My parrot just dashes to escape

[Haytham]

Dear all,
I've bought an African Ringneck parrot 3 days ago. The bird seemed quite ongoing with the man who sold it to me. standing on his hand or shoulder in the open with no probs, not biting or freaking out. I brought it home and got him in his cage. The bird has no probs when i enter my hand in his cage and i do hand-feed him with no issues. The man told me he's 4 months old.
Once left alone with no people around, he tries to escape the cage and keeps biting and pulling the cage's doors and corners and tries to squeeze himself between the tight bars to get out.
The bird refuses to step up on my hand while in the cage in order to get him out, and if i leave the cage open (i mean to) and he gets out, he dashes to hide in any place. Currenlty he's hiding under the bed and i dunno what to do with that.
So my questions are:
1- How to get him back in the cage? (don't wanna towel him or so).
2- How to make him comfortable and confident out of the cage?

Craving for your fast answers.

Many Thanks in advance.​

 

[Spiritbird]

It is not a good idea to be putting your hand in the cage when the bird is inside. You can only do harm with that as the bird willl not learn to step up and may become cage aggressive. I suggest you get the wings clipped while you are training him. You can try putting a perch on the inside of the door so that when you open the cage door the bird can sit there or when you want your bird back inside you can put it on that perch and then close the door. Please do not try to make the bird anything it does not want to do. He is in a new home, new cage and a new caregiver. Give him time, a calm quiet environment to start with. We always suggest you pull up a chair close to the cage and either read or sing to the bird so it can get used to your voice. Realize the bonding process can take a while. Please read and know the information in the following site:

https://companionparrotonline.com/Member_Articles.html

 

[Pedro]

Dear all,
I've bought an African Ringneck parrot 3 days ago. The bird seemed quite ongoing with the man who sold it to me. standing on his hand or shoulder in the open with no probs, not biting or freaking out. I brought it home and got him in his cage. The bird has no probs when i enter my hand in his cage and i do hand-feed him with no issues. The man told me he's 4 months old.
Once left alone with no people around, he tries to escape the cage and keeps biting and pulling the cage's doors and corners and tries to squeeze himself between the tight bars to get out.
The bird refuses to step up on my hand while in the cage in order to get him out, and if i leave the cage open (i mean to) and he gets out, he dashes to hide in any place. Currenlty he's hiding under the bed and i dunno what to do with that.
So my questions are:
1- How to get him back in the cage? (don't wanna towel him or so).
2- How to make him comfortable and confident out of the cage?

Craving for your fast answers.

Many Thanks in advance.​

You must not rush, you have only had him for 3 days & he is scared, let him settle into his new environment. You may very well have to towel him very gently to get him back into his cage. Or you could get him to step up on a stick. Are there any toys that are in his cage he is scared of?.

You must gain his trust & that could take a long time. Sometimes a baby bird i hand rear becomes very hand shy for reasons i haven't been able to work out & it's usually around 4 months. I have 1 such bird at the moment, I have to work extra hard to gain his trust back again. I start by talking softly & backing away if i feel that he is uncomfortable with my commands. He has always steped up OK but for some reason he just doesn't like my other hand comming anywhere near him. So we have been working on that. It has been 3 weeks & Iam now able to perch him on 1 hand & stroke him with the other. He still seems to be unsure about the whole deal but we are making heaps of progress.

In hind sight i am so sure with most of my babies & can do just about anything with them I forget that sometimes i get a sensitive one & if i do something that bird doesn't like or want to do I can easily upset that little guy & i have to work on the trust all over again.

 

[Haytham]

Thanks alot guys. That's been very useful.
I've been able to get him back to the cage without towling him. i blocked all the exists and the escapes and positioned the cage so that he can get to, then i herd him to the cage so he just climbed back inside.
No toys he can be scared of, only a hard rubbery emtpy baloon dangling from the top and a small dry tree branch that i've put there so that he chews on.
What dazzeles me is that when he was with the man who sold it, it was very easy for him to make the bird step up and walk up to his shoulder with no issues. apparenlty its just he still doesn't trust me around.
Anyways, seems i just have to wait.

 

[Haytham]

It is not a good idea to be putting your hand in the cage when the bird is inside. You can only do harm with that as the bird willl not learn to step up and may become cage aggressive.

How then i can hand feed him or just pat him?

 

[roxynoodle]

It takes time to build trust. He trusted his previous owner because he knew him. He doesn't know you yet. As was suggested, spend time sitting near him, talking and singing. If he makes any sounds (not screaming), try to imitate him. Look at him with your head turned sideways. Looking straight on can scare a fearful bird. Do long, slow blinks as that shows the bird you are relaxed. If you see him blink, blink back. If he sticks his tongue out at you, do it back.

And yes, handfeed him through the bars. If he takes food from you, that's a good sign. Don't worry about petting him yet.

 

[Spiritbird]

I hand fed my birds when they were young out of the cage at the table with me. I used a spoon and to this day they both love to eat yogurt and other soft foods from a spoon. Your bird will love it and get used to it. I prefer not to feed my birds through the bars. I think they respond better and bond faster is your are feeding them where you also eat. You can get a stand to be on the table where you eat.

 

[Mare Miller]

Thank you spiritbird for the companion parrot site! Good one!

 

[Haytham]

And yes, handfeed him through the bars. If he takes food from you, that's a good sign. Don't worry about petting him yet.

Well, he won't accept food through the bars. when i get my hands near the bars he just walks to the other side. He doesn't seem so intimidated when i get my hand in the cage really. I can handfeed him only if my hand is in the cage. I can also pat him with no probs although he looks like he's a bit unsure about it.

Many Thanks for your replies guys.

 

[alan_tre]

i did this with harry to put him away all i did was turn the light of. he then would not fly and i was able to pick him up with not making him scared then when i turned the light on i was able to hold him in my hand and talk to him. now 3 weeks on he steps up and i dont need to turn the light of....

worked well for me to build the trust as he learnt that i was there to help him and keep him safe when it went dark well thats my view on it. as if its dark he cant see so wont fly lol..

but hes now very calm arund me and now flys over to me if i call him and goes back in his cage when i go to turn the light of its great.. he must know its bed time lol

 

[Haytham]

And yes, handfeed him through the bars. If he takes food from you, that's a good sign. Don't worry about petting him yet.

Well, he won't accept food through the bars. when i get my hands near the bars he just walks to the other side. He doesn't seem so intimidated when i get my hand in the cage really. I can handfeed him only if my hand is in the cage. I can also pat him with no probs although he looks like he's a bit unsure about it.

Many Thanks for your replies guys.

Forgot to add that when i pat him, he sometimes nips at my hand gently. I dunno whether is that considered playing or is he trying to aggressive but he's afraid to actually bite.

 

[bobsmom]

Just give him time to get used to you. I have a new bird also and we are just letting him call the shots. He is a very good bird and will let him pet him and such but I can tell he is still scared of us so I just talk to him while next to the cage.

 

[Spiritbird]

Some birds are not touchy feeling. I would stick to head scratching and forget the pats pats. It may be irritating him.

 

[Haytham]

Yesterday i've let him out of the cage, as he likes to roam around. His wings are clipped but as you all know they are great climbers. anyways, i left him out for some hours, and when it was time to get back to the cage, it was very tough for me and him. eventually i had to catch him and put him back. Luckly he didn't bite. Now iam working from home and i have his cage by my side. He's currenlty trying to crack the code of the cage door in order to take another tour. Quite smart.

 

[roxynoodle]

My Nanday isn't touchy/feely. She doesn't want to be petted in any way, shape or form. Some birds love it though. My Blue Crown loved having her head scratched. The amazon wants to snuggle against me and be petted.

My Nanday has been trying to figure out how to open her cage door for a dozen years, lol! It is one of those doors though that you have to press two latches to open and she can't do both. After my amazon saw me open the top of his cage to put in some new toys, he spent about an hour seeing if he could do it. Thankfully he can't! It is definitely safest for the bird if they are supervised at all times out of their cage. So if they do figure out how to open it, you need to take measures. I've watched a video of a cockatoo that could even pick the little padlock his owner's put on the cage. They are definitely smart!

 

[Haytham]

Same thing goes here about trying to open the top of the cage after seeing that i could open it

 

[MissyMe83]

I agree with with everyone else. I understand that you want that instant bond with your new bird, but that true bond will only come with time. Be patient. Also, know that rushing can actually prolong the process. If the bird is scared or frightened and hiding that's less that he's trusting you. Let him relax and get used to his new surroundings and you. Good luck.