Help with Training????

[no1pars]

I have been reading your section on Behavior & Taming and i have found it totally useful in theory but nobody seems to mention so i thought i would ask!

do i start training from inside the cage?

(i know this is supposed to be his safe haven just for him) but i am finding , some times i go to the cage and he will go straight for a corner of the cage, these last few days i noticed him just moving backwards not actually climbing the cage. Until i put my hand in (even to change his fruit bowl) as his seed and water i can do, from outside . This is when he darts to the far corner in the cage away from me.

I sit next to his food and water bowls on the sofa, and he will come and eat and drink while I'm close but as soon as i turn to acknowledge him and say hi, he goes straight back to his corner section of the cage......

.....so what i'm asking is can i train from inside the cage? or will i have to clip his wings and train from outside the cage, so he cannot fly away...

Thank you for any recommendation

Lou and Dexter

[ellieelectrons]

I'm not sure that there is a hard and fast rule there... It's probably more about what works? Others may have a different view.

You can start though by getting your bird to take treats through the cage bars. When that is working, you could try offering the treats through the cage door so that there is no longer bars between your hand and the bird. Once you have that working, and it might take some time, you can try training outside of the cage.

Generally, I think training inside a cage will be impractical and limiting as they're usually hard for you to reach.

If you don't want to clip wings, you can still train a flighted bird outside of the cage but it will be harder.

A T-perch is useful for training outside the cage.

I sit next to his food and water bowls on the sofa, and he will come and eat and drink while I'm close but as soon as i turn to acknowledge him and say hi, he goes straight back to his corner section of the cage......

That's great.... it will take time for Dexter to learn that he can trust you. Always try offering him treats when you turn to say hi... If he is too scared to take it from your hand between the bars, you can slip it in his food bowl.

Just be aware that the process of taming is slow and you should look for little things to celebrate your progress. For example, if the bird takes one step towards you and then retreats but he normally just stays on the other side of the cage, realise that that is progress and congratulate yourself.

Best wishes!

Ellie.