Patagonian Conure Success Story

>>> NOTE: If you’ve got a problem with your bird that you’re having a hard time fixing, check out our new online store. We’ve added a lot of new courses lately that might be able to help you:

http://www.birdtricks.com/store

>>> Reader’s Patagonian Conure Success Story:

Chet,

Having just enjoyed our first Christmas with our beautiful patagonian conure, I just had to write to thank you for your fabulous emails and training dvd’s I have received from you because I can honestly say we’ve had a breakthrough!

I bought the taming training and tricks dvd back in September time and recently purchased the speech training system.

We bought Ruby having looked after a family member’s cockatiel whose noise we missed! When we first got her she wasn’t a bit hand tame but would let you put your hand in the cage to fill her food and water bowls and would happily sit on top of the cage – oh and she also hated men! We’ve been working with her since August (and seemingly getting nowhere!) trying to get her to step up onto our hands and eat treats from our hands. Having established her properly on the pellet diet she indeed started taking sunflower seeds and peanuts from our hands – that was about a month ago! Since then she has come on leaps and bounds in what seems like weeks!

I also sort of took your advice regarding a parrot tree. She wouldn’t touch her toys and if you added a new one she merely stared at it like what the hell is this?! We turned the front of her cage into a temporary tree until we can get a proper one (and to see if it worked!). During the day whilst we’re at work we close the top of her cage and hide her food in the toys and she will happily entertain herself even with men in the room! Even at night time when we’re in she’s happily entertaining herself.

On Christmas day we had the best pressie from her! She stepped up on both our hands and even sat on her “Dad’s” shoulder! She’s now waving (even unprompted when you’re just talking to her so she can have the sunflower seed!) and tonight, just before I wrote this I started working on her talking skills. She started talking about two or three months ago but as we ended up doing a massive house re-decoration and moved she completely stopped. Tonight though with the help of a few sunflower treats she is starting to just find her voice, and I am so pleased!

Chet I just want to say from the bottom of my heart thank you. I am watching her turn into a “real” parrot from a tiny little creature that just sat there doing nothing but watching us with a beady eye. I am so proud and grateful. I’m sure you will have experienced a frightened non-hand tame bird or two in your time but she has come on so well and I am absolutely shocked as to the progress made over the last few weeks all thanks to your genius and for this I will be eternally grateful! I think my partner may well be a bit fed up of me saying “Chet says” but he always forgives me because to date you’re always right!

I wish I could be with you for your conference but it’s just a bit too far!

May i take this opportunity to wish you a very merry (albeit slightly late!) Christmas and a very happy new year – looking forward to the next instalment!

Kind regards and with many many thanks

Anita Carey and John Davies and our beautiful Ruby England

>>> My Comments:

Well Anita & John,

Thanks for sending in your story. It helps give people hope that their bird can be fixed to. And it’s too bad I won’t get the chance to meet you in person at our upcoming Florida seminar, but maybe we’ll get another chance to meet someday.

NOTE: We still have about 5 tickets available for people who’d like to meet me personally at our 1st ever training seminar in Orlando, Florida. If you’re interested in attending, you can still get a ticket.

See this page for details:
Birdtricks.com Live Parrot Training Seminar

But back to business:

You mentioned one thing that really caught my attention that I think a LOT of people struggle with.

You said, “My parrot wouldn’t touch his toys”

This is SUCH a common problem. One that unfortunately we as owners cause.

You see, birds are meant to spend their entire days searching for things. They’re VERY curious creatures.

In the wild they probably encounter 100 new things a day, and it’s exciting.

But how many new things do we as owners expose our parrots to in their cages?

Usually very few. Sure, we might get them some new toys now and then, but it just doesn’t compare to the wild.

So what happens is birds get bored with their environments. They stop searching and chewing on things because they’ve already done that. And over time, a bird becomes less and less active, until it no longer even has the desire to interact with new things.

One way to fix this problem is to do what I talk about in a recent past blog video that I created about how to create a curious environment for your bird with play trees stuffed with food.

By stuffing trees full of food, and making that the only way a bird can get food, you force him to be active if he wants to eat… you don’t give him another option.

And from the sound of it, that’s what Anita & company did with their Patagonian Conure!

They used play trees, stuffed with food to get their bird engaged in life again.

And a bird that likes to explore is not just a happier bird, but an easier bird to train. They become less irritable, scream less, and don’t develop neurotic behaviors or fears as easily.

If EVERYONE reading this would follow Anita & Company’s example, we’d have a lot more happy parrots in this world!

Until Next Time!

Happy Training,

Chet Womach