After bringing
your new pet home, let it settle for around 3 days before handling (unless the
bird you acquired is a tame one to begin with). If you’re too excited, let it settle for a few
hours before handling. At the very
least, introduce the bird to its room first before starting any session.
Place the bird
in a room where it will be alone without any bird companion. This also serves another purpose: quarantine. If there is another bird, the other bird
preferably should be of a different breed and placed far apart from the bird to
be tamed. You and you alone should feed
and handle the bird. You want the bird
to bond with you, not with another bird or person.
Choose a small
room where the bird can not hide and fly around too much. I use the comfort room (CR) for the initial
taming sessions. Keep the toilet lid
closed because the bird may land on and waddle in the microbe-enriched water. It’s not fun to disinfect and live through the
foul smell. Close all doors and windows.
Retrieve the
bird from the cage and let it fly. I do
not let the bird come out voluntarily. The bird may never come out.
When the bird
gets tired of flying, try to pick it up with your finger by sliding a finger
from its chest down to the legs. This
will encourage the bird to perch on the finger.
The bird should
be facing you, so it will learn to recognize you. Talk to it in a soothing voice. Sing to it.
Facial and voice recognition helps in the long run.
The session
preferably should not last for more than 30 minutes. I usually start with 10-minute sessions for the
first week.
Once the bird
begins to perch on its own upon presentation of your finger, begin having
sessions outside the CR. The bird should
now have sessions where you’re staying whatever you’re doing, e.g., watching
TV, eating, reading, etc. I occasionally
let them fly around the CR while I’m taking a bath.
Daily sessions
are preferred, but non-daily sessions with regular intervals of a day or two
are acceptable.
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The first bird
I ever tamed is a very wild diamond dove.
Clipping a bird’s
wings also helps because it will be easier to let the bird perch on a finger,
but I prefer to tame first before clipping.
Check the Net for clipping instructions.
Food treats
also help, although I prefer to use treats in clicker training, not in taming.
Taming usually
takes weeks and months (usually 7 weeks in my experience). I had the privilege of acquiring two birds that
became tame in just one session.
===
Notable things
which are true in my experience but may not be true consistently:
The wilder the
bird, the easier to tame.
A bird without
any sign of feather plucking, especially head plucking, is easier to tame. Birds with plucked head feathers are more
psychologically traumatized, and this ordeal renders the birds more resistant
to taming.
If possible
(while at the pet shop), place a hand inside the cage to choose a pet
bird. The easier-to-tame ones will not
readily bite if held. A bird that sits
still on the wood perch without minding your hand may bite viciously if held,
while a bird that flies frantically at the sight of your hand may not attack at
all once firmly held (but may still try its best to get away). I’d go for the frantic flyer anytime.
Again, these
may not be true all the time.
===
Please note
With small
parrots like lovebirds and cockatiels, taming means getting bitten such that
each session is likely to end in injury, i.e., bearable cuts and abrasions on
your hands. A sun conure is a
medium-sized parrot and its bite can cause gashes that may require suturing by
a physician. Even a finch that is bitey
can cause significant injury. Stick to
pigeons or doves if you wish to be injury-free (most of the time). Doves are worthy of the title “birds of peace.”
June 2010
