Bonding with your parrot. HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU!?

Ria

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Indian Ringneck: Damien

RIP: Dempsey & Winston
Hiya, I was very very curious of how long it took for most of you to bond with your parrot?

I have had Damien a couple of months now, and he does certainly seem comfortable with me, on his own terms might I add. He will come out of his cage start up high on my curtain rail but then eventually get lower and lower, from curtain rail to chest of drawers, to rat cage (level with me).

But if I make one wrong movement he'll instantly fly back up to 'safer' heights. I have worked out if I move with my back to him to my door / away from him he'll stay... but that's not very convenient. xP

Do you have any exercises in bonding with your parrots whilst they're in / out of their cages? I generally try and sit and talk with him when he is in his cage.. he does flap about if I approach him in his cage, like try to stroke him or give him a treat, Sue kindly let me know I should probably just not invade his safe cage until he fully trusts me... so.... HOW DO I DO THIS! Because all I want to do is stroke and cuddle him, and... just for him to sit on or near me haha! But yeh I feel little progress has actually been made no matter how much I talk with him.. he just ... stares.

I feel I have a better chance with him out the cage, he seems calmer and less able to hurt himself as in the past he has had a tendency to get his wing caught between the bars in his cage when I have tried giving him a treat and he has flapped about. Thankfully no injuries and I unhooked his wing, fright of my life though when that first happened.


*Picture shows him staring at my camera looking not so sure of it, bless him*
I think he is rather camera shy, hopefully I can introduce him to my camera a little bit more and take away his uncertainty! ;P
Thank you for reading!
Regards~
Maria
 

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darkling

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Apr 13, 2011
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Alabama
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RIP Pi - Sun Conure 02/06/11 - 09/10/11
Have you tried this yet?

Just sit near his cage with the door open. Don't look at him. Just sit and talk to him. And have a treat in your hand. Be close enough that he can come to you on his own but don't give him the treat until he does. Just hold it in your hand and talk and let him come to you/the treat?

Pi is pretty cuddly about 90% of the time but when she decides she wants to be a tyrant, that's what I do with her. I sit on my desk chair with the back of the chair close enough for her to hop from the door of her cage to the back of the chair. And I keep green beans, her favorite treat, in my hand.

Eventually the temptation is just too much for her and she has to come and get the green beans.
 

suebee

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Jan 13, 2011
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yup agreed tempt her :) an the way she is stood on the curtain pole is same as nuts when shes interested but not sure, i am still bonding with her an nut is gettin a tad nippy lately with me, lol
 

Abzeez

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Apr 26, 2011
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Bean the Blue Front Amazon, Chico the Ringneck, and Ida the African grey
My ringnecks favorite spot is on the curtain rod. All mine seemed to want to be my buddy right away. I really lucked out. Chico, my ringneck, had a problem with small children for quite some time. (he was abused by children in one of his other homes.) So we took it really slow. Lots of treats from the kids, and after about a years time he started to warm up to the idea of the little monsters running around. :)
 

stephend

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Jun 7, 2011
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Denver
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Acorn - a Yellow Sided Green Cheek Conure;
Bob - a Cockatiel;
Cricket - an American Budgie
Have you tried this yet?

Just sit near his cage with the door open. Don't look at him.

I have heard that this is why cats prefer people who are alergic to them. They avoid looking at the cat and it perceives people staring at it as a hungry animal looking at a meal.
 

Rio Mom

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Apr 7, 2011
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River - Green Cheek
Conure/
Pepper - Congo African Grey/

Rest in Peace Rio
[/quote]

I have heard that this is why cats prefer people who are alergic to them. They avoid looking at the cat and it perceives people staring at it as a hungry animal looking at a meal.[/QUOTE]

My cats always go immediately to the people who don't like cats! I think they just somehow know somebody doesn't like them, and want to force them to acknowledge them! lol
 

mrob

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Gizmo:Male RS Eclectus
R.I.P Merv Hughes: Cockateil
Booger: Alexandrine
Took me eight looong months to bond with my Alex, and he still never wasa a cuddly bird...doesnt mean he wasnt fantastic i just had to realise that everything he ever did would be on his terms, which was great once i got used to the idea! I had to clip him to tame hinm though....I only clipped him once and let them grow back in. Wish I hadnt, my power meter is inside my house so when the power company comes to check it they let themselves in with a key. They didnt knock and left the front door wide open.....b ye bye birdie...
 
OP
Ria

Ria

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Indian Ringneck: Damien

RIP: Dempsey & Winston
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Awrh thank you all for the such helpful comments, reassurring me!
@Darlking, I DID NOT TRY THIS! I will let you know how it goes, Thanks! Why did I think of this before? LOL!

@Sue, I love hit 'WTF' and 'Hmmm?' faces, you wouldn't have thought a parrot could have so many expressions! Could Nut be hormonal, hence the nippiness?

Also is it true or just myth that Female birds tend to not like females and vise versa with males not liking males? 'probs just myth' I have read so much shizzle on the net lately regarding birds!

@Abz, d'aww Chico is gorgeous. And I see by your picture your African grey doesn't mind the lil monster, which is really lovely. It's great how Children are fearless!

@All the cat comments. My ex boyfriend; 1 didn't like cats and 2, had allergies.... all my animals flocked to him. It must be an instinct, because all of them would rather go bug him than anyone else LOL!

@mrob, Totally reassured me. I don't think Damien will ever be a cuddly bird! I heard Clipping could help training. But morally.... I don't think I'd like to take away his ability to properly fly.. because he is already a bit of a clutz flying; I wouldn't wanna make him worse!

AND OH NOE D: That's horrible! RiP birdy. D: It was an accident totally out of your control, I think your bird enjoyed his wings.. it was a shame that stupid man left the door open, no consideration. Next time make a sign "Watch out.. PARROT ABOUT" for all those ignorant people to see!

We have a self closing gate on our front garden because stupid postmen, delivery men never shut the damn gate and my dogs are just stupid around roads!
 
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suebee

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Jan 13, 2011
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no nuts hormonal around xmas grrr, shes just being the devil, she is uber playful this mornin, climbing all over my poor old torn computer chair lol think its cos i'm still in my P'Js an she knows i am not off out anywhere, and son is on the xbox

i've even dangled her ball on a long bit of leather for her to attack lol but she's smarter then your average cat, she knows the fasted way to get it is via my fingers lol
 

Bright Star

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May 28, 2011
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Colorado
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Keats (budgie) born Feb. 18, 2011, and Raphael (budgie) adopted July 3, 2011. Finn, a Brown-Head Poicephalus, born January 4, 2010, has also joined the family!
Keats has been with me about 3 months now, and we're still working on bonding, though I know he likes me already. When he takes the initiative and comes to me, then the bond seems stronger. Some days he does that, some days he doesn't. He's always been a bit timid, so it may depend on your Damien's personality a bit too. Be patient, he'll come around :)
 
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Pedro

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Dec 15, 2010
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2 Budgies, 3 Cockatiels, 6 GCC'S, 2 Crimson Bellie Conures, 9 Sun Conures, 2 Major Mitchells, 12 Eclectus parrots of various ages, 2 BF Amazons, 2 Hahn's Macaw's, 1 Red Tail Black Too
Hello Maria, I prefer to use the word TRUST rather than bond. I feel that pairs bond & with us as carers we have to build trust with our parrots. My simple reasoning being that we end up with to many unwanted behavior problems if we are not careful. We really only get one chance to do it right & i also believe there is no bad parrot it's the owner.

I don't have any hormonal, biting or screaming issues with any of my parrots, sometimes I really wonder why so many parrot owners do. Maybe they are just misunderstanding something that the bird doesn't want to do as hormonal or it's easier to lable than to work out why exactly our parrots sometime act up. Parrots body language is so easy to understand. When you live with as many parrots as i do you have to know all their little quirky ways.

I must admit ringnecks are not my favorite companion parrot. that said i have known a few that are really sweet. Normally they are not a touchy feely bird & prefer to just sit on your shoulder looking beautiful. As far as wing clipping goes I have heard all the arguments for & against & i feel it's up to the owner & the circumstances in which you live if you clip or not. If clipped a parrot will rely on you to get around & if done properly there should be no ill effects on the bird when the wings grow out in the next molt. It also gives you a chance to gain that trust with your boy. It can take a while though, it took me almost a year to get my SC Too to let my near him & even after 5 years i am still building our trust. He is a nervous bird but at least now i can cuddle him but i still have a long way to go. However we do have our moments where he just wants to chill out by himself.

Good luck with your little ball of feathers & just take it slow, you have all the time in the world to gain his trust.
 
OP
Ria

Ria

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Jun 6, 2011
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Uk, Hampshire / Gosport
Parrots
Indian Ringneck: Damien

RIP: Dempsey & Winston
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  • #12
Hello Maria, I prefer to use the word TRUST rather than bond. I feel that pairs bond & with us as carers we have to build trust with our parrots. My simple reasoning being that we end up with to many unwanted behavior problems if we are not careful. We really only get one chance to do it right & i also believe there is no bad parrot it's the owner.

I don't have any hormonal, biting or screaming issues with any of my parrots, sometimes I really wonder why so many parrot owners do. Maybe they are just misunderstanding something that the bird doesn't want to do as hormonal or it's easier to lable than to work out why exactly our parrots sometime act up. Parrots body language is so easy to understand. When you live with as many parrots as i do you have to know all their little quirky ways.

I must admit ringnecks are not my favorite companion parrot. that said i have known a few that are really sweet. Normally they are not a touchy feely bird & prefer to just sit on your shoulder looking beautiful. As far as wing clipping goes I have heard all the arguments for & against & i feel it's up to the owner & the circumstances in which you live if you clip or not. If clipped a parrot will rely on you to get around & if done properly there should be no ill effects on the bird when the wings grow out in the next molt. It also gives you a chance to gain that trust with your boy. It can take a while though, it took me almost a year to get my SC Too to let my near him & even after 5 years i am still building our trust. He is a nervous bird but at least now i can cuddle him but i still have a long way to go. However we do have our moments where he just wants to chill out by himself.

Good luck with your little ball of feathers & just take it slow, you have all the time in the world to gain his trust.

Thank you Pedro for such a insightful response and I have to say, I understand completely what you're saying. I do understand it's one big learning curve with Damien and Me. I see that the way he behaved or has behaved in the past was all down to me being ignorant of his needs.

But I have discovered what I am doing wrong and trying my best in getting it right, and hopefully at the same time seeing him relax. :) You have given me a lot to think about on the wing clipping subject. I think it would be beneficial for Damien as he is a rather independent bird. As for his biting/screaming moments I haven't actually put them down to him being hormonal; I don't think he is hormonal. It's just his way of saying no... because he is only ever doing it when I am trying to get close to him; so it says it all really...

I will take a step back, and simply let him see I mean no harm. Thank you Pedro you have given me some things to consider. I really appreciate it! :)
 

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