What's the most basic trick to teach?

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jmlw7
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What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by jmlw7 »

Hi all - Remy is 9 months old now and after a little over a month of living with us, he is doing really well and has started to mimic our whistles :) He is super chatty now - in his own birdie chirping language, and sometimes whistles the wolf whistles, the cab call whistles and the sparrow whistles. He is especially noisy when there is a buzz of noise around him, like when he is on the towel rack during our showers - the sound of the water hitting the tub gets him going, or when the disposal and/or radio is on, etc. We are trying to teach him musical scales now and london bridge :) We are still waiting for him to talk. Every time we repeat "hello" or "i love you" or "pretty bird" his mouth opens and he sticks out his tongue, so we know he is paying attention, but no words yet.

Anyway, so we think he is now comfortable with us enough to begin learning tricks. What is the most basic trick we can start with and how can we do it? Any suggestions? We've never taught tricks to a bird before... and Remy doesnt focus very well, he wants to always be on the move doing this and that and cant sit still for long. Sometimes he has a "focused face" :lol: and when we see it we want to grab the opportunity to teach him a trick or two but dont know where to start? We'd love to teach him to turn around or hang upside down or flip on his perch like Ellie's birds... or wave or something... anything! :) but we dont know how to begin.

Any suggestions and steps would be great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
InTheAir
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by InTheAir »

Hey,

I think all those tricks are easy to teach. After flight recalls, we started with turn around. I've only trained one bird, but he's pretty awesome at tricks, so hopefully my techniques are actually useful...

Here's my method:
1)I got his birdyness to sit the back of my left hand while it was flat
2)told him to turn around
3)lured him in a half circle with a sunflower seed
4)Told him 'good boy'
5)give him the seed

After a few tries he was turning around without the lure (but still the reward at the end). The next session he was turning a half circle straight away so instead of a reward I repeated the command until he had made a full circle, where he was praised and then rewarded (he figured it out immediately). He was soon spinning around in circles as soon as we flattened our hand. Our bird relies on physical cues more than voice.

There is some method to my madness (in my head anyway), by teaching him to figure out half a circle from previous learning gets him thinking, it adds a little puzzle to the learning process and our bird loves puzzles so it helps motivate him. Saying the command before you start luring him helps associate the command with the trick. Praise him before you give the treat, but still get the treat to him quickly at first.

Always Ignore mistakes, don't ever make him feel scared or uncomfortable because he's done it wrong, parrots don't learn well from negative consequences... Also allowing him to explore options on tricks gets his little mind ticking and will make harder tricks easier to teach. -I'm sure you know this already though.

The other thing I think helps is to have fun training! Parrots like happy humans. I'm sure that's part of the reason our bird loves trick training...] If a trick is getting frustrating for either of you put it aside for a few days, and re-evaluate your communication method.

Also check out trainedparrot.com

let me know if you try the half circle method, and how it goes for you.

Regards,
Claire
jmlw7
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by jmlw7 »

Thank you for this. So over the weekend, I crushed up a peanut into teeny pieces and used it as a lure to teach Remy to turn around. The first three times worked with the lure, but then after that, he went up my arm to my shoulder and would do it the next couple of times then. He just wouldnt turn around on my hand or finger. Then I put him on a perch and he got distracted and started picking at the perch and climbing all over it, then totally lost focus. :roll: I will try again, but sometimes, Remy just doesnt want to focus and squeaks at me instead when I'm withholding peanut. He keeps swiveling his neck around instead and gives me an exasperated look.
InTheAir
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by InTheAir »

Hmmm, that's a pity...
Does he really really really like peanuts? Maybe the reward is not desired/big enough?
Nele will do anything for a sunflower seed, he follows you around practically drooling if you are holding one, so we use them a lot for new tricks.
If you offer him a peanut and some other treats in a bowl, what does he scoff first? That's usually a good indicator.
ellieelectrons
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by ellieelectrons »

It can take a little while for them to understand the concept of training. Once he gets the concept he will probably be pretty enthusiastic. Things to look for, especially when starting...
- gauge how satiated your bird is, you want him reasonably eager for the treat but not jumping out of his skin for the treat. If he's not reasonably eager, then pick another time.
- and as Claire suggested make sure you have a treat he is interested in.

Probably to start with, you can try to do lots of short training sessions. You may also just want to start with hand-feeding him treats in the place you intend to do most of his training (eg. a T-perch, birdy gym or something similar). Once he gets used to receiving treats in that place, he should be more likely to stay if he's not too satiated any way.

I worked with two IRNs yesterday, it was their first time being trained and they are about 6 months old. I started with one of the little guys first and I thought he just wasn't hungry enough, but when we brought his sibling to the same perch, he cottoned on much more quickly and then the first guy started doing the turnaround too. I think the first guy just didn't understand what I wanted and possibly he felt more comfortable having his cage-mate with him.

Just keep trying, you'll get there. Good on you for working with your bird.

I've also worked with some older Alexandrines and found that some birds catch on more quickly than others and some of them still haven't caught on. It's a combination of how good the trainer is (I've got a lot to learn!) and how well the bird catches on to what you are trying to do.

Ellie.
ellieelectrons
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by ellieelectrons »

P.S. In my opinion, turnaround is the easiest trick to teach and I think given what you've said about your bird's focus, you need a training area where you can train your bird. A T-stand can be good because there is nowhere to go. My birdie gym has perches formed in a square and that has worked quite well for us too. Once he understands training, then you can try to get him to generalise his tricks to other places (eg. on your hand).
InTheAir
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by InTheAir »

Ellie: do you teach turn around in basically the same way as I described?
Also would you recommend target training as a good introduction the concept of training?
ellieelectrons
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by ellieelectrons »

The turnaround, I didn't do it on my hand, I did it on their play perch. I did use the luring method. I don't always use the verbal command to turnaround. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I find the birds pick up on my body language better than my verbal language (but then that might also be why my birds don't understand what I say as well as yours does!). As I progress I do less luring, I do a shortened version of the lure until eventually, they are turning around to the final cue I want to use. With the birds I've trained to do it so far, it's me holding my hand briefly above their head without seeing the reward. With some birds I do the luring with the treat under the perch and with others above the perch, depending on what works best. Some birds are scared of your hand above their head... but with Janey when I did it below the perch, she got really confused trying to get that treat, trying to contort herself every which way.

Target training probably is a good way to start training. I just haven't done much of it myself. It may be the best thing to start with.

Ellie.
InTheAir
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by InTheAir »

Very valid point about the verbal versus visual cue! Nele does respond to either on this trick, but that is an exception. He very much prefers visual cues. Sorry jmlw, I should have taken this into account in my first post.

I didn't have a training perch at the time we trained the trick, hence the hand. Although, as soon as he understood the trick he could translate it to any surface he was on.

I keep the treat at beak level for him when luring. This was partly because I had never trained, or read about training, a bird... and partly because he wouldn't have been 100% comfortable with a hand above his head when we started this trick... it was also influenced by the fact that Nele is a bit unco, and keeps his head down for balance while turning (and uses his beak to balance if he is on a perch, even when he is turning by himself without human intervention).
I class a hand above the head as something I would do with a bird that already trusts me, unless I was specifically using turn around as a way to get a bird used to my hand above it's head. Please note; I am not an expert! This is based only on my interpretation of the ringneck logic I've seen so far. My practical experience is limited to what Nele has vouchsafed to me :mrgreen: Sorry, there is probably too much personal philosophy in the post to make it valid now ;p

jml: Did you find a favourite treat for Remy?

If you are still not finding any motivation on his part for the trick, target training could be a viable option... I'm afraid I can't help there, we skipped that lesson..

Claire
Skyes_crew
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by Skyes_crew »

I used our kitchen island to teach Skye that trick. He's not too keen on flat hard surfaces so I laid a blanket down over it. I started with showing him his favorite treat (peanut) until he reached for it. Then I brought it around in a circle making him follow using the command turn around. He caught it quickly, but then I had the problem of every time I showed him a treat he would turn around with no command. Not so helpful when you're trying to teach something else. So if he did it without a command I didn't offer a treat and would walk away. I found that the large flat surface made him less nervous turning around, for Skye anyway. All birds are different :) I guess I went over his head though. I never thought about it. I guess for birds that won't let you go over their head, you could place them on a small platform and walk around them while they follow the treat. I'm still learning myself so I can only offer what worked for me. Remy will get it. Be patient. Give "her" time :D
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jmlw7
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by jmlw7 »

Skyes_crew wrote:I found that the large flat surface made him less nervous turning around, for Skye anyway. All birds are different :) I guess I went over his head though. I never thought about it. I guess for birds that won't let you go over their head, you could place them on a small platform and walk around them while they follow the treat. I'm still learning myself so I can only offer what worked for me. Remy will get it. Be patient.
I tried that too, no luck.. Remy really only focuses for 10 seconds.
Skyes_crew wrote:Give "her" time :D
:lol: she is SUCH a girl, every day we come home from work, she hunches over and rolls her head back and clucks like a chicken with her eyes pinning. When we pet her head and beak, she whistles like a person. Definitely a SHE! :lol: I contacted Avian Biotech but havent heard back yet. We probably dont need it at this point, more and more female behavior every day, but what the heck :)
InTheAir wrote:
jml: Did you find a favourite treat for Remy?

If you are still not finding any motivation on his part for the trick, target training could be a viable option... I'm afraid I can't help there, we skipped that lesson..
Still nothing.. Remy loves apples and nuts - but no amount of nuts: peanuts, walnuts, almonds, cashews, whatever... isnt motivation enough as 3-4 times of repetition *she* loses interest.

I'll need to try again when it looks like Remy is focused. Thus far, it's still play play climb climb and hang out with us on the couch only.
InTheAir
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by InTheAir »

Heyo,

It sounds like maybe Remy is too full to really want the treat.
I haven't had to deal with lack of motivation for a while. Nele seems to be half piglet, though if he's really full he just spits the treats out and keeps doing tricks...

Maybe try before breakfast?
I don't know if you do this already, the favourite treat should only be available when you are training.
Maybe try target training first (before breakfast)? Or to come when you call and hold out your hand... It might be easier..
jmlw7
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by jmlw7 »

InTheAir wrote:Heyo,

It sounds like maybe Remy is too full to really want the treat.
I haven't had to deal with lack of motivation for a while. Nele seems to be half piglet, though if he's really full he just spits the treats out and keeps doing tricks...

Maybe try before breakfast?
I don't know if you do this already, the favourite treat should only be available when you are training.
Maybe try target training first (before breakfast)? Or to come when you call and hold out your hand... It might be easier..
You nailed it once again, Remy has been too full and unimpressed with afternoon treats. I've been monitoring her eating schedule and she seems to be pretty hungry in the morning and then only snacks again around 3 or 4pm, then has a snack or so before bedtime. So I did as you suggest and we FINALLY got her to do the turn around trick!!! :mrgreen: We started removing shelled peanuts from her diet and offered one bite portions for her in the morning if she turned around. She first started on the bed (yes the bed :lol: ) and we moved her to the kitchen counter, then when she looked comfortable, we moved her on one of her perches and now she does it on command with a peanut in sight from both of us. Whats really funny though is that we trained her by using a peanut as a lure and went all the way around and over her head, so she was used to a silly sideways bowing movement as she followed the lure. Now she doesnt need the lure but still has a weird head movement haha . It's super funny but super cute so thank you!!

Will try to post videos soon if I ever can figure it out. My iphone/youtube attempt always says the file is too big.

Next tricks will most likely be flip upside down on the perch or wave, although wave will probably be harder since she is starting to "hop" onto our finger with both feet at the same time rather than step. We'll see. :D
InTheAir
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by InTheAir »

That's great! I can't wait to see some videos.

The next important step is to cue the behaviour without showing her the treat beforehand.
jmlw7
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by jmlw7 »

InTheAir wrote:That's great! I can't wait to see some videos.

The next important step is to cue the behaviour without showing her the treat beforehand.
Remy now turns around on cue, but she definitely knows she gets a treat out of it, so she expects to be rewarded, which is fine right?

I have a bit of an issue teaching the flip upside down and around the perch thing as my training perch isnt a t-perch. If she follows my finger upside down on the perch, I cant go all the way around without going around the perch stand and disrupts the lure. Any ideas of how else to teach the flip upside down trick?
Skyes_crew
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by Skyes_crew »

A treat in each hand. Start the arc with one hand and finish with the other :D
I am owned by my birds...and I wouldn't have it any other way :D

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jmlw7
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by jmlw7 »

Hi all, just wanted to post a vid of Remy's first trick. Please dont mind the baby voices I've adapted when I talk to her! I really dont sound that high pitched! :lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nstg8A1Nz1w

Im off to the video section to post her bird bath - first time she actually used the bath!
Skyes_crew
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by Skyes_crew »

Awwww Great Job Remy!!!
I am owned by my birds...and I wouldn't have it any other way :D

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ellieelectrons
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by ellieelectrons »

Well done! She's such a sweetie! I always get embarrassed by my voice when I talk to my birds on video too. You sound fine.

Ellie.
InTheAir
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by InTheAir »

Aww, what a clever little bird!
She's so cute and fluffy looking.

I have to admit I haven't put up a video of Nele recently because my voice sounded extra horrible in it ;p
Skyes_crew
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by Skyes_crew »

Your voices all sound fine :D I especially love the Aussie and Kiwi accents :wink:
I am owned by my birds...and I wouldn't have it any other way :D

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InTheAir
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by InTheAir »

Skyes_crew wrote:Your voices all sound fine :D I especially love the Aussie and Kiwi accents :wink:
aww that's so nice of you :mrgreen:
jmlw7
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by jmlw7 »

Skyes_crew wrote:Your voices all sound fine :D I especially love the Aussie and Kiwi accents :wink:
i agree with Skye! it would be so cute if a parrot talked in an accent too :mrgreen:
InTheAir
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by InTheAir »

jmlw7 wrote:
Skyes_crew wrote:Your voices all sound fine :D I especially love the Aussie and Kiwi accents :wink:
i agree with Skye! it would be so cute if a parrot talked in an accent too :mrgreen:
One of my friends talks for Nele in an Indian accent, it's so funny and cute! We wanted to teach Nele to talk with that accent, but neither my boyfriend or I can do the accent well. :|
Skyes_crew
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by Skyes_crew »

InTheAir wrote:
jmlw7 wrote:
Skyes_crew wrote:Your voices all sound fine :D I especially love the Aussie and Kiwi accents :wink:
i agree with Skye! it would be so cute if a parrot talked in an accent too :mrgreen:
One of my friends talks for Nele in an Indian accent, it's so funny and cute! We wanted to teach Nele to talk with that accent, but neither my boyfriend or I can do the accent well. :|
I'm trying to teach Cyrano to say Hallo Mate :D
I am owned by my birds...and I wouldn't have it any other way :D

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InTheAir
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by InTheAir »

Lol! you should leave crocodile Dundee playing when ever you aren't home :mrgreen:
jmlw7
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by jmlw7 »

Skyes_crew wrote: I'm trying to teach Cyrano to say Hallo Mate :D
:lol: you need to make a video of that once he learns!!
InTheAir wrote:Aww, what a clever little bird!
She's so cute and fluffy looking.
Remy is really seriously fluffy looking! I wasnt kidding when I wrote in the other thread I cant believe how much feathers she has grown after her molt, Ive never seen a more fluffy bird! And to think, after her bath she is still shivering cold. I would think she would always be warm with such a heavy feather coat!

The next trick Id like to teach is flight recall since she is starting to become a fancy flier. Im not really sure where to start with that... any tips? Lately when we stick our finger out and ask her to come, she flies over our heads and lands on something better.
Skyes_crew
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by Skyes_crew »

jmlw7 wrote:
Skyes_crew wrote: I'm trying to teach Cyrano to say Hallo Mate :D
:lol: you need to make a video of that once he learns!!
InTheAir wrote:Aww, what a clever little bird!
She's so cute and fluffy looking.
Remy is really seriously fluffy looking! I wasnt kidding when I wrote in the other thread I cant believe how much feathers she has grown after her molt, Ive never seen a more fluffy bird! And to think, after her bath she is still shivering cold. I would think she would always be warm with such a heavy feather coat!

The next trick Id like to teach is flight recall since she is starting to become a fancy flier. Im not really sure where to start with that... any tips? Lately when we stick our finger out and ask her to come, she flies over our heads and lands on something better.
Make your hand more appealing than anywhere else she's landing. Favorite treat. Peanut butter works good for this one because it takes them longer to eat it. When she lands on your hand praise her while she's eating and return her to her perch. She'll have the taste of peanut butter and want more. Call her back. Do this for about 10-15 min each day. She'll get it :D
I am owned by my birds...and I wouldn't have it any other way :D

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ellieelectrons
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by ellieelectrons »

Also, when you're starting to train her, you need to get her at the right moment, when her body language tells you she's ready to fly to you for a treat. If you know where she likes to hang out, once she coes to you, you can put her in her fav spot so that she learns that just because she flies to you it doesn't mean she won't get to go cool places.

Ellie.
jmlw7
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by jmlw7 »

Skyes_crew wrote: Make your hand more appealing than anywhere else she's landing. Favorite treat. Peanut butter works good for this one because it takes them longer to eat it. When she lands on your hand praise her while she's eating and return her to her perch. She'll have the taste of peanut butter and want more. Call her back. Do this for about 10-15 min each day. She'll get it :D
so far Remy isnt a fan of peanut butter. she is really weird. she doesnt like bananas (unless dried), strawberries or cold blueberries :roll: it definitely has to be a nut so it will have to be teeny tiny pieces.
ellieelectrons wrote:Also, when you're starting to train her, you need to get her at the right moment, when her body language tells you she's ready to fly to you for a treat. If you know where she likes to hang out, once she coes to you, you can put her in her fav spot so that she learns that just because she flies to you it doesn't mean she won't get to go cool places.

Ellie.
great idea, thank you! tried yesterday in the hallway while she was in the bedroom, but no luck.
jmlw7
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by jmlw7 »

Just an update on flight recall. It's been super successful with small peanuts. We've even tried calling her from around the corner of the hallway when we've been out of sight and she's flown to our hand on cue. Short distances, long distances, in sight or not, she now comes flying and lands on our hand.

However, the struggle now is when training her, before we give the cue, we put her down somewhere - either on her perch or the couch or the bed or wherever, and walk away to stand a far distance away. Sometimes we put our hand up in front of her face like a "stop" symbol and say wait. Then we walk away, turn around and then extend out finger and say "come remy". Sometimes it works, other times she starts flying after us before we've even given the cue. Whenever she flies after us we say "no" (probably shouldnt say anything though, right) and begin again. When she waits patiently then flies on cue, we reward her... but sometimes she gets so anxious that she flies right to us while our backs are turned before we give the cue.

Any suggestions on how to teach a bird to "stay" would be awesome :roll:
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Re: What's the most basic trick to teach?

Post by Skyes_crew »

Exactly like you taught her the come command with treats, teach her the stay command with treats. Gradually increasing your distance. Start close, say stay, reward. Back up a little more, say stay, go back and reward. You get the idea. Then mix it up. Take two steps back, say stay, treat, take one step back say come, reward. Remy already has the reward method down. So any new thing you want to teach her, she will pick up quickly now. If peanuts work, then stick with it for now. Eventually you'll want to find something less fattening though. Try oat groats in the future. They work great for claire. But for now stick with what works. :D
I am owned by my birds...and I wouldn't have it any other way :D

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