training update!

[hypnotoad]

Yesterday I started towel-training Piers. Piri is human friendly, but skittish to hands right now. Piers is totally feral.

I cleared up the bathroom, took him out, and moved him there.

I talked to him in a soothing voice for 15 minutes then scratched the top of his head (by the beak) for a while, he was too antsy to let me scratch elsewhere.

I let him out of the towel, he "flew" to the ground (clipped wings, couldn't get far). After talking for a while and him calmed down, I picked him up and I could have sworn I heard an odd noise; but he didn't yelp so maybe it was nothing. I don't think I used too much pressure, and with the recent vet visit, I sure as heck don't want to hurt him! :(

At the 30 minute mark, he was comfortable with the 'step up' motions, and if I moved my hands slow enough. He got LOTS of praise, and this afternoon he'll be getting lots of treats too.

Then I noticed he was tired of it all, so I put him back with Piri.

By next Sunday, I'm hoping he'll be sufficiently human-tame so I can let him and Piri out to play on the playgyms together; with letting them come out of the cage on their own accord; I (like they) hate having to pick them up with a towel. But I don't want to make them cagebound and I want them more comfy with me.

But Piers' rapid learning yesterday was too cool! :)

[LyndaM]

Sounds like great progress; congrats!

[HeyJude]

Hi Hypno, I tried the same taming with my fids today. I didn't have to use a towel, they were pretty good about not biting me. I did get nailed a couple of good times, but mostly they were nice. They would fly down, I'd go get them, then we would do the step up dance a few times. They did love me scratching their heads. I did this with one then the other. One is much more tame than the other, but I'll work with both of them couple of times a day...
Good luck with your guy, I hope we both do well!:)

[hypnotoad]

Hi Hypno, I tried the same taming with my fids today. I didn't have to use a towel, they were pretty good about not biting me. I did get nailed a couple of good times, but mostly they were nice. They would fly down, I'd go get them, then we would do the step up dance a few times. They did love me scratching their heads. I did this with one then the other. One is much more tame than the other, but I'll work with both of them couple of times a day...
Good luck with your guy, I hope we both do well!:)

Thanks! Right now, I think I'll need it. I've thought about separating the two, which wouldn't do them much good, and doesn't do much in making Piers happier with me. (If he runs away, he will find a corner and growl)

His arrival did de-evolve Piri, of course, but she can still tolerate me for a time. It's sad he hasn't picked up on our time together.

I'm going to have to try big treats; neither will eat regular food... but I am persisting. Even with dietary changes, it will take time, and spring time is no fun as both want to mate, what with Piri owning the roost and all...

[chapala]

Glad they seem to be getting a little tamer. 30 minutes seems a rather long training time though. You'll have to be the judge, but sometimes more frequent, shorter sessions (like 5 minutes a few times a day) work better.
Reta

[tamd63]

hi i am new here and i have one parrotlet, i am trying to hand tame mine and i was wondering about the towel you mentioned, how did you get him out of the cage? i dont want to scare mine whos name is chaze.

[nancybird]

Try using a perch to get him out of the cage. That's what I did. And to teach step-ups. Worked great.

Update for me- we are doing wonderful! No more biting! Zoe (I know, I keep changing the name) is adorable! Took a full two weeks and then it "clicked" like people here said it would. The only thing is that her wings have grown in a good amount and now she wants to fly away more. I can't wait till I see her flying in circles around the room and she comes back to me!