teaching good cage manners

[ftlaudmom]

I've posted before with questions on gaining trust with my new orange winged amazon Rico. He's a four yo sweetie and he's come a long way since I got him. He was very socialized from his previous owners but he just needed a little time to realize that his new family was not going to hurt him.

He's learned about the clicker and the target stick and he's been coming in and out of his cage with the target (well mostly coming out - going back in is not as easy but we're getting there). Once out and on my hand he knows step up and has just started to trust me enough for a few scratches here and there. He does much better when he's out of sight of his cage.

Now I'd like to get some advice on how to teach him that he needs to step up in order to be allowed out of his cage. He still argues with me and tries to bite when I attempt to get him to step up from inside his cage. I asked his previous owner how he was allowed to come out of his cage and he said he just let him come out when he wanted. With that I'm not surprised that he doesn't know that behaviour. Also, I've attempted to introduce him to the "stick" for step up and he definitely doesn't like that so I don't think that will be an effective method. He likes hands more it seems. He has no problem with me messing around with stuff in his cage while he's in it he just doesn't want to step up. Should I give him more time or is this something that needs a specific series of steps to achieve.

I'm really happy with our progress so far and don't want to spoil things. Thanks to all the posters from my previous thread.

 

[Autumn]

1 word territorial( spelled correctly or not)
Sticking a hand in the cage is a no-no especially if its an adult.
If you are the subsitute parrot then you have his trust. This is difficult because the Amazon will choose who he likes. I cant stick my hand in their but his substitute can and he wont bite, heck he puts his head in the cage too. That just gives him food change duty.
Thing is every parrot is different so i don't know how to answer this one, but boy what a paragraph.

 

[QuackQuack]

I have an orange wing amazon too so ^5!!! Unfortunately, mine would let anyone move into his cage with him, so I cannot help you there!

 

[henpecked]

I think the issue is when you put your hand in the cage for him to step up it's you wanting to take him out ,not him wanting to leave.Work on having him step up when he comes to the door because he wants out. I also announce to my birds that i want them to go with me long before i get to the cage, don't just walk up ,stick your hand in and exspect them to want to go (step up).I usually ask them in a excited voice "you want to go?" before i get to the cage and give them a chance to decide to go with me.Be careful about demanding too much from your new pet,respect them and be aware of their need to feel secure,you'll earn their trust much quicker.The training part works for both you and the bird.Train yourself to how a amazon thinks and training him later will be easy.Make friends first,learn to interact with your zon and then he'll gladly step up to go with you,because he's learned to trust you and wants to be with you.Don't bother with teaching him to step up,I'm sure he knows how already,the issue is he doesn't want too.

 

[YNAMomma]

I have two yellow nape amazons and both are 10 years old and were very unsocialized when i got them they would bite and growl at the stick when i tried step up training. for weeks they would protest it, I just kept at it several times a day . They still are not overly fond of it but and occationally nip at it but usually as they are stepping up onto it like they are telling me. I still hate this stick, but i know what you want me to do. lol.. So what i suggest is even though they seem to be upset by the stick don't give up. I even spent a week treating my ammies with thier favorite foods anytime the stick even came into sight and they are still not fond of it. But i've only been at it a month so even i am still giving them time. Good luck!

 

[ftlaudmom]

Well quite frankly I actually don't care much how he gets out of the cage, whether on my hand or on his own. I'm just happy with him spending time out of the cage with me as much as he will tolerate. Its just that I've read a lot of posts from experienced parrot trainers that suggest that if you let them "have their own way" that amazons will tend to become more aggressive and bossy as they get older. I know my yellow nape that I had for 23 years was only taken out of his cage on my hand so I'm not sure how he would have been different if I'd let things go the other way.

 

[henpecked]

IMO wellsocialized zons have very few behavioral issues,the key word here is "well socialized".When someone raises a baby the "have their own way" becomes an issue if that bird is not well socialized. Being part of the flock and having a mate is everything to these birds , when left alone and to their own devices then issues arise.On the other hand when rehoming an older bird that has not been "well socialized" you have to play by a different set of rules then when raising your own baby. You do have to give them more space and let them decide to want to be part of your flock.Your 4 yr old is still young enough that giving him a little time to adjust ,I'm sure he will become a great and cuddly pet in short order.You have his maturity issues on the horizon but at the same time he will start looking for a life long mate,your big chance. Good luck

 

[schristensen13]

I adopted my 16 y/o CAG last Spring and her previous owner was not able to get her out of her cage without a stick. She would puff up at the stick but would step up to it. I had a feeling that Mariah had trained her old owners to not take her out of the cage by hand, thus necessitating the stick training. Although the stick training is very nice to have, in case it's needed (i.e. someone else needs to pick her up or move her without me there) I wanted to get her to step up on to my hand from her cage.
It really didn't take all that long for her and I to "get there"....some patience on my part and most of all some confidence. Once she figured out that the only way to come out was on my hand, and I wouldn't pull back if she tested me with her beak we were on our way.
From what I hear, Zons are a whole different beast when it comes to aggression and beaky-ness. My girl never did more than a very light pinch...once she figured out that those pinches wouldn't scare me, she was fine.

Good luck!!

 

[oled]

Personal I claim the space in the cage for my hand and press gentle between the feed for step up