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Hi,

I have taken on my brothers IRN due to him having to move house. I have had Marley since sunday so only 3 an half days. He's still very shy of me but im making some progress but very slowly.

Whats target training and how do i go about getting him tame to me. Im totally in the dark, as i only had budgies wen i was younger. I want him to trust me and come out the cage but hoping he will go bk in on his own!!

I hope you can help me with some beginner pointers to I can get him off to a great start here.

Thanks for reading

Nicci
xx

Hi Nicci

Welcome.

Firstly, was your bird tame enough for your brother to handle? If so, then it shouldn't take too much work for you to tame him. However, even if he wasn't already tame, it still possible to get him more tame but there may be limitations.

Target training is where you train a bird to touch a target at the end of the stick with it's beak. Imagine the stick to be like a knitting needle with a sphere at the end of it. This is usually combined with a clicker (something you hold in your hand and makes a noise when you click it). When the bird does what you want (eg. touch the target with its beak), you make the noise with the clicker and then you follow up with a food reward.

Whilst there is nothing wrong with clicker training, I don't train using this method. I just use my hands and my voice. You can see examples of what my birds can do here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ellieelectrons

The first step is to get your bird to take treats from your hand. Try doing it through the cage bars and try looking away from the bird when you present the treat as direct eye contact can threaten a bird until it knows you aren't a predator. It may not take it from your hand at first, so try for a bit and then put it in his food bowl, ensuring he sees you do it. Keep doing it several times a day. Then you can start to reward it for taking a step towards you or looking less scared.

Once it will take food from your hand, then it's a good time to start trick training.

There are also other techniques you can try to tame your bird, sit near the cage and read to it. Eat your meals near the cage, if the bird comes close to you, try sharing some of your food if its birdy friendly.

Ellie.

Hi,

Thanks for getting back to me. I've seen the target training on you tube etc, what does this actually teach or benefit the bird?, or is it for me aswell so he will be easier to handle?.
My brother said he got to a point where he could touch the bird, but before my brother had him, i think he wasn't treated correctly. He's not made a noise until last nite, I've only had him 4 and a half days, and i make a point of putting his cage next to my sofa where i sit and ive been giving him fresh food each day and water, then i sit down and eat my dinner next to him, my girls sit next to him in a morning to eat breakfast too. I've been talking to him whilst on my laptop and reading out what im reading about parrots etc, and i know he's intrigued. , he's watching my every movement and i do notice if he sees me looking at him, he will turn away. But last nite he came down right by me to eat out his bowl, which is a big step for him, I didn't look, only out the corner of my eye, then i turned to him and he was ok, then after a while wen i looked again he decided to move again.
Last nite he started to make very quiet noises, for a short period, then stopped, im been clucking, kissing baby voice, u name it im trying. When i come to work i put the radio on for him, so its not quiet for him. I'm not sure if he's plucking his larger feathers out, there are 2 in the bottom of the cage, and loads of fluffy feathers?.
I'd love to open his door but im worried that I won't get him back in and because he doesn't trust me 100% yet I don't want to scare him trying to get him back in wen its bed time, any suggestions?
My brother was told he's about 1year old, is there anything I can maybe tell he's a baby apart from waiting for his ring to appear, if he is a baby?, and would you advise to clip his wings or leave him full flight?

Sorry for the questions but Im trying to learn so I can make him happy xxxx

Thanks Nicci
xxx

Hi Nicci

Sounds like you are doing a great job. Well done!

Training your bird serves several purposes:
1) mental stimulation - birds are very smart and they love to learn especially if it means they will get treats. If you watch some of my guys youtube videos, you'll see that they go crazy for doing tricks.
2) deepen the bond - I have found that teaching the birds tricks does deepen the bond between me and them
3) makes them easier to handle and making their life less stressful - not all "tricks" are "pointless" things like turning around. I've trained mine to go back inside their cage when asked, to fly to me (well at least I'm working on it) and at times I've been trying to train them to drop things they have in their beak (so if they pick up something they shouldn't I can get them to give it to me straight away), you can also train medical behaviours such as being happy wrapped in a towel, taking liquid from a syringe (start with water so you can replace with medicine if you ever need to), etc., you can also train them to be comfortable in a travel crate.

Ellie.

I'd be inclined to leave it until you've had him at least 2 weeks before letting him out of the cage.

Wing clipping is a controversial topic. With our two, I kept their wings clipped for the first couple of years but now I have let them grow out. I love seeing them fly all over the house but I now have the relationship with them that I know I can get them out of sticky situations if necessary.... although it was a bit touch and go there for a bit when Janey was exhibiting nesting behaviour and I almost resorted to getting her wings clipped again. Thankfully, we got through it.

We have really high ceilings and if I hadn't clipped their wings early on, I would never have been able to get Janey down from the ceiling fans (the fans were always stationary, but I couldn't reach her up there) when she first learnt to fly. Clipping definitely makes them easier to handle, so you could see how you go not clipping and reserve clipping for if you have problems.

Sorry got to go. Hopefully say more later.

Ellie.

Niccijt05 wrote: I'm not sure if he's plucking his larger feathers out, there are 2 in the bottom of the cage, and loads of fluffy feathers?

Does he have any bald patches? Is it summer time where you are? Here in Australia my guys are moulting at the moment.

Niccijt05 wrote:My brother was told he's about 1year old, is there anything I can maybe tell he's a baby apart from waiting for his ring to appear, if he is a baby

Sorry, I don't know if there is another way to tell age. Are you sure that he is a "he"? All I can suggest is that you post a photo and maybe someone can help. However, new members can't post photos until they've been members 5 days and posted a minimum number of posts.

Ellie.

Hi Ellie,

No he hasn't got any bald patches, not that I can see, he's shedding lots of small fluffy feathers which i guess is normal. It's winter here, well very cold and horrible.

And as for if he's male or female we're just going on what we've been told, I guess ill have to wait for a ring to appear or not. He has full black eyes so im guessing he's still a baby?.

Nicci x

Hi Nicci

Could be nothing but id be thinking about taking him to an avian vet for a checkup. See http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/vie ... f=3&t=5440

Ellie.