Flying off perch | Quaker Parrot Forum

leeridell
Hatchling

Any other Quaker parrot owners in southwest Indiana ? I'd love to compare notes.

Posts: 1

Flying off perch Jul 9, 2015 16:28:43 GMT -5

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Post by leeridell on Jul 9, 2015 16:28:43 GMT -5

I've had my young quaker, Gus, for about two months. Each morning, we do I short training session, and I vary his treats as I haven't found one that wins his attention for more than a few minutes. During the target training and the few other ideas we are working on, I feel that I'm reading through his body language that all he really wants is to be on me. After a few successful tricks rewarded with his food treat, he runs back and forth on the perch and then flies to me. I tell him, "No," and place him back on his perch but he continues to jump off. His wings were clipped when I picked him up, so he can't go far, though I'm impressed (and worried!)at how far he can travel with clipped feathers.
The same problem occurs when he plays on his open area atop his cage. He will often play contentedly there for a long time, but often will fly (then waddle) across the room (s) seeking me out.
Another issue that I read about but was not able to avoid is that Gus has become a one person bird. It has gotten to the point that when he sees my husband approaching, he flies (or scampers) away. I'm afraid one of us might step on him or he might make his way outside.
I live in southern Indiana and would love to meet up with other quaker parents nearby. Do quaker pets get along with other quakers? I wish there was some kind of "obedience training" for new bird parents! I've read several books and online articles, but there's nothing like working and learning with others first hand.
Lee Ann and Gus

easttex
Top Bird/Chief Slave

Posts: 2,410

Flying off perch Jul 9, 2015 19:04:58 GMT -5 aaron likes this

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Post by easttex on Jul 9, 2015 19:04:58 GMT -5

His training sessions might be exceeding the attention span of a young Quaker. I would try stopping the session before he gets to the point where he wants to jump on you. Give him lots of praise while he's still on the training perch, or wherever you have him, then return him to his normal place. You can work on training many times a day, but any one session should not last very long.

You can use the same idea while he is playing on top of his cage. Before he gets a chance to get bored, give him treats and praise for playing so well on his own, and then place him somewhere else for a while. Going into his cage should not be seen as punishment, just a change of location.

It does sound like your youngster might be becoming a little too dependent on you for his entertainment. Really reinforce his behavior when he is doing things on his own. Another member here, Aaron, has good experience with getting his bird to accept everyone in his household, and I'm sure he'll describe that for you.

Welcome to the board!

Quaker Peppy (RIP my sweet pea), CAG Allie, dogs Wanda and Bonnie, feral kitties Cleo and Antoinette, mice Charlotte and Emily, née Jake and Elwood

aaron
Senior Forum Manager

Cupcake's Dad

Posts: 2,217

Flying off perch Jul 9, 2015 19:50:36 GMT -5 easttex likes this

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Post by aaron on Jul 9, 2015 19:50:36 GMT -5

Greetings and welcome Lee Ann and Gus!

As easttex noted, our QP Cupcake was at one point very much a one person bird. This is a pretty common direction for things to go as Quakers form a strong bond with their primary person. It did take us the better part of a year to really change this, but at this point, Cupcake is affectionate and has a bond with each of the three adults in our household.

One difference, however, is that your bird seems scared of your husband, whereas Cupcake was being aggressive and defending against the others in the house. I do wonder if this will require a different approach.

Probably the most valuable thing we did was facilitate extensive one-on-one time between the others and Cupcake. Without me present, she was forced to interact with them for what she needed, and after many days of this (my wife was not working at this point, so I would be at work, and Cupcake would have to be at home all day with her), things started to change.

Other things we have done-- passing the bird around at bedtime for everyone to get a chance to say goodnight (at the time she was being toweled, although now we do not use the towel)... We would express affection to each other in front of her so she would see that we were all a happy flock together. Have the people the bird is not bonded with do all the good things, like giving treats, and letting her out of the cage, and have the preferred human do all the "bad" things, like caging and cleaning around the cages and such. Using the "rescue" technique helps too... Put the bird in a situation where they are in a new and unfamiliar place that they don't know how to get out of, and then have the unpreferred human come in and "rescue" them.

It's a long road, patience and persistence are key, but the one-person-bird-syndrome is generally resolvable in most cases, I would say.

Let us know how things progress!

Check out Cupcake and the whole flock at our instagram page: www.instagram.com/cupcakethequaker/