Parrotlets Forum : TalkParrotlets banner

Babies who don't like treats

6K views 57 replies 8 participants last post by  Pletluvr2 
#1 ·
Hello amazing parrotlet parents! I love this forum, I spent weeks here before getting a parrotlet, and I am so lucky you guys are so helpful - because you've answered questions I didn't even know to ask! Thank you thank you thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge on this board!

I have seen this answered in a book referral, but I can't seem to locate it.
What do you do when your parrotlet doesn't seem to want a treat? Right now, he is on a diet that he was on at the store - it has millet in it. He is only ten-twelve weeks old. So here's the deal:

-He is 10-12 weeks old and suggestions say to leave millet readily available for a month, so scarcity for him won't drive him to eating it
-He is eating food that has millet in it (but being moved into a pellet and fresh food mixture, again he's only here since Sunday.) so perhaps scarcity will never be an issue for him
-He seems absolutely content to hang on my chest or shoulder, but I know that's a no-no for now
-Afraid of hands
-Likes millet, kind of. Eats some and then eats his seeds. It's readily available, again, because he's a baaaby (he'll always be my baby.)

I tried feeding him hulled sunflower seeds but he won't have it, he's just really scared of my hands, and I'd like to s-l-o-w-l-y inform him that they're cool. He isn't as fearful when he sits on my arm. I would love to train him to step up, though, so he doesn't forget how cool he was with hands at the store (don't need to take him out of the cage if he's not ready, but he was cool at the store and fell asleep on my hand.)

Reasons I think he's ready for training, but am totally willing to wait if necessary:
He was cool at the store with fingers, hand riding, etc, while away from his cage.
He has fully explored his new cage, is active some of the day each day, eating and drinking regularly (I spy on him from a webcam while I'm at work :D)
He eats when I eat.
Chirps at me. I think it's sweet, doesn't seem like a mean chirp
No fear at all of my face or body, other than the occasional freeze, but will sometimes come closer to me when I'm talking to him, he's only afraid-afraid when the hands come in.
He lets me put my hand in there s-l-o-w-l-y but looks suspiciously at it and backs away if I get too close (or sometimes I have hand tremors. I can't imagine that helps.)

The pet store people did hand-chase him in his cage to get him out when people wanted to check him out, so I am sure some of this is from that. What is the best idea for training to step up when the guy doesn't seem to like treats? I am also more than happy to leave him be if that's what it sounds like he needs too. Just hoping to get some non-treat feedback and ideas!

I love him to pieces, how on earth did that happen so fast?! I saw him a week before I got him - and I didn't hold him but couldn't stop thinking about him! He's just precious! I am smitten! :D
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Hold on, you have a bird cam after only 4 days?! That is so unfair! I mean....i meant to say... Hi, welcome!! Glad you finally joined us! :p :D

Ok, on to treats. I know how you feel. My Tobie does not care about treats. Looking forward to someone having a good idea on that one because I can't find anything that motivates him.

I can offer the thought that if he's eating his seed happily and seems like he's settling in well you could remove the millet in a couple days and see if he will eat it as a treat.
Lilly made herself right at home imidiately, I didn't have to ease her into anything, she just started playing and eating all the same food as the other birds. Just go off of what you think is best for him if he's eating well.

It is true that shoulders are typically a no no. However, baby birds do find a sense of security up there and he probably likes your chest if he feels secure and can feel/hear your heartbeat. (awe!) I personally think if he's bonding with you and NOT misbehaving or biting it's ok to allow short amounts of time snuggling. Try to really balance it out with hand or arm time so he dosent become obsessed. (This is just my opinion, I know people who allow zero shoulder time from day one. You decide)

Even if he was ok with hands in the per store remember he's still aklimating. The more time you spend with your hands in the cage or slowly approaching him the less scary they will be.

Is he clipped?
How do you get him out, he comes out willingly?
Can you try taking him into a small area like a bathroom and work with him? The cage can be a distraction sometimes, so removing the cage from visibility can re enforce the need to be near you as familiarity.
If you can, set him down on a flat surface and try step up.

Above all, just take it one day at a time. You will both learn as you go.
 
#3 ·
Hi and officially welcome to the forum!
What's his name? And where are OUR pictures? I mean, obviously you have some if you have a bird cam. :D
Tumi wasn't a treat lover. I found that he was pretty interested in almond slivers, though, so that worked some. He also will do ANYTHING for crinkling plastic and now tissues. Honestly, though, they enjoy the attention and sometimes you voice is enough. For now, hang out by his cage. Sing to him (seriously, no matter what your voice is). Read to him. Let him adjust to you as his new flock.
He might be ready to come out. Tumi was a cling-on, always wanting out of the cage and on my hand instead of in the scary cage. Some birds are ready right away, and others take weeks. Follow his lead with what you do.
 
#4 ·
I LOVE that you have a bird cam already!!! The first day I left Levi at home to go to work I instantly started looking at web cams and then decided that I would get nothing done if I could watch him all day... also one of the reasons I work from home a lot less now :D

It sounds like you are doing really well already, especially if he is exploring his cage. In my experience, I had a statue bird for a veeeery long time. Levi was so scared of everything that treats weren't of interest to him for ages. Something that I found worked for me was crumbling up the millet with my fingers while enticing him through millet training to gain his trust and get him to step up. Or I would pick off each little seed with my fingernails and drop it to the bottom of the cage. Basically I would try to mimic "eating" the millet. He would cock his head when he heard the seeds drop and after a while he would understand it was food and he should try some.
 
#5 ·
Thank you guys so much for the replies!! I couldn't live not knowing what he would do at work, so I jerry rigged my laptop to do private live streaming to youtube, the only way I can see it is to log in and it records everything for me.
All this and I don't know how to post a picture 😂
His name is Oliver Queen (specifically, after my fiance named him I found out 20% of birds are named Oliver - because it's an awesome name of course - so I am a huge fan of the show Arrow and thus, I made sure we call him by his full name except to him hes "cutie pie" "Ollie" and several other cute nicknames hehehe)
I will try crumpling millet!
I have not actually "successfully " got him out of his cage, so most of my work has been in cage, with my hands. Tonight, however, I tried slowly putting a perch in his cage, but he hated it and hopped out of the cage instead, great, I got him on my arm with no biting and took him to the bathroom, my fiance grabbed the millet and it was a huge success! Taking him away from the cage made such a big difference in his temperament! I got him back calmly and safely by letting him on my shoulder to walk back. Thank you for that advice, I read it right before this happened so it was great timing! I'm also gonna try your suggestion, tinygirl, of almond slivers, those sound perfect for the through the bar cage training!
Also wayyyy too cute ruby that your baby loves crinkles and tissues. And also JP3 he is clipped currently, it definitely helps.
 
#7 ·
An update and question:
So Oliver is doing extremely well with stepping up, he hates looking at my hand but actually does step up without biting hard, but really really loves his cage. He tolerates being brought out and hanging out, but he clearly doesn't like it. He tries to find escape routes (where are you going? Is probably gonna be his first word.) and he just generally doesn't look too happy about it, but is progressing through our routine pretty well.
He still has no love for any treats at all.
I've been using shoulder time as a reward for stepping up correctly, but then I get him down after a bit, and thus I am not sure how to reward him doing well when stepping up while taking him down from his only reward. And either way, he likes my shoulder but doesn't love it.
So my question is, do I keep working with him even though he makes it pretty clear he's not into it and likes his cage more, or is there some other route I should take that still allows him to remember his step up, but doesn't make him come out of his beloved cage. He is darn good at the step up, and if he's pissed he will threaten but not actually bite me while stepping up, because he's cool like that.

Any tips?
Thank you!!!

*Forgot to mention I found out he is about 6 months and molting, so I have been gentle and haven't been touching him at all, only having him step up.
 
#10 ·
If I take him out anywhere near his cage he beelines for it. I live in a one bedroom - but the bedroom is too dangerous for small little babies because I'm 90% sure parrotlets love trouble and he will end up under the bed. This means most of the time he's out, he is in the bathroom training step up, I do about 10 minutes and twice a day, and the rest of the time (accumulated time precisely 2 hours and 45 minutes give or take a minute or two due to traffic, more on weekends) I talk to him, sing to him, say hi to him, eat dramatically in front of him (OH YUMMM I just love my cereal!!) Today I took him out for about 15 minutes, just to hang on this neat little play area I made him.... he eventually figured out where his cage was and beelined for it. So I made him step up (he had landed on the floor) and rewarded him with shoulder time, and walked him back to his cage.
He doesn't like any treats so we don't train anything else and the step up is weird because of the shoulder thing I wrote about. He's only been in the house a week and two days so all of that will come in time! For now he just doesn't like being out at all, but does step up, doesn't bite hard, tries to find escape routes often, sometimes is ok for a few minutes at a time. The end question is do I continue these sessions despite his clearly being not into them/me/being outside his cage, or do I approach it some other way, but I also don't want to lose our progress.
 
#11 ·
It sounds like you are doing great! He looks cute and curious. One of the things you mentioned about him flying back to his cage but landing on the floor is kind of... in a way.. really good.

Even after Levi learned to step up he would still sometimes try to fly away from me and would end up on the floor. The first handful of times I totally freaked out and ran to him and scooped him up with both hands even though he obviously didn't like it. Then I realized.. he can't really go anywhere down there. So he would fly away from me and I would just leave him on the floor and watch him. After a few minutes he would start peeping and looking around or walk towards me and then he would step up on my finger (he was clipped). He realized that he needed me to get around and it really helped him to trust me.
 
#12 ·
This sounds just like Tobie. He still tries to be-line for his cage all the time. Sometimes in the morning if i have Lilly too they will sit on my finger for about 10 minutes. If I take him to the bathroom and put him on a training stand he just clamors for my finger (total non treat motivated he won't even take a treat) and then once he's on my finger he acts like he's going to jump off any second looking for his cage. Personally I don't know what to do either. I'm keeping an eye on your progress so I can copy you... :D
 
#13 ·
Oh, and regarding your question: YES you should continue doing what you are doing even though he's not completely comfortable. The more opportunity he has to learn that outside the cage is a safe place the more comfortable he will become. And you will see that he does trust you, even though he runs for the cage. (If Tobie can't see the cage he runs to me, so I take what love I can get lol)
 
#14 ·
Well, he officially does his impression of a hawk (or other bird of prey) anytime my hands get anywhere near him.
He was hopping down for the millet, but since this Saturday, where I had to transfer him from his travel cage to his big cage, he absolutely hates me and my hands. He's not skittish anymore, just piiiiissed. He won't even bury himself in my hair, just constantly looking to escape.
Soooo I really don't know if doing this is a good thing, it just seems to reinforce his feeling of "this sucks I don't like you stop it." What to do.. what to do...
 
#15 ·
Well you definitely know what is best. Perhaps after a travel cage incident he needs a change to cool off. If he's that agrivated I would not push it. Wait untill he hopps down for the millet like he was before, and then resume training. He might be in a mood but try to remember they have good days and bad days just like us. See how the next couple days go. Pushing a comfort boundary a little bit is one thing, but a PO'd parrotlet is no fun for anyone :eek:
 
#16 ·
Thank you for the great feedback! I'm going to just continue the normal routine we had last week, this morning when I sat near his cage for breakfast he went through every hawk call he had (ok, I'm sorry, but it was downright hilarious! He's 27 grams of pretending-to-be-fierce) and so we will see, I'll just keep doing it because that's how I got him to trust me at first anyways.
The time I moved him from the travel cage he bit the heck out of my fingers. I didn't react but also didn't want to reward him, so I waited til he calmed down, had him step up *without* biting, THEN put him back in his cage, but apparently this left a sour taste in his mouth.
I think his hawk noises are really cute but it's also disheartening a little, since we had such a good thing going on with the millet until that day -_-; And before he was scared, now he is angry, I think that is a sucky shift too.
Oh well, I enjoy doing the patient waiting things too! And one day I'll find his golden treat and then he will fall for my hands hahahaha :D Thank you guys again for all your support!!
 
#17 ·
The aggression could just be that he's more comfortable, and a bit emboldened. It's pretty normal for a biting stage to come along anywhere between 3-5 months. Typically it lasts only a few weeks but feels like a decade. You just have to learn how to manage. If you search "biting" you will have a zillion threads to glean from. Lol
The boys get pretty talkative in the morning, in my experience. Tobie does like you say, with little wing flips. Wing flip (like just the little shoulder part, not a full on wing span lunge) are happy/exited bird. And sometimes that still translated into a bite.
 
#18 ·
So yesterday, back at square one, I just chatted with Oliver while I sat around. This morning I knew he'd be hungry (he always eats breakfast) so I put my hand in with millet - he wasn't having it, but then I went and grabbed some of his original seed from my freezer, and he very hesitantly came to eat it yay! Apparently it's the safflower seeds he loves. Do you guys have any tips on how to use safflower seeds? The length of millet is an advantage because I could creep my hand up toward him, but in this case how do I gently coax him into stepping on my hand?
Thank you again! He does chirp a lot when I'm not home, but doesn't bounce to the cage nor seem at all happy to see me, or anything... yet... onward! He will come around I hope. He only made hawk noise once at me yesterday.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Just an update and looking for feedback:
Oliver is 6-7 mo old, I don't think I properly mentioned that, so he spent some months in a cage at the pet store, it turns out. Here is our schedule:
Morning - He doesn't love my presence but eats around me and occasionally takes millet (he will come over for it sometimes but lunge at it other times.)
I have not found a treat he likes. He makes hawk noises only at my hands now which is cool. I've tried: walnuts, almonds, safflower seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, kale, tonight I'll try strawberries and mangoes
I sit next to him and sing a bit because I thought he was responding to me (he was not, apparently he was just doing his daily routine, I found out by watching him do the exact same stuff every day from the webcam. Ok, I cried a little.)
I come home, whenever I'm around his cage is open, he doesn't care. He won't come anywhere near me nor out of his cage. He won't eat millet in the afternoons.

I cut back on his out of cage time because he hates it so much and it made him more aggressive. He bites without reserve constantly now, even if he is in the bathroom, and as I mentioned he has no "must have" treats. I took all the safflower, millet, etc, out of his cage over a week now. I also "left him on the floor" and he fell asleep instead of allowing me to hold him. Had to give up after 45 mins.

I am getting very close to my wits end. The pet store lady told me he was 10 weeks (later changed to 12 weeks) tame baby. He did try flapping away in the pet store, but also fell asleep on my hand so I thought we were kosher. One reason I got him is because I'm not really a parrot expert (though hundreds of pages, possibly thousands, have been read!) so I knew that it would be my best case scenerio to get a handfed, tame baby because I knew that would be the kind of bird who I would be able to train/tame/enjoy. If she had told me, he is 6 months old... I would have said no way. If someone told me he would be exactly this way forever and asked if I wanted him, I would have said no way. I may not be READY for this kind of pet-shop parrot! I know my own limits, that's why I decided on a baby, I know my own capabilities. My heart says well, he's six months, so building a bond will be even more rewarding than if he was just a baby.
Anyways, just wondering if anyone has tips.
There seem to be only two real lines of thought for training:
Take him out however you can gently (wood perch, towel) and cuddle so he understands you're not a threat/show him his consistent routine. This is recommended by my vet who has a huge aviary of lovely parrots.
OR:
Don't touch him at all ever ever just let him walk out but he may never. I haven't met anyone who has tried this nor had true luck with it, but I know it must work because the people online are recommending it and it fits more with my chill hippy let the bird baby be a bird vibe. But this one relies more on treats that they like.
Both methods people recommend have great and not-so-great results, so one doesn't really seem better than another.
What do I do??? Oh successful happy parrotlet owners please help guide me!
 
#20 ·
Take a breath.
Getting to your parrotlet to trust you is like dating, and it takes some birds a while to get there. Even with the more trusting baby parrotlet, that frustration is perfectly normal.
Tumi doesn't do food treats, but he would do ANYTHING for crinkling plastic and now for his tissue. Some are crazy about pill bottles. Some love running water. See if you can find the thing that Oliver goes nuts for.
No nail polish, right? Just checking, as most birds HATE nail polish.
He's hitting puberty, which is a grumpy time for all parrotlets. Know that it ends and that the biting lessens. Maybe he can be convinced of the wonders of beak rubs? Tumi LOVES having his beak stroked.
 
#21 ·
You have only had Oliver a couple of weeks. Give it some time. It took months before my little ones would trust me enough to do anything but run from me or bite me. Now Jules is a Velcro bird that prefers to hang on / with us. Just have some patience, it will come in time.
 
#22 ·
I'm so sorry.
I understand exactly how you feel, not knowing what to do next. I have felt the exact same way with Tobie, like I shared before, not knowing if I should keave him alone or keep taking him out.
I wish I could tell you exactly what the magic thing to do was but the truth is, I do not know.

Each bird is do different, and everyday is such a learning process for you both. You might try something today and get a result, and then tomorrow nothing. Or you might feel like you made a mistake, and he's mad. You might change your strategy for a couple days only to decide you were having more luck before. It's just not easy. Especially when you want Oliver to know how much you love him.

I was lucky with Melody. Snuggle bird right off the bat.

With Jasper, (my Bourke Parakeet) I knew they were harder to tame so I looked long and hard for a hand fed baby. When I got him home, he wanted NOTHING to do with me. Every time I got near him he flapped and ran away frantically. I started to feel like I made a mistake, getting a second bird and thinking I could tame him. I thought maybe I was just lucky with Melody and Jasper woukd never like me.
Weeks went by and very slowly Jasper started responding. You would not recognize him now from that bird. He won't stay away from us. He follows me around the whole house, and he preens my eyelashes.

Tobie was a complete statue for weeks. He barely moved at all. I mean seriously, if I was in the room he just froze. Even if I sat next to him for an hour. I expected Tobie to be antisocial but it still made me very sad. He's come a long way but I still have to remind myself every day to give him more time and just love him the way he is.

Two weeks is not a long time, although it feels like forever. Even baby birds aren't neccesarily "tame" all the time. They can be just as difficult, and seem just as hard.
I know it probably feels like it will never change, but I can tell you from seeing story after story of success that it will.
You may think you are beyond your limit, but look at all your dedication so far. Ask yourself, "is there anyone who can love Oliver as good as i can?"
A good Parront is a hard thing to find. You already are a great one. Your doing fine, it's just going to take a little time. If I had met Jasper running and flapping from me the way he was I would have said "No way," too! And would have missed out on the greatest Bourke i ever could have hoped for.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Phew! Thank you for the support, I think I just need to hear it again because I feel so bad that my baby just... he must live in such anxiety whenever I'm around staring at me and making his hawk noises. He's so chipper, energetic, and chirpy when I'm out of the house. I feel like we went backwards, and in three weeks it's only gotten worse, not better, I tried the "ignore the biting" and the "Gentle beak" but of course, he doesn't like me touching him or his beak so neither really did much. Thank you thank you thank you for your kind, supportive words. I know you've all said them before to other people who felt like they were doing it wrong - and I know it must help them too! I have hope for our future, just that things didn't go as I had been told (I know I'm blaming the age, but really, he's healthy, and that's more important because if he wasn't I wouldn't even have time to tame him!)
I feel like "Leave him alone" works for some people
"Take him out" works for some people
And then both don't work for some people, but it's just super overwhelming to go every night and think "Should I just take him out?" or "Should I just leave him?" and see no response to either except... fear aggression. The lady who sold him to me has offered to have me come in so I can see how she handles her birds too. Maybe some lessons will be good - he's my first parrot. I did tame a budgie when I was younger, and it took patience but he took to stepping up for millet, so it's quite different without having that treat to tempt him.
Three weeks seems like an eternity only because it's blocked out specifically for babyboo, in my future dream world I'm not looking for a cuddler necessarily, just someone who enjoys traveling around or soaking up some sun, I live in a beach city in SoCal, almost all year it's great weather, I'd love to take him in a babyboo sized carrier out to the beach, hiking, etc. Right now I wait until he's asleep to go on walks or do work, so that I can talk to him a lot before he sleeps. I would love to train him to do tricks, I have trained other animals and get a kick out of communicating with them in language we both understand (I do this, I get a treat, you do this, you get a treat, etc.) I love watching him do hilarious stuff on the webcam - but he stops by the time I get home, he slows down around 4pm and goes to bed just before 7.
Anyways just a little more info. You guys are wonderful your support can't be understated, I am truly truly grateful for your responses! I will just keep going forward! If nothing else, I'm glad to have him to watch when I'm trying to not get too burnt out on work, it helps relieve my hyperfocus.
Thank you again!!
 
#24 ·
Oh yes, and no nail polish. Also he pretty much hates my hands etc, so he just makes his hilarious hawk noise (I guess it's hissing but it sounds like a mini bird of prey!) and tries to bite me all over and open his beak so fierce (I know, he probably doesn't like that it makes me laugh because this tiny cutie is trying to be fierce and I'm not taking him seriously. I try to hide it in case he thinks its positive reinforcement.) Anyways no scritches or beak rubs for this dude. He's all predator!
 
#25 ·
Hopefully it's just a stage and the aggression will calm down. How exactly do you take him out or will he come out at all on his own if you leave the door open? Any possibility of establishing some kind of "morning breakfast" routine where he has to come just outside the cage in the morning to eat? That can be motivation to come out right away if he's hungry. Or have you tried just sitting next to him and caring a snack while he eats? Eating is a flock activity.
Sorry you probably have already tried it, just an idea.
 
#26 ·
Does he have a favorite perch? If so consider moving it to outside the cage by the door. Then leave the door open and see if he will come out to his favorite perch.

My guys were sort of cage bound when I got them. One of the things I did was put a bunch of perches on the outside of the cage so it looked a lot like the inside. Fairly soon they would come out an perch an watch me. Eventually they would eat out of my hand and later jump on my hand to eat.

Another thing. You seem real apprehensive about this. Try to relax and have fun with it. These guys are very empathetic and pick up on emotion quickly. If you are uptight they will be uptight. Uptight is not good for training. Everybody need to be calm and joyful. Seriously it helps.
 
#27 ·
I will try this perch idea. Actually I am very 'laid back' calm, meditative type. Before I walk in the door I make sure I think about good stuff about Oliver since I'm gonna go see him. I'm quite a bit of a hippie, so I tend to try to breathe love, which calms me, particularly when he's bitey, you should see my fingers hahaha you'd never know I didn't flinch. I tend to write these when I'm at work, I am a problem solver and if I don't have "direction" I need to figure out what it is, but I turn all that off when I'm around animals (did rescue for years and some dog training! Soooo much easier than bird training if they don't take treats!) I don't necessarily need magic wand solution or instant bond, just to know what route I will take next before I can stop thinking about it.

I eat next to him with the cage door open at all my meals, quietly and slowly, or I talk a lot about how delicious my food is so he hears me chirping. He does eat when I eat, just not from me. When I was getting him out I was using a perch, but he started running away from that, so I backed off, I don't intend to chase him. My vet recommended a towel, because she says routine is important. My intention is to have him out or in/near/on his travel cage at night so I can easily move him for a few minutes when I cook, and he can sleep in there in peace in my bedroom as opposed to his big cage in his living room that we cover but we are awake til 9 and he sleeps at 7. I can't get into this routine because I can't take him out yet. She says keeping the routine, even with the towel, will let him feel safer when he IS out, but then that goes against what some folks here say (let him only come out on his own, which seems like it's never gonna happen!)

Definitely will try the perch thing! He doesn't seem to have a favorite, he has mostly rope perches, a cool manzanita perch that he likes, some swings but he doesn't like them. He doesn't play with toys, when he's active he mostly chirps and jumps around and climbs, etc. I'll just keep doing my thing for now, maybe I will try the towel approach my vet recommended, maybe he will find he likes it out here.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top