how??

[mmr]

I posted earlier that I aquitred a blue fronted amazon last night. he is 19 years old. Was caught and trapped in the wild. He isn't hand tame (but is dowel trained). Terrified of even his old owner.


Now my question is since he was caught in the wild, even though it has been 17 years in capitivty for him, will he ever be "trainable"?

[Valo's Moirana]

i'd say yes.... given that dr. pepperberg's alex was wild caught too, i'd even go to say "without a doubt" - all comes down to patience and patience and, did i mention it already, patience?!

[cherries_angela]

its going to be hard!!!! all i can tell you is towel him daily and pet and play with him daily but i did this with sweetie pie for 2 years and she still eats me every time i go near her, but your a good mom to your fids and i believe that you can do this!!!!

[Beaks]

depends on the bird and the bond/trust that you build.

[Lori~D]

Towel Him?? How does that build trust in a terrified bird? I would never suggest that at all. Your more liable to lose a finger that way.

[milkevi]

Please don't towel him...he will become terrified of you that way..since is 'stick' trained just get him out of his cage (using said stick LOL) take him to a neutral room in your house (where he can't see his cage) and just love him up. Use treats to help build up trust and speak softly to him. This could take many months of slowly bonding with him, but this is what it will take, and he may never trust you to the point where you can just pick him up - a wild amazon can be nearly impossible to tame. Good Luck!! Kevin

[Ginich]

You might also try sitting near his cage with the door open and just reading aloud to him-it doesn't matter what you read. You might try reading some Sally Blanchard's books- she worked with wild caught parrots more than some of the younger behavorists. Avoid a lot of eye contact and be as submissive as possible and let him come to you.

[cherriesanglea]

like i said this is another week going great after toweling my zon and today he crawled up on my arm and let me pet him!!! it was so great,!!! my training might be different and not up to what you guys like but it worked and i was tired of gettin bit!! mandy you know how mean shooter is yes he was sittin on my arm and i was petting him!!!! no bits!!

[Beaks]

sometimes it works and sometimes you can literally scare the bird to death.

Sometimes it takes me a few years to gain the trust of an agressive or insane bird but sooner or later they will come around if they trust you, i try not to towel them unless it is necessary for some reason like nail trims or something like that.

[DeguMom]

Avoiding toweling is the best way to go. There is really no reason to "push" a bird to do more than they want with you unless it is 10 years down the road and ZERO progress has been made.

Your best bet is to work at their pace. We should accept our birds as birds - especially the ones that are wild caught. We should be more concered about meeting THEIR needs, than getting them to be the pets WE want. Their needs are more important than our needs, and earning trust is much sweeter than forcing it. Even a little progress is progress, and it's extra special when your parrot decides on their own that you are trustworthy.

Toweling can backfire on you with very little notice.

Imagine what your guy has been through in his life. He may have had a mate when he was captured, and was forced to leave her, perhaps even a clutch of eggs or young babies. He went from being autonomous and perhaps the Alpha bird of his area, to being stuck in a small cage 24 hours a day. He lived surrounded by others of his own species, and now is surrounded by humans. He went from having all the flying and mental stimulation a parrot can dream of, to receiving his food in a small dish, and from having his pick of the freshest of the fresh fruits and veggies to pellets and whatever else he's fed.

He's lost a lot in his life, and has faced a lot of hardships. Please focus on meeting his needs now, and be empathetic to all the tragedies he's seen, and lived through. As he sees you are his guardian, and you care about what he wants and needs, he will come to love, trust and respect you.

Try to take a little time and just sacrifice what you want out of him, and just focus on giving him what he needs. You can be the human to turn his life around. And he will never forget you for it.