training Janey to not get over-excited

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ellieelectrons
Posts: 2708
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:17 am
Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

training Janey to not get over-excited

Post by ellieelectrons »

Now I know my Janey is most likely a weird bird but she has some strange obsessions. There are some things that you know to not do in my house or else you will end up with a bird flying at you to usually bite you. Generally I try to just avoid doing these things but Claire persuaded me that perhaps I should try training it out of her. So... I'm giving it a go.

My starting point is a drawer in the bathroom. Generally if she is in the bathroom with me I avoid opening drawers. Once when I did it, she flew at me, made the same sound she makes when she is in pain which usually precedes her trying to bite me in the face.

So now, once a day I take Janey and Charlie into the bathroom and sit them on their shower perches. I give the command to "stay" and hold my hand in the air (a stop type gesture) and I walk towards the offending drawer. At first all I had to do was let me fingers touch the drawer knob and she'd fly at me. So I started rewarding her for letting me touch the drawer knob without her flying at me. Then I gradually moved to opening the drawer a tiny bit and closing it right away. Today I was able to open the drawer, look at what was in there and get the contents out quickly and shut the drawer again. Sometimes it would get all too much and she'd fly at me any way. In that case I'd put her back on her perch and try again but not push it as far the next time. We finish the session when she's just too overexcited and can't handle it any more.

It's really funny watching her reactions. The drawer just gets her so ridiculously agitated. Once, she soooo wanted to fly to the drawer but she was so obviously trying to get her treat that she started flapping her wings as if she was going to fly to the drawer but gripped the perch with her feet to stop herself from flying. Sometimes she agitatedly but purposefully moves so that her back is to me to make it harder to control her impulse to fly towards me.

I am hoping that if I can work on this type of behaviour now, it _may_ assist during breeding season, although I know that her instincts work over time and it may not make a difference.

Does anyone else's birds have fixations like this? For Janey it tends to be drawers, the linen cupboard, the dryer and washing machine and sheets and towels.

Ellie.
InTheAir
Posts: 2040
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:24 pm

Re: training Janey to not get over-excited

Post by InTheAir »

That sounds like an interesting experiment! Obviously Janey is considering the benefits of not going for you out weigh the reward of doing it for now.
I haven't read the whole page, but this is a Google search result of what I was thinking of http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-p ... nditioning
Stationing would be another factor here.

The other thing that I think could be very relevant here is a mood changer. My guys don't get very wound up, but if they are a little grumpy offering them a toy or treat changes the whole mood. It would be nice to find something like that for Janey. Sapphire loves her soft toy reindeer. Does Janey like soft toys?

Best of luck with little munchkin!
InTheAir
Posts: 2040
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:24 pm

Re: training Janey to not get over-excited

Post by InTheAir »

Ok, I'm home now and read the link I posted in the last post and fully endorse it now.

It's great that Janey is showing such restraint! Patience, little tree, I do think it is worth taking the whole process very slowly in an attempt not to elicit a reaction that involves leaving the perch at all. I think this will build a stronger and more reliable response in the long term. I look forward to hearing the results over a breeding season, once this behaviour is more ingrained. If one can train a stallion to behave perfectly when ridden in the presence of mares in season, one should be able to achieve similar results from a parrot?

Maybe Missk has something to add on this topic?
MissK
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Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: training Janey to not get over-excited

Post by MissK »

All I have to add is my admiration. :P
-MissK
AJPeter
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Re: training Janey to not get over-excited

Post by AJPeter »

I read that the breeding season runs from November to April and that fits in with Billie who started to mate in November and laid eggs in January and is still looking for a nesting site. Janey's reaction to the drawer is this protecting a possible nesting site?
ellieelectrons
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Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:17 am
Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Re: training Janey to not get over-excited

Post by ellieelectrons »

It is similar but not the same. Although during breeding season it will definitely be one of those nesting places she covets. For me, her looking for a nest behaviour has started reliably in March. Last year it took 3 months before it got better. She didn't lay eggs last year but got aggressive. I'm hoping if I can address her over-excitedness now, it will help me when she exhibits nesting behaviours.

Ellie.
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Re: training Janey to not get over-excited

Post by AJPeter »

I never had these problems with birds when l was a teenager.
ellieelectrons
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Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:17 am
Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Re: training Janey to not get over-excited

Post by ellieelectrons »

I just checked my notes:
http://www.indianringnck.com/forum/view ... =2&t=14905

Janey's behaviours start in May not March. I got confused (as usual). I'm terrible with dates and times. I'm grateful I've got another couple of months of niceness up my sleeve.

Ellie.
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