100% with Michael! This person has no idea what he/she is doing! Babies NEVER fly away from the parent (because that's what you become when you are hand-raising a baby) so if this little baby (ONLY 2 MONTHS!!!) is flying away, this person is doing something VERY WRONG! To start with and without knowing anything about this individual, I can tell you that he/she knows nothing about training because you NEVER train a little baby (it's like somebody teaching table manners to a 1 year old baby!). Babies don't need training, they step up on their own because they love being with momma. Besides that, you need a high value item as reward for training and babies should always be fed and never hungry so, if this person is trying to train, he/she is also creating an eating disorder in the baby that will last its whole life (there are studies that tell us this).

We REALLY need to start regulating parrot breeding because there are all these ignorant people breeding and producing birds with issues... Then the owners don't know why their adult bird has behavior or eating problems and it all goes back to the breeder who had no business breeding in the first place.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18697
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Basics of Parrot Taming and Training - Complete Guide

Postby linoay649 » Mon Nov 25, 2019 9:26 am

Hey, I just bought a 12-week old green cheek conure and i was wondering how I should start training him. He is already a custom to being touched and is somewhat okay with being pet. He doesn't know how to step on a finger yet but if I go near him he usually gets on me. What is the best way to start training him to step up? Thank you!
linoay649
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Types of Birds Owned: Budgerigar, Green Cheek Conure,
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