How to tame and bond with your naughty bird

JuliusSqueezer · #1 (**permalink**) 09-27-2002, 06:04 PM

Ever want to buy a bird but it is so bonded with the previous owner and won't allow you near or was neglected and never bonded with anyone and is just a wild crazy bird from #$%^&#$%^&#$%^&#$%^& ? Or even a fresh import (which in most cases should be avoided but sometimes adoptions are necesarry)...There is hope! AND...alot faster than you might think. When done correctly, this can be done in minutes...not weeks.

First you have to understand bird psychology. It isn't very complex....they have a bird brain after all right? They do not see us as a whole being. They see each part of us as something else. Most birds are ok with our face and head pretty much from the start. Hands are another issue...they are soothed by our voices and seem interested in getting to know our face. But it is important to bond them with our hands if we want to be able to handle them.

soooo the first thing we need them to learn is to "step up"...I never thought about adding a verbal to this but Megan has shown me that by saying "step up" to young birds really helps them to know what you want later. It is best to have them in a comfortable place for them but outside the cage. It is futal to try and get a bird that you are not bonded with to step up from inside his cage. Let him out...and let him climb ontop of the cage or over onto a bird stand. At any rate, if the bird is semi tame and not totally psycho over your hands, he may still bite your hand at first when you place it against his breast for him to step up onto. DO NOT pull away or shout. This is very important...Usually they are just testing to make sure it will be a secure place to perch. If the hand jerks away and then the face that they love shouts....it imprints as a bad experience and they resist stepping up. Trust is important. Sometimes it hurts a bit....sometimes it hurts a lot. If the biting is unbearable....at first use a stick and get them to step up onto the stick...Notice I keep saying "step up". Few if any birds will ever step down....you have to put it up a little in front of them right at the top of their thigh and gently press back untill they eventually just know what you want and are secure that you won't jerk away and drop them. Even tame birds will often climb on beak first...they are just either testing for stability or using the beak for a third foot. Don't Freak. If the bird is just totally not having anything to do with you and is panic stricken at your very presence...don't give up...at this point before ya do anything else...you need to bond by the TOWEL TRICK...refer to the bottom of this page for that....Once you have him stepping up...you will note that he is less threatened by your face and is even very currious and will often nuzzle up to you but may still freak out when you try to pet him with the other hand. oops...the other hand is a different being...ya gotta bond him with that too. By now the "step up" hand is just a perch. Kinda like how we handle arboreal snakes that aren't tame...they don't normally bite the hand holding them because they see it as a perch....the rest of us however is the bad guy....anyway...it is hard for a bird to concentrate on 2 things at a time...when you try and pet him and he turns to snarl and bite the oncoming advance ...gently let the holding hand drop just enough to make him gather his ballance and divert his attention from the petting hand. don't overuse this though or he will fly off and ya have to start over. If he is bonded with your face, (which is usually fairly easy....the reason he gave in and got on your hand is just to get closer to your face in the first place) then talk to him...gently and up close and sneak the petting hand up from behind and gently rub his neck feathers and back...don't try the head just yet....ya gotta work up to that....just hold him close to your face and talk soothingly and keep sneaking up from behind...when he turns to bite...gently drop your holding hand about 4 inches and then bring him right back up and try again. If he wants on your shoulder...let him sit there awhile...if he feels comfortable there....then in a day or two all the rest will fall into place because he will begin trusting you and bond deeper with your head by sitting on your shoulder. your head always just talks to them....it's the hands that always make them do things or come after them...so by sitting on your shoulder they are comforted by being close to the only part of you that they really really like....over a short period of time though..when they discover that the hands aren't so bad, they will quickly step up and even bow down and beg to be scratched and pet...at this point...you have a life long friend. enjoy

The Towel Trick Ok...this is really not something that you want to put every bird through....Just the hard cases...usually totally wild, psycho birds from #$%^&#$%^&#$%^&#$%^&....or so we think. When a bird acts this way....just totally freaks out when you get near his cage...he is having severe anxiety issues and probably thinks you are coming to eat him. The best way to become a good guy in this case is to rescue him from a bad guy....the towel....oh no! not the towel! towels are evil...as the bird will soon find out anyway. You have the advantage here because they just cant process thoughts the way we can and do not put it together that YOU put them in the towel....all they know is the towel now has them and they want out...get a big fluffy towel...preferably not your best towel. Carefully somehow wrangle the flapping, hissing squawker into the towel and wrap him up like a baby in a baby blanket. BE CAREFUL with his wings and take every precaution so as not to bend them around and break them...legs too. Leave only his head uncovered...He will not blame you for this....all he knows is this towel has him wrapped up and he doesn't like it a bit....put him on his back...they especially hate this...the towel will be blamed...not you....take him to a small quiet room....a small half bathroom or a large walk in closet is ideal...sit down with him in your arms and rock gently and talk soothingly to him for however long it takes till he wears out fighting and biting the towel. Notice how his attacks are all directed at the towel and he isn't trying to flog you anymore. it's just that damned towel. when he starts wearing down...keep rocking and talking and come in close with your face and comfort him....even a wild bird will still bond with the face easiest. notice he is now stopping his struggle for a few seconds at a time to look at your face in wonderment...he will start cocking his head at different angles to check you out. you can at this point start kissing his beak...and sneaking up with one hand and gently stroking his head....he may turn to nip the hand but u dont have to move it far if the towel has him restrained...keep the hand in his view...once he cant reach the hand to bite he will go back to gnawing on the towel....as he gnaws on the towel, keep gently petting his head until he lets go of the towel to come after your hand...then just pull away a couple of inches and wait for him to go back after the towel...keep doing this...and soon...(30-45 minutes usually tops) you will notice he is still chewing on the towel but not worried about your hand anymore...now ...start gently tugging the towel open a tiny bit at a time...make sure he sees you do this...this is very important....you have to be the knight in shining armor and rescue him......so as you pet and he doesnt bite..reward him by pulling away a bit of towel and slowly loosening it up a little at a time ...stop now and then and bring your face in close and keep talking to him...and keep rocking and do every movement without jerking...keep your voice very soft...gently let him out of the towel and as he is coming out.....do not stop petting...he will come out and probably try and get on your shoulder....but it is amazing how now this wild bird of 45 minutes ago is now sitting on your shoulder and allowing you to scratch his head...and is actually warmed up and can't get enough of your company ....you have just bonded. Now then...here is the problem...you just made a life long friend ....this does not mean that the entire human race did. He will still probably freak out when anyone else approaches ...usually a good bit less....but these birds seldom bond with anyone else but you. I do not recomend letting everyone in the household bond with the towel trick...too much stress...just let whoever is going to care for this bird do it and be content with it being a one person pet. Too often when we bond with someone elses bird that they are already bonded with...it doesn't work out the way we expect...the bond transfers and the person who was once bonded is now snubbed for the new person...so...be all proud that your bird loves you and noone else. If down the road years and years later there comes a need to bond him with someone else...fine...do it agaiin but be aware that you may lose at least to some degree and sometimes even all of your bonding friendship with this bird.

I hope this helps ...it does work. I was taught this from a lady who i don't remember her name right off but she lives here in Georgia and owns a lesser sulfer crested cockatoo named "cookie" He is one of 3 birds that they used in the old TV series Beretta. he was Fred. He is the one that answered the phone...they used 3 birds and paid each owner 75k a year to use them....each bird having its own set of talents, tricks and vocabulary...thus making "Fred" seem to have an extrordanary set of talents. Cookie is now retired from show business and residing last I hear in Douglasville Ga. I ran into this lady with cookie on her shoulder in a pet store...we were both there buying bird seed and I commented on how tame he is ...her walking in off the street with him on her shoulder and his wings aren't even clipped...and she told me about the towel trick because I had a nasty Moluccan cockatoo I couldn't get near. My exwife wanted to be "the one" so we let her do it...and wow...what a change...he went from psycho bird to one that noone would question that he wasn't a hand fed baby....all in less than an hour...later (several months) I did the towel thing too and it helped a lot but he still was a lot closer to her....he let me pick him up and pet him...but he was more lovable to her. so in his case it didn't transfer but I have seen others that have. I accidently bonded with a roommate's African Grey once that before only allowed her near.....but when he bonded with me...she couldnt get near...this caused some problems [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] Sometimes birds that become overall tame and allow pretty much anyone to handle them seem to prefer either males or females....usually the same sex as whoever it is they are most bonded with.

JuliusSqueezer · #2 (**permalink**) 09-27-2002, 06:10 PM

Another thing I failed to note...I only have experience with this with parrots. I have no idea if this would work with song birds or anything other than hook beaked birds.
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eddie · #3 (**permalink**) 09-27-2002, 06:26 PM

Nice post on something a lot of us were blind to!
Ya see signs and hear warnings in pet shops all the time - " He BITES!'

Maybe this will keep a lot of blood and skin where it belongs, on us instead of where ever the bird sees fit!
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schatzie001 · #4 (**permalink**) 10-08-2002, 06:32 PM

JS, I read that whole thing and there isn't anything in there about bondage! I see the towel trick, but not the rope trick... [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img]

OH....NOW I see, it says BOND, not BONDAGE....my bad, ok [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img]

On a serious note, great read, lots of good info. Birds who have problems bonding with their owners can be psychological wrecks. They need that bond, and the interaction we give them to be healthy and happy.

The saddest thing I have ever seen were some birds who went outta their heads because they didn't have interaction with anyone or anything. Death would have been better for those poor creatures (IMHO), than to live in that unending misery.
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JuliusSqueezer · #5 (**permalink**) 10-09-2002, 06:32 PM

hahahaha bondage is a whole nuther subject...Prolly best discussed in chat. LOL
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sophia · #6 (**permalink**) 10-09-2002, 10:31 PM

>>Another thing I failed to note...I only have experience with this with parrots. I have no idea if this would work with song birds or anything other than hook beaked birds.

One thing that bears mentioing is to watch for signs of distress. When birds stress thier little heart races toward stopping and you will need to back off and put them back in their 'safe' place (cage) and cover it up for a little while to let them calm down. Rapid raspy breathing, jerking eye movement, constant screaming that is becoming weaker, all these can signal an onslaught that will kill the bird. So if you see any of this in the animal, put them back in their cage immediately and cover all but one corner so that you can keep an eye on them...

The towel method doesn't work well with Amazons, but I do have to use it to clip Francine's wings and toenails, without that and welding gloves to hold her, an extremely tame bird turns into a finger removing vise in a few seconds flat! LOL She'll let me handle her wings any way I want so long as I don't have scissors! I can stretch them, pet her underneath them, heck I can rub her belly, feet, legs, tail feathers, anything, but get out the scissors and she becomes a demon with wings, claws and a beak that can literally bite off a finger!. Another method you can try is perch training with a short piece of perch. You coax the bird onto the perch and then slowly lower it until they are on your hand or arm, before they realize it, they've found a comforable place to perch and the psychological trick to this, is that birds always want to be at the highest point, so keep the perch handy to keep them off your shoulders and head until you have formed a relationship with the bird and are past worrying about them tagging you mouth, nose, ears or eyes with that beak. After all, some of these birds are carrying around beaks that can supply 800+ lbs of pressure per square inch! That WILL take off a finger.

Sorry I haven't posted more here, I used to breed birds as I said in a former post and I think I'm still disgruntled over having had to give it up due to health! I miss babies in the kitchen and squalling little ones at three a.m. if you can believe that! But I really do miss that!

Tay
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JuliusSqueezer · #7 (**permalink**) 10-10-2002, 06:29 AM

"The towel method doesn't work well with Amazons,"

Whew...I thought it was just me. I won't go so far as to say it doesn't work...They do show remarkable improvment as far as letting me handle them but they always seem to require a little more nipping and biting and perch training with a stick than the cockatoos and other birds I have worked with even after time in the closet with a towel.

As far as stress...Every bird I have ever done this with has thrown a little tantrum that lasted all of maybe 30 seconds...sitting down in the closet floor with dim lights and speaking softly and rocking calms them way down...and while they may constantly keep nipping at the towel, they do seem to relax and listen to your voice and look to you for comfort. If done correctly, I don't think there is much of a risk of heart failure with a healthy parrot...a wren or a blue jay....maybe....I dunno...never tried it...I don't think there has ever been a whole lot of success with anyone bonding with wild native song birds though.
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sophia · #8 (**permalink**) 10-10-2002, 08:13 AM

>>"The towel method doesn't work well with Amazons,"
>>
>>Whew...I thought it was just me. I won't go so far as to say it doesn't work...They do show remarkable improvment as far as letting me handle them but they always seem to require a little more nipping and biting and perch training with a stick than the cockatoos and other birds I have worked with even after time in the closet with a towel.
>>
>>As far as stress...Every bird I have ever done this with has thrown a little tantrum that lasted all of maybe 30 seconds...sitting down in the closet floor with dim lights and speaking softly and rocking calms them way down...and while they may constantly keep nipping at the towel, they do seem to relax and listen to your voice and look to you for comfort. If done correctly, I don't think there is much of a risk of heart failure with a healthy parrot...a wren or a blue jay....maybe....I dunno...never tried it...I don't think there has ever been a whole lot of success with anyone bonding with wild native song birds though.

LOL, yeah the Amazons are a 'testy' species - now, on the signs of stress and risk of heart failure you have to look old abused cases as well... I've seen it happen in rescue to a seemingly healthy parrot. What it reminds me of now, is that 'rebirthing' case with that little girl out west last year. Seemingly healthy child, suddenly dead.

So, yeah while some calming efforts will work on most parrots - just like with humans - some are head cases.

Tay
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herp_chick · #9 (**permalink**) 09-16-2005, 02:38 AM

OK, Brett had told me a week or so ago to try this with Louie, my Umbrella 'Too. I have only had him for 4 months but he is 17 yrs old and was not treated well in his last home. He is afraid of just about everything. Me included. He will only occasionally let me touch him, but only for a second. Won't step up at all. Which was a concern, if he had to have emergency vet trip or God forbid the house caught on fire. I would not be able to get him out. I am so in awe of this bird, he wants to be loved but just can't trust us bad old humans. Well, after much consideration and going back and forth with, is it cruel, will he hate me, will it be worth it if it works, I finally decided to try it.
I was dreading the thought of him possibly screaming for 30 minutes, stressing too bad, everything that could go wrong was going through my mind. In fact, once I got him towelled, he never did scream. Wrapped him up good, went in the bathroom, sat on the toilet lid and started talking. After 10 minutes or so, he relaxed enough to let me pet his head, scratch his neck, even preen the pin feathers in his umbrella. 5 minutes of that, and I started slowly removing the towel, throwing it on the floor, told it Bad towel for being mean to my Louie! Louie is watching all this, and then he just snuggled against me and I sat for another 45 minutes or so just loving this bird. He let me pet him anywhere, even around his beak and eyes, which they love. When I knew it was past his bedtime, I said, Louie, you ready to go nite-nite? I put my other arm up and said, Step up, Louie. Ha, little turkey hopped right up and rode calmly all the way back to the top of his cage.
I will be curious to see how he is tomorrow, but I feel like we are on the road now to a good relationship and he will finally know what it feels like to be loved and played with before he is an old man.

Thanks, Brett. I owe ya (hugs)

JuliusSqueezer · #10 (**permalink**) 09-16-2005, 03:41 AM

Yay!

wow old post lol...That's cool though. Glad it worked out for you and Louie? Why ya spell it that way? It's Louis ...the S is silent...it's a frog thing.

herp_chick · #11 (**permalink**) 09-16-2005, 03:49 AM

Louie. Like the song, Louie Louie

JuliusSqueezer · #12 (**permalink**) 09-16-2005, 04:01 AM

So...the Kingsmen obviously weren't French

or at least Richard...arg...Richard what'shisname wasn't.

herp_chick · #13 (**permalink**) 09-16-2005, 04:38 AM

haha, Louie will actually sing that song
I say, Louie, Louie
he says Oh baby
I say we gotta go
he says ay ay ay ay ay ay

He is such a funny bird

Adrya · #14 (**permalink**) 09-16-2005, 09:49 PM

I caught a parrot a few years ago... and I climbed up an 80 foot tall pine tree to get it.. lol... someone's bird got loose and I never found the owner of it.

To my surprise she is the best bird I could have ever asked for, and the vet LOVES her because she's the best bird patient ever. lol She's so tame, calm and gentle.

She never bites. When she's sitting up on my shoulder and I want to get her off, she'll fuss at me, and she puts her beak down and pushes my fingers away with it. But she never bites. So then I just lean backward far enough to where she has to walk forward and up onto my fingers.. lol

She could care less about any towel; she'll let me wrap her up in one. She also lets me turn her over on her back and hold her in my hand that way, and she doesn't stress one bit. This is so great because it's easy for me to trim her beak and toenails, and when I'm using a nailfile on her beak, she just closes her eyes and rather kinda relaxes as I go about filing down her beak. No fuss whatsoever.

She's also not the kinda bird that gets overly obsessed with one person. She does see me as HER person, but she doesn't go psycho or scream or attack other people. But for some reason she's rather flighty about men. She'll fly over to me and get up on my shoulder as quickly as possible. lol She also enjoys cuddling up next to my pillow on my bed too when I take a nap or something. And she stays there the whole time, sometimes making soft little birdie talk sounds.

She's totally enthusiastic about trying new people foods, though her main food is the Zupreem Fruit blend pellet food. She also likes to walk around on the floor and taste stuff, and she also likes to stick her tongue inbetween the keys of my keyboard and taste whatever she finds... quite odd because my keyboard is always clean lol.

She doesn't talk, though sometimes I think she tries to, but she mostly talks to me with her birdy language. Her name is Gremlin because she occasionally makes some crazy gremlin sounds, lol.. but a lot of the time I just call her Jungle Chicken. lol She's a sweetheart, though.

She is a Lesser Patagonian Conure, by the way.

herp_chick · #15 (**permalink**) 09-16-2005, 10:02 PM

Haha, that's funny.........I call Louie a high-class chicken

JuliusSqueezer · #16 (**permalink**) 09-17-2005, 04:57 PM

Posha is like that. She's a blue fronted pionus...similar to an amazon but a bit smaller and a LOT quieter. BWSmith's next door neighbors had had her for over 20 years but they got too old to take care of her and put her up for adoption. She's not aggressive or anything with anyone but they wanted her to go to someone she likes...so 9 people came and 9 people went away birdless. She bonded to me instantly so I got her. She lets me trim her beak with a dremel tool

I put my finger in her mouth to hold her tongue out of the way and go to grinding. I won't go so far as to say she enjoys it but she doesn't seem to mind and she certainly seems glad the overgrowth is gone lol. She will step up and let anyone hold and pet her but she won't stay with anyone more than a few seconds except me. She will hang out with me all day but wiith anyone else, after a few seconds, she's had enough and flies off. She's definatly a daddy's girl.

tropheusfreak · #17 (**permalink**) 09-18-2005, 04:54 AM

do you have pics of her I've never heard of a blue fronted pionus. I have a blue headed, white capped, and a dusky pionus.

David

Adrya · #18 (**permalink**) 09-19-2005, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JuliusSqueezer

She lets me trim her beak with a dremel tool

Doesn't the dremel tool get really hot? I had thought of the same thing to file down Gremlin's beak, but I was afraid it would get too hot and might hurt her or something.

herp_chick · #19 (**permalink**) 09-20-2005, 01:57 PM

My avian vet actually does beaks and nails with a dremel. Only one bird I have is OK with that, the others hate it

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