Hi All :) Advice needed for a Quaker Pls xx

[ckbkss06]

New to Parrot Forums.....and looking for some good advice for my wonderful little Quaker.

Am not new to parrots and have had plenty of experience with a Quaker which I owned many years ago which unfortunately passed with old age.

Anyway, I recently decided to purchase another one, which I have but despite being told he was hand reared I believe him to be parent reared. Only due to the fact that when I brought him home he had no interest in stepping up and when attempting it, he simply squawked like he was terrified of the human hand. Which either way makes no difference to me as I am aware these little fluff balls are quite easy to tame. Having said that it has been a while so I just wanted some advice on further development.

When I brought him home, as he was terrified of my hand I simply let him fly into his cage out of his holder with no further interaction at all. Once settled in his cage I left him quiet for 24hrs to get used to his new surroundings. The following day I sat with him, close to his cage and it didn't take long for him to settle back on his perch quite near me. In fact over the last week of sitting close to him, he is now happy to stop hiding in the corner and stay perched and/or happily eat from his dish even when I raise my hand to the cage. I am feeling over the next week I will introduce perch (stick) training, ie: putting the perch in through the bars of his cage and letting him get used to it to see if I can start the step up process. Once this has occurred then I will be attempting to let him out.

Does this method of training a parent reared bird seem correct? I have read so many conflicting posts over the internet I figured I would play it out to how I would feel if I was the parrot and gently ease him in to trusting me but the last thing I want is to be doing this all wrong.

He is very inquisitive and although I have tried a few treats and millet spray by hand to no avail (despite him having a good look), I believe he is either a fussy little beggar or is simply not yet comfortable with a hand feed. Should hand feeding perhaps be taught once he's out of his cage or am I looking at a parrot that doesn't like treats?

He is only 4 months old and I am well aware that patience is a virtue so any other advice would be truly appreciated. My previous quaker was hand reared....in fact I chose the egg and visited him weekly after 4 weeks, so when bringing him home he was already stepping up and happy to sit on my shoulder, which does lead me to believe the Quaker I have purchased was parent reared, and ironically enough already in a bird carrier when I went to collect him. And yes although perhaps that should have rung alarm bells, I actually don't really mind, parent or hand reared, they all deserve the same respect.

I look forward to hearing some advice

 

[Laurasea]

hello!!! I love quakers!!
What it sounds like is he had forced interactions. Was he from a pet store?

I still let my guy out of the cage. He quickly learned to return on his own. I would show him the popcorn, put it in his cage abd tell him time to go back. I pointed abd stood back behind him. Every step towards the cage door I praised. And a ton of praise when he went in. It took time at first, abd a little gentle herding. But he learned very quickly.

If he hasn't bern out of a cage, then it has no meaning to him. And for me I didn't want to stunt his intellectual development, or have him become cage bound, or bored. So I wanted him out of the cage exploring and growing. Often quakers are better out of the cage. Tho cage protective usually develops after a year old. My loves are all cage protective nuts. They try not to be, they try to be good, and sometimes are. But are well behaved away from the cage.

You can also play with crumpled paper, then set it down fir him to come explore. Or toys. They are curious. If you fiddle with something, he will want to check it out.

My little Orbit, I found screaming, over preening, and terrified of hands at a pet store. I didn't " need" another bird....but everytime I visited the pet store he was screaming when I came in and still screaming when I left....I was worried for his future life. O decided he needed me. I found out he had been at the store since he was 8 weeks old...
They really tried to do everything right, tgey all adored him. But none had parrot experience. They were trying to force him to step up. Anyone could stick their hands in his cage..

Anyway he had the worst hand phobia I have ever come across or worked with personally. And his job he had given himself was to scream from sunrise to sunset, to scream himself to sleep....

I quickly abandoned step up , or training step up. When ever I came near he would scream up , over and over and run away or flap freak.

So for me I decided he would never have forced interactions again. I made the inside of cage great, made the outside and top of cage full of perches to. I praised him when ever he did stuff that made him happy so that I was associated with it. When he ate his food I told him hiw good he was, when he took a nap I told him how good he was, or a bath, or a toy. So he knew what good ment and felt like. When I first offered a treat he would run to bite me. So at first I set it in the cage and when he came and got I praised. Soon he would come and take treats. Then I fed him he treats all day long. Then when he was out of the cage I would have him follow me around the top of the cage for treats. Then he would come over and preen my hair, then take kisses. When he tried to fly and was on the floor I rescued him. But out him back in top of the cage. Over time about 2 month it evolved to me being g able to cup him with a hand and kiss him. Then pet him. For a long time he was worried I would grab him. But I showed him over and over that I would not. And our trust deepened.

Unfortunately he is clipped, its bern months im still waiting for his flight feathers...all my others are full flight. But he is able with effort to fly a little. Now he flys to me for cuddling !! He will step up away from cage , just evolved. But not at the cage, or only rarely. But we keep growing.

So I know you guys can over come this fear of hands. But it takes a lot of time , sometimes..

I recommend just building that trust

Popcorn is his favorite. And veggies. He comes running for veggies . Even tho he never had them for most of his life.

Target training may help some. But its just very short sessions, with like 3 reps. Then a break of 20 min and repeat. I hate clickers, i say good birdie as the bridge.

Fir me I just wanted to build his confidence, make his life full of out of cage time and things to climb and shred, toys , stuff. Praise treats . I made him feel like a rock star, that everything he did was amazing. That confidence, helped him have confidence with me too. And with new things.

 

[Laurasea]

I share this article a lot!! Has lots of great stuff. I font think she means leave your burd in the cage and observe , but rather to observe . I always try and do observation from time to time, to see how I can tweak stuff for greater use, do I need to re arrange, replace. Try something new..
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/stress-reduction-for-parrot-companions/

You can click my name and go and look at my albums. You can make your own albums.
You can share pictures of your baby. Sn easy way is to click go advanced under the text box, paperclip, choose pic, hit upload on far right. When loaded close window and post. Pic attaches as thumbnail.

 

[Scott]

Welcome to you and your Quaker, deep respect for loving him irrespective of background. Though, it is not fair for seller to misrepresent (if so) as not everyone has your temperament and acceptance.

Great advice above from Laura!! You're on the right track, some possibly redundant info: http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

 

[Flboy]

Welcome to you!

 

[ckbkss06]

Thank you Laura for all your advice.

Mango has actually been out today. To not panic him I opened the cage slightly at first and just stayed close, I then gradually opened it fully, and just moved away so that he kind of got the feeling that having the door open wasn't a threat. After about 10 mins, being inquisitive he hopped on to the perch on the inside of the door and then had a fly around. He actually stayed out a lot longer than I thought he would, in fact he was a little like a naughty toddler when I even suggested he should go back in lol. I did however use the time to rearrange his cage as there were parts he wasn't utilising. Anyway I didn't rush him, let him do his own thing having an explore (joys of being able to work from home), and eventually he went back in by himself. And I am happy to say, within the hour he was having a good explore in his cage and playing with some toys which he hasn't bothered with.

I wasn't successful with treats today as even though he was quite close every time I moved my arm he did fly off, so I guess it's now just a patience thing while acknowledging his moods at the same time.

I will be checking out all the links you have sent today and will take on board your advice, and of course will keep you all updated on our progress along with some photos

Also, to the comment above, he was from a pet shop but one which claims to be a bird expert. He claims all his parrots are hand reared which yes, is misrepresentation. Clearly our little Mango has had little hand contact. And whilst I was happy either way (being a lover of all things animal), in one way I am glad I managed to at least save one whom I know will get the best attention. It's just unfortunate that there are people out there that buy these animals purely for an aesthetic look within their home without realising they come with personalities and rules just like a child, and unfortunately end up (maybe unknowingly to the owner) abused and abandoned. It's awful to even think about it, I'm sitting here excited at the simple feeling that our little quaker will hopefully be sitting on shoulders soon lol, so to think these clever little birds are lost in garages with no contact with anyone pains me to the bones.

Anyway - thank you again guys - you have been most helpful and I will be in touch very very soon with updates

 

[Laurasea]

I love the update on Mango! Really I think things are going very well!

In my opinion he was hand raised. It just that the way pet stores are set up, and the excitement of staff and customers, leads to a kit if forced interactions. And thus can have a unintentionally negative impact on babies. I have some article on this i will find and share later. Pet stores and the people who work there aren't trying to do wrong ...its just a big problem in lack of behavior understanding. Abd these are highly intelligent creatures, at young impressionable ages.

I'm excited for pictures and updates on Mango!! And if you do take the time to share your journey and progress it will help many. Yiu may want to start a new thread under quakers, or behavior to share your journey.

He us lucky to have you, someone who has basic understanding of parrots!! Its so difficult to share and help people when it us their first parrot.

Also unfortunately, parrot breeding is going to big warehouse type assembly line ...While the babies are still hand fed, instead if being comfortable and nurturing, tge feeding is quick and soulless. The babies are so stressed and don't have a connection to the feeder, or feelings of security.

Ok this article covers what happens in pet stores. It focuses on clipping wings before babies birds learn to fly, and tge terrible effects that has on them. But it shows and talks about forced interactions. Has video clips as examples. Uts sn eye opener and explains how effects them.
https://parrotvolancy.com/wing-clipping-early-development/