By: Doug Fran & Oscar

Doug Fran & Oscar — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:50:15 +0000

Chet:
I have a story to pass on regarding slow and patient training. I find it very helpful to read the various tid bits of information that I have received over the last few months.
This past April we took in a Parrot from a person my wife found out about through a web site that her company hosts. This person had to move into a smaller apartment and no longer could keep her parrot and cage. She did not want any money she just wanted a good home for her bird. She had listed it as being a rescue bird that would need a lot of care. For many years I have wanted an exotic bird but could not really afford a couple thousand dollars to get one. This woman was offering the bird, a very large cage, some books, his food, a travel cage, and a few other goodies so I couldn’t resist. When we went to look at the bird it was obvious that the bird had been seriously mistreated somewhere along its life path. He apparently only lived in a car for quite a while. It had lost a lot of feathers, around its neck, on its breast, in the middle of its back, most of its cheeks and the back of his head. It was a pretty scary looking bird. She also told me that he likes to bite so be careful not to lose a finger. I believe “Oscar” is a Yellow Collared Macaw but he has so few feathers remaining around his neck it is very difficult to be certain. The Bird is 23 years old and she had only had the bird for about 1 1/2 years. I new this was going to be a serious challenge and I was worried if I was up to the challenge but I wanted to try to do what I could for the bird.
The day I took Him home I thought the woman was very mistaken because I released the bird as I was setting up the cage and He walked over and walked right up onto my arm and seemed quite comfortable. From that moment on I knew we had done the right thing. In the first three weeks he had drawn blood 6 times and a couple of them were pretty bad but I was learning with each bite what he did not want and what he would allow. For a while I thought it might be more than We, my wife and I, could handle because Oscar did not appear to like my Wife either. Here we are 6 months later and he has not seriously bitten either of us for a couple of months now and he likes to be handled by us, as long as we don’t move too fast. For the last couple of weeks he has been molting and now he lets me help groom him by removing some of the sheath off of many of his new feathers. He lets me know if it is too sensitive for me to handle by giving a squawk and or giving me a gentle nip. He has grown in many of the bald spots so he is not so scary looking any more I am hoping that with each molt he will regain additional feathers. He does not have very many toys as he seems to be frightened of most new things. In the last couple of months he has allowed me to play tug-of-war with him with various items and he has taught me to fetch a few items that he likes to throw off of his cage for me to get for him. He has learned to imitate the sound of people laughing which I find very funny.
My reason for this rather long winded story is I believe he has just now reached a stage where I might be able to start some serious attempts at trick training. Now I have to try and figure out just how to go about it so that we both have fun doing it. I hope that anyone who is having trouble getting quick results might keep the above story in mind.
Thank you again Chet for the many tips you have sent out as I have found them very helpful and I am sure many other have as well.
Doug, Fran and Oscar

By: Sheila Lanzel

Sheila Lanzel — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 20:58:27 +0000

Patience can occasionally pay off too. Granted it is going on three years instead of 6 months your way. Luckily, totally on instinct, I was using your methods with my abused African Grey. We are down to the issue of stepping up on command; I think we are getting close. Chet, I did recently implement a dedicated full-spectrum light as your program suggested, and I see almost immediate positive changes in my bird’s mood. Thanks for pointing out that maybe we are not giving our birds enough “natural” lighting. Oh, and her colors may be brighter now too.

By: Lily

Lily — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 22:54:56 +0000

Hi Chet, I bought your training seminar DVD’s, and watched the one about fear. My conure cares not how close I get to him, or even if I help groom him. I have tried power pause, and he just either doesnt care(aka grooming) or just goes crazy the entire time. He never settles. He doesnt care about the clicker, and even though he’s novice at target training, he wont dare get on my hand. He just bites the living hell out of it. I was hoping your DVD’s would tackle this. I dont know what to call it? He just doesnt like being touched or being on my hand unless he gets treats(is in the same situation near his cage)or if I’m grooming him. I tried treating him when I groomed him, but he’s just to occupied. Its extremely stressful, and I just dont feel cut out for this.. I want him to be happy, and from what I’ve heard, he’s not exactly “happy”. Anyway, any insight would be helpful.- Lily

Comments on: How Fast Can Your Parrot REALLY Be Trained?

By: Doug Fran & Oscar

By: Sheila Lanzel

By: Lily