Training Your Mynah to Perch on Your Fingers

Training Your Mynah to Perch on your Fingers
by Kathy Butterfield

Not all mynahs are alike. Each has his own personality and preference. Once settled in his cage, your bird will need time to get use to his new environment and to feel safe before you try to handle him. You first have to earn his trust. Some mynahs will only tolerate being handled to a degree. Some may not like it at all.

After your new pet has had time to be comfortable, there are steps to take for taming and training. First, find out what treat your bird likes best by placing small pieces of a variety of fruit in his food dish. Observe which type he prefers. My mynahs like pieces of pear, apple, and love bits of cheese. I cut up shredded cheddar cheese into even smaller bites and offer it or a grape cut into fourths. Whatever you use, make a healthy choice (see Feeding Your Mynah)

After establishing which treat to offer your bird, stand in front of the cage without opening the door and talk softly to your bird. Walk away from the cage for a few minutes. When you return, have pieces of his favorite food to offer him. The food reward for 'taming' and gaining the bird's trust should be kept up, so, once the bird is approaching you for this, the next stage, where the bird hops onto your fingers, hand or arm, should *also* be rewarded, promptly, with a food treat. This method is called positive reinforcement. Later, once the *hopping on to you* pattern is established in your bird, the food reward may be phased out.

Once your bird takes treats through the cage bars, then you can offer a treat from you hand inside the cage. When your bird feels comfortable taking treats from you inside the cage, try placing your finger in front of your bird's abdomen and apply gentle pressure. He may hop onto your finger. If you are successful with this, just hold your hand still and talk to your bird. Allow the bird to hop back onto its perch and slowly remove your hand from the cage and close the cage door. Leave the bird alone for a while. Go back in a few minutes and talk to your bird again. Open the cage door and go through the same steps as before to get him to perch on your fingers. After your bird is comfortable hopping on and off, and back on, you will soon be able to move your hand outside the cage with the bird remaining perched on you. A mynah usually enjoys being out of the cage. The best way is to return the bird to his cage is from your hand. You may need to offer a treat to get your bird to perch back onto your hand and allow him to hop back onto a perch in the cage. If the bird does not want to go back in, try putting a treat in the cage for encouragement. Food rewards should be kept up.

Before giving your mynah free time out of his cage, make the area safe. Close curtains and cover wall mirrors, and remove any objects your bird may find fascinating that could cause harm. Mynahs love to explore so when free time is allowed supervision is always necessary.

It's always best to have your bird perch on you to let him hop off your hand into the cage when time for him to return. There is a better chance your bird will cooperate with this if he is first let out of the cage for training in the late afternoon. If you cannot get the bird back in, wait until it is dark, then using a towel, catch the bird up in near darkness. Do not let him see your bare hands, or he may associate them with a fearful event and not trust you next time.

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