Click ‘play’ to listen to the audio -
[display_podcast]
(I hope my lip-smacking didn’t annoy you too much, haha 
)
Okay, guys …here’s the scoop -
I’ve been getting tons of questions from you and many of those questions are about taming your bird.
Now, I know I’ve been putting this off for a long time but it’s time to put the nail in the coffin.
Last night, I asked Sapphyre if she would be interested in doing a seminar where she basically takes questions head-on and addresses them.
So, I’d really appreciate it if you could post questions that you would like Sapphyre to answer.
To give you an idea of how good Sapphyre is with her stuff, here’s a list of her credentials-
- 25-years+ experience with birds across the board
- Rank #2 on Yahoo! (I’m sure many of you have know www.yahoo.com – mega-huge billion dollar company)
- Been featured in three(3) of her local newspapers and invited to a radio talk show
- Since 1985, she’s been giving bird presentations to local schools, senior homes, special needs groups and other kids organizations
- In 1997, she was given a golden opportunity to begin a commercial aviary. In the aviary, she managed the care and feeding of over 130 birds, ranging from finches to macaws. (She had to close down the aviary in 2005 for personal reasons – but she kept doing what she loved and started taking in unwated and abused birds and worked hard to get their health back to normal. She was featured in her local newspapers for her work.)
- In 1999, Sapphyre became a certified avian specialist.
- In 2008, she got re-certified and got 100% on her test (congrats Sapphyre!!) –
This is the e-mail she sent me at the start of this year -
- Sapphyre has had MANY clients over the years. This is what one of them had to say–
Every single comment counts so please do leave them below 
UPDATE: Just to clarify …your questions will not be answered here. Instead your questions will be chosen and answered by Sapphyre on an audio seminar.
#1 by Jacque on March 17th, 2008
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i can’t get my mated pair of green cheek conures out of the cage. when i try to get them to come out i have to chase them down then they act like their traumatized for days after, & run to the far side of the cage every time i come near the cage. when i catch them they bite me & fly away as soon as i try to put them on my shoulder. they just freak out. i tried leaving the door open & waiting patiently. that didn’t work. i want to play with them like i did my little cracker a green cheek conure who i had that passed away. he went every where with me, shopping, work, etc. these two are grown & they were kept in the back room of the pet shop as bredders. but they won’t even bred for me. they just sit & watch me or cuddle together on the perch. what can i do about them? i’m at a total loss. i keep buying all these bird training courses, which haven’t even covered this part. they just tell you that it’s in the course. i’m tired of waisting my money for courses that are for trained birds. i can’t get them out of the cage much less do tricks. please help me.
thank you,
Jacque’
#2 by Esmeralda Paric on March 17th, 2008
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Thanks Danny for all the help I’ve gotton from you and your sight, infact you’ve inspired me that me and my friends are starting a sight to on saving the planet (i’ll give you the website later). My question on my parrot is; I’ve tried everything I’ve been advised to do, but still my parrot is mean and bites. How can I get him to act nice so that I can take him places without worrying
#3 by Theresa on March 17th, 2008
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MY AFRICAN GREY – 8 MOTNHS OLD.
WE VIVISTED THE VET (SPECIALIST IN BIRDS), AND HE ADVISED:
our parrot to eat a special “pellet” which is a fully balanced meal. The
doctor advised that seeds, and the mixed foods, are like ice ream to
kids for them and not a healthy way of eating.
BUT
our dear winged friend refused to eat this expensive balanced diet
vetererian food, and prefers to starve. We rotate his seeds with his
pellets and fruits, but he just throws them out of his his cage !!
He also hates apples and carrots. The only fruit he eats is
strawberries, grapes. He likes cheese and meat.
Thank you for this opportunity,
Sincerely yours
Theresa
#4 by Grace Spiteri on March 17th, 2008
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Hi, hope you can help… I am (was) the proud companion of a nine month old blue indian ringneck called Skye…whom I have hand raised and who was adorable (and still is to some extent).
My problem… as from two months ago he/she has grown to love (adore really) my husband and simply ignores me…. when I try to interact with him/her while in my husbands presence… all I get is bitten…. not fierce bites but enough for me to get frustrated, give up and back off.. The IR has taken to eating from my husbands mouth and follows him everywhere he goes..
Any ideas!!!
Grace
#5 by Rick Stonestreet on March 17th, 2008
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Dear Dan The Man,
If I were getting advice on working with my bird, I would ask several questions. First, I would like to have an explanation on the natural temperament of the macaw in the wild. What are they really like in nature in respect to relationships? What is the best way to get my bird to love me and the others in my family? Does genetics play a huge part in the nature and temperament of the bird’s personality? What about the way it was bred? I purchased my Green Wing Macaw at 8 months, wast that too late or just right for socializing the bird? How can I get her to respond to others in the house as she has responded to me?
What part does diet play in the bird’s temperament and training? It appears that pellet and seed diet is the best avenue of feeding your bird. What is your view? Why are their so many different views on training a bird?
These and many more are my concerns about my macaw.
Rick Stonestreet
#6 by Teri in Texas on March 17th, 2008
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I have a Blue and gold Macaw that I have hand raised since she was a month old she is now almost one year. Sorry to say I did not have the chance to socialize her very well. She does not like others to touch her but will tolerate being on their arm or shoulder if she has to.So I understand her being defensive with others but do not understand her nipping of me on occasion.And by nipping that is what I mean . She gets just enough skin to make it hurt like H@!!. Sometimes it seems like she wants more attention but that is not always the case. It only happens outside her cage after we have been together for a while I know she does not want to go into her cage or that she is tried of me talking and scratching on her, she never gets enough of that it seems. She understands the word NO very well and if I can read her right before she does it she will stop.I try to be consistent but can not always be johnny on the spot before she does it. I spend time with her everyday but do not always let her out and she does love to get out. I am in the process of building her a perch so that she can be out more. She has toys and loves tearing up old phone books and paper rolls. My question is this” Is she looking for more attention or the reaction she gets.Or maybe frustrated because she is bored. And what can I do to help me understand what is going on with her in those moments. I have looked for things I am doing or not doing to try and figure out how I can better understand what she is going through.I seem to be at the end of my thought process. Please Help me with more insights so that I can see things in a different light. This is my first large bird and I have tried to give all that she needs to to be the loving bird that she is. I have read everything that I can and listen to your audio’s that have helped lot on Jewell’s and my path together. But nothing beats one one help from someone that understands birds. Thanks, Jewell and Teri
#7 by Terry Gebel on March 17th, 2008
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Hi Danny,
I just purchased a weaned African Grey Congo. He is healthy, happy, and loves playing with his toys, and interacting with me and his mother. ( my special other ) My question is “Why does he bite us when he is playing”? We tell him “NO”, and he seems to understand,but then does it again over and over! It is not hard enough to draw blood, but it does hurt! Sebastian IS a very loving bird, and we do know the difference between him using his beak for balance, or the lifting of himself, and what we know to be biting. We feed him a good excuded pellet formula, and fresh fruits and vegetables in moderation, but can’t seem to understand his desire to bite. We give him time outs when he bites, and he seems to understand why he is being left alone, but does it again soon after he plays again. We have had Sebastian for less than a week, and love him greatly, can Saphire help us?
#8 by Tammy on March 17th, 2008
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I have an female dna sexed african grey parrot she is 4 years old .Her last owner had to get rid of her because of health problems.We have had her for about 7 months.She is great with my husband but was just starting to warm up to me.She fell off the kitchen table and came running over to me to pick her up so i did but then(silly me!)I tried to put her back on the table and of course she bit me….bad …So I am scared of her now.She will let me pet her head on her terms when she is in her cage but I will not touch her out of the cage.She does not like me much.How can I get her to not bite me??? How do i get past the fear??
#9 by Ann on March 17th, 2008
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I have a Blue/Gold Bird named CoCo. I have never had trouble with any of the above issues. He is very sweet to my husband and I also. Eats anything that I will eat, ofcourse I do not let him. I am here with him 24/7 and the breader told me this is not good for him nor me either one. I started taking time out for myself abput 2 hours a day. All I can say is I have gotten lucky with this bird as he is like my child. Time and alot of patience has made him the most precious thing I know as far as a pet. Ther are days when he is like a 2 year old……just keep in mind PATIENCE!
#10 by Rick on March 17th, 2008
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Dear Dan,
My 9 month old Green Wing Macaw acts very friendly towards other people in my household. She leans over and acts as though she wants to get on your hand. Yet, when other family members put out their hand, she snaps at them. I don’t perceive it as being vicious but more like “don’t bother me.” Why does she do that and what can we do to correct it? If I put my hand up to her, she will step up but sometimes growl a bit like she is trying to intimidate me. I want her to know I am in charge and not her. She will get on my hand and seem to enjoy the closeness at this point. What should others in my household do so she won’t bite them?
Rick
#11 by Brooke Moore on March 17th, 2008
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Good Morning First my BIGGEST question is how do I get Frootloop my sun-conyer to step up so that I can play with him? He will not step up at all and I have tried everything you said but it is not working. I need one of those clicker things that you had on your video to help me, PLEASE help me and my frootloop get as close as you and your birds are. I love him so much.
Thanks so much
Brooke
#12 by Tamera Blaylock on March 18th, 2008
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Thank you for the link and the information. My cockatiel already knows the step up command. I am working with him to keep him on my finger for a good amount of time. After beinging on my finger for a while he will go up to my shoulder. Anytime he can see he is close enough to get to my shoulder – he is there. He is a Goober. He sometimes will do the knocking or I guess as you put it in the video is lunge forward repeatedly and when he does that in my direction – if he is on my finger- I kind of wobble him a bit – not TOO much. That would just be mean. I am trying to get him to stop all together with the lunging bite thing. He seems happy and content otherwise.
I don’t know if you would know the answer to this, but I change his toys around in his cage all the time. How do you encourage play with the toys he does have in his cage. I never see him play with his toys.
THANKS AGAIN!!!
-Tamera
#13 by Alex on March 18th, 2008
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Hey,
I don’t think you’ll be able to get to my message at the bottom of this long list. It seems like I’m not the only one having trouble.
Well anyway I got my bird 2 yrs. ago at a petsmart he was a regular parakeet, he wasn’t hand fed and lived in a cage with a bunch of other birds so he wasn’t used to humans. I picked him out and brought him home. I got him a nice cage, and toys. When I got him food I quickly learned he wouldn’t touch fruit. So i just fed him regular bird food. I tried to warm him up to me week after week trying to play with him but he just will not get near me! and if i get too close i get bit! Hard! Now it’s nearly two years and he is still the same old bird he will run from me and bite; unless he’s tired. He doesn’t seem to see me as part of his family. He thinks that every time I see him I’m going to hurt him even though i never do!
My question is… Is there anyway to get a bird like this to get me to think that I’m part of his flock? Or just get him not to bite me? I’ve tried everything you’ve said previously but he bites HARD! Any help would be appreciated. I ‘ll try anything.
#14 by pinky on March 18th, 2008
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i have a grey its a she and her name is nataly since she was 4 months ive been trying to get her potty trained bcs this is becoming a real problem for the family and if she doesnt stop my family is pushing me to send her away and i realy do love her ( by the way this is serious she is messing the furniture and any one that she gets on) i read alot about methods how to get her potty trained but none seems to work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#15 by Sally Lesher on March 18th, 2008
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On potty training – for Pinky. I have been able to potty train all of my birds. usually within 24 hours they will go on command. Of course if you have them out too long without putting them over a paper and giving them the command you can expect to be pooped on. Birds can only hold it so long. That also varies with different birds. My method – sit beside them on a perch – or your hand and say “Go Potty” every 15 seconds or so. When the birds does go praise it and say “Good bird go potty.” My African Grey was trained in one hour, same with my Senegal and my Cockatoo. I’ve always had success with this method.
By the way, your bird is going to poop on your furniture if you let it play there. Not a good idea if you value your furniture. If you want your bird’s company in the living room purchase a portable stand that you can place paper underneath. That way the bird can enjoy being part of the family and you don’t have to worry about it messing up the house.
#16 by Sally Lesher on March 18th, 2008
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In regards to my last message. When I said, “Sit beside them on a perch” I didn’t mean that literally. I meant place the perch next to you. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for someone breaking something by trying to sit on a perch. LOL
#17 by Jeff on March 21st, 2008
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Hello,
Ok I recently have taken in my first bird which is an adult greenwinged macaw. I believe he was shown love but not trained properly. He will step up from his cage to me (when he is in the mood) and set him on his cage. He is extremely afraid of the training stand that I have gotten for him though and he is even more afraid of a wooden dowel. Over the last few days i have been getting him to step up and down from cage multiple times and he seems to enjoy it, but I really would prefer to use the stand as it puts me in more of a control position.
Any ideas about how to get him to play with the stand or at least be able to get near it without “tasting” my arm?
Thanks
#18 by Crystal on March 21st, 2008
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My most desperate questions is this. How do I get Dundee to stop making the horrible screeching/honking sound that he makes? He only does this when my husband is home. and he does it continuously for hours.This is wrecking our house hold. Dundee is a umbrella cockatoo. He just turned 5.
I am able to hold him for a short period of time then he attacks me. I do not know why. I have had him for almost a year now. The previous owners got rid of him for the same reasons. This is what is happening to us now.Thanks any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Crystal @ Country Pet Love
#19 by maria on March 25th, 2008
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hello danny! uhm, i got my two indian ring neck parrots in september last year, and even now they are still frighten of us and they are very hostile. i don’t know what to do with them.i really want to know how to tame them. and how can i know what age are they?
thanks for everything.Maria
#20 by Bridget on March 25th, 2008
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Hey, I have a Ringneck called Raj, We got him either the start of this year or the end of last year… Anyway, Ihave heard they are quite hard to tame but he is still quite young and I really want to try!!! How am I best to start off? Everyone suggests sitting next to the cage and then just sitting your hand in the cage and then gradually get them to step up but they don’t give enough detail. Ihave trained afew birds before and bred them such as cockatiels(they are the ones I bred), budgies ( i bred them too) and also some lovebirds and afew other birds.
He is a pshycopath birdie!!! You can barely walk past the cage without him flapping everywhere… Please reply.
Thanks a heap.
Bridget
#21 by kapil on April 6th, 2008
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hey , i have a african grey parrot and i got him like 4 month ago…..anyhow he is been biting and he also scream some times and i really want him to be my best buddy but i dont know what to do with his biting behavior. he also comes up to shoulder when i try to make him sit on my hand so that also kinda problem in teaching him.. can i get so suggestion plzz. PLEASE Reply
thanks for the help
#22 by Kelli Peebles on April 6th, 2008
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Hi! I have a sweet Quaker Parrot. She has made my life complete! The only thing that bothers me is how she poops ALL the time. I’ve heard there are ways of training them to “not” poop while someone is holding them. Is this true??