Such a clever boy! : D

[Ash]

Well last week I decided that Crumbs and I should try out doing some tricks and he is really loving it!

Well today he learned how to "bow". It took him about 10 minutes to learn this trick.

He knows Wave (which took him a few minutes to learn), Roll over (He can't quite do this by himself, he broke his leg/wing as a baby so his legs/wings don't line up properly and he has trouble roll over by himself), Step up, Touch and Come.

I can't believe how clever these little guys are
What trick should I try out next? I was thinking fetch but he doesn't like to hold things. Soo I might try turn around.

 

[MikeyTN]

Sounds cute, but where's the pictures???

 

[Ash]

I'll try to get pictures
Crumbs really hates when I try to take photos/videos of him

 

[MikeyTN]

Oh I know what you mean, Lola wants to eat my phone when I'm taking pictures....Same with some of the other birds, they go straight for the phone. Willie is the only one that poses.

 

[Ash]

Here are some pictures now : )
They are bad quality as these pics are taken from my ipad : 3

Here is "Bow"

Here is "Wave"

As for roll over he uses my thumb to help him roll over. He grabs my thumb with his little foot and pushes himself over.

I want to try and get him to do it by himself but im not too sure how to. xD

 

[Ash]

Lol, Alex tries to eat my ipad/phone/camera. Crumbs tries to hide from it while Yuki throws weird poses. Yuki is the biggest poser

 

[MikeyTN]

Thanks for sharing the pictures!!! Just keep working on it, I'm sure you'll have it figured out soon enough. I've never actively teach my birds tricks, they just do it on their own and catch on when we tell them to do it. Very cute though!!!!

 

[Ash]

Thank you
We will keep working on it, I'm sure it won't take him too long to figure it out. He still doesn't 100% trust me though.

He isn't a hand reared bird and the first time he was handled by a human was when he went to the vet for his wing/leg. It's hard to say this but he was kind of an impulse buy. I was at my breeder and another guy was looking to buy him for a "breeder" although he cannot fly/climb properly. So I told my breeder (Who I got Yuki from) I wanted him and well he came home with me that day. I know impulse buys are bad but I felt like he had to come home with me.

He was very untame and afraid of me. It took months for him to let me touch him/give him scritches. Doing all these tricks with him has helped us bond He now comes to the cage door wanting to come out to be with me. Which he use to never do. He even climbs and sits on me when he has outside cage time

 

[MikeyTN]

You have come a long ways already, it seems like he trust you enough to engage in the tricks he's doing.

 

[Ash]

Thank you We have come a long way
Doing the tricks have helped him gain my trust
There are still some things I can't do with him though, like clip his nails I am sure in no time he will completely trust me

 

[MikeyTN]

Even the most trusted ones have problem with the nail clipping! I'm not looking forward to clip Malachai's nails, he would be really hateful towards me for a day or so, this bird don't forget!!!! I've been getting more confident to do my macaw's nails on my own. I can do them for other people, just afraid to do mine. But I did Willie's nails the last two times, he was upset for a day then he was over it.

 

[MissTaz]

That is so cute! I would love to teach Rory tricks one day!

 

[Ash]

That's true. The most trusted bird can dislike their nails being done. I think I would be a bit afraid of clipping a large birds nails.

I'm just so used to my alexandrines who know when it's time to clip their nails they lift their foot up and I can just go from there.

Crumbs hates when you have your hands near his wings/feet/behind him/his tummy. The last few days he has been letting me have my hands near his wings/feet.

 

[Ash]

Thank you
Well Fargo and Tab actually inspired me to try out doing tricks

 

[antoinette]

Crumbs sure is clever OMG
Loved the wave

Thanks for sharing

 

[Agapornis]

Great pics!!! Ash, I am so impressed with how far Crumbs has come since you got him! Specially considering how he was raised. Good job! He was meant to come home with you, don't feel bad about the "impulse." His life is 1000% better with you, than what it would have been!

My Fiji knows how to do the turn around trick, but I lost steam and topped training after that. Poor Sundance, I feel like a neglectful mother, he doesn't know ANY tricks!

Hearing about Crumbs has inspired me, keep us posted with his progress!

 

[Ash]

Crumbs sure is clever OMG
Loved the wave

Thanks for sharing

Thank you
I am so surprised to see how clever he is!

 

[Ash]

Great pics!!! Ash, I am so impressed with how far Crumbs has come since you got him! Specially considering how he was raised. Good job! He was meant to come home with you, don't feel bad about the "impulse." His life is 1000% better with you, than what it would have been!

My Fiji knows how to do the turn around trick, but I lost steam and topped training after that. Poor Sundance, I feel like a neglectful mother, he doesn't know ANY tricks!

Hearing about Crumbs has inspired me, keep us posted with his progress!

Thanks, I am very happy that I decided to take him home. I can't imagine not having him with me. We have come so far and he acts like a total sweety now. Well this morning he came right up to his cage and started calling for me when he saw me. So I let him out and he ran straight to me wanting cuddles This is a huge step

I'm trying to teach Crumbs to turn around but he just sits there and looks at me. xD
I am going to try and get a video of him doing all his tricks

 

[Betrisher]

Thought you might be interested to know how I taught the Beaks to fetch?

First, I taught them to 'play ball'. I did this by saying the words and then rewarding them each time they pecked at their ball (whiffle ball with bell inside). Of course, they didn't willingly peck at the ball at first, so I would touch it to their bill and say 'good bird' and give a treat. Soon, they were happily chasing the ball and pecking it to ring the bell and get a treat. This took just one fifteen minute session to achieve. (Well, with Barney; Madge is not as interested in trick training and she took a bit longer).

Eventually, the Beaks began picking the ball up to ring it. I just said 'fetch' and held my hand under the ball so they would drop it in my hand. If they were successful, I'd give a treat and say 'good bird'. If not, I'd just say 'no' in a deep voice and try again. This took about five minutes to achieve. Both birds fetch now, although Madge isn't as reliable as Barney.

I would *love* to know how others train their birds! I'd dearly love to get the Beaks to hang off my hands or lie on their backs, but they do hate to be touched. Any hints on getting a bird to let you touch it willingly would be gratefully accepted! (I say 'touch a pretty face/head' and put my finger gently on bird. If successful, I reward. If not, I try again. If bitten, I cry.)

 

[Ash]

Thought you might be interested to know how I taught the Beaks to fetch?

First, I taught them to 'play ball'. I did this by saying the words and then rewarding them each time they pecked at their ball (whiffle ball with bell inside). Of course, they didn't willingly peck at the ball at first, so I would touch it to their bill and say 'good bird' and give a treat. Soon, they were happily chasing the ball and pecking it to ring the bell and get a treat. This took just one fifteen minute session to achieve. (Well, with Barney; Madge is not as interested in trick training and she took a bit longer).

Eventually, the Beaks began picking the ball up to ring it. I just said 'fetch' and held my hand under the ball so they would drop it in my hand. If they were successful, I'd give a treat and say 'good bird'. If not, I'd just say 'no' in a deep voice and try again. This took about five minutes to achieve. Both birds fetch now, although Madge isn't as reliable as Barney.

I would *love* to know how others train their birds! I'd dearly love to get the Beaks to hang off my hands or lie on their backs, but they do hate to be touched. Any hints on getting a bird to let you touch it willingly would be gratefully accepted! (I say 'touch a pretty face/head' and put my finger gently on bird. If successful, I reward. If not, I try again. If bitten, I cry.)

Thank you for letting me know! I think I am going to have to try the way you taught your guys fetch : )

My alex's have always let me touch them so I can't really help with that. Yuki likes to hang upside down and she will lay on her back sometimes. But there is no way I could ever get Alex to hang upside down/lay on his back. It's just the way he is. For Crumbs I would give him a treat everytime he let me get closer to him. Until I got close enough to touch him. And that's when he started to let me touch him. I am not sure if this will help you out.

Alexandrines are also known to be a bird that doesn't liked to be touched. Sorry that I can't help much but you could create a thread asking for other owners for advice?