training advice please :)

[devilangel09]

hiya i do 10-15 mins training with my grey i gradually want to teach him to allow me to touch all over and even lift his wings so i can get to the point of harness training him probs take a good year or so.

at the moment ive been working and him allowing his head touched stroked and him learning something more fine like wave so he doesnt get to bored always repeating the same step.

any way the issue with the head scratch im getting is he seems to move his head low down (he did this before when he didnt like it and would attempt to bite) and is holding his feathers tight any ideas why? first couple days they wasnt as tight tips would be welcome

and also whats the step after the head?

[birdhouse]

Some Greys are just not the touchy feelly type. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, since touching a fid all over is sometimes a trigger for hormonal behavior. Something to be avoided, trust me!

 

Head & feet should be ok ...on his terms. And always at his pace. Think of it as de-sensitizing vs training. You're not dictating. You need to convince him that you can be trusted & that what you're asking is a good thing. Which means no matter how hard it is to accept, sometimes the answer to any question is, "NO!".

 

If it takes months, that's how long it takes. If he's pushed too hard it can become "a thing" that he may never allow. So be patient. The good news is once you get started on the right track, the rest should be much easier. In theory. lol

Edited June 27, 2016 by birdhouse

[SullysMom]

I don't really see touching your parrot as "training" or that there are "steps." It just comes with normal interaction, no? I've never dedicated specific time to that with Sully, my parrot, it just happened naturally as we spent time together, and your parrot bonds/trusts you. And honestly if I stood there for 10-15 mins training him to accept the stroking and fiddling with Sully's wings, he'd tell me off or my hands would get the message! My advice which seems to be working well with Sully is patience and bond on his terms, never push or force him to accept a scratch. I think it's awesome how dedicated you are to forming that bond and how observant you are of his body cues! As you interact with your parrot pay attention to how he responds. Sometimes Sully likes a good scratch, other times not so much. I've learned not to push my love on him lol and he's learned that simply shaking his head no or backing up is enough, the bite isn't necessary. My husband has been working on touching Sully more. I think he gets slightly jealous seeing how Sully will go full rag doll in my hands like a baby lol Anyway, my husband often needs to be reminded to read Sully's more subtle cues, not just dive in for a scratch when HE wants to give Sully a scratch. With birds it's a mutual trust and respect on both parts