Aquila
New member
- Nov 19, 2012
- 1,225
- 1
- Parrots
- Sydney - Blue Front Amazon
Gonzo - Congo African Grey
Willow - Cockatiel
RIP:
Snowy, Ivy, Kiwi, Ghost - Parakeets
Berry - Cinnamon GCC
So this is day two of starting to clicker train my two conures, Pumpkin and Spice, who are breeders and previously untamed to my knowledge. They've been very skittish in the time that I've had them but I'll sit on the floor next to them while I'm making toys and they've gotten a bit more comfortable with me.
They're fully flighted and not handleable, so I've started working with them from outside the cage, using my clicker and little safflower seeds. The male, Pumpkin, is a really fast learner and Spice mostly sat in the back watching, only coming over once in a while before skittering back into the nest box.
I only work with them for 10-15 minutes at a time, and had started by letting them reach through the cage to get the seed I was holding, then moving on to let them beak my fingers a little to get the seed, and now to poking my finger through the cage, letting them beak it, and then handing them the seed. I don't tolerate any biting, and give them a firm "no" if they nip, and a short 10 second break before making another attempt.
It can be a little challenging working with both of them, but it creates a good competitiveness between them, and Pumpkin will beak my finger pretty endlessly without biting, whereas Spice will get a little nippy, she has more personality, headbobbing and even garbling a little noise at me.
Even after just two short days, they've already become much more social with me, sticking their beaks out of the cage when I sit down, I'm hoping that I can eventually have them out and about and be able to handle them, even though they're "breeder" birds I believe that they'll be good "pets" as well.
Sorry for the bad camera angle, they're scared of my phone. Also Sydney can be heard screaming because he sees my light on! Towards the end Lola and Ezio are bickering a little bit as well.
[ame="https://youtu.be/ufewCgYbGb8"]Training Pumpkin & Spice - YouTube[/ame]
They're fully flighted and not handleable, so I've started working with them from outside the cage, using my clicker and little safflower seeds. The male, Pumpkin, is a really fast learner and Spice mostly sat in the back watching, only coming over once in a while before skittering back into the nest box.
I only work with them for 10-15 minutes at a time, and had started by letting them reach through the cage to get the seed I was holding, then moving on to let them beak my fingers a little to get the seed, and now to poking my finger through the cage, letting them beak it, and then handing them the seed. I don't tolerate any biting, and give them a firm "no" if they nip, and a short 10 second break before making another attempt.
It can be a little challenging working with both of them, but it creates a good competitiveness between them, and Pumpkin will beak my finger pretty endlessly without biting, whereas Spice will get a little nippy, she has more personality, headbobbing and even garbling a little noise at me.
Even after just two short days, they've already become much more social with me, sticking their beaks out of the cage when I sit down, I'm hoping that I can eventually have them out and about and be able to handle them, even though they're "breeder" birds I believe that they'll be good "pets" as well.
Sorry for the bad camera angle, they're scared of my phone. Also Sydney can be heard screaming because he sees my light on! Towards the end Lola and Ezio are bickering a little bit as well.
[ame="https://youtu.be/ufewCgYbGb8"]Training Pumpkin & Spice - YouTube[/ame]
