Written by Chris Biro, all rights reserved
(First appeared on Clickbirds List)
Hello Rande,
> care to share (hey it rhymes!) your technique? When we (Wife
& I ) tried to "towel" that blasted B&G (2yr old) she was ALL
wings and feet.. NO way to get a towel wrapped around her SAFELY without risking
breaking wing of possibly leg .. Her wingdspan is easily 3 feet or so and since
she is 3 ft long .. thats a NINE SQUARE FOOT AREA I am trying to wrap into a
little wrap of towel!/
I have no trouble toweling macaws or cockatoos (who are tougher since they can
really shred a towel fast and still remove finger parts) so size of the bird is
really not the issue. What makes this work well is your goal and your
environment.
I'll start with the environment. Cornering the bird somewhere really helps if at
all possible. For the reasobly nice pet parrot that just turns into a feathered
demon as soon as a towel is displayed, try putting them into a bathtub and then
bring out the towel. Often though the bathtub is not an option, so just calmly
and slowly back the bird into a space where there are no hiding places. Of course
this is much easier if the bird will sit on a t perch and let you gently rap the
towel around it - here is a practical behavior to begin training via clicker.
The goal is to use the towl to hide/protect your hands while gaining control of
the birds head and beak. What it is doing with it wings and claws is of no
interest to me until I have the head controlled. In some tougher situations I
will just toss the open towel over the bird and then quickly grab for the head
before the bird can get out from under the towel. But inmost cases I bring my
hand, hidden by towel, around from the back of the birds head and gently but
firmly take hold of the birds head and lower beak - starting with the neck if
necessary. Once the head is under control then we move to get a better more
comfortable/secure hold for the bird, and then I work to wrap up the wings and
legs. What my end goal is will determine how I configure the towel prior to
reaching for the bird. If my goal is to simply move an unwilling bird to another
location (breeder situation, then I use the towel fully spread open. If I am
preparing to work on nails, wings, etc. then I will fold the towel in half
lengthwise. Leaving the towel its full length but half as wide, makes a longer
and thicker towel for wrapping - though I started out this way, often the towel
will need some adjustment once the bird's head is under control and prior to
attempting to start wrapping. Like most things, practice makes things easier.
Actually practicing when no toweling is actually needed is a great way to get
your bird to be less fearful of being toweled. If the only time you towel the
bird is when you are about to clip its nails, and the bird greatly dislikes nail
trimming, it will shortly also greatly dislike toweling.
> I'm sure there is a right/good way, but I promise you IF you had a video
of me *trying* to "towel" that B&G, in a very small area, while
she flapped her wet wings and screamed.. well. DO TELL your technique because I
sure need the help! I really am terrified of breaking her wing, or at least
breaking off a lot of big feathers, possibly "blood feathers??"
Once you have control of the head, there should be little danger of breaking
wings, legs or even blood feathers.
> Thanks for the help Chris, you are an *OUTSTANDING asset on this
Elist and I always enjoy your posts.
Happy to be of help. Thanks for the kind thoughts.
Parrots: More Than Pets, Friends For Life
Chris Biro