Last Updated: 2026-03-01
The challenge with Bun
Written by: Muffin
They all said teaching parrot to step up is one of the simplest tricks. We tried it with Bun, and that was where the “Blood” bond started.
Not long after we adopted Bun, we quickly realized that Bun might have some past trauma. She showed aggression towards hand/finger, and extreme fear towards gloves. We thought it was due to the territorial nature of the Quaker species and being a parent raised bird rather than hand raised one. So we decided to familiarize her through stick target training first. It went from bad to more blood spill, of course our blood.
Her fear towards sticks or stick-like things was on another level. For quite a while, our interaction was limited. When we brought her to the vet for the first time, the vet showed us how bad her wings were clipped. Her wings were not just clipped short, but also clipped in a very rugged way. She was not able to fly; she also wasn’t able to maintain a good balance. It caused her insecurity and compromised her confidence. Bun’s inability to get away made her always trying to attack first.
It was very sad.
Bun needed to be herself first before she is able to be with us. So we waited.
We greeted her in the morning, cleaned her cage while she closely examined us. We kept our interaction brief and simple. We waited her to be comfortable.
After one winter and one spring, we did the first touch with a Popsicle stick. We were thrilled. And then it took off from there. We can now introduce new toys and new food to the Bun without freaking her out. If Bun “touch-proof” it, it stays. As summer approach, Bun finally “touch-proof” our finger for the first time!
We didn’t spend three seasons to teach her a trick, we spent three seasons to root trust between us. We considered ourselves lucky that the Bun was meeting us half way. We showed her that there were other ways to tell us she doesn’t like/want something, and she no longer resorted to violence for everything.
Trust before tricks. That is what the Bun taught us.