Target training- what to do next?

Kiwi has picked up on this target training extremely quick. It basically took a day for him to get when I say "touch" and tap the end of the stick, he touches and gets a treat (and praise). We did 2 more 30 minute sessions yesterday. I can tell he's understanding the concept because of how his eyes pin on my command and then when he touches. By the end of the second session, he seems kinda bored following the stick, so I wanted to try and target him to touch something unrelated to the stick. I laid 2 wood beads on the table thinking I could point to one with the stick and say touch, but instead he decided he did not want anymore treats. He just wanted to play with the beads and would not relinquish it once he had a hold of one. He's so darn inquisitive that nothing is really uninteresting to him, and I'm not sure what to use for him to get the point across he is touching it because I said so and therefore he gets a treat, not because it is intriguing and he wants to check it out. I even tried setting a (unopened of course) can with the label peeled off (nothing interesting about that, right?), and even that was too much to resist.

We've always encouraged Kiwi to explore and be inquisitive, so we may have screwed his abilities to progress with the trick training. We never really planned on trick training him, but I will do ANYTHING to keep him occupied and happy and not reverting back to bad habits because Joe isn't here all day now. I am so new and inexperienced with this kind of "regimented" training I may not have even started with the right kind of activity or may be going about it wrong. People who do train their birds- what would you say is the next step here? I think he grasps the concept, but I also think he's a mature stubborn bird who does what he wants. I'm just so encouraged by how he's responded, so I really want to give this a fair shot because Kiwi is a smart bird and I can see helping him utilize his intelligence in these ways may be beneficial.

Target training is always the best place to start, but 30 minute training sessions might be too long. 10-15 minutes is all you really need. Most parrots have short attention spans and you want to stop before they lose interest - go out strong while they're still performing the trick the way you would like them too. Think of it like a workout session. You don't want to overwork your bird and leave them burnt out. You want training to be fun, so keep it short and sweet.

You could work on recall training next. Are his wings clipped? Even if he's clipped, you could have him walk to you or just keep the distance short. Teaching him how to wave/shake hands and turn around are also relatively easy tricks to try out next. You can use the target stick for these tricks as well.

witchbaby said:

Target training is always the best place to start, but 30 minute training sessions might be too long. 10-15 minutes is all you really need. Most parrots have short attention spans and you want to stop before they lose interest - go out strong while they're still performing the trick the way you would like them too. Think of it like a workout session. You don't want to overwork your bird and leave them burnt out. You want training to be fun, so keep it short and sweet.

You could work on recall training next. Are his wings clipped? Even if he's clipped, you could have him walk to you or just keep the distance short. Teaching him how to wave/shake hands and turn around are also relatively easy tricks to try out next. You can use the target stick for these tricks as well.

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Thanks Maybe I will try to get him to do a spin. Would that mean just leading him in a circle around the stick and rewarding/praising when he does? He is clipped, but he already comes when you call if he's in walking distance. And he already raises his foot when he has to go potty or wants to go back to his cage, so I don't want to confuse him with "waving" (or us be confused! I don't like poopy furniture and would hate to think he was waving and have it be....otherwise:11.

That's exactly what you do My green cheek picked up on spinning really quick. You lead them around with the stick with a voice command, then eventually try to slowly move away from using the target stick and use a hand signal instead. Eventually, you lessen the hand signal and simply rely on the voice command.

Avery enjoys our training sessions, and I also keep them short and sweet because she'll lose motivation and interest. She also will spin around whenever she wants a piece of almond now too, haha! Trick training is great for bonding it also stimulates your parrot a lot too!

Yep, exactly what Dinosrawr said.

I found a few videos on youtube just in case you're more of a visual learner...

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhZBLxqD_9A"]How to Teach Parrot Turn Around Trick - YouTube[/ame]

The goal with the wave is to eventually drop the step up cue, so I wouldn't worry too much about the potential miscommunication.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY_gXAADDxs]How to Teach Wave Trick to Parrot - YouTube[/ame]

And here's one for the retrieve, which is another good trick to start out with.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoBZ2IGrCbs]How to Train Parrot to Fetch - Retrieve Trick - YouTube[/ame]

Hope that helps.

I've actually been watching this guy on youtube! He has very well trained parrots.

Kiwi actually picked up turning in no time at all last night! However, there were noodles involved and he knew he needed to be a good bird to get a hold of those. We shall see how he does this morning when it's only little treats I am VERY encourage though. I think I will get him doing the spin proficiently, and then we can try the fetch trick.

I think I'm going to forego the wave thing though. Just too close to his potty signal. Plus, he steps up most of the time without the cue anyways. We spent 30 minutes, twice a day for the first 6 or so months we had him doing step up drills. He definitely learned stepping up. Usually if he's being ornery enough not to step up without the command, he is in a foul enough mood to ride on the stick anyways.

Ha ha. That's awesome. His blog is pretty good too.

You know, if noodles are such an effective reinforcer, it couldn't hurt to cook a bunch in advance and use them regularly during training sessions. If that's the special treat that gets Kiwi motivated, use that to your advantage.

1 I also know some experts recommend 10-15 minutes for rehearsal . but I do not think that necessarily is 10-15 minutes . implementation requires academic thinking can be shortened , the simple exercise can practice longer. the secret of my success is a combination of learning and fun . first session will last hard workout or distracting while parrot when I would switch to a game or easy exercises with parrot . My sessions usually last 30 minutes . you should incorporate exercises to minimize offered rewards (eg , recovery - the reward > + supply provides order execution - > reward offered - . > Can I replace the recovery hello and implementation - > perform reward for parrot decreasing concentration after award .

witchbaby said:

Ha ha. That's awesome. His blog is pretty good too.

You know, if noodles are such an effective reinforcer, it couldn't hurt to cook a bunch in advance and use them regularly during training sessions. If that's the special treat that gets Kiwi motivated, use that to your advantage.

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I am cooking up his grains mix this morning (he eats that instead of seed or pellet as his food), so I'll rinse out the little pot I use for that and cook a small batch of plain noodles for him too. Those are actually probably better for him than the crushed cereal I've been using as treats. He did quite well again yesterday with the spinning, but he spins all by himself (though not on command) all the time. I think it is a relatively easy concept for him, so I will continue integrating that into his training along with another trick (so he starts learning he has to decipher between commands).

I just got some new toys for him, including some squishy rubber blocks, so I think one of those would be good for him to grab for the fetch trick. I think that will be a good one for him to learn that will actually lead to other tricks. Waiting on him to put the toy down once he has it will be.....a test of my patience for sure:20: I'm actually not sure if I should wait for him to drop it by himself or how else would I make him drop it without frightening him until he learns putting it down gets him the reward?

I appreciate all your help BTW Kiwi seems to be having fun, if nothing else, and that's the whole point of doing this with him. My husband (his favored person) has been working 12 hour days and Kiwi is quite distressed about it, so I just want to do something with him that keeps his little mind occupied

lebachu said:

1 I also know some experts recommend 10-15 minutes for rehearsal . but I do not think that necessarily is 10-15 minutes . implementation requires academic thinking can be shortened , the simple exercise can practice longer. the secret of my success is a combination of learning and fun . first session will last hard workout or distracting while parrot when I would switch to a game or easy exercises with parrot . My sessions usually last 30 minutes . you should incorporate exercises to minimize offered rewards (eg , recovery - the reward > + supply provides order execution - > reward offered - . > Can I replace the recovery hello and implementation - > perform reward for parrot decreasing concentration after award .

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I am trying to make this seem like a game for Kiwi, but I literally just started this training last Saturday, so while he mastered touching the stick on command really fast, and we are working on spinning on command, he isn't far enough along to retrieve anything yet like your bird is. However, I think I'm going to start today trying to introduce the concept of retrieving a small toy from a cup and then placing it back, like in the video above while also working on the spinning. We shall see how he does working with 2 more "complex" concepts at the same time....

As I've mentioned before, we never planned to trick train him since he was an older rescue bird with behavioral issues when we got him and not an "eager to learn" baby. We were pretty satisfied he learned to step up, stop biting and stop screaming inappropriately. We were super happy he learned a couple other basic skills (potty trained, comes when you call, signals when he wants to go home since he's not flighted and doesn't chew outside his cage), but we never pushed unnecessary training on him. My husband just got a new job and the work hours mean he's gone before Kiwi is up and gets home only a few hours before he goes to bed. I am worried Kiwi will revert back to the screaming/biting because he has shown some anxiety with my husbands new schedule, so I want to be proactive about preventing that from happening. I thought trick training might be a good way to keep him occupied while my husband is away at work. He's enjoyed it thus far, so I will keep doing it so long as it remains a fun activity for him

raining will help him more than you love ^ ^. he was potty trained? great

Hi, April. I think doing this trick training with him to take his mind off your husband's new schedule is a great idea! Keeping him mentally stimulated will go a long way toward keeping him happy. And I'm glad to see that it's already been going so well.

I must ask, though... how did you ever manage to teach Kiwi to signal that he needs to go potty by raising his foot?!? I just can't imagine how I'd go about teaching a bird to do that! Lol! Very impressive!

Kiwi ended up potty training himself . I watch him like a hawk when he's not in "his areas", so when we first had him, I would notice him getting antsy and dropping his butt to poop like birds do. Before he could go, I would grab him and rush him back to his stand or cage so he could go there. I think I may quite literally scared the poop back in him the first few times I did that We were also working on stepping up at that time, and he was starting to automatically raise his foot as soon as he saw us moving our hand toward him. I guess he got tired of being "interrupted" trying to do his business on my furniture because I started to notice him raising his foot to step up before he started the butt drop! I guess somewhere in that brain of his, he made the connection all by himself. Didn't take me long to catch on that him raising his foot of his own free will meant he urgently needed a ride back to where he could potty in peace. He got major praise for that

He's actually a pretty smart bird and while he doesn't do tricks, he is well trained in the sense he doesn't chew outside his areas, he is generally quiet/makes the noises we have encouraged him to at the volume we encouraged and he comes when you call him if he gets under a piece of furniture or something (he can't fly but he loves running around on the floor). We never used any formal training program with him, but we did establish a basic understanding of each other (us and the bird) through observing/responding to his actions and attempts of communication and using simple cues and actions to convey our rules for him.

Nice! I consider that type of training the most important for the relationship with your parrot, anyhow. Trick training should come later. And the level of communication you've achieved with him, as described both here and in one of those clipped/unclipped threads you posted on, sounds rather impressive.

And yes, Kiwi seems to be very much on the higher end of the IQ scale!

Thanks. We love Kiwi very much, and just want for him to be happy and healthy. He was a real challenge when we got him, but I don't think his prior 2 homes ever really took the time with him because they gave up a real gem of a bird. I think had he been encouraged from a young age, he would be a super smart little guy. But he wasn't, and I sadly think since he is a mature bird, it is more difficult for him to learn certain things (like speech, you can tell he's intrigued and trying SO hard, but he just can't reproduce sounds. Or flight, the concept just doesn't click and we just had to work around him being non-flighted). It would interest me what Kiwi could be if we could go back in time and get him as a newly weaned baby.

We kind of used a mix of the old-school methods geared towards taming wild caught birds that my parents used on their birds 40 years ago and the newer methods of positive reinforcement and some good common sense. I'm super excited with this trick training because he seems super excited (might be the treats though:09.

My moon is also potty trained. her poop every time I ordered. before cleaning her expression often stand still and move backwards [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epSGegMbeEo"]huấn luyện đi vệ sinh 29-1-2014 - YouTube[/ame]

Moon is such a pretty girl I like her noises, like a loud chirp, so cute! Do you keep her on the flight line all the time while she's outside or does she get to do free flight?

Kiwibird said:

Moon is such a pretty girl I like her noises, like a loud chirp, so cute! Do you keep her on the flight line all the time while she's outside or does she get to do free flight?

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Moon had been trained to fly freely as you see on the clip. I just hold her when she's free to play outside
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ypvPlJncFU"]free flight parrot -thả tự do vẹt xám châu phi-moon -17-2 - YouTube[/ame]

I think you're doing great, and he is NOT too old to do any kind of training. It just takes patience, and persistence. Loki is by far, my smartest bird, and in the beginning it took me forever to teach her, but now, she can learn a new trick in five minutes, AND she LOVES IT. The trick training serves to keep their minds stimulated, and in the process, a bond gets built. All of our birds are more bonded to me, because I'm the trainer, and they look forward to the interaction.
Keep up the good work with Kiwi! You will be so happily surprised after a while at how your relationship develops into something even greater!

lebachu said:

Kiwibird said:

Moon is such a pretty girl I like her noises, like a loud chirp, so cute! Do you keep her on the flight line all the time while she's outside or does she get to do free flight?

Click to expand...

Moon had been trained to fly freely as you see on the clip. I just hold her when she's free to play outside
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ypvPlJncFU"]free flight parrot -thả tự do vẹt xám châu phi-moon -17-2 - YouTube[/ame]

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Wow! Moon is an impressive flyer! So strong! How old is she? And how long has she been flying? I need to get Bixby's strength up to that point!
Unfortunately, because of all the hawks in my area, I don't think I'll ever be able to free fly him like that. But I do have high hopes for harness training.

@April & Michele: any videos of the tricks Kiwi and Loki have been working on? I'd love to see!