# Body Handling Training for an older bird?



## birdythemighty (May 6, 2012)

Hello, it's been a while. I moved away from home and couldn't bring my birds with me, and now I'm back and am finally able to work on the newer one. I got him right before moving out about 8months ago and he was a few months old then. I believe he's at least a year old now and very friendly, loves scratches and sings and likes being around people. However, my brother has been the one 'raising' him and didn't think about body handling for check ups, wing clipping, or nail trimming. So, Comet (the bird) hasn't gotten his wings clip and was a bit fly-happy. I ended up catching him with a towel (he hated the towel) after he bit me for grabbing him with a naked hand. I managed to clip his wings and he was very docile afterward, but how do I go about training him regarding body handling now that he's a bit older? With Pikachu (my female) I just handled her when I fed her and I can do anything with her and she's fine. I harness trained her and everything. She literally doesn't know how to bite, so I had it pretty easy. All she's ever done when she's not happy is hissed and beak-bumped, but never bit.


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## vampiric_conure (Jul 8, 2012)

The secret to body handling success is... body handling. LOL, I know, sounds easier than it sounds. I'm a big proponent of clicker training and I apologize if you've heard all this before. You start small - say a hand over the back- and click and treat the action. A clicker is often a small device that makes a clicking sound, found in pet stores in the dog training areas. Some people use a clickable pen, or make a clicking sound with their teeth. From there, you can pretty much do anything that you want as long as the bird takes the treat. The treat is anything small, from a sunflower seed to millet. 

As for the actual handling - decide on what you want first and go from there. Say you want him to step up. There's several ways you can approach this. One way is to use a stick and have the bird 'target' the stick (basically touch the stick with it's beak). You'd take the clicker and move your stick closer and closer to your hand until the bird is forced to set a foot on your hand to get to the stick. There's several videos on youtube on how to clicker train dogs and the exact same rules apply to birds. 

Whatever happens, good luck! I'm currently working with my White capped pionus, August. I know the plight of non body tamed critters, lol!


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## birdythemighty (May 6, 2012)

vampiric_conure said:


> The secret to body handling success is... body handling. LOL, I know, sounds easier than it sounds. I'm a big proponent of clicker training and I apologize if you've heard all this before. You start small - say a hand over the back- and click and treat the action. A clicker is often a small device that makes a clicking sound, found in pet stores in the dog training areas. Some people use a clickable pen, or make a clicking sound with their teeth. From there, you can pretty much do anything that you want as long as the bird takes the treat. The treat is anything small, from a sunflower seed to millet.
> 
> As for the actual handling - decide on what you want first and go from there. Say you want him to step up. There's several ways you can approach this. One way is to use a stick and have the bird 'target' the stick (basically touch the stick with it's beak). You'd take the clicker and move your stick closer and closer to your hand until the bird is forced to set a foot on your hand to get to the stick. There's several videos on youtube on how to clicker train dogs and the exact same rules apply to birds.
> 
> Whatever happens, good luck! I'm currently working with my White capped pionus, August. I know the plight of non body tamed critters, lol!


I'm actually a positive reinforcement based dog trainer, so clicker training is completely up my alley! And it sounds like the basis for training is nearly identical. Thankfully, he's easy to pick up and pet- but only on his head. He didn't like being restrained at all so that's something I need to work towards. He was definitely much more docile AFTER the clipping, so I think he's gonna stay clipped for a while lol


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## vampiric_conure (Jul 8, 2012)

birdythemighty said:


> I'm actually a positive reinforcement based dog trainer, so clicker training is completely up my alley! And it sounds like the basis for training is nearly identical. Thankfully, he's easy to pick up and pet- but only on his head. He didn't like being restrained at all so that's something I need to work towards. He was definitely much more docile AFTER the clipping, so I think he's gonna stay clipped for a while lol


Awesome  I have a hen who dislikes handling, too. She hisses at me often, LOL. I'm planning on clicker training her eventually. I had to clip her, too, as she would play 'catch me if you can' with me when flighted. What a silly booger!


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