Yellow Rossela - Help taming?

markoskerass · Aug 13, 2015

Hello, greetings from Greece!
I just got a yellow rosella off my grandpa, and according to his chip that is attatched to his leg he is already 12 years old. Since my grandfather bought him however, he has never gotten out of his cage and I really want to set him free to walk around in the house, and learn him some tricks perhaps? He is really aggresive in his cage, you can feed him if you hold something in your hand, and when you try to put your hands on his cage without having any food, he will bite you (or at least he will go aggresive until you step away). I tried to get him out of his cage once, and I sucessfully did, without scaring him but there was no way I could put him back in , after about 2 days of him being scared as hell and running around. I finally got him in and right now, he is really scared. He will get through it im sure, but I want to try and tame him. However, he doesnt seem he likes it at all. Maybe because he was trapped for so long? Could it be because he's already 12 yo and those birds live for around 10-15 years?
Thanks in advance, for any sort of help. Keep in mind that I'm not English, so please forgive any mistakes

ChrisBozz · Aug 13, 2015

Hi Markoskerass, My name is Chris. I have a Yellow Nape Amazon!! Not sure if this will work for you or not, Open the door to the cage and let him come out on his own, They are very protective of their house and whats in it!! He will come out when he is ready and climb to the top, when he does that then approach him then and don't make any big or fast movements with your arms and hands!! Talk to him let him know that you want to be friends, I did not use food or any kind of treats to reward good behavior, I used touch and complementing words finding out were she liked to be rubbed!! Repetition is key!! Hope this helps you to get to hold your new companion!!

RavensGryf · Aug 13, 2015

Hi, welcome!
My advice is to 'expect' any taming to take a lot of time. You have some factors here going against things happening easily. 1) Rosellas are a species of parakeet who aren't known for being super tame in the first place, and even a hand fed yougster would take more work to get to step up on a finger than most cuddlier parrot species. That being said, it's not impossible, but that brings us to #2) This is an older bird who is already set in his ways and is not about to change anything about his personality right away. Even a more cuddly species who is wild and set in their ways is a challenge.

My mom has a handfed Bourke's and Princess of Wales, which are also Australian parakeet species that are not normally "known" for being handleable pets. Despite these birds being handfed and handled at a young age, they reverted wild again very quickly (soon after weaning). These young birds took about 2 years more or less to be comfortable enough to step up on her arm. They will not be petted though. Still, she loves them and accepts "who" they are, and she really enjoys the POW's silly antics and funny talking voice, and the Bourke's calm, demure personality to keep her company.

Most any wild animal will become somewhat tame (depending on what you define as tame) when they spend everyday in a human habitat and are around humans, but it might take more time than you would like. For now, maybe while "everything" is still new to him, if you can, get him a new larger cage. Just sit back and don't expect anything from him right now. Let him hear your voice, as you talk to him calmly without direct hard eye contact. Let him just sit and observe his new environment and do things on his terms. You just barely got him, and any bird regardless of wild or already tame, needs time to adjust with a new family and completely new environment. Good luck!

markoskerass · Aug 14, 2015

ChrisBozz said:
Hi Markoskerass, My name is Chris. I have a Yellow Nape Amazon!! Not sure if this will work for you or not, Open the door to the cage and let him come out on his own, They are very protective of their house and whats in it!! He will come out when he is ready and climb to the top, when he does that then approach him then and don't make any big or fast movements with your arms and hands!! Talk to him let him know that you want to be friends, I did not use food or any kind of treats to reward good behavior, I used touch and complementing words finding out were she liked to be rubbed!! Repetition is key!! Hope this helps you to get to hold your new companion!!

Its not he is trying to defend his cage or anything, he just doesnt seem he would get out on his own at all. He would just sit in it, no matter if I leave or not, and stare at the exit doing nothing.

RavensGryf said:
Hi, welcome!
My advice is to 'expect' any taming to take a lot of time. You have some factors here going against things happening easily. 1) Rosellas are a species of parakeet who aren't known for being super tame in the first place, and even a hand fed yougster would take more work to get to step up on a finger than most cuddlier parrot species. That being said, it's not impossible, but that brings us to #2) This is an older bird who is already set in his ways and is not about to change anything about his personality right away. Even a more cuddly species who is wild and set in their ways is a challenge.

My mom has a handfed Bourke's and Princess of Wales, which are also Australian parakeet species that are not normally "known" for being handleable pets. Despite these birds being handfed and handled at a young age, they reverted wild again very quickly (soon after weaning). These young birds took about 2 years more or less to be comfortable enough to step up on her arm. They will not be petted though. Still, she loves them and accepts "who" they are, and she really enjoys the POW's silly antics and funny talking voice, and the Bourke's calm, demure personality to keep her company.

Most any wild animal will become somewhat tame (depending on what you define as tame) when they spend everyday in a human habitat and are around humans, but it might take more time than you would like. For now, maybe while "everything" is still new to him, if you can, get him a new larger cage. Just sit back and don't expect anything from him right now. Let him hear your voice, as you talk to him calmly without direct hard eye contact. Let him just sit and observe his new environment and do things on his terms. You just barely got him, and any bird regardless of wild or already tame, needs time to adjust with a new family and completely new environment. Good luck!

Do you really think I should get him a new cage? I think this one is big enough, he has a ton of space to open his wings without any problems.
This is his cage by the way:

And thats him, sleeping

. Anyway, he does accept any sort of food I give him, and because hes next to the dining room, when someone is eating, he will just move around the cage because he wants some too , which I find really cute. When I leave the house, which doesnt happen that often, I'd usually leave next to him a radio with some classic music, not sure if that helps him. I do talk to him a lot, and he responds when I do that, but the biting wont go away in any way i've tried. Also, i've noticed that when I leave the door open he does nothing rather than staying in staring at the exit until I close it. Is he scared of the outside world or something?As you can see, there isnt anything he can land on, apart from the ground. Maybe I have to put a chair for him to step on or something(then im scared he wont get out because a big thing will be outside of his cage waiting). Again, thanks a lot for the advice.

RavensGryf · Aug 14, 2015

The cage is fine as long as he doesn't chew on the rusted spots. Make sure there are no loose or broken welds on the cage since it is old. He needs toys

. Actually, since he has never been used to them, he might be afraid of them or not know what to do at first. You can get some small bird toys at the pet shop, and see how he reacts. If he gets frightened, then don't hang them inside just yet.

Also, the perches are a bit small in diameter. The best for foot health is a variety of 'natural' type branches in a few different sizes and shapes. Do they sell "boings" where you are? http://www.perchfactory.com/images/gallery-pics/bird-swings/6000-336x280/bird-boing.jpg That might be a type of perch that will get him used to toys too.

markoskerass · Aug 15, 2015

Thank you for your advice. I found it really helpful. I will be updating the post, and I will go check the local pet shop to see if they have what I'm looking for. I'll be updating this thread with any more questions I have, as well as any progress i've made (hes quite happy today, not sure why

).

Yellow Rossela - Help taming?

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