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Unsure of how to proceed with training

Discuss the methods and techniques of clicker training, target training and bonding. These are usually the first steps in training a young parrot.

Unsure of how to proceed with training

Postby Phoenixtheparrot » Thu Mar 23, 2017 8:39 am

I currently own a four year old, unclipped African Grey. He is relatively tame, in the sense that he will approach me to allow petting through the bars of the cage and accept treats from my hand. I allow him to exit the cage frequently, and he has little problem with walking around.

However, I find that even during petting (with him in the cage), he will unexpectedly bite (gnaw) at my fingers, and takes special interest in my nails (like he's trying to peel a nut?). Furthermore, he will not tolerate any sort of contact within the cage or out, proceeding to bite aggressively. I am unsure of how to correct this behaviour.

He is afraid of new objects such as new toys, towels, large grapes, etc. But I have identified pine nuts as his preferred treat (currently, he will accept these ). He is currently on a seed diet with supplements.

Any help would be appreciated, thank you!
:gray:
Phoenixtheparrot
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Types of Birds Owned: African Grey Parrot
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Re: Unsure of how to proceed with training

Postby Bird woman » Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:26 am

How long have you had him? Can you tell me what you mean by supplements. Greys need a specialized diet a little more that some parrots , higher calcium and fresh veggies and fruit. When I get a new bird in my very first thing is food and medical. A bird that doesn't get proper nutrition or feels bad will act out in different ways. Greys are notorious for being independent and must be challenged . Tell me more about your bird sleeping habits, light schedule foods etc and we will try to help you to figure out how to proceed. Welcome to the forum , also michael has some good training tips on here you might want to read up on. :D BW. Oh are you sure he isn't a she ? :lol:
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Re: Unsure of how to proceed with training

Postby Pajarita » Thu Mar 23, 2017 11:57 am

Welcome, Phoenix and human! Yes, please give us a bit more details about his schedule and diet so we can be more specific in our replies. But (and correct me if I am misunderstanding your post, please), in my personal experience, grays are not very touchy-feely birds. They do enjoy their head, neck and 'chin' scratches but they don't really like people touching their bodies (which is never recommended anyway as their entire body is an erogenous zone). And even the 'proper' touch in the 'proper' place is only done when they ask for it because they don't put up with a whole lot of familiarity UNLESS they invite it which, in my personal experience (had 6 of them), is only during breeding season.
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Flight: Yes

Re: Unsure of how to proceed with training

Postby Phoenixtheparrot » Fri Mar 24, 2017 5:34 am

His diet in 'seed mix':
Sunflower seeds
Peanuts
Chili
Dried banana
Dried fruit
Pellets (unsure of what kind)
Pumpkin seeds
Walnuts

Treats:
Pine nuts

Fresh produce:
Grapes (washed)
Apples (large slices peeled and cored)
Corn on the cob (two inches long)
He refuses leafy greens, hand fed or chopped up or whole (also a problem!!!)

Supplements:
Harrison's bird feed, protein pellets (blue label no orange)

We cover his cage at around 9pm, and he wakes up around 6am. I've had him for 4 years. As for his gender, we got him from an owner who "said" he was male. His head shape also resembles that befitting of a male.


Thank you very much! I'll be happy to supply more information.
Phoenixtheparrot
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Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Types of Birds Owned: African Grey Parrot
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Re: Unsure of how to proceed with training

Postby liz » Fri Mar 24, 2017 6:47 am

Rainbow loves head scratches but while hormonal I wait for him to ask first.
Myrtle does not like head scratches or touching back. Nothing from above is acceptable to her unless she is hormonal.

Each critter has it's own personality and with birds they change with the season it seems. For me I just go to the flow and hope to be able to read them each day.
I love them dearly and I know I am #1 to each of them. Rainbow is like a 5 year old kid and can usual tell me or let me know what she is doing. Myrtle is like a 2 year old and still throws tantrums. Rainbow is 32 and Myrtle is 7.

I have only had Amazons since 2000 so I still know very little. They are
wonderful little beings. Over the years I have learned that we can get through anything as long as we work on it together.

We recently lost Wolf and have to cripple on without him but we still have Pajarita and need her even more now. She has taught me to hold the protein down and eliminate iron. That was not a lot of info so you really need to wait for her and the more knowledgable members. I give mine 1 pistachio in the morning before their fruit and veggie breakfast that they pick on all day and an almond in the shell before their seed supper which I pick up when they go to sleep. They will fill up on their breakfast and whatever I share with them in the course of the day. Their night meal is like a big desert to them to finish filling them up for the night and do not eat as much of the high protein foods because they ate so much of the fruit and veggies.

Ok. I have typed too much with such a small amount of info so I will stop this post and you wait for those with more knowledge.
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Re: Unsure of how to proceed with training

Postby Pajarita » Fri Mar 24, 2017 10:29 am

Well, I would suggest you do a bit more research about diet because you are feeding way too much protein and way too little produce (dry fruit doesn't count as 'good' because of the lack of moisture and preservatives). I would also discontinue the High Potency Pellets... there used to be a warning on the label of this produce indicating that they are only good for up to 6 months of continuous feeding, never more, and only for birds that were breeding or had been under a real bad diet as it was meant to be a 'transitional' food only but, for some reason, they stopped putting the label on them and now people are feeding it every day. The thing with commercial food for birds is that it's completely unregulated so they can tell you something is good when, in reality, is terrible for them...

My grays don't like the leafy part of the leafy greens, either, but they like the crunchy stems so offer the very heart of the romaine, bok choy, chard (they love the red Swiss chard but be careful not to feed it all the time because it's very high in oxalic acid), raw broccoli (this is, by far, their favorite!). rapini, etc.

Try fruit like oranges, cantaloupe, watermelon, etc. (my grays love 'juicy' stuff, they actually suck the juice out of things) and pomegranate seeds, blueberries and blackberries (all favorites). It takes time to get them to eat a large variety... I had a gray that took five whole years to taste her first blueberry even though she got them every single week! In my personal experience, grays are one of the pickiest species when it comes to food - and very stubborn about new things and about how things are given to them. Sophie CAG would only eat certain things if I stand in front of her (with her perching at my head level) and hold the stuff in my hand so she can take the tiniest bites out of it (just like a kid who is eating something he doesn't really want :lol: ).

As to gender, look at the tail undercoverts (the shorter feathers that cover the beginning of the long feathers under their tail) and see if there is a very thin grey edge to them. Grey edge means female, no grey edge means male but, sometimes, you have to look super carefully because if the feathers are worn out (as they would be now) and the edge is very thin, you can miss it.
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Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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