Greetings from Washington state!

[Wyrmsroost]

Hi! My name is Tanya, and I have always had a passion for birds. Last month I picked up my first parrot, a 7 year old Quaker named Oakley who's previous owner couldn't find the time a parrot needs to socialize and play, and she decided it was time to write an add on Craigslist

Oakley's a sweet bird, and after a rocky start involving many, many bites being delivered to my hands and arms we've started a decent friendship. I'll rub his beak, head, and neck, and he'll groom my arms and hands in return.

Due to his previous neglect he's not comfortable being touched anywhere else, though, and that's a problem for several reasons, and why I've joined the board!

[Wolf]

Welcome to the forum to both you and Oakley.
I think that if you had approached this from a different perspective that you could have easily avoided many of the bites that you have received and I worry that your approach thus far is still on the cusp of a major backfire. Also if you were to stop and consider that the only place on a birds body that is not an erogenous zone is their head, neck and beak, then you would know that touching and petting them elsewhere is sexually stimulating the bird and as such is inappropriate touching and should not be done.

[Pajarita]

Welcome Tanya and Oakley!

Wolf is correct. The only places where it's acceptable to touch a parrot are his head, neck, nape, cheeks and feet so if you are already doing this, you are good and do not need to make him used to been touched anywhere else.

Now, I don't mean to be too pushy or imply you don't know what you are doing but Quakers are one of my very favorite species of parrots because they come from my country of birth and it seems to be common for people to think they are tropical or semi-tropical birds. They are not. They come from the temperate zone in South America and because of this, you can't keep them at a human schedule, they really, really, really need to be kept at a solar one.

[liz]

Parrot proof a room and let him out to fly. You will be giving him freedom to do what he is suppose to do and it is great exersize.

[Wyrmsroost]

I think that if you had approached this from a different perspective that you could have easily avoided many of the bites that you have received and I worry that your approach thus far is still on the cusp of a major backfire.

That's one of my concerns. I haven't had anyone to teach me a proper approach, so I made due with what I knew, which as a novice is very little. The majority of the bites he's given me were either in or around his cage, he doesn't like anyone messing with his space. Most of the reading I did ahead of time on cage aggressive parrots didn't prepare me for the reality of the situation. He's now used to coming to my hand with a towel draped over it and he'll peacefully step up that way usually, and that's how I get him out of his cage. I want to work on being able to get him to accept my hands in his space so I can retrieve him without a towel, and change his food and water without relocating him to another room so he's not upset that I'm messing with his space, but I realize that we have a lot of trust exercises to go through together before that becomes a reality.

Also if you were to stop and consider that the only place on a birds body that is not an erogenous zone is their head, neck and beak, then you would know that touching and petting them elsewhere is sexually stimulating the bird and as such is inappropriate touching and should not be done.

The only places where it's acceptable to touch a parrot are his head, neck, nape, cheeks and feet so if you are already doing this, you are good and do not need to make him used to been touched anywhere else.

No, you are both incorrect on that matter from a medical standpoint. In the case of an accident I need to be able to examine his whole body without stressing him further- or at least minimizing further stress- and without risking bites to myself. I need to know what injuries he could have potentially sustained that would otherwise be hidden under his feathers. I also need to be able to check the condition of his skin and his vent. These are the reasons why I need my bird to be accustomed to having his whole body touched.

Also he doesn't let me touch his feet. We're working on that body part first.

EDIT: One day in the future I'd like to get him to the point where I can harness train him, another reason why I need him to be accepting of my hands all around him.

Now, I don't mean to be too pushy or imply you don't know what you are doing but Quakers are one of my very favorite species of parrots because they come from my country of birth and it seems to be common for people to think they are tropical or semi-tropical birds. They are not. They come from the temperate zone in South America and because of this, you can't keep them at a human schedule, they really, really, really need to be kept at a solar one.

Yep yep! I live in a temperate zone here in Washington and I have my bird's primary cage in a room that receives natural sunlight- but out of direct sunlight, of course. I have him out and about through the day, mostly in the afternoons, and I'm pretty strict about getting Oakley back in his cage a little before sunset so he can settle.

Parrot proof a room and let him out to fly. You will be giving him freedom to do what he is suppose to do and it is great exercise.

Right! That's something I've been meaning to get around to, actually setting his room up for him properly. I do let him out of his cage into the house every day, but only under direct supervision as parrot proofing measures have not yet been completed. It's a system that's worked well so far, as he doesn't like to be out of direct line of sight of me.

His previous owner clipped his wings, obnoxiously might I add, but he's retained his flight ability and can fly across rooms with some strain. Poor dude can't really make more than three consecutive flights before he's all tuckered out, I think he'll be a lot happier once his feathers have come back in. Speaking of which, when can I expect him to molt his flight feathers?

Here's an example of the style his wings are clipped in. The primaries in green are the ones he's had clipped, plus the second primary in yellow. He still has his leading primary feather.

[Wolf]

Well just touching and petting the bird in these places that are sexually stimulating is inappropriate and it does come with its own repercussions as you will no doubt discover in due time. I understand needing to be able to examine your birds physical conditions but in most cases unless you are a vet you would be better letting your vet do these examinations as they are stressful for the bird and usually require that the bird be toweled or otherwise restrained. If the bird has sustained much of an injury there is the likely hood that some of the injuries are internal and you will not be able to diagnose these yourself. Additionally I can visually inspect my birds quite easily while they are perched on my hand. I realize that I cant see much of the birds skin through the down feathers most of the time but if I blow on the bird I can usually see enough in most cases. I watch my birds very closely and so far I can see if they hurt someplace to any degree. Anyway, I know that I don't possess the expertise to do much more than a cursory examination of my birds to ascertain if they should see a vet or not. You may know more than I do in this area, so I will leave it alone, beyond what I have already said.

[liz]

Myrtles feet were the first place she would let me touch. Out of ignorance of body language when she showed me the bottom of her foot {to tell me stay away} I would wiggle one finger and say "tickle tickle" going to the under side of her foot. I did not touch anywhere else at that time.
Now she will fly to anyone in the house and ask for a "tickle tickle".

Rambo has a cronic foot problem and does not like his feet touched. He has watch us and now will take a tickle too.

[Pajarita]

Yes, been able to ascertain if something is wrong is very useful but you don't need to touch the bird much for that. Things that would raise a red flag would be: lethargy, lack of appetite, diarrhea, polyuria, polydipsia, change in vocalization, weakness in flight, weight loss, discharge, nares/eyes swelling, etc. All things that don't require touching it in an inappropriate way. And Wolf is correct because, for one thing, unless you have years and years and years of experience with birds (and they would have to be sick birds at that) you really cannot gain enough experience to do a thorough and informed physical exam PLUS not even avian vets can tell much from the way a bird looks, they have to rely on diagnostic tools for that (and even then it's hard!). For another, no avian vet is going to examine a bird without toweling it first so forcing it to accept been touched all over (something that is not natural to them and which triggers stress responses) and, at the same time, risking arousing it with the touch is not something that is recommended and, actually, from a medical point of view, it's quite futile. And you do not need to be able to touch the entire body of the bird to put a harness on it.

If I were you, I would not use a towel wrapped around my hand to get him to come out of his cage. I would open the cage and invite him out, instead. If he has been kept in a cage for many years without allowing him to come out, it might take a while but, eventually, it will happen. In truth, there is never a need to get them to step up from inside the cage because, if the bird is strong and healthy and does not do it on its own, you just wait until he does.

Cage aggression with quakers is pretty inevitable because they live in nests all year round and there are no birds on this green earth that will allow anybody to get close to their nests. The only way a quaker will allow it is if the bird regards you as its mate - which is NOT recommended at all. As to cleaning it, do it when he comes out for out-of-cage time. In time and if you manage to establish a deep bond of trust and love, you might be able to train it to stay on one perch while you clean it but, in my personal opinion, it's not really necessary and I stay away from any training that is not 100% needed because my 'thing' is to reduce stress as much as possible.

[Wyrmsroost]

Thanks guys, for telling me I'm doing nearly everything I've brought up wrong. Rather than giving me advice on how to accomplish what I want to do in positive ways, or steering me in a direction that would be better for the bird while still making progress towards eventual goals, I've just been beaten down. This hasn't been a very welcoming welcome thread.

What I need is to develop confidence in my bird and I need my bird to develop confidence in me. Now, if we're all done pooping on the newbie, I would very much appreciate some help.

EDIT: Now, that's not to say that what's been said here on this thread hasn't been informative, no I've learned a thing or two. I just wish you guys had used a gentler approach, as I'm new to owning a hookbill and was only trying to prove my dedication to sticking with this bird in the long term by sharing some goals I had set for myself.

In the past I've had... 14 birds. 8 zebra finches, 5 chickens, and one European starling. I plan on getting finches again soon.

[Wolf]

I do not think that telling you that you would be handling your bird in an inappropriate fashion is beating you down, You then explained that you wanted to be able to examine you bird. I them went on to tell you how I went about examining my birds. Many times instead of saying do this, that or the other thing we will tell you what we do with our birds as a means of sharing with you what approach we use.
I care very much about your birds, but I guess that my shortcoming is that I approach things more from the perspective of the bird than that of the human. Because I feel much more comfortable with animals and in this case the bird I use the form of what I do with my birds and why than any other means. No one intends to beat you down but we are sharing factual information with you and facts do not always take into account the personal perspective of anyone, they are simply facts that are regardless of what we think or feel about them.
I shared with you in good faith and honestly went on to explain why the approach you had in mind was a mistake at this time and you told me that I was wrong. I said that was fine as you may know more about this than I did. Where is this beating you down in any way? If you will explain where and how this is so, then I will try to do better.