How can I make my first bird trust me?

Question

I have just received my first bird as a pet. I don't know much about birds and what I'd like to know is, how can I tame my bird from biting and how can I build a trust between us? I would like it to trust me enough to perch on and off my hand when I tell it to. Your input is important.

Answer 1

Patience is the key! You don't say what kind of bird it is, but in general you must be prepared to spend at least 1 to 2 hours interecting with the bird every single day! Talk to it, praise it, sing to it, watch TV with it and make lots of comments about the show( nature programs are best-Animal Planet!! ). The bird will eventually begin to enjoy your company , to try to get closer to you in his cage, and may sing or try to talk to you. At this time try offerring small treats through the bars of the cage, such as sunflower seeds, crackers, fresh apple slices, lettuce, etc. If he bites you, do *Not* yell or act angry, as this will encourage the behavior. Just take the treats and leave the room. Do not just throw the treats to him anyway. He must learn that if he nips, he gets no treats. Try again in an hour or so. Sooner or later he will trust you enough to take the treats from your hand.
Next you should open his cage door and offer the treats at the door. Do *Not* stick your hand inside the cage, as he may see this as an invasion of his territory! Eventually you will be able to entice him to the front of the cage for the treats. When he does this readily, you are ready for the final step.
After giving him a treat, try presenting your finger to him and saying"Step Up!" If he ignores your request you can try stroking his chest and belly lightly to get him used to the idea. If he nips, then do the same as before and stay gone for an hour or two. With time he will trust you enough that you can say "Step Up" and present your finger for him to climb upon. "Step Up" can even be used to correct a misbehaving bird! After bad behavior, make him do "Step up" from one hand to the other several times. This will show him that you are in charge. It is usually all the correction most birds need.
At this stage you have gained the bird's trust. Continue to spend time with him every day . You can bring him with you to watch TV, read, or do chores. Just have his wings clipped so that he cannot fly away or hurt himself.
Further training is up to you.

If you need advice on more training or other subjects, i can direct you to a great yahoo group with lots of helpful bird owners and a large library. Just E-mail me.

Good Luck.

Answer 2

NEVER EVER HIT OR TAP YOUR BIRD!!!

First step is clipping the wings. Take your bird to have this done by a professional.

Now it's time to teach your bird to "step up". Before you enter the cage, you always want to tell the bird, what you want it to do. Never enter the cage without talking to your bird. Reasure the bird you mean it no harm. Calmly talk to the bird and tell the bird you want him/her to step up. Slowly push your finger into the breast bone and instinctually the bird will go to a higher perch (which is your finger).

Always have a treat ready. I use cheerios for treats. Seeds are NOT a proper thing to use as food, let alone a proper diet.

Try and find a pellet known as roudybush. It's made with crushed apple and birds love it. Even picky eaters transfer right over to this pellet. Once you get your bird over to a pelleted diet you still need to feed veggies. You have then extended the life span of your bird to 25 yrs which was at 4-6 yrs. That is how drastic seed changed your birds life.

I wish you all the luck and you can email me any time for help!

Answer 3

You got it correct, you need to build trust. Every bird is different and it might take awhile. Try to move slowly when you approach the cage and try to learn your birds body language. Sometime food treats can make training go more quickly.

Answer 4

Depends on what kind of bird it is. If its a parrot they love getting scratched on the back of the neck in parrot language its a sign of friendship.If its a small parrot and won't perch on your finger just catch him quickly in the cage and scratch the back of his neck. to stop it biting where gloves 'till it trusts you to sit on your finger with no fear.When he bites just give him a LIGHT tap on the beak and say "no".
I'm not sure if I helped.It was the way I trained my Lovebird and Budgie and they trusted me in a very short time and never bite unless they're climbing on my hand or shirt,but that's just an accident .I know that all parrots like getting scratched on the back of the neck 'cause I got that from my Guide to Parrot Care book.

Answer 5

what bird is it? it may take some time if you don't know anything about birds. If you really want to learn how to tame it right away along with tricks... maybe i recommend you to visit birdtricks.com

they sell dvds on how to tame and teach tricks to your parrot. Before I bought it, I didnt' have a clue on taming. Now, all my friends always ask me to tame their parrots adn teach them tricks. You won't be sorry! good luck!