Conference 7.286::pet_birds

    Hi Donna,
    
    I guess I should open my reply by saying that birds are empathetic
    creatures.  They can also sense who is the dominant creature, they
    or their keeper.  There are a number of ways that you can tame a
    large bird but before you tame the bird you have to tame your fear.
    Anyone who tames any size bird will get their share of bites .....
    I guess you can say that it is an occupational hazard.  You can
    minimize the number of bites that you receive by putting a taming
    program together that is slow and methodical.  It took me almost
    one year to tame a yellow collard mini-macaw that was a biter. 
    I still have some of the scars ..... he is now one of my most 
    intelligent and lovable birds.
    
    Anyway, you never said what you had tried with your Mollucan.  Has
    he ventured out of the cage on his own?  Is his/her wings clipped?
    Does he/she take food from your hand?  Does she retreat to the back
    of the cage, raise her head feathers and hiss?  It is difficult
    to give any specific advice without knowing more.  
    
    One thing that you can try is to bring the cage into the bathroom
    and open the door.  Place the bird's favorite treat near you as
    you sit on the floor.  If this bird's wings are not clipped cover
    the mirror and place a rug or something down on the floor.  See
    if he/she will come out and get the food.  Move slowly when you
    do move, especially if you attempt to handle this bird in any way.
    A few sessions like this may prove fruitful.
    
    If you want to tell us more about this bird, I am sure that we can
    add some significant value to you problem.  I am not sure where
    you reside, but I would be willing to meet this bird and maybe 
    help you as much as I could.  I live and work in Maynard, Mass.
    You can contact me via VAXMAIL at the node indicated or you can
    call me at DTN 223-5089.  I would be happy to help you out anyway
    that I can.  I do think that you will have to find some courage
    to extend your hand to this bird (not when he is in the cage) and
    measure his response.  You movements should be slow but deliberate.
    Let us know how you make out.
    
    Jim Buccieri

    Donna,
    
    You mentioned the beak, and how it is making you wary
    (understandable!).  Have you considered taking the bird to
    an avian vet for a beak trim?  (Also wings and nails, if
    needed.)  This is less costly then you might think.  Sometimes,
    depending on the vet and whether the bird has been seen before
    by him/her, will not charge you the office visit fee because they
    just take the bird from the waiting room, do the needed work,
    and return the bird to you (this way also makes a big assumption
    that you trust the vet and don't have a need to witness the work
    done on the bird......).  We have a Blue-Front Amazon that is a
    whole lot easier to work with now because of having the beak trimmed.
    Also, he needed this done because he had been kept for about three
    years without sufficient wood  or other toys to chew, so the beak
    was getting in his way, not to mention ours.
    
    Linda

    Hi Donna,
    
    My husband has a similar problem in that he is afraid of being bitten
    by our young Lilac-Crowned Amazon (Chico).  In fact this is the
    very same bird which is for sale in the sale note.  I bought Chico
    when he wa 4 months old.  He was pretty sick when I bought him and
    the pet shop did not even notice.  Chico was hand-fed and domestically
    bred.  After getting him over his illness, he decided that he wanted
    to be handled, but whoever did it was going to have to "prove
    him/herself."He was/is very territorial about his cage and when
    I wanted to get him out or off the cage, I had a battle every time.
    I have some scars to show where he drew blood and left some very
    large ugly bruises many times.  My husband got bitten once and now
    refuses to handle Chico.
    I kept moving slowly but persistently with Chico.  I even resorted
    to throwing a towel over him when getting him away from the cage.
     Once away from it, he was fine.  It took me about 4 or 5 months
    of working with him before I began to notice that when I opened
    the cage door, he would climb onto my shoulder or allow me to pick
    him up from the top of the cage without bitting.  He still growls
    from time to time but hardly ever bites.  Even when he does bite,
    it isn't very hard anymore.
    
    In the beginning, after he recovered, I was a little afraid of Chico
    when he bit me. I was a little discouraged thinking I would never
    win his affection and friendship.
    I had to conquer the fear, at least enough to keep him from noticing
    it, and figure out how to handle him so that I did not get bitten
    very much.
    
    Of course, a Lilac-Crowned Amazon is not as large as a Moloucan
    Cockatoo, but they can still bite quite hard.
    
    I agree with Jim that you need to try and conquer your fear of being
    bitten and proceed slowly but deliberately with your bird.
    
    Good luck.
    
    Laurie
    

    I took Rocky to the vets yesterday and had his nails trimmed and
    his winged clipped.  The doctor said that his beak was just fine.
    I asked her about taming him and she said that she had got her worse
    bites from a Mollucan.  She ended up getting rid of hers because
    she didn't want to get bit.
    
    Do any of you try taming by using the welders gloves?  I have to
    tell you that what I went through just to get Rocky out of his cage
    and into the crate to get him to the vets was not easy; not to mention,
    he wanted to get me real good.  If it wasn't for the gloves, I would
    have been mangled by the time I got there.
    
    I'm ready to start the taming but don't know if I can be brave enough
    without the gloves.  Besides, I don't want to have scars all over
    me because of a bird.  What is your opinion on using gloves when
    trying to tame a bird?
    
    Donna :-)

    DO NOT USE GLOVES!!!
    
    Please do not use gloves to tame your Mollucan.  Most can be tamed
    easily using TLC.  A year ago I would not have believed it when I
    purchased a wild-caught Mollucan Cockatoo, just off quarantine when
    I was out in California. When I got her home all she did was rock back
    and forth, hiss at me and stamp her foot (Oh yeah, occasionally let
    out a blood curdling scream if I got too close!).
    
    Everything I read about the Mollucan stated that they were quite
    easy to tame, even the experts that I talked to agreed, some even
    stating that I could get her tame in a couple of hours!  I tried the
    various training methods from trying her in the bathroom alone, trying
    to get her onto a stick first and yes...even grabbing her with a towel
    and holding her close to me gently.  Nothing worked.  She detested
    me for trying such things.
    
    I found that she was petrified of my hands and hated men (My poor
    husband could not even be in the same room with her).  So I kept her
    in my dining room with the parakeets and love birds.  Each evening
    I would spend 45 minutes with her.  I would stand by her cage and
    talk gently to her and sing to her (That's what seemed to work)
    I would sing songs and put her name into the songs.  After a week or
    so of this constant singing and talking, she would look forward to
    it and soon would scoot to the side of the cage nearest to me.  Slowly
    I started to take my fingers and rest them on the bar near her perch.
    At first she would hiss and stamp her foot, but I left it there and
    soon she was coming over and nibbling on my fingers and playing with
    them with her feet.  After a couple more weeks I could rub her head
    occasionally, but She would not come out of her cage.  Then one
    morning I opened the Dining room door to find her sitting on top of
    her cage!  I didn't know what to do and how she was going to react,
    however, when I got close she walked over to the side nearest me and
    put her head down, summoning me to scratch her head, which I did
    and  we have been close buddies ever since.  She flies onto my shoulder
    and cuddles and gives me kisses.  SHE HAS NEVER BITTEN ME ONCE.  She
    is extremely clever and I must padlock every entryway of her cage.
    It took her almost a year to accept my husband and she is really good
    with him now and will even fly onto his shoulder at times.  But she
    is really my bird and loves me.  Sometimes too much!  She wants 
    constant attention.  She has now learned to wolf whistle and thinks
    she is hot stuff.
    
    As for age, you cannot tell how old they are.  And since yours is not
    domestic either, you have no way of knowing.  I really believe that
    90% + of MollucanS Can be tamed if people would take the time and
    patience to work with them.  They are delightful birds and their beaks
    are much more threatening looking than they really are.  Chloe (that's
    her name) is so gentle with her beak with me.  She nibbles so softly.
    Our Domestic Yellow Nape Amazon Jocko loves to nip us whenever he
    gets bored or playful, but my Mollucan is so sweet and loving.  She
    just loves to be gathered up in my arms and hugged and kissed.  I can
    touch her anywhere and flip her upside down.  She trusts me completely
    now.  But it wasn't always that way.  It took time (Approx 7 weeks)
    and patience.  But I doubt that I could get a more cuddly and loving
    and intelligent bird from a domestic hand fed baby.
    
    GOOD LUCK AND KEEP US POSTED ON YOUR PROGRESS!  

    Hi Denise,
    
    Your note is very encouraging to me.  I like your idea of taming
    better than trying to force myself onto him.  People had been telling
    me that I might as well get use to the fact that I was going to
    get bit.  With that in mind, I was thinking of getting rid of the
    bird because I didn't want scars all over my hands and/or arms.
    
    My little goffin cockatoo (Cochese) is sooo affectionate and she wasn't
    always that way either.  It took me about 1 month to get her
    comfortable with me but she really loves my attention now.  I basically
    just talked to her for hours (from the time I got home to the time
    I went to bed) for 1 month and she came around.  Now, forget it,
    as soon as mommy is home, she's looking (screaming) for me.  She
    was in a home environment before I got her and was tame with them
    so I think that's why she came around so quick.
    
    The mollucan (Rocky) was never in a home and my understanding was
    that he was in a warehouse for quite a while (2 years).  When I
    first got him, he hissed at me all the time.  Everytime I would
    walk by the area, he would hiss.  I thought my boyfriend was going
    to tame him because he wanted the bird to be his (Cochese is mommy's
    girl).  He worked with him for a while but not consistently.  So,
    I decided that I would give it a try.  However, it's not easy because
    when I'm trying to give him attention, Cochese gets very jealous
    and screams until I let her out of her cage; at which time, she
    goes on the side of his cage where I'm standing so I'm looking at
    her and not him.
    
    This is what I'm thinking of trying... 
    
    Roll Rocky into the kitchen (his cage is on a pedestal with rollers) so
    I'm not in the same room as Cochese and talk to him there.  Something
    tells me that Cochese is going to be screaming when she hears all the
    attention Rocky is getting from me and she's not.  I'm wondering if
    this is going to make Cochese too jealous? She would rather be with me
    than my boyfriend but maybe if he stays in the livingroom while I'm
    doing this and gives Cochese attention, it will keep her occupied
    enough (mommy really spoiled Cochese and is paying for it now).
    
    Your method sounds the best suited for me.  Thanks for the input!

    Donna :-)

    Donna,
    
    It sounds like you are on the right track and I bet your plan will
    work out fine. You are smart to move Rocky away from Cochese.  For
    she will just distract him and make him nervous - as well as steal
    the attention.  Cockatoos are great con artists, and very clever
    birds.  She can live without your undivided attention for a while.
    She may not like it but she will learn to accept it...gradually.
    I'm confident that you will have Rocky eating out of your hand
    and craving for cuddles before you know it.  It just takes time
    and A WHOLE LOT OF PATIENCE.
    
    To this day, I cannot get Chloe to get onto a stick, however she will
    readily get onto my arm in an instant.  The last week or so I have
    been so busy that I have only let her out for very short periods of
    time and I have noticed the difference.  She actually went through
    a couple of days of literally not eating (Well not making the pig of
    herself that she usually does), and I know that it was just due to
    stress of not being let out of her cage for extended periods.  She
    pouts and screams at me if I don't do as she expects.  She has been
    better the last couple of days.  I have made it a point to give her
    ample hugs and kisses and attention.  She is eating up a storm again.
    
    These birds are extremely intelligent.  She amazes me with her clever
    acts.  My Yellow Name can talk and sing up a storm, however he cannot
    compete with her cleverness.
    
    What you have to do is win Rocky's trust, not show him who's boss. That
    is the wrong approach to these birds since they are so intelligent.
    Once he trusts you, you will have another loving, gentle friend on your
    hands....screaming for attention.
    
    GOOD LUCK,  And if you need any help at all, just let me know.  I would
    be glad to help you out in any way I can.  If you want to come up and
    see Chloe, just let me know. (DTN: 223-6802).
    
    Regards,
    Denise