How to get my parrot to step onto my hand when exiting the cage?

[Timgeorgr]

Hi guys,
I need your advice on getting my Alexandrine parrot to step up onto my hand to exit his cage. As of right now I use a stick to get him out; I would usually place the stick in the cage, then I would say " up and out" and he would step onto the stick and I will bring him out.

Once he's out of the cage I can hold him on my hands, talk to him, scratch his chest and I can even pet him ( he has recently allowed me to pet him) and place him on my shoulders.

The problem is, if I use my hands to get him out of the cage instead of the stick, he will attack my hands. He has bitten my hands that way many many times to the point where it bleeds. If someone including me,stand next to the cage, he will dilate his pupils and start bobbing his head (his sign that he is about to attack). I've had him for 10 months, I am his second home and he is about 2 years old. How do I get him to trust me with his cage?

 

[Kantia]

Bless him, sounds like he might have had a rough time and doesn't trust hands that much.
What I would do is sit by his cage and talk to him and leave the door open too. Put your finger by the open door and hold a treat with your other hand. Try to entice him out with the treat and allow him to step onto your finger, using the same command you would do with the stick. If he does step onto your finger, give him the treat. This might take a while, though and you might find you have to take baby steps.. I.e sitting by his cage with the door open for a couple of weeks.
It sounds like he's protective of his cage and/or he was mistreated before and has trust issues. So take it slow, be patient and use lots of treats. Hopefully he'll learn that you or your hands are not a threat to him like the stick isn't. Good luck!

 

[Timgeorgr]

Thank you Kantia.
I really think that he has trust issues with hands because he wouldn't take treats from me either. Even if I put the treats in a shallow bowl next to him when he's out of the cage, he just wouldn't take them. I've been trying really hard to get him to accept treats, I've asked questions on here about it and nothing has help thus far. However, I have taught him how to hand shake, high five and step up by praising him by saying things like "very good, excellent, good boy." Do you think this praising him will work? How do I get him to accept treats? I feel like he has to trust my hands and then he will be comfortable to accept treats from me.

 

[Kantia]

I feel like he has to trust my hands and then he will be comfortable to accept treats from me.

I think you summed it up here, like a catch 22.

If he's not responding to treats then you can try to praise him verbally. Sit by his cage and talk to him, read, tell him what you're doing.
Another thing you could try (which would be interesting to see if it works) if get his favorite toy and reward him with that. It's just another method if treats don't work, although he may not respond because of the hand issue, but try it just in case.
Whether you feed him treats, talk, play, train... These are all things you can do to bond and over time he will learn you are not a threat.

Regarding treats, he probably doesn't feel comfortable eating treats outside the cage as he may feel vulnerable in the open.

Keep doing what you're doing, praise him verbally when he does a 'good' behaviour, try him with treats but don't put any pressure on him and try the toy idea.

Sounds to me like he'll need a lot of time and love. Keep us updated or feel free to send me a message.

 

[Timgeorgr]

Thank you so much. I will definitely try the toy idea. And I will keep you posted on his progress.

 

[DerSchniffles]

When I got Scarlet 4 months ago (she is older, 18 years old, and im her third owner) she had the exact same problem. She was sweet once she was out of her cage, but inside, she was a little monster. She was very territorial when inside of her cage. I had to work alot with her to be comfy with me. Its still a work in progress and ive had to learn alot of her body language. Sometimes they just dont want to be bothered, especially when the beginning bonding stages are happening.

I had to let her chew me up a bit to let her know that I wasnt going to budge. Make sure you are looking at him straight in the eyes and try to keep his attention. I found that she hates being picked up with my left hand and still tries to kill it haha, but my right hand she is completely okay with. A bit of trial and error there. If she wants to bite I stick both hands in and distract her beak with one and then pick her up with the other. Once I got her out, I would go over "step up" with her over and over about 10 times and reward her to death. This took place for about 2 or 3 weeks.

You are part of his flock, when he is aggresive with you in his cage he thinks he is above you. You need to remind him that you are his EQUAL and that bad behavior is not acceptable. Its all about trust. I personally dont like the idea of taking birds out with a stick unless absolutely necessary. Maybe if he is running away when you try to pick him up or something. It just seems to forceful otherwise. He needs to trust your hands, not a stick. You need to build that trust with him and make sure that when he is out, that you are doing fun things with him. Play with him, take him in the shower with you, give him treats, let him watch a movie with you, take him out places with you, read a crappy book and let him chew the hell out of it, whatever. Right now, his comfort zone is exclusive to his cage, and he is afraid of leaving it. Make it fun for both of you.

Good luck!