Anybody else tried this (somewhat different training technique)?

[WendyK]

I have a fischer (Indigo) - he's about 10 weeks old now (I've had him since he was 6 weeks old)- who has been pretty afraid of being taken out of his cage (flies about the cage trying to get away from my hand) - but once Indigo is out of the cage, he is quite tame - stays on my hand and wanders about on my shoulder with no fear. I've tried something different the past 2 days and its working like a charm - so I thought I'd share. I take the top part of Indigo's cage (it detaches easily from the bottom) - with Indigo sitting calmly on the perch in the cage - and bring the cage (minus the bottom) over to a small bathroom. Once in the bathroom - I place the cage on the floor of the bathroom and then ask Indigo to come out - he usually flies gently to the floor - at which point I carefully remove the cage - once he's sitting on the floor - he calmly steps up on my hand - then we have a bonding session in the bathroom - he's stepping up, doing some chirping and exploring whatever it is I happen to be wearing - when he's calmly stepping up, he gets his favorite treat - millet spray from my hand. My goal is for Indigo to come out of his cage w/o me having to move it - but for now - I feel like I've "made a deal" with Indigo which seems to work for both me and him.

WendyK

[linda040899]

This is actually a very good idea, as it's non-threatening for Indigo and it appears to be working! :) Getting to know each other sessions tend to work well in smaller rooms, as there's only so far our fids can go so they don't have to go very far to return to us, either. The object of the game is for them to trust us and accept us as flock members. Trust must be earned and that simply takes time. :)

[WendyK]

Thanks for the thumbs up Linda!

WendyK

[Mummieeva]

I did this before. Normaly when it is out of cage time I just open the cage door and birds come out on their own. That way if they are not in mood to come out they can stay in.