u/EnsoX

I am absolutely at a loss how to successfully hand tame two of my parrots. I adopted two cockatiels to join my other birds a year ago. Since then, I have made no progress with their training. In fact, I’ve probably done things to make it worse because they are unbelievable fightly.

Initially, I started attempting to teach them to take a treat from my hand. I would approaching slow manner and hold a treat in front of them. Immediately they would fly off and not wanting to engage with me. Then I tried to do this inside the cage. Although as soon as I get the door open, they bolt for the door. Then they’re stuck outside the cage until it’s nighttime. Only once their visibility is poor can I manage to grab them to place them back in. There’s been a few times we’ve had a resort to towels as well to catch them.

Over the past two months, I’ve been transitioning them to getting used to staying in their cage. I use a hand towel to cover the openings as I open and close the cage. Now I am attempting to limit their time outside the cage. Once they are out though, I can’t get them back in because they are fearful of hands. I have tried the trick where you hold the perch and ask them to step up on that but they won’t do it. And I feel awful because I don’t wanna restrict them to the cage for their entire lives.

Over the last two weeks, I’ve started to try target training. It’s impossible though when they’re scared to take the treat from your hand and even more scared of the stick and clicker!

I am at a point I feel like rehoming, but don’t want to see them passed home to home. I feel like I have failed them. And honestly, I’m at a point where I feel like I can’t do this anymore. I know every bird is different, so I me feel horrible saying I want to give up on them. However, it’s becoming increasingly frustrating and I noticed I’m becoming impatient during our sessions now.

When I adopted my first bird, they had the basics already learned. So it wasn’t nearly this difficult. And I’m thinking I’m in all over my head with these two new birds.

Previously some of my birds were target trained. I stopped working with the target once they become hand trained. Now they are going backwards, for example don’t want to go back in their cage. I have two new birds who I have been really struggling with too. I can’t get any of my birds to catch on to touch the target, even my previously target trained birds.