Say hi to Milhouse

[CrazyC]

Hey folks. Less than a week ago I got Milhouse, a male indian ringneck who is about 6 and a half months old. I just thought I'd share a picture of him, in addition to asking a question or two.

Here's a picture of him. The quality isn't great, but it was taken from a phone.

http://spamtheweb.com/ul/upload/0710...1_DSC00202.JPG

He is doing pretty good in his new home and has adjusted very well I think, but I have an issue with him in terms of training. He is already finger trained and on pellets, and is pretty friendly. There's one major thing that I want to address as quickly as I can though.

He likes to be out of his cage and is when I am in the room with him (I'm in an apartment with a dog, so he is only out in my room). He has very little problem stepping up when he is around his cage. However, almost as soon as he gets on my finger, he tries running up to my shoulder. I didn't mind it at first, but the last 2 times he was on my shoulder and more than a few feet from his cage, he bit my finger very hard when I offered it to him to step up. I figured his beak could do some damage, but it's a lot more powerful than I first thought! :P

When I am on the computer in the room, I can tell he wants to come over and be with me, but his wings are clipped so he doesn't get off of the side of his cage (doesn't like the ground). I want to be able to have him be with me, perhaps with a perch or stand near the computer, but he will always run to my shoulder, when we move from his cage. I can bribe him off with food, but I don't want to have to all of the time.

Any suggestions to stop him from running right to my shoulder and then trying to chomp on my fingers when he's there? Thanks for any help you can give!

[Tom Lawless]

I don't know a lot of things to help. Is there a way you can bend your arm so that he can't get up there to begin with? I do that with my little Dave at times. When I first got him he wanted to be on my shoulder all the time but I learned quickly why that isn't recommended until you really know and trust a bird. I never had the biting problem so I didn't have to deal with that. I just kept taking him off my shoulder when he got up there and he finally got the idea it was off limits (mostly).

I have a little T-Stand on my desk so the boys can be with me when I am at the computer. It works pretty well but they also like to jump off it and walk around and terrorize my keyboard and mouse.

[geekasaurus]

all my birds do this..and if i dont want them to get on my shoulder i drop my elbow and hold my hand higher so they dont want to slide down my arm
it kind of looks like the way hieroglyphics show the egyptians holding a bird LOL

anyhow, i just wanted to say that Milhouse is an amazingly awesome name!

[CrazyC]

Thanks for the replies.

Tom, I'll keep working on taking him off of my shoulder when he is on there. I think it is mostly when he gets away from his cage that he bites, but I still have to test that some more. I also have a small T-stand that I can put on my desk, but without a bigger desk it kind of sits in front of my monitor :P However, better he be on the stand than my shoulder.

geekasaurus, I will definitely try that arm dropping thing. I have a feeling he'd just try to jump to my shoulder, however I have noticed that he doesn't like to slide down at all, so it may work. Also, I like the name Wasabi for a green bird. Very nice :P

[FoxersArtist]

There are a couple of good ways you can keep Milhouse off your shoulder but let me first say that it is very important for Milhouse not to be on your shoulder right now. Milhouse feels very comfortable on your shoulder and also very in control. Until Milhouse can learn to mind his manners on a shoulder (that is, come down when he is asked) he should not have the priveledge to be sitting up there.

When you are holding Milhouse, hold him on your hand with your arm bent in an L shape. That is to say - make sure your forearm is mostly horizontal with your wrist being just a little higher than your forearm. Make sure that your upper arm is completely virticle. Hold your hand slighly away from your body so that Milhouse cannot reach your shirt to climb up. At this point, milhouse would have to climb down to your forearm before climbing back up your upper arm and parrots typically avoid climbing or stepping down. If he is not already comfortable with it, you will need to teach Milhouse to accept you holding his feet by placing your thumb on top of them while holding him on your hand. This is the safest way to hold a parrot and allows you to have more control of the bird. It also helps your bird to feel safe, once they become used to it. He may not like it at first and may try to bite you, but praise him for even a second that he allows you to touch his feet. If Milhouse acts like he is about to climb down your forearm to go scale your upper arm so that he can sit on your shoulder, give him a mild "birdy earthquake" by dropping your hand a little so that he has to catch his balance.

After practicing all of this with Milhouse for a while, he will become comfortable with sitting on your hand and will forget about the shoulder. After he has become very polite about sitting on your hand, you can try to practice placing him on your shoulder and then taking him off. Reward him lavishly for coming off nicely but if he tries to bite, tell him no and avoid the activity for a week or so before trying again. The bottom line is that Milhouse should never be allowed to climb up on your shoulder by himself. It is a priveledge and you should be allowed to choose when he is up there by placing him there yourself. Some of my parrots are shoulder birds, but they know that they are not allowed up there unless mom puts them there.
-Anna

[CrazyC]

Wow, thanks for that detailed response FoxersArtist. It is very informative, and it all seems to make sense. I will definitely keep those things in mind and work on those things with him. I am sure it will help in training him.

Also, you have quite a variety of birds! I must say, after having been bitten by an IRN, I can say that I would definitely not want to be bitten by something like a macaw or cockatoo! :P