Ask Lafeber

Question:

February 2, 2023

Recently got a Derbyan Parakeet he’s had 3 owners before me


I think he’s scared of me, is there any advice on how to tame him? Or stop him from getting scared. I’ve had him for 2 weeks.


Answer:

Hi,

I’m sure he is scared and stressed, as he has been bounced from home to home. And as an adult, he might now ever be tame. If you are not OK with that, it’s best to try to find him a home with someone who has aviaries or large cages and doesn’t care about handling birds.

But he might learn to trust you. I just hate for you to try for a while, and then give up on him like his past owners. You will need a lot of patience and any progress will be a little at a time and come slowly. Derbyans can be shy to begin with. Talk to him a lot, but don’t try to handle him for now. He needs to trust you and show an interest in you before you can even consider trying to handle him. Always remember he is a prey animal, so if you grab him he feels like a predator is trying to catch him. And keep everything positive – parrots do not learn from being punished or scolded. Only positive reinforcement work for them. I’m going to give you the links to our training and behavior pages to give you a better understanding of how to work with him. If you can win his trust, they can be wonderful pets.

Teaching Your Bird

Pet Bird and Parrot Behavior

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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