7 Months since I got my Parrot. I would like the communities opinion on how Im doing

So, on March 3rd I got my first parrot, and its been 7 months since then. He is definitely a lot more tame now and finally eats some fruits and veggies. Apple, lettuce and grapes. His favourite toy so far is, his own feathers, he plays with his other toys but will spend hours on his fallen feathers. Training wise it hasn't been going great, as he still does not get on my finger. The entire 7 months he has been inside his cage, as the last time i tried to get him out things went very wrong. And I am starting to get desperate to get him out, as I feel bad that he is stuck in there


So I recorded this video showing a bit of how I train Jojo, any help or feedback on how I'm doing would be great. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bsTslDhQ9o&feature=youtu.be"]Jojo's Training - YouTube[/ame]
Sorry if the video isn't great, its hard to record with one hand while dealing with a bird with the other hand

looks like you've got a good start there! Hard to do whilst holding a camera but try holding the millet stick on the other side of your outstretched finger/wooden perch so he has to step up to get the millet, right now there's no real incentive to step-up so he's thinking "nah I'm comfy" I would try using that perch that he's sat on in the video as the perch to train him to step up. Just so he's not on such an awkward to get to spot and he'll be more used to it (method I used with my conure) then once out of the cage you can use that perch at first to move them. As soon as Rio got on the perch I used I brought him out and along with the treat it was a good prize. I then just let him do what he wanted for a while to reinforce the reward, ten did all his step-up training in a different room

Yet another Jojo on here! And I bet his name isn't based off the show of the same name!

LordTriggs said:

looks like you've got a good start there! Hard to do whilst holding a camera but try holding the millet stick on the other side of your outstretched finger/wooden perch so he has to step up to get the millet, right now there's no real incentive to step-up so he's thinking "nah I'm comfy" I would try using that perch that he's sat on in the video as the perch to train him to step up. Just so he's not on such an awkward to get to spot and he'll be more used to it (method I used with my conure) then once out of the cage you can use that perch at first to move them. As soon as Rio got on the perch I used I brought him out and along with the treat it was a good prize. I then just let him do what he wanted for a while to reinforce the reward, ten did all his step-up training in a different room

Yet another Jojo on here! And I bet his name isn't based off the show of the same name!

Click to expand...

I guess it is hard to see on the video, but the millet is on the other side of my finger. I sometimes get the feeling that Jojo is just too lazy to bother trying to get it, other times I get the feeling he tries too hard to avoid the finger (he sometimes tries to stretch his neck to get it or walk on the cage wall). I will try using the perch he is on and see how it goes.

An extra cute video [ame="https://youtu.be/RcibqYkZWcE"]Playing With Feather - YouTube[/ame]

Think of things other than food to entice JoJo. My son was getting super frustrated with his lovebird, who didn't seem to care about any food item at all, at least not enough to overcome his fears to really be tamed. And then we discovered quite by accident that he goes absolutely nuts for corn husks. He will do anything for a chance to chew on dried out corn husks. This was the last piece of the puzzle for us. He wasn't food motivated, but he was certainly toy motivated, and one specific type of toy, so we used it, and it worked.

BeatriceC said:

Think of things other than food to entice JoJo. My son was getting super frustrated with his lovebird, who didn't seem to care about any food item at all, at least not enough to overcome his fears to really be tamed. And then we discovered quite by accident that he goes absolutely nuts for corn husks. He will do anything for a chance to chew on dried out corn husks. This was the last piece of the puzzle for us. He wasn't food motivated, but he was certainly toy motivated, and one specific type of toy, so we used it, and it worked.

Click to expand...

Maybe this will work, his favourite toy is his own feather, so I'll try and see how it goes.

Good that there has at least been some progress in the 7 months I would start letting him out right away, in fact you may have kept him in there for too long already. It worries me that you write: "His favourite toy so far is, his own feathers, he plays with his other toys but will spend hours on his fallen feathers." And then post a video of him playing with his own feathers, this is a clear sign of boredom. And can lead to plucking if not dealt with, so do what you can to activate him, at least you try to train him, thats good! Why do you feel that you can't let him out? What's the problem?

jm0 said:

Good that there has at least been some progress in the 7 months I would start letting him out right away, in fact you may have kept him in there for too long already. It worries me that you write: "His favourite toy so far is, his own feathers, he plays with his other toys but will spend hours on his fallen feathers." And then post a video of him playing with his own feathers, this is a clear sign of boredom. And can lead to plucking if not dealt with, so do what you can to activate him. Why do you feel that you can't let him out? What's the problem?

Click to expand...

Last time I let him out, he flew around like crazy scared and managed to find the one hole I never knew existed and get stuck in there. I made a post about it if you wanna see the details there. So to avoid it I covered up the hole of course, but I also want him to at least get on my finger so that I can get him back in safely. He wasn't hand raised from I could tell, so for around 5 months he was a big scaredy cat. He is also reaaaaally close to getting on my finger, since he is practically hugging the bars trying to get to be next to my face, so I am trying to get him to finally do it so he can finally get out safely.

And about his toys, he has plenty, rings and balls and a mini parrot doll that he plays with, but his feather is the one thing he can do for hours. Since I know how long he has been stuck in the cage I do try and entertain him with things. But I do wanna get him out as soon as possible, another reason for me making this post is for advice.

I would agree with letting him out. I let my conure out before he was comfortable and having him on the same side of the bars as me without me hurting him let him understand he wasn't in danger. I just used a perch from the cage to get him to go back in, took a while and many attempts where he'd fly off and land somewhere but I managed to out-stubborn him

Playing with feathers is a definite worry as it very easily could turn to barbering them

LordTriggs said:

I would agree with letting him out. I let my conure out before he was comfortable and having him on the same side of the bars as me without me hurting him let him understand he wasn't in danger. I just used a perch from the cage to get him to go back in, took a while and many attempts where he'd fly off and land somewhere but I managed to out-stubborn him

Playing with feathers is a definite worry as it very easily could turn to barbering them

Click to expand...

Allright, I am planning to try and let him out this weekend. What things should I keep in mind? I am of course making sure the area is 100% safe this time. What do I do if he is for hours avoiding me? Also what would be the best way to get him out? Last time I left his door open with millet outside and bird sounds, should I just leave the door open and nothing else this time?

I covered any mirrors with towels and closed the curtains to avoid any accidents. Apart from that I let him do his own thing, got on with my day. Just wanted to show that I'm not going to hurt even when we're on the same side of the bars.

I'd try holding the perch by the door with a treat for him so he can get a double prize for step up in food and outside. Then use the perch if he requires assistance when out

Good Luck! Keep us posted on how he is

Well update, I have had his cage open for 2 hours now. No sign that he wants to go out so far, even with millet on the cage door.

Good! Be patient, if he doesn't want to come out, that's ok. He might be afraid to come out, because of the incident you described from last time he was out. Keep trying until he eventually overcomes his fear. And as far as what to do if he doesn't want to interact with you, don't do anything just open the cage door, and observe what happens. Don't try to interact with him at all, if he doesn't want to. Try to convince him that being out is safe and fun He has to get small positive experiences from being out of the cage, so he can overcome his fear.

Whenever I'm in the house its an open cage policy, even if Jojo doesn't come out for a few days at least he knows he wont be kept in a cage all his life and eventually he will come out and explore but let him do it on his own terms and leave him alone for a while when he comes out.

LordTriggs is right about using the T-perch first, he said the same to me and now I'm training my Parrot to step up onto that first and giving him treats every time so he is getting used to my hand still. He does it every time now but still a bit weary of my hand which we are working on. I can even pet him now sometimes after only a few days of practising step up and he was terrified of my hands 4-5 days ago.

Patience is key and praise him when he steps up on the perch every time with an enthusiastic voice and he will love it believe me and also put him back on his perch or in his cage after every step up so he knows he is going back to his comfort zone. You will be fine