In need of some serious help training.

I have had my Slate Masked Lovebird, Token, for a year tomorrow. He was bought at a pet store and is not hand raised (I live on a small island in Canada and there are no breeders here).

We have made extremely good progress, he was horrified of me for months, would not come out of his cage and the likes. But now he will go on my shoulder, let me pet him when he is out of the cage and will hang around me.

However he will not willing come out of his cage willingly, I need to pick him up and take him out. I know you're not suppose to do this but it's the only way he will come out. Once out he will step up on my fingers like a ladder but he will not take any sort of food or treats out of my hand. This is making it extremely hard to train him.

I can not get him to eat other foods either besides his pellets, raisin and millet.

Any advice would be great or articles or videos. I was thinking about getting birdtricks.com videos.

Thanks in advance.


Cheers,
Johnny.

I really like the birdtricks videos. They are kind of cheesy but you get the message and some good information from them. Good luck with your training.

Will he come to you for millet?

Here's a good video on teaching step up from inside the cage!
Living With Parrots Cage Free: Bucky and Strider - Millet Eating Fiends!


Pellets really shouldn't be more than 50% of his diet...

I don't know what you have tried so far, but this is what I would suggest. Since he is on a pellet diet, take the millet out of his diet and only use it for training.

since he is scared of eating from your hand, start with offering him the millet sprig through the bars of the cage. This way, he is not close to your hand when he eats the millet. once he is comfortable with that, you can start offering him the millet sprig through the open door of the cage. when he is comfortable with that,slowly get your other hand closer to him. never try to chase him with your hand, and withdraw it if he is uncomfortable. This may take several weeks for him to build his trust with you, especially if you have been chasing him to get him out of his cage. If you keep your hand very still and he gets used to seeing it there every time you offer the millet, eventually, you may be able to coax him onto your free hand to get to the millet. The first time that happens, it will probably only be a slit second before he jumps off again. if you keep your hand very still, he will eventually stay on for longer. once he will do that, you can sart to move toward the door in small increments. I hope you have some success.

He won't take anything from my hand including millet. I will try getting him to take it while in his cage!

I know pellets should only make up only 50% of his diet but he will not eat anything besides the things I have mentioned. Any ideas on how to widen his diet?

Not even a good seed blend or sprouts? (seeds that have been sprouted overnight or up to 3-5 days, depending on sprouts)


I agree with Artist, although I would only recommend a slight adjustment. Only feed him enough food to last the day, or remove his food at night. First thing in the morning, when he wakes up and when he's his hungriest, start out with the millet and try to keep still, not moving, not looking directly at him, for at least 15 minutes.

If he doesn't take the bait, then give him his regular food and try again the next day. I've done this with 5 adult budgies (ages ranging from 2-8?) as well as adult cockatiels (quite possibly much older), with varying results. However, even the most frightened bird of humans was willing to come to me for food/treats!

I will have to try sprouts! Any tips on growing them or can I buy them also?

I will take his food out of his cage right now and try tomorrow morning.

He isn't afraid of me outside the cage for whatever reason, but will not take food from me. So maybe he afraid but I haven't noticed.

I will try feeding him millet through the bars and work my way to the opening of the cage as stated. I realize this will take a lot of time. I've had the little bugger for a year and still love him even if he doesn't love me yet.

You can buy sprouts for people, however these aren't as good as sprouts for birds... bird sprouts are typically only sprouted for 1-3 days for most mixes, and sprouts for people have been sprouted for several days, so they aren't as healthy and nutritious.

Easiest way is to buy a sprouting mix for parrots, then sprout it. You can sometimes find 'kits' which include a sprouter (plastic/glass jar typically), although sometimes you have to buy that separately.

Quick update, Token will now take millet from my hand in his cage!! It took almost all morning but he did it! At first I had to just put it between the bars of his cage and leave it there because he wouldn't touch it with my hands on it and eventually worked my way to the point where he would take it from my hand inside the cage! Even had him moving around a little to get it on the perch he was on!

Any advice on what to do next?

Keep training at that until he becomes comfortable coming to you. You can then work on having your palm flat and against a perch or cage door and getting him used to going near your hand, touching your hand with his feet, and eventually standing on your hand.