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I have a bare eyed cockatoo which i have had for about a month now. Before i took it, the cockatoo seemed to be very dependent on his cage, he seems to be very insecure when you take him away from his cage( this is before i took him) He does not respond well to treats either but he loves to be scratched and petted. Is scratching and petting a good way of reinforcement? What would be a good way of enforcing the bird to want to not be so dependent on being in its cage? Right now we are taking him out durring dinner time and offering him some treats but since he isnt a big eatter I dont see how that would help. and my last question is he also doent like to be on a t stand what would be the best way of training the bird to stay on a t stand
Thank you BCote21

When you take it out of it's cage, take it in another room and offer him Good Foods. Parrots like cooked veggies, and fresh fruit. What are you feeding him? Not all seed I hope? You need to give him a variety and see what he loves. Then when you take him out of the cage give him what he likes and Praise him with head scratches. If you scratch his head in the cage your telling him it's okay to be in the cage. Get him a fun play stand and put all his favorite toys on it.

Anymore questions? just ask!

Parakeet

he is on a well rounded diet. almonds, organic pellets and variety of vegitables along with some people food durring dinner. Coco( bare eyed cockatoo) doesnt take treats from your hand if he is out if his cage. I kinda see him as a spoiled brat who always did what he wanted and got wht he wanted. He doesnt like to stay on a play stand but would rather be with some one. I literally tried for 20 min one day to get him to stay on a T stand and he just kep flying to the floor. (He use to be a free flying bird too) This bird has a handfull of small issues with basic behavior should i work on one or more than one issue

He doesn't sound like a spoilt brat, he sounds like a nervous bird whoo isn't sure of his new home.

Careful with the almonds, they're fatty. Is he clipped now? This will help him to readjust to your household. Training him to do things when he's not settled properly may not work. You need to earn his trust.

Also cockatoos are needy birds. If he's insecure about the new house, let him ride your shoulder for a while & show him throughout the whole house, every day. If they feel they don't get the attention they need daily, they will develope behaviours. This has nothing to so with being spoilt.

If this bird has behaviours them you do need to work on them. What are the behaviours he has?

He was like that before i took him. The lady was very honist with his behaviors. All the behaviors that i mentiond are constant with both houses. But on the brite side he has been staying out much longer and is becoming more atuned to using the (scratching the back of the head as a reward after getting out of the cage.) He is also going to be using an egg timer when he is out so when it dings he can lern to reconize when he can go back to his cage. Im going to increase the time once he reconizes the bell. he is starting to do beter though.if any one has any other pointer about my issues from earlier posts that you think might help please Leave a message i apreciate all the comments. Thank you

Being like this before you got him doesn't nesseccarily make him spoilt & gotten away with doing what ever he likes.What it might mean is that he's leanrt from his owners that this is the norm around the home & doesn't know any better than this.

Parrot owners mould their parrots into what they are.

(These are all behaviors he had before I took him)
The habbits he has is staying in his cage and
not wanting to leave his cage
not staying where he was placed (t stand) (chair)
wanting to run around and do what he wants whe ever he is out.(he does have play time and runs all over the house when i give it to him)
masterbating on people ( he hasnt done that since he has been with me)
He wes never trained basic appropriate behavior which is why i associate him to a spoiled brat becasue he has always been use to doing what he wants with no expectations. I know its going to take longer because he is older but I cant have him acting like that either. he has been here a lil while now and he is acting almost like he was when he was at the other house so I dont think him being rehomed is a big part of the problem

(These are all behaviors he had before I took him)
The habbits he has is staying in his cage and
not wanting to leave his cage -- It sounds like you are already starting to deal with this. I definitely agree with taking him into a different room once he is out of the cage. Some birds expecially in new situations but also those accustomed to their cage may need a bit of bribing to come out. If he doesn't like a particular treat keep trying but also scratches and praise work well as a reward. Try to wait to give scratches until already out of the cage and when training this way he will learn he gets more attention when out.
not staying where he was placed (t stand) (chair) -- again it sounds like you are working well with this. Start with small intervals, gradually lengthening the time until he is staying there indefinitely. Praise and reward. Do not just leave the room once he is on the stand talk to him and praise him. If possible when working with this problem close the door to the room you are working in. Praise and scratch every few minutes when he is on the stand. When he flies off try ignoring him or without scratches or praise pick him up, do not speak to him place him back on the stand, then when he has been there again for a few minutes praise and give rubs. Sometimes picking them up can defeat the purpose if you give them too much attention while doing it because they learn if I fly off I get picked up.

wanting to run around and do what he wants whe ever he is out.(he does have play time and runs all over the house when i give it to him) -- If this is allowed at certain times and not at others it is going to be hard for him to learn just when he can do this. I would suggest instead teaching him he can explore when with you (on a perch, on your hand, on your lap etc) and having his t-stand or a large play area (playgym, climbing ropes bungee etc) for when he is allowed free playtime.

masterbating on people ( he hasnt done that since he has been with me) Many birds will try this during breeding season especially if they have one bonded person. The only way to help change this is to immediately place him down when this behavior starts. Do not give the behavior any real attention no laughing or groaning etc LOL whether he is doing this to you or someone else at the time. Just immediately place him down on the floor, do not even take the time to carry him to the cage, stand etc just down where you are standing or sitting onto the floor. When he has stopped you can pick him back up. He may still decide to do this on certain toys which is harder to break.

He wes never trained basic appropriate behavior which is why i associate him to a spoiled brat becasue he has always been use to doing what he wants with no expectations. I know its going to take longer because he is older but I cant have him acting like that either. he has been here a lil while now and he is acting almost like he was when he was at the other house so I dont think him being rehomed is a big part of the problem. -- In some ways this is like a spoiled child because a spoiled child learns this behavior from its parents (they give a treat when the child crys, buy a toy when the child has a tantrum to quiet them etc.) (the same way as if the bird flies off the t-stand and you pick him up and cuddle him, and talk to him before placing him back on the stand or into the cage he has gotten attention which was probably the reason behind the behavior in the first place.) and will keep the behavior until taught that other behaviors get rewards and the bad behavior gets no rewards. It will take patience and work and yes it is harder the longer the behavior has been allowed to go on. Also birds in new situations can be nervous which can lead to cage dependency or aggression. If this did happen in the old house it could still have been nervousness or fear. Maybe there was something in the house he was afraid of so the cage was safe. Fear or nervousness can be caused by many things from a reflective picture on the wall, a balloon, a large flower the bird is not used to, to almost anythng but by rewarding the times out the bird should eventually learn that what it is nervous of will not hurt it and that it will get a reward soon.

He's in a new home, surrounded by new people & new things. His cage is secure & the only thing he's comfortable being in at the moment. Give him more time. Scritches are def a good way to reinforce. He won't see treats as treats. He's see;s them as having no clue what they are, unfamiliar foods are 'poisonous' foods as far as he's conserned. He will come out of his shell & learn to trust you but he needs lots of time & reasurance.
If he's uncomfortable being on the stand, leave it for the time being. Before you do any training or getting him to do things you want him to do, you first need let him adjust to his new home & settle in. Give him the time he needs. You'll see when he's ready to take things further.

hey its been a while so i figured i would update on cocos attitude. I figure since there was a bunch of behaviors all at once that I would work on only work at one behavior at a time. So far, he still will not leave his cage on his own but will not bite while being taken out. He now knows that if he does not come out nicely on my hand that he will come out anyway with a towl. So if he decideds that he wants to stay in his cage all i have to do is go to the towl or blanket in the room and he will come out of the cage. Bribing him with his seed habbit seemed to help alot. This has been pretty consistant over the past couple months. The new tasks at hand is him being on the t stand and staying with me not flying off or being nervous of objects. that is where we stand now. We are bonding which is great but he still is out of his cage for only 15 to 20 min a day. There is slow but posative progress. Thanks everyone for leaving your comments on my post, trying to help and more comments are apreciated.