Need help with taming my bird

chestnut

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Tequila - Pineapple GCC;
Kiwi - GCC
Hello. I recently bought my first bird, a super tame mega friendly male conure. He’s ace (only problem is his tail plucking/barbering, but that’s another story). Anyway, I felt he would benefit from having a friend as he is alone all day while I’m at work. I found one, I made it clear I needed a tame bird due to my inexperience and they assured me that he was. Yeah....he’s not! Please (without any lecturing, as I am aware I should’t be in this situation, and I really wasn’t planning to be!!) how do I go about taming him? I can’t get near him in his cage and the last thing I want to do is chase him and scare him even more! Thanks in advance.
 
Good morning! Too late for lectures, the deed is done! I’m so glad you’re reaching out for help.

Here’s a thread that should be very valuable. Sit next to his cage and read it to him. When you’re done with this one, go to the Amazon forum and read the I Love Amazons sticky. Lots of it applies to all parrots. And then find any post by Birdman666 and read those too. The one about beaks is great-totally changed my interactions with my bird, and she’s a parrotlet which is the size opposite of a macaw. Finally, we will give *almost* freely of any knowledge we have, but pictures of your babies as payment is greatly appreciated [emoji16]

Tips for Bonding and Building Trus...orums.com/showthread.php?t=49144&share_type=t


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I agree with Inger, talk quietly and read to it. If it is uncomfortable with you a little bit near his cage, start off small. Enter the room and say a few quiet words to the conure. Once the bird seems more comfortable with you in the room with it, stay in the room and watch a T.V. show. After it gets more comfortable with all the steps.. you can move on. Next, stand near the cage and read. After that, try just putting your hand on the outside of the cage. Once it's relaxed, put a little bit of your hand inside the cage. It is very important that you don't move your hand because it will startle your bird. You should get the basic idea now. you can also approach it with millet or any other treats. :D I hope I could help.
 
Oh, you did the "I bought a second bird for my first bird...but now what do I do with the second bird" thing, lol...Well, time to start working with the second bird then...First of all, what kind of Conure is your first bird, and what kind of bird is the new bird?

Not that this matters much to the training aspect, but background of the bird does help to understand the situation a bit...

Start out by just putting a chair in the same room as your bird is in his cage, and move it as close to his cage as you can, until he starts to get upset about it. Then put the chair at that spot, and that's where your starting-point is. Find a book to read to him gently, softly, make it obvious to him that you're reading it to him. You can also turn on the TV and just sit there watching it with him, occasionally talking to him, etc. Try to at least spend 1 hour a day doing this, more is better, but an hour a day is the least amount of time you need to spend each and every day...and then each day you try to move the chair a little closer to his cage, stopping when you reach the point that he is uncomfortable.

Once you get to the point where you're able to put the chair right next to his cage and sit with him talking to him, then the next step is to open the cage door and do the same, read to him, watch TV with him, etc. Once he's okay with you right next to the cage with the door open, that's the point where you need to start simply resting your hand inside the cage for an hour a day at the least, this is where watching TV becomes handy...Each day you try to move your hand closer and closer to your bird inside his cage, and once you're at the point where you can almost touch him, this is where you want to start putting a millet spray in your hand, and trying to get him to eat from the millet spray while you're holding it. Millet sprays work really well because you can hold them out away from your hand and they feel comfortably eating from them because they don't actually have to approach your hand...And once you get to the point where the millet is no longer sticking out of your hand but rather just resting in the palm of your hand and the bird is eating "out of the palm of your hand", that's when it's time to start trying to get him to step-up for you. You do this by holding the millet spray inside the palm of your hand and allowing him to eat from it, and then simply extending your index-finger and attempting to get it right above his feet, touching his tummy. Eventually he'll step-up onto your finger while inside his cage and he'll continue eating from the millet spray. Once this happens, then you work on slowly moving him towards the cage door while on your finger, until one day you can get him out of the cage on your hand. Then once you accomplish that, then you eliminate the millet spray and just start getting him to step-up onto your hand inside of his cage without the millet spray, and then slowly getting him outside of his cage on your finger...

Realize that this process is a marathon, not a sprint. This will take weeks with some birds, months with other, years with others. That's where the background/history of the bird comes into play...You said you told "them" that you needed a completely tame bird, I don't know who "them" was, a pet shop, breeder, former owner, etc. But if this bird was not hand-raised by his breeder, but rather parent-raised, then it will most-likely take longer to tame him. If he was hand-raised by his breeder but just hasn't been given much attention at all since he left his breeder, that usually makes it a bit easier to tame them again. It just depends on each individual bird...

The important thing is to never give-up, because if you give-up, then you'll have to start-over again each time you decide that you want to try to tame him again. It's easy to get frustrated and discouraged throughout this process, but you just have to keep at-it, and it will happen, BUT AT THE BIRD'S PACE, NOT YOUR PACE...
 
Thank you for the advice and links. I realise there is no quick fix and am prepared to take as long as it takes.
They are both male green cheek conures, and the second bird came from a breeder altho he was just over a year old - same age as my first bird. When I picked him up he was perched on their finger, but he didn’t seem to know the step up command. I’m hopeful that given time he will adjust to his new surroundings and myself, but as I say I am prepared to take as long as it takes. Thanks again.
 

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