Hi all im new and need help

[MattGordon]

Hi there my names Matt i am in the forces and have recently (yesterday) brought a 4 month old alexandrine male from what we were told when we went and looked at him and got him he was hand reared and have seen pics of it however since we got him home he goes mental if u put ur hand in the cage flying about and also he wont even come to the side of cage for fruit through the cage am very frustrated and need help as struggling to help him come to terms with his new home. I cant try touch him as he goes mad and if you do manage to catch him he bites what can i do should i just leave him be an in the cage???? help plz thank you all look forward to hearing from you all thanx again

 

[Captsteve]

The poor thing is scared and stressed out.Leave him be for a few days to get used to his new world. Everything he ever knew has been ripped from him!

Sit near the cage and talk to him quitely. give him time and be gentle,he will come around, just give him time and space.

All will be well, you will see.

 

[weco]

Hi Matt,

Welcome to the forums.....Steve is spot on, patience is the operative word here.....

Unlike kittens & puppies, our feathered friends do not come ready for neck scratches & back rubs. While I have never had experience with IRNs, I took in 4 sun conures that were essentially wild, because they'd been parent raised & never been handled, having been left together. They were all siblings of 18 & 24 months.....it took me just over a year to get the last one hand tamed.....

Once your new friend understands you don't plan to pluck & eat him, he'll be more inclined to let you join him as a flock member.....As part of your continuing learning experience being a companion parrot person, you might want to read up on clicker training & touch training.....there's a lot of info on the internet & several decent videos on youtube, because once you have been accepted, you will probably find yourself with an untruly 3-yo feathered child that needs direction & boundaries.....

Good luck.....

 

[Betrisher]

Oo yay! Another Alexandrine owner! May I just say welcome to the forum and you have made an *excellent* choice of parrot!

This poor guy is probably very stressed as Captsteve said. Even small changes in their circumstances can mean a lot to a parrot, so do try to be very patient. Make small, quiet movements and use a low, calm voice around your Alex for the next little while. If he has been hand reared, he should calm down in a few days. When you notice him taking an interest in his surroundings (eg. exploring his cage, watching you, calling), you could start by offering a treat through the bars. You could start with something long, like a spray of millet or stick of celery. Alexes are greedy birds and I found the key to mine was absolutely in food They will do anything for a bite to eat!

Once your bloke (what's his name? Mine are Barney and Madge: the Beaks) has settled in, you can start with step up training and, perhaps, target training. There's lots of help to be had here (just ask) and YouTube is your friend. In the meantime, do try and post some photos of your Alex. We all love to keep up with what other members are doing with their birds and it's nice to put a face to the name.

 

[MattGordon]

aaaa guys u are all brilliant and very helpfull this is quite a place online wen ur feelin stuck knowing that there are people i can turn to it is great still getting on my feet here tryin to find out were all the posts are and all other peoples posts if i can eva help i will try any way yes ill get a few photos on and his name is max cheers again people ill be keepin in touch and ill let ya all kno how we are all gettin on

 

[JerseyWendy]

Hi Matt. Welcome to the forum, and THANK YOU for your service!!!

 

[MattGordon]

hi there thank you all for your posts it is really nice to know that i have got experienced people to turn to unfortunately circumstances have changed as the breeder we got him from has just disappeared with no trance and it has got us thinking that he is not hand reared i have read alot about this an it is alot harder if he is not if this is so how should i go about trying to gain his trust and train him cheers again

 

[Betrisher]

Same way, Matt, only slower. Just spend as much time as you can sitting by his cage talking or reading to him. Eventually, you could try sitting with your hand in the cage for a few minutes at a time and then gently withdrawing it. It seems like a whole lot of trouble, but the quiet, gentle, patient way is the most likely to get you a pet that you can train later on. Sometimes, it can take a while before you get rewarded with a breakthrough, but once it happens, you usually get a few in a row.

I'm a great believer in bribery. I've made great strides forward with my Alexes by shamelessly feeding them seeds from my hands. One at a time, mind! If you can entice Max to eat from your hand, that's a great beginning. Hasten slowly!

 

[MattGordon]

Yea cant even try bribe him at the moment as he just runs and hides at the back of his cage if I try offer him anything

 

[Betrisher]

OK then, choose something long (celery works well, cut in long thin strips) and poke it into the cage and leave it there. Hopefully, Max will enjoy eating it and look out for more. Eventually, he ought to come running for this treat, even when you're holding onto the other end of it. Shorten the lengths until you're feeding him little pieces of celery from your hand. Of course, this would take days, even weeks to achieve. Eventually, you can stick your hand in the cage and gradually entice him to take the treat directly from you.

 

[crimson]

Hi Matt and welcome to the forum!
like the other members said, he sounds like he's really stressed, and maybe even panicking. you have good advice, just take things in super small steps and really slowly.

Even though I am from Canada I just wanted to thank you for your service to your wonderful country! Bless you.

 

[Sammy01]

I hope the link works this time as last time I tried offering it, someone had to fix it for me (I'm using my iPhone).

https://companionparrotonline.com/s...nionparrotonline.com/chair_exercise.html#2994

If it doesn't try googling:

The Chair Exercise By Sally Blanchard

Also, the site has other helpful links.


Here's the first part:



Highly Successful Method

For several years, I have written about a highly successful way to win back the trust of a fearful parrot. This method also works with parrots who have become fear biters. While biting may seem to be aggression, a great deal of biting starts because a parrot becomes threatened and afraid. People do not want to stop interacting with their parrots but it can be very threatening for both the caregiver and the bird if people try to force a parrot out of his cage. Approaching a fearful parrot too directly will escalate the fear and can turn it into aggression.

Sometimes if parrots have experienced too many changes from a move to a new location or to a new human flock and/or the grief over a lost parrot, animal, or human companion they may be confused enough to decide not to come out of thier cages and may even exhibit aggression if people approach them too directly. Using the chair exercise provides them with the indirect attention they may need to be confident enough to come out of their cages and accept physical handling.

There is one absolute rule in parrot behavior and that is: parrots are more comfortable with people who are comfortable with them. The first step in winning back the trust of a phobic bird is to take a few deep breaths and relax.

The whole point of the patient chair exercise is to be as nonthreatening as possible and invite the parrot to approach you rather than being direct. It is used in situations where the bird resists coming out of the cage without fuss and fear. It works very well to establish (or re-establish) a trusting bond between a person and a parrot. For instance, when there is a sudden dislike of a family member, a new person wants to be a part of the bird’s life, or the parrot has experienced some traumatic episode, this concept is a key to building a trusting bond with the bird.

Start by positioning a simple chair near the cage. Ideally the door of the cage should be open, however, if the bird is exceptionally nervous when the door is open, then start with it closed. In some cases the chair may have to be introduced to the cage area gradually.

Sit in the chair so that your side is toward the parrot. This way you can see the parrot using your peripheral vision but you are not making direct and possibly intimidating eye contact with him. Your eyes should be cast downward and you should be doing something like reading a book. In the beginning it is best to actually ignore the bird. Because parrots are so social, the bird will most likely be interested in what you are doing. For a very shy bird, reading may be the entire session on the first day or even for a few days or so and it may seem as if haven’t accomplished anything. Be patient and keep providing him with this indirect, and even submissive, attention. Read your mail, pay your bills, write your letters, and have a snack, but do it quietly sitting next to your bird’s cage!

 

[MattGordon]

cheers some body has to do the service it is a pleasure sometimes and thankyou sammy unfortunately the link didnt work however i did find it on google it is very helpful however max is still to frightened and not handleable we are just trying to get him use to us and not scared which at the moment is very slow with no progress

 

[legal_eagle]

I'd recommend you have the wings clipped at least once ... it helps tremendously in the taming process.

 

[Sammy01]

cheers some body has to do the service it is a pleasure sometimes and thankyou sammy unfortunately the link didnt work however i did find it on google it is very helpful however max is still to frightened and not handleable we are just trying to get him use to us and not scared which at the moment is very slow with no progress

Yeah I'm sorry about the link.

I know that right now it might seem too slow, you just have to hang in there. I know it sounds really cheesy and not very helpful, but give it time. Don't rush your little buddy. Be sure to always be friendly, try to avoid negative energy around them. Also, if you have children and/ or a partner try and see how they behave with your companion. Maybe they're doing something to scare them. Sometimes small children may think they're playing with parrots, but in reality are traumatizing the poor things.

Good luck.

 

[Sammy01]

I'm not sure if this has been asked for, so forgive me if it is a repeat, but do you mind posting pictures of him in his cage? Maybe there's something that might be making him nervous.

A few other questions:

How do you change his food and water? What about his cage? If you go in nervous and just do it as fast as possible you might be making him nervous. Try and do it as calmly as possible, and if possible "flirt" with him. Stay looking down and say some things in a "baby way" to him. In the beginning don't over do the talking if he's not use to it. Just a simple good morning or how are you might be enough.

How does everyone in your home treat the parrot? Has anyone ever done something to make your parrot think "people are scary"?

Where is he located? Sometimes the location may bother your baby parrot. Also, if your home is extremely different it might be what's frightening him. If the breeder had music on most of the time, try doing something similar.

How do you show him new things? I remember when I first got budgies that didn't know how to play with a toy. It was frightening to them and they stayed as far away from it as possible. I got them to start liking the toys by playing with the toys in front of them. Eventually they decided to explore and see what it was. If your breeder didn't provide it toys, toys might be frightening now. Also, even if they were feeding him seeds, stick to it in the beginning. You don't want to change too much too soon.

 

[MonicaMc]

You may find some good advise in this link.


Working with Fearful Parrots: A Study in Videos | Learning Parrots