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Post by easttex on Oct 12, 2015 18:25:57 GMT -5
I'm afraid not. For your action (the lock-up) to be linked to his behavior (the bite) the consequence must be immediate. But, punishment really backfires with parrots, more often than not. You risk damaging the relationship you've worked so hard to build with him. You'd be better off trying to figure out why he bit in the first place. Did you persist in trying to get him to step up when he didn't want to? If you ignored his subtler communications he may have felt he had to bite to make you understand that he really didn't want to step up. That's often how a biting problem begins. Are you rewarding him every time he steps up? It doesn't have to be food, but he should get praise or something every time. Still, there will be times when he doesn't want to cooperate, and it is best to respect his wishes whenever you can.
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Post by Jan and Shah on Oct 12, 2015 21:11:18 GMT -5
I agree with Easttex. Punishment does not work and you risk losing his trust. Try and find out why he bit you. When I was teaching Shah to step up, I always said good boy after saying step up. Now when I say step up, he says good boy. I can always tell with Shah when not to put my hand in his cage - you need to watch their body language closely - I call it Psycho Shah as his body movements are quite different to Relaxed Shah. Good luck - it takes time and patience but is well worth it in the end.
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Post by aaron on Oct 12, 2015 22:05:24 GMT -5
Most experts seem to agree that these birds don't understand punishment very well, and that it does not tend to work well, especially not in the long term.
I personally find that the most effective way to communicate disapproval to Cupcake is with brief, stern eye contact-- not scary, but something that clearly contrasts with your normal gaze. I believe that has been more effective than any form of punishment for us. However, I have used 3-5 minute time-outs in the past with some success. I would say anything more than 3-5 minutes and the birds, with their extremely short attention span, have completely forgotten why they are in there (if they ever knew) by the time they get out.
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Post by julianna on Oct 13, 2015 15:50:02 GMT -5
Totally agree with the above. So very hard to punish these birds. I use Aaron's method and also I will put him down somewhere and turn my back on him. He does not like that at all. It is different for me as Oscar does not fly so when he is put down somewhere he will have to walk to get back to where he wants to be.
3-5 minutes is about all it takes as aaron said. The best way to stop a bird from doing something you do not want them to do... is to praise them when they do not do it. Example is Oscar pooping on me. When he poops anywhere except on my he gets praised and if he does it on me ... he gets the evil eye.. is put down... and I say... "poop poop paper"... and walk away. He very seldom will poop on me now... and he is on my shoulder lots throughout the day. Being retired ... I do have the time.
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Post by enchantedaviary on Oct 19, 2015 10:04:22 GMT -5
Please do keep us posted, and ask any questions that occur to you. Parrots are unlike any other companion animal, and there's a wealth of experience on the forum to help you get the hang of it.  Hello, I am a new forum member. I bred and raised finches for six years. I recently bought a four month old Blue Quaker. I named him/her "Skye." Today is day two and Skye is becoming more vocal with cute sounds. Skye is eating Roudybush pellets with half a blueberry this morning for a snack. Sky ignored the Romain lettuce piece I left in his dish. I weighed Skye yesterday, our first day home. Skye weighed 88 grams! A good start, I think. Since I am new to Quaker parrots, I would love some tips and advice on bonding and toys etc. Thank you. |
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Post by eddymvp on Oct 19, 2015 15:48:02 GMT -5
this might be a silly question which I think I might know the answer, if they are female, can they laid an egg without being pair with a male?
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Post by easttex on Oct 19, 2015 18:37:47 GMT -5
this might be a silly question which I think I might know the answer, if they are female, can they laid an egg without being pair with a male? Yes, they can. Not really such a silly question. |
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Post by aaron on Oct 20, 2015 8:49:54 GMT -5
Please do keep us posted, and ask any questions that occur to you. Parrots are unlike any other companion animal, and there's a wealth of experience on the forum to help you get the hang of it. Hello, I am a new forum member. I bred and raised finches for six years. I recently bought a four month old Blue Quaker. I named him/her "Skye." Today is day two and Skye is becoming more vocal with cute sounds. Skye is eating Roudybush pellets with half a blueberry this morning for a snack. Sky ignored the Romain lettuce piece I left in his dish. I weighed Skye yesterday, our first day home. Skye weighed 88 grams! A good start, I think. Since I am new to Quaker parrots, I would love some tips and advice on bonding and toys etc. Thank you. Welcome enchantedaviary and Skye! Glad to hear things are going so well with your new little one. I would recommend starting a new thread with any questions you might have! We are happy to help. Quaker parrots are quite the fun little characters. You are in for a treat.  |
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Post by eddymvp on Oct 28, 2015 19:45:35 GMT -5
What would be the best way to teach cuca how to eat the food I gave him, I can give him any food and he would grab it and then throw it away.
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Post by julianna on Oct 29, 2015 15:04:59 GMT -5
If they are not hungry ... they will throw the food away... kinda like saving it for later. If they do not like the food... they will also throw it away.
In time you will learn their favorites... and they will happily grab it from your hand and eat it. Oscar loves a small piece of seeded bread or anything with starch in it. He does not get it often but he does love it. Also fresh peeled carrots he will grab from me. If he is not hungry it goes to the bottom of his cage for later. Fresh Peas however... he will eat... hungry or not.. lol
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Post by eddymvp on Oct 29, 2015 17:51:52 GMT -5
When I acquired cuca he was missing some feathers and it's been 3 months and that feather hasnt grown back , is there something I can buy that will help it grow back ?  |
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Post by aaron on Oct 30, 2015 9:47:46 GMT -5
That's a nice picture of Cuca! Unfortunately, it is possible that the follicles have been damaged in those areas, which would prevent the feathers from growing back. I am not aware of anything that can encourage growth in these situations, but perhaps the others know about something I don't.
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Post by julianna on Oct 30, 2015 13:51:19 GMT -5
Sure is a nice picture. There really isn't anything that will re-grow the feathers unfortunately. Not that I am aware of anyway. I also wanted to mention about getting Cuca to eat food from your hand. Try to mimic that you are going to eat it and say things like "yummy". I know that as soon as I go to put something in my mouth... Oscar of course wants it.
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Post by biteybird on Oct 30, 2015 15:37:11 GMT -5
I, too, am not aware of anything that can help feathers regrow; sorry. Regarding the food, Bonnie is like Oscar - being given something simply cannot compete with the attraction of thinking she's stealing it. If I want her to try new foods I let her out while I'm preparing food & strategically position some pieces on the outskirts of the stuff I'm cutting up. The trick is to not be too obvious about it and you must pretend you are not watching or paying much attention. If I put the same food in Bonnie's dish/tray she'd turn up her beak at it, but the above strategy works nearly every time.
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Post by easttex on Oct 31, 2015 4:42:25 GMT -5
Like the others, I don't know of anything that will regrow feathers if the follicle is damaged. If it isn't follicle damage, the best thing I know of to give his feathers a good start is a good diet and ensuring he gets the right amount of protein. If Cuca has not been seen by a vet, now would be a good time. There may be a physical condition that can be treated that will help with this. In regards to getting him to eat what you want him to eat: as they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Persistence is the key. Try Julianna's technique and biteybird's trick, and keep offering some. One day he may decide to give it a taste. Or not. |
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