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Stubborn and scared......

As some of you may remember, last year I posted about my new pet. A parakeet named Aven. Between then and a few months ago, I had been trying to train Aven to simply get on my finger through a step by step training procedure on this site I found. I got to step...4 where I put part of my finger on a perch that Aven knows is safe, and he's supposed to step on it and my finger at the same time to learn that my finger is safe. This step worked fairly well, he would get on the perch but occasionally he would freak out and I'd have to quit for a while. After a week of doing this, he didn't seem to get much better but the instructions assured me that I could move onto the next step, trying to get him on my finger. I tried so many times and he just kept flying away. So after a while I just quit. I had even backtracked to step 3 for a while which he did very well. ANYWAYS, now, a few months later, I've decied to try again since he is very used to me since I got him, he doesn't fly around like a maniac when I change his food and stuff, he just flies to his back perch. So I'd like to try again but use a different method. I don't know what kind of method to use but I know I want it to suit Aven's personality of being skitzy, stubborn, and sometimes playful. I also need some ideas on some good kinds of treats to give him. I used to give him cheerios and he LOVED them but there was no way I could give them to him that he could see it as being praised. I just need pure HELP.

BTW, here's a really badly taken picture of him that I just now took. It's kind of blurry because I can't keep the camera still. x.x;
Aven726.jpg
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I used to give him cheerios and he LOVED them but there was no way I could give them to him that he could see it as being praised.
why not? When trying to train him, don't put any in his food or anything.
If he loves them so much, first I would try hand feeding him the cheerios. When he accepts them, the next thing I would do is to try to make him HAVE to step on my finger to get to them, while giving him a command or something. Just put your right finger in front of him (in front and a little above his perch... they like going up, not down) and with your left hand hold the cheerio so he can't reach it unless he climbs on to your finger.
 
I totally agree with AlphaWolf.I would try that.And they do like to step up,so just like he said,place your finger infront of Aven and slighty touching his chest area.He may fly away if you do this,but it may also encourage him to "step up" to your finger.And just hold the cheerio infront of him and make him work for it.But always end on a good note.So if he just does it once,then stop there and give him the yummy.You'll do great,don't give up.He's a very pretty bird btw
smile.gif
 I used to have a baby blue and white one named Buddy.~Niki~
 
that's right, my birds don't step up unless you almost push them off the perch with your finger LOL. little brats. They don't really like stepping up so we don't ask them unless it's necessary. They jump/fly to our shoulders instead.
 
I tried the methods that have been suggested and I haven't had any luck yet...he just kept flying around and ramming into my hand, but not actually landing on it... I tried to to use his favorite mirror and stuff. I tried to coax him onto it, while I was holding it. But it didn't work...he just won't let me get close to him. It's been almost 12 months since I've had him and he's just really stubborn.....
 
i started training parakeets (others) by using romaine lettuce in the cages. theyloved it. once they were eating it i held it trough the cage bars while they fed. i did that for awhile then moved my hand into the cage wholding the lettuce. that whole step alone took me a month and a half. i could have worked faster but if i went to fast wed have to start all over
 
I had a couple of parakeets as a kid. I remember that they had their wings clipped when bought. This made training them much easier. I would put my finger in front of them and press slightly on them until they got on. It was either get on my finger or fall off the perch! Seemed mean, but after 1wk they would get on automatically, and continued to do so once they could fly again. I taught them some tricks afterwards, but it was always tougher once they could fly.

Any bird that can fly will act much more independent than one that can't. Your bird is no different. ;)
 
I bought Aven without his wings clipped.

I'll ask my mom to pick up some romaine lettuce and see if your method will work on Aven too. I hope it does...
 
Gadzooks! I can't imagine training a bird without clipping its wings. My cousin had an untamed parakeet, and we clipped its wings, and it was happily perching on our fingers in no time! Try that! (Make sure you know what you're doing. It's pretty easy.)

Capslock
 
  • #10
They don't usually recommend you do it yourself because they'd associate you with bad... since they don't like getting their wings clipped.
If you want to do it yourself, I'd suggest you do it after it's tame, otherwise it will just make it harder to tame it than if you took it to the vet/pet shop (my pet shop does it for free) since it'll hate you :p
 
  • #11
birdie bread works good too. get corn bread mix and make it with egg and water instead of milk. you can put cinnamon in it they love it. you could also put mixed veggies in it too. don't give up patience and routine. they will eventually get used to it!
smile.gif
i've got 8 birs and it took and is taking a long time to get them all to do exactly what we want them to do. wing clipping is also a good idea until trained for safety.
 
  • #12
EGG?! O.O; I'm not gonna feed Aven an egg! That's creepy on so many levels!

I would NEVER clip his wings myself, 1: I don't know how, 2: There's no way I'd even be able to get ahold of him in order to do it, and 3: He'd hate me even more afterwords! x.x;
 
  • #13
you have 8 birds? wow. I'm almost deaf from their hellish screaming and I only have 2! LOL
ok, birdie bread... but how exactly do you get them to eat it in the first place? my birds are really picky. They only eat what you don't wnat them to :p Try putting veggies in their cage? they get scared, but put a huge box in the foor and they'll be chewing it in no time. Heck, They have this plant that they love to chew, and one time one of the leaves fell off so I put it in their cage so they'd eat it... well, what do you know... they were scared of it! LOL
any tips on getting them to eat something else?

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]EGG?! O.O; I'm not gonna feed Aven an egg! That's creepy on so many levels!

why do people think that giving birds other birds to eat is cannivalism or something? we eat other mammals... we give cow meat to our dogs... what's the big deal? You're not giving your parrot another one of it's species to eat, you're not even giving it another parrot to eat. That's a chicken... EDIT: they're not even in the same family
 
  • #14
OI! You were the one going on about farmers feeding their cows other cows! I don't wanna hear it!
 
  • #15
you have 8 birds?

yeah i do! i love them all, it does get a little noisy but they talk and sing andy griffith most of the time so it's not that bad. the only part that sucks is when i stay up late and want to sleep in they decide to scream until i get up
mad.gif



as for the bread, some eat it some don't i just put it in their bowls and they at least go and investigate it. if they get scared the first time don't give up just keep giving it to them and they will at least try it. you just give them different foods until you find out what they like. the only things you can't give them is avacados, chocolate, and they are lactose intolerant. you can give them anything you eat. mine love all kids of foods. stay away from a lot of sweets too.
smile.gif

what kind of birds do you have?
 
  • #16
I have two very smart lovebirds
smile.gif
one time they somehow escaped form their closed cage. We assume one opened the door while the other got out, and then the one outside opened the door for the one inside. lol

interesting... I had never thought about them being lactose intolerant but it makes sense.
Well, I'll try what you said... with something that doesn't rot or go bad. We'd have to go through five lettuces so they'd finally try them :p
oh, it also has to be something they won't just chuck off to the side, like they do the seeds they don't like (their main food is pellets but we give them seeds as treats)
 
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