Just wanted to say hi

Hey there
Was browsing the web and came across this site. I recently bought and Alexandrine and I've named him Rhaegal (Ray for short if you like) hes settled in quite well. Except for the lunging and not letting me pet him which is breaking my heart but with the help I've gotten from the site I'm sure it'll pass and I'll have him come around in no time. He's very quite for the moment and will quietly chatter to himself.
Looking froward to having a great relationship with him and any advice would be great.
Xx

Hi there. Congratulations on the new addition to your family. Would love to see pics of Ray. How old is Ray and how long has he been with you?

Hi! Do your research and you'll solve the issue of the lunging issue.

G'day! Another Aussie Alexandrine owner! Welcome!

You might well find your Alex never gets comfortable with being touched. I have a great bond with my pair (The Beaks), but they DO NOT like me touching them. If I'm sneaky, I can sometimes stroke their heads while they're nommin' a treat from my other hand, but largely it's a case of 'You toucha my face, I chompa you hand'. Alexes are well known to be very anti touchy-feely, yet I have know people whose birds will allow cuddling and snuggling. Lucky! I guess what I'm saying is, you may persuade your bird to let you pat him, but you may not ever manage to do that either. Don't be upset about it if that's the case. Alexes are great birds and very, very clever and loving.

With the lunging, that could be aggression or it could simply be testing behaviour. Like toddlers, birds will try to push the boundaries. Often. I remember when my birds were new and doing that, I began to despair of ever being able to handle them. Then, I came here!

I'm assuming your bird is already hand-tamed. If not, YouTube is your friend: 'Hand taming bird' should bring up lots of good stuff. The first thing is to learn never to push your bird into a position where he feels he has to bite to protect himself. That's when he'll lunge or bite. If he doesn't want to step up, don't push it. Instead, offer a treat and bribe him shamelessly. Alexandrines are phenomenally greedy birds and will do lots of things for one little sunflower seed (NB. We DON'T feed sunflower - too fatty - but it makes a great treat in moderation. Like chocolate for ladies...)

If you think your bird is just testing you, then offer him the back of your tightly closed fist. He can't get a grip on the skin and if you're clever, you'll get agile enough to twist and turn your hand so he simply can't bite you. In this way, you gain confidence that you're not going to be hurt and he picks up on that. Birds don't like submitting themselves to someone who's nervous and tentative. Another trick to avoid a bite is to occupy The Beak with something while you step the bird up. You can offer a treat and bribe shamelessly (worked for me!) or, you can offer the tip of a chopstick and while the bird chomps that, you can step him up. The theory is that a bird can't bite when his beak is full. Works most of the time (no guarantees given).

There are lots of other training techniques out there (YouTube again) and you might do searches on touch-training and clicker-training. Once you've got your bird happily stepping up and beginning to trust you, you can start teaching other things like potty training (must confess, I've failed miserably at this). Or trick training. The Beaks are pretty cute playing ball, fetching, tunneling, waving and shaking hands.

Hope this lot has helped a bit? There's so much great knowledge here and I feel quite confident with my Alexes now, thanks to the great help and moral support I've had from other members. Do keep us in touch with your progress and post some pics of your bird!

Welcome to the forum. I'm sure you'll get your training sorted from the help you'll get here.

Welcome, Ash, good to see another Aussie onboard

Thanks for the warm welcome guys! Good to see some fellow Aussies here myself.
Well when I got him last weekend he was stepping up well and would even let me scratch the back of his head. But it's still early days and I'm trying not to freak him out to much.
Just this morning I was able to put my hand in his cage to fix the perch that fell down with out him lunging at me. Progress is progress to me lol.
But last night he was able to step up so he could have some time out side the cage but he didn't fly at all. Just kept walking on top if the cage and going in and out of the towel I have on the top. Is that normal?
The info you have me is heaps appreciated. Even replaced all my Teflon with Eco cookware for him too.

I had Rhaegal for about 5 days now so he's really new to the family. And he's 12 weeks old

Oh he's so cu-uu-ute! Just a little fellow! My Beaks are about a year old and they're bellowing at me right now to be let out. Gotta go!

Ray is such a cutie. My Alex is just over 4 years old. She still tends to be a bit lungy and does not really like being touched. Having said that she loves to hang out with you all the time and enjoys being a part of everything.

Just an update on my handsome man Rhaegal. He's settled in quite well and he's a lot more talkative. This pic was taken last night when he decided to fly to the top of my head after his shower.