"Toweling" and other taming methods- the Right and wrong ways...

[KatyKat314]

Okay.

After completing some lengthy searches for parrot training and hand taming I came across this training technique called "Toweling".

I seem to be at a fork in the road with training- some people tell me baby parrots are like baby humans and just need a little gentle "shove" out of the cage and you need to hold them and basically expedite the physical contact process. That, if you have a skittish bird, the only way for him to truly get comfortable with you is to wrap a towel around him and softly stroke his head and be calm with him. (I only did this with my tiels to calm them after a toenail trimming). Basically the human pushes the envelope and hopes for the best by forcing contact with the bird.

I'm afraid this will scare the bird off since they are most impressionable at a young age, but it's exasperating when your bird will walk on you but not actually let you touch him.

Of course, the other method is basically the "wait" method. Let the bird do everything. This seems like a slightly ineffectual method to me since you are trying to establish dominance and you are letting the bird do everything on his/her terms. But I could easily be wrong!

I don't want to cause my bird any more uneasiness over hands than he already has. I can reach in and he will beak me for a long time but I can't stroke him. I would LOVE to start step up training soon. I want him to learn young since I know the importance of this command. But if I grab him (which I have had to do twice to get him back into his cage, he will sqwauk or try to fly away). I'm a little nervous that he won't forgive me if I try to take him to the bathroom and start step up training. And I am also getting the feeling that the only way I am going to be able to touch him with my hands is by toweling and/or holding him and just stroking his head. he hasn't bitten yet but that might be asking for it!

I guess it boils down to force or no force. training is different for everyone- I would just die though if I scared my bird and he was irreparably afraid of hands.

What did you guys do? Did you eventually say "Alright, I'm fed up with waiting" and just eventually held him regardless of his reaction and tried to get him used to being touched or did you play the waiting game. Did anyone ever have their bird come to thweir hands for attention using the waiting technique?

I would greatly appreciate all the feedback you can give as always. Thanks!

-Katy

p.s.
I am attempting to put up pictures of Barney soon. he is skittish around the flash so it will be dark.

[tielfan]

Holding a bird in a towel and petting it against its will is another form of flooding, which was recently discussed in another thread. It's not a good training technique and is bad for the bird's mental health because you're basically stressing him until he's too tired to fight any more.

There's another method that you didn't mention - positive reinforcement. It's an excellent technique where you reward the bird for behavior that you want to encourage. You're persuading the bird to cooperate with you, not forcing him, and he'll come to see you and your hands as the source of good things. If you'd be interested in doing clicker training there's an excellent book at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1890948152/ and an online group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bird-Click/ The author of the book is one of the owners of the online group, but book buying is not required and all the advice is free.

Using the clicker isn't actually required either because you can apply the same positive reinforcement techniques without it. But I find it very useful to have information that's specifically geared to birds. They don't react quite the same way that dogs do. One of my tiels was semi hand-shy and he's much friendlier now after a little clicker training.

[Stacey32]

Would this be a good beginning book for help with training birds that aren't well socialised?..the clicker book?

[tielfan]

Yes, it's excellent for that. If you join the online group as well you'll also have access to people who can help you with specific questions and problems. I'm actually one of the moderators there, mostly because I was willing to volunteer for the job. I don't have a lot of experience, but some of the other people there have plenty.

The group's Files section has much of the same information as the book (and more on some areas), but the book is a lot more organized which makes it easier to get a good grasp of the basics. When I want to look up something specific I go to the book.

[Machelle]

I agree tielfan. I blong there too, although I dont post alot. but I do read all of the posts so I learn alot. Its a wonderful way to train. Its worked wonders with mine.