Starting from scratch hand training parrotlet

GemelGomes

Banned
Banned
Nov 2, 2019
2
2
Hi! I had a hand tame parrotlet for years and just started looking at getting a bird again when a little guy came up on Kijiji. They claim he was hand fed and trained. He was not getting the attention he needed at his last home so they decided to sell him. I thought it was fate, so I bought him three days ago. The first few days I thought he was just stressed out but now I am starting to think he wasn't hand trained at all! He's only 3 months old, and the guy who sold him said that he would snuggle on their shoulders and watch movies. I can't even get him to step up on a dowel. It's like he's never done it before! He has clipped wings right now (previous owners did it) but can still fly pretty well, and, like all parrotlets, heads for the toughest and most dangerous spots as soon as it's time to go back in the cage. I have been watching Marlene McCohen's videos and trying to take him to neutral ground and end on a positive note but it seems like every time we take a step forward he gets himself into a spot like behind the books in my bookcase and I need to get him out for his own safety. He corners himself and is just really stressed and aggressive at any attempts to get him to come. I don't mind letting him be if that's what's best for him, but I would like for him to get comfortable with letting me get him in and out of the cage for safety. Any tools and tips welcome!
 

LaManuka

Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Aug 29, 2018
25,555
Media
26
Albums
1
33,188
Queensland, Australia
Parrots
Fang ({ab}normal grey cockatiel), Valentino (budgie), Jem (cinnamon cockatiel), Lovejoy(varied lorikeet), Peach (princess parrot)
Hello and welcome to Parrot Forums! Does your little one have a name yet?

I don’t know much about parrotlets but I have a teeny tiny lorikeet about the same size as a parrotlet. When we first got her I too was petrified of losing her behind a bookcase or a cabinet or such like! She would have been about the same age as your baby and hand-reared but had spent too much time in an aviary and had virtually reverted to almost wild behaviour so was terrified of me. I spent probably 2 or 3 weeks gradually getting closer to her in her cage while she got used to her new surroundings (fortunately I was on leave from work at the time!) I would sit close to her cage and read to her, and I played YouTube clips of her species on my phone to her which piqued her interest and got her to come for a closer look. When she was a little more confident I would hold her favourite food in my fingertips (eucalyptus flowers in her case) and because she’s a pretty smart little girl she jumped onto my shoulder to eat them and she’s been my velcro-bird ever since!

So my recommendation to you is time, patience and food bribery. I’m sure a parrotlet expert will give you some more specific advice soon, but in the meantime welcome again and we love pictures here too :)
 

18WheelsOfSteel

New member
Jun 26, 2019
236
80
West Central Louisiana, originally from Portland O
Parrots
2 Budgies
"Southern Belle" a blue female
"Beau Dandy" a green male
Part of it is I think timeline, another part, and this may or may not be feasible, but try to set up an area that is free of "trouble" areas as much as possible, that way you aren't having to grab the towel and increase stress like that, I find food is a fantastic bribe, don't force them to eat it, just offer it, and be prepared to be told no a bunch of times, don't take it personally, just like a sales person, get told no 1000 times and eventually you get a yes, from there you are off to the races...at the birds pace of course.
 

wrench13

Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Parrot of the Month 🏆
Nov 22, 2015
11,383
Media
14
Albums
2
12,567
Isle of Long, NY
Parrots
Yellow Shoulder Amazon, Salty
Seek out "Bumble" and Inger's threads,she has insight in parrolet and she may be able to give some species specific pointers. 3 days is nothing, take your time and let him become more comfortable in his new home. Treat him as if he was a wild caught parrot, and start from there. What I know about parrolets is they are STUBBORN and think they are the size of a macaw.
 

Most Reactions

Latest posts

Top