An update on Trico

Greetings,
theres been a month and some days since i brought home Trico, a Monk that the previous owners threw in the trash in a street where i found him.

Theres been a lot of things that happened but mostly im a bit disheartened and i thought of making a thread maybe to have some suggestions of even advise by some seasoned members.

Trico was extremely frightened of me and my wife at the beginning and since then he isnt afraid of my wife as much, he even stays near her face(inside the cage) while she speaks to him. He takes some millet from her hand way easier than me. Last few days he doesnt take ANY of my hand, and he is extremely afraid of me AGAIN.

There was a betterment of him behaviour towards me since the beginning but the last few days its like nothing happened and we re back at square one.

We cant take him out of the cage, we cant train him cause he is afraid of EVERYTHING we bring to him( except in some cases he isnt afraid of the millet), and i dont know what to do.

He seems to have selected my wife as his owner and he looks at me like im gonna kill him while in her presence he relaxes.

I keep him close to me when im on my PC and he relaxes after a while but on the other side of the cage.

Sometimes i feel ill never have a relationship with him and to me it will be a pretty bird in a cage (((

Is it possbile his brain is dysfunctional because at this maturing years he didnt eat healthy?

Anyway, sorry for my rant.....

You need to get him out of the cage. The magic happens outside of the cage.

I've posted a lot on Quakers recently. So I'm going to link those threads and let you read through them. I suggest you print them, go to the linked articles and print those to.

Can you post a pic of your cage and him? Click the go advanced button in the text box and paper clip a pic. When you post shows as a thumbnail under your text.

http://www.parrotforums.com/new-members-welcome/84282-quaker-arriving-usps-today.html

Laurasea said:

You need to get him out of the cage. The magic happens outside of the cage.

I've posted a lot on Quakers recently. So I'm going to link those threads and let you read through them. I suggest you print them, go to the linked articles and print those to.

Can you post a pic of your cage and him? Click the go advanced button in the text box and paper clip a pic. When you post shows as a thumbnail under your text.

http://www.parrotforums.com/new-members-welcome/84282-quaker-arriving-usps-today.html

Click to expand...

Thing is i cant get him out of the cage when he is TERRIFIED of me....

you want to shape behavior. You can do this while in cage, and when out of cage. If your bird doesn't take treats by hand yet. Then put a small treat only dish in cage, and one on top of cage. I think safflower seeds those white ones make the best training treat. Also always use the same phrases.. to starts when in cage or out, day hi Rocky, walk to the treat dish show him the seed put it in the dish then walk away. Repeat several times e ety fee minutes. Once he gets the idea and always comes quick to get the seed. The next step is to say hi Rocky, come here, show him the seed and wait, if he takes one step to you put the treat in say good bird, and walk away, repeat try and get him to come a little closer each time. Always telling him to come here, and praise for each time. Rrspeat often several times a day until he comes right to the dish to get treat. Then start giving treat by hand. Then start have him gilow you to get the treat while telling him to come here. At first just a step, then more till he will follow you the length of the cage. These same techniques you can use to teach tricks and step up. You might need to use a hand held perch a first.

For the cage , once he steps up for you, you have a phrase like time to go back, you take him to the cage, put him in give treat , take him back out , put him on cage top or other " furniture" then wait a few min and repeating. He learns then the cage is a good place, and he isn't always locked in. When it's time to leave him in the cage, already have a slice if apple, or some popcorn ( piped) ir something yummy waiting for him, then go get him tell him time to go back, take him still give the seed when he steps in and use the door.

You also want to hand feed him little yummies off and on all the time. I say here's a yummy and I might give a seed, a pellet, veggies, just something's. My Quaker Neptune's comes flying and asks Yummy? It's a great way to get them trying new stuff. At first you give stuff they like to get them used to the idea , then you offer new stuff, by this time they are coming to you to see what you got. Birds like rituals and routines. And these guys are very smart. I hope this helps!
http://www.parrotforums.com/quakers/83780-help-needed-new-quaker.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/new-members-welcome/83739-hello-all.html

He needs a larger cage. He needs the back of the cage against a wall, or just the very back of the cage covered.

Setup the house do all the doors are closed, get a hand held perch, or wide stick, at least as big around as the the o of your hand when you make the ok hand shape.

Sit next to him facing sideways not staring right at him. Wait till he seems calm. Open the door, then just sit back and talk to him calmly, let him come out in his own. If he freaks out and flys around, just sit and wait till he calms down and lands, then calmly walk over and offer your hand held perch at chest level to him, for him to step up and take him back to the cage top, andcsit back down and take to bim. If the first time he lands and you try the above and he flys again, hold still talk calmly and wait till he lands again, and try again. Keep repeating as needed to get him back to the cage. Do not chase him though.

Where do you live,? Are there Meetup clubs about parrots , or any parrot clubs that you can go and talk to parrot people and see how they interact, with parrots.

It can be very disheartening when they don’t respond the way we think they should. I just want to offer some perspective. You mention that it has been about a month, and that he comes from uncertain and possibly a rough background. There is often a “honeymoon” period in a new environment where they seem to be making progress, and I think it’s them just trying to figure things out. Then they get a bit more comfortable, and seem to revert or start to behave worse - this is actually pretty common (so it’s nothing that you are doing wrong). Birds can take a lot of time and effort to build a trusting relationship with. I have 6 birds and 5 of them come from uncertain backgrounds. Mine were all different with how long it took to get past the biting and distrust. I can say that it can take months with a distrustful or fearful bird. Mr Tee came to me in the fall, and he HATED hands. We’re still working on it many months later. He still won’t step up, but we’ll get there someday. He’s not afraid of us as people any more, and sometimes he comes out of his cage and wants to sit on us. Other days we leave the cage open and he opts to stay in it. He will not let us help him out of the cage....period....so he comes out on his own or he chooses to stay in.

Sorry for the long post - I only say all of this to tell you that it can take time, and that it’s not necessarily anything you are doing. Please don’t get too frustrated with him, take baby steps, and if you find yourself stuck at an impasse - others may have suggestions of things they have tried that might help. And I also wanted to say thank you for taking him in - it sounds like he has landed in a much better place with you

Thanks for the suggestions And no, i dont know of any parrot clubs near me. I live in Athens.