QP Adopted

Hello all this is my first time on this forum. I recently adopted a QP 8 days ago. I named him Stonewall Jackson or "jack".

Jack will eat from my hand. let me scratch him, and give a kiss. However, he will not step up unless he is away from the cage and on the floor. Then he will step up. Yesterday, I let him out of the cage and he went up on top. Also, would not step up there. Took me 2 hours to get him back inside. When the dog barked he took off and flew around the room. I did manage to get him to step up on my finger( from the floor) so I can bring him back to the security of the cage.

So then the question that remains is how do I get him away from the cage to train or get him to step up while in the cage. Thanks

Congrats on your new Quaker, and welcome to the forum!!! Please never hesitate to ask any and all questions you may have...

First of all, 8 days is not long at all for him to have been in your house and with you, so he has yet to settle-in and feel comfortable in his new environment. This usually takes a good month or so for them to realize that this is their new home, their new people, etc. I don't know how old your Quaker is, or what his prior home-situation was like, but this is all new to him right now, they are very intelligent, and though it sounds very much like he was a hand-raised parrot and has had a lot of human-interaction, which is great, he still needs time to settle-in and feel comfortable in his new surroundings, and with his new routines..and with you!

Parrots are typically very protective of their cages, that is his "safe place", his home, and as such they tend to be very territorial and not like hands anywhere near their cages. So part of the reason he won't step-up for you when he's near/in/on his cage is due to him be territorial of his cage and not wanting your hands near it. Besides that, once again, he's only been with you for 8 days, and you've not earned his trust yet, which is typically step-one when taming/bonding with a bird. The fact that he's hand-tamed and allows you to pet him, and that he steps-up for you when he's away from his cage is going to make this process much, much easier for you than if he wasn't, so that's great...this is just going to be about time.

Once he settles-in and you start to earn his trust, and he starts bonding with you, then you can decide on different training techniques that you want to use, such as Target-Training or Clicker-Training. For now though, for the next couple of weeks, I'd concentrate on just spending time with him, talking to him, having him with you/on you when you're at home watching TV, reading, playing video games, etc. Eating your meals with him is another great way to start bonding with him. As far as getting him in and out of his cage, right now since he doesn't want your hands anywhere near his cage, try using a perch/wooden dowel, etc. to get him out/off of and away from his cage, and then also back inside his cage. Eventually, once you earn his trust and he bonds with you, he will most likely be more willing to go in and out of his cage for you, but don't be surprised if he never likes your hands inside of his cage, as that's not uncommon at all. Respect his space, and go at his pace with the bonding/training. Try to do all of your interacting with him away from his cage, as he's already willing to step-up for you once he's away from it, so that's awesome...

I think you will be fine, as it sounds like he's a very sweet, kind, loving Quaker, he's just not used to his new life yet. 8 days isn't very long to adjust to being up-rooted and put into an entirely new home with new people. Give him time, go at his pace, never force anything, and respect his cage as "his place". Spend as much time as you can with him every single day, and give him as much out-of-cage-time as you can every day. Figure out what his favorite treat is and use that ONLY as the reward he gets for going in and out of his cage on your finger, or stepping-up for you while he's standing on top of or inside of his cage...whenever he does this be sure to praise him a ton vocally and give him his favorite treat...positive reinforcement, never negative punishment with birds...

Thank you, very good info. As said, he is a different bird away from his cage. Using a Perch to try and pick him up away from the cage is no no. He attacks the perch but not my hands. I agree, 8 days is not a long time-took my parakeet a month to come out of the cage. Now very tame an talking. BTY-the QP is about 3 years old

I must have misunderstood you then, because I thought that he was attacking you when you were trying to get him in/out of his cage, which is why I suggested using a perch to get him in/out...But as you mentioned, he's a "different bird" when he's away from his cage, and that's actually pretty normal behavior, especially if you're using the same cage that he was in while at his first home for 3 years...Don't be surprised if his behavior in/around his cage doesn't change that much, as I said, that's his "safe place" and he's protecting it...And Quaker Parrot in-particular are very possessive of their space/nests...

He'll be fine, he sounds like he's a sweetie...He just needs to settle-in and get to know you, and vice-versa...Again, go at HIS PACE, watch his body-language, listen to his sounds, and get to understand/know what he's telling you. Quakers are extremely vocal, and they usually do give a "warning" signal, usually a hiss or a "huffing" kind of noise when they are annoyed and going to nip/bite...You need to get to know him, and vice-versa. But it sounds like in-general, except for his behavior around his cage, he's a sweet bird and will no-doubt be a great friend soon enough..

Thank you so much. I guess I will have to wait until Jack is ready to step up and then take him away from the cage to a different perch. If I let out on his own he will just go up top and still refuse to step up. It is interesting that I put a bell in his cage and when he wants to scratched or fed treats he will ring it

Figure out what Jack's favorite treats are! Then any time you walk by the cage, drop that special treat into a treat cup.

You can also work on target training and station training. Don't expect an immediate change, but working on teaching him to target to your hand, even if you have to use bribery in the beginning, is a great way to build trust and understanding! If you do it right, you can also avoid cage aggression issues!

Thank you. His favorite treat is a white grape and almonds which I give him every morning from my hand. I am not familiar with Target or station training. Are there any articles?

A lot of information here.

http://www.parrotforums.com/training/72250-free-training-resources.html



A good basic video on target training

[ame="https://youtu.be/HaOicTtwIZo"]Beginners guide to target training parrots - YouTube[/ame]



Station training is basically teaching them to stay put, which the video does mention at the end.