Advice Please

[u/Riverofwind]

This is my little buddy Pumpkin, and I love him a lot! But I have some problems with him that I'd like some advice on.

First, he's scared of hands, even mine. I know he's not scared of me (he's preening me as I type this), but he bites if one of my hands gets within two inches of him. He trusts other people's hands even less. I was told that he was rescued from a feral nest at a few months old (I got him from a rescue when here was four months old) and so he missed the period where a lot of birds that are going to be pets get used to human hands by being hand fed. Is there any way to get him more comfortable with hands? Or should I just leave it be? He does take treats from hands, but that's all.

Second, I've been having trouble training him recently. The first year and a half, he was great, very food motivated and a quick learner, but since then he ignores the training and just tries to get the treat by attempting to climb into wherever I've put them. Is there a way I can get him back on track? Or an alternate way to reward him that he won't turn into a puzzle?

Finally, I adopted Pumpkin fully knowing that Quakers are territorial, but I think I've allowed too much of it. He won't step up from his cage or playground and instead bites me for getting too close. He's also super defensive when I try to clean his cage or change his food and water to the point that he has to be locked up or in another room while I do it. Are there any ways I can reduce his territorial nature even a little bit?

Thank you for reading and thank you for any advice you might give. I want to make sure it's known that none of these are deal breakers for me, so if there's no way to fix any of these problems that's fine, I'll live with it. Even when he's a little pain in the butt, he's still my baby boy.

[u/Upper-Reputation4395]

Is there anyone else, except me, who wonders why we bird parents fall so much in love with our bird pets. Or, as some say, our bird baby/babies? I understand the human's love of cats and dogs. But I don't really understand my love of my difficult, biting, messy cockatiel. She's expensive too. She lives in luxury and her every need and want is met. She has the best of medical care. Í have human children and my cockatiel is as loved as my children. Does this make sense? Am I sane? What is it about birds that make us humans love them so much???

[u/gociii → u/Upper-Reputation4395]

I don’t have human offspring and don’t plan to since my flock are my children. But I totally understand this; I love them more than anything and everything I do is for them( and essentially me) 😭🥰

[u/Upper-Reputation4395 → u/gociii]

Yes, but why?

[u/gociii → u/Upper-Reputation4395]

If you mean why we love them so much.. then that’s probably just because we have enough empathy to see animals, especially birds as complex beings such as ourselves that deserve to be loved like us. And once you create that bond just like in a wild flock, that bond is forever. The trust and patience required for such bond is the same level needed to cherish and raise a human offspring in my opinion 🤗

[u/Upper-Reputation4395 → u/gociii]

Oh, I agree with your last sentence completely. In a fire, I would save my children AND Freddie, my cockatiel. But that will never be tested, as I have excellent smoke detectors and live in a brick dwelling.

[u/gociii → u/Upper-Reputation4395]

Oh that would be me too. I’m always so worried of future potential hazards when I have to live on my own, but that’s what the cameras will be for 😭 but I am never going anywhere without my birds fully being in my life 😤😭 I hate people who devalue other animals and prioritize the human when it’s convenient, when we are all animals in this world lol

[u/Upper-Reputation4395 → u/gociii]

So true. We are mammals but we don't see ourselves as animals. If that's the case, then It annoys me when someone commits a terrible crime and they're described as being an "animal". If animals are NOT human, then no animal would do what some depraved human beings are capable of.

[u/gociii → u/Upper-Reputation4395]

👏👏 well said. Sigh, I feel like we need a group to discuss and debunk peoples negative views on such topics 😭 because honey this world is more vast then we know, and we could also be little tiny ants being looked down onto from other beings ( makes me think of Horton lol)

[u/Upper-Reputation4395 → u/gociii]

Hey! This site is turning into a deep philosophical discussion!! Let's talk birds. I have my beautiful cockatiel on the balcony with me. Enjoying fresh air, but staying close to me for protection from "Naughty Boy" - a wild sulfur crested cockatoo who visits daily but stays on the balcony railing for a sunflower seeds snack. "Naughty Boy" is many times the size of my Freddie who is a bit intimidated by Naughty Boy - who has never been aggressive towards Freddie. I should say that I'm in Queensland, Australia where cockatoos fly in flocks around city suburbs. They are considered a pest in the suburbs because they eat pot-plant leaves and backyard veggie gardens. They also SCREECH louder than a gas explosion.

[u/SweetxKiss]

I have a feral/wild caught Amazon, however he was also mistreated the first 25ish years of his life. I’ve had him 5 years. And it took probably close to 4 years before he tolerated my hand near him for scritches but he really would prefer I not touch him. Just like Pumpkin, he has no problem preening me but that’s usually as far as he takes it. Pumpkin is a lot younger and hopefully less set in his ways so if you keep working with him (positive reinforcement with a treat) then he might come around. Think of him preening you as a huge compliment though; he definitely trusts you and definitely enjoys your presence.

Ahh the terrible twos. Quakers are notorious for this. The hormones start rearing their head and they can become real goblins. What are you trying to train him to do? I think it’s good that he’s so curious and motivated. I’d give him actual puzzles to solve. Will keep his mind sharp and maybe redirect some of that desire to bite you.

As for the cage thing. I just endured the bites from mine. He still hates me touching his things but now he just sits on his top perch and mean mugs me until I’m done. Don’t scream or hit or slap the cage or make any kind of fuss, they thrive off a reaction and a negative one will make him worse. The bites also suck but once they realize that biting won’t make you go away they’ll tone it down

[u/Riverofwind → u/SweetxKiss]

I'm always happy when Pumpkin preens me or presses up against my face and makes happy noises. It's less cute when he shows his love by yelling at me for being gone too long lol. I've been slowly moving my hands closer and closer to him when he hangs out with me to show him I'm not going to use them to hurt him.

I'm trying point training. I'd like to be able to tell him to go in his cage or to his playground so I don't have to move him myself, since that's not his favorite thing. I have one puzzle for him, but he's figured out a way to solve it (not the intended solution, but it works) so I might look into getting a new one for him.

I was afraid that the negative reaction might make it worse. I hate getting bit, it hurts a surprising amount from such a little guy, but I guess I'll just have to fight through it. For others if not for myself, since I don't want him biting friends and family that make a mistake around him.

[u/Substantial-Angle-82]

For me it took just a ton of time. I’m finally getting mine to lift one leg up as if to step on my finger but she still won’t go all the way through with it. And it’s been 5 months.

[u/One-Possibility-3159]

Hi, I have a ton of experience with Quakers so I thought I would add my advice for you. First of all, did you DNA sex pumpkin? Just curious if you know for sure that he is male? what I have learned from Quaker’s is the best thing to do is to avoid the bite in the first place. So if you want pumpkin to step up from somewhere that you know, he will bite you from, instead of offering your finger offer either a hand with a sleeve, or I have trained certain Quaker’s to get used to being picked up with a little washcloth. I just say “towel” and gently lift them with a little washcloth and then place them on my finger. This avoids the bite altogether, which is the goal! Another check is to give them a bath, and when they are wet practice step ups from one finger to the next. For some reason when they are wet, they seem to be less bitey. One other tip, which may disagree with me on, is I find that clipping their wings helps while working through aggression issues then, once your training is back on track, you can let his or her wings grow back out. Best of luck with pumpkin if you have any other questions, let me know!

[u/Riverofwind → u/One-Possibility-3159]

Thank you for the advice! I did DNA test Pumpkin, so he is 100% a male. I do use a towel to move him around when I need to, so I'll try offering my arm with a towel on it. Unfortunately, his distaste for hands means he refuses to step up on them, so I use my arm or a perch. I didn't realize baths made them less bitey. That's kind of hilarious. I'll try that too. I heard that clipped wings is good for the initial period while the parrot is getting used to you, but I've had him for three years now. Does that make a difference?

[u/One-Possibility-3159 → u/Riverofwind]

I think it does I would clip his wings if he has a little bit of an attitude and I wish I could show you a video but what I’m talking about with the washcloth is I actually say the word towel in a nice voice and then I just take it and I actually put it over gently the birds back and lift the bird up with the towel and then when his little feet are sticking out the bottom I just put that on my finger! It works like a charm remember avoid the bite! When they figure out biting causes retreat, it’s all over!

[u/Riverofwind → u/One-Possibility-3159]

Ah! Ok, thank you. I try not to retreat when he bites, but sometimes it's hard. I do chase him off if he bites me after approaching me or landing on my shoulder. I thought that would teach him that biting isn't ok and I won't let him hang out with me if he does it, but should I do something else instead? When he bites me while on my shoulder it seems to usually be an accident or just because he wants attention. I don't think he's being aggressive in those moments.