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Post by pingo2011 on May 12, 2015 14:26:42 GMT -5
Hi, I've had my quaker parrot for almost 4yrs. I got him when he was 8 weeks old. He has never liked the outdoors and so I haven't taken him out much. How can I get him used to being outside without him being so scared? I'd like to take him out sometimes.
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Post by easttex on May 12, 2015 14:40:12 GMT -5
I assume you mean taking him out in a cage, or in a harness. Otherwise, I would strongly suggest you not do it. The best way I know to get a parrot past its fears is gradual desensitization. You also have to make it a pleasant experience for him. Is he situated where he can watch the outdoors from inside? If not, that's the place to start. Before going farther, can you describe what you've already tried?
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Post by siobhan on May 12, 2015 16:12:33 GMT -5
I have two out of nine birds who like to sit in the window and look outside. None of the others shows the slightest interest, and they all have access to windows. Maybe he's quite happy indoors and you shouldn't worry about taking him outdoors unless it's absolutely necessary, such as a vet visit.
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Post by pingo2011 on May 12, 2015 16:54:41 GMT -5
I have taken him out in a small cage. His big cage sits right outside of my kitchen where our back door is. We usually leave it open for him to see out and to let the light to come in.
I've tried to put his favorite foods in the cage with him, but he won't eat anything when he is scared. I've tried to sit real close to him, talk to him and pet him.
When I first got him several years, when he would still let me put his harness on, I would let him out on my finger. But I stopped doing that because it always looked like he was going to hyperventilate out of fear. If I could be able to train him to wear his harness again and let him sit on my shoulder he would probably like it much better. He is always on my shoulder and I'm trying to train him to station so that he does not always want to sit up there. I'm having a lot of trouble with that though; because, he feels that if he's not allowed on my shoulder he'd rather fly back to his cage. I think he's a little mad at me right now, because I haven't been letting him sit up there as much.
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Post by easttex on May 12, 2015 17:32:35 GMT -5
If he is already comfortable getting into his small cage, that's a good start. Try breaking the end goal down into small increments. The first one might be moving the small cage to the doorway, and letting him sit there, assuming he is comfortable with that. If not, back up a little until you can see he is comfortable again, and let that be your starting place. Keep him there for a while and then return him to his cage or perch or wherever it is that he spends his time. Do that a few times, then try moving it a little farther out, just until you see he isn't comfortable, and then move back a bit. Let him sit. If he won't take treats, give him lots of praise as long as he is behaving calmly. If you can do this a few times a day using lots of positive reinforcement and you don't push him too far too quickly, you should see an eventual acceptance from him. It could take a while to happen, and you'll have to be consistent and upbeat. You also have to read his signals very carefully to maintain the trust.
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Post by julianna on May 13, 2015 13:20:48 GMT -5
I agree with easttex 100%. That is exactly how I got my bird to enjoy the outdoors... now he craves to go outside... he just loves it.
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