Teaching come & stay flighted gcc help

[Compadrre2]

I have another post going rn about wing clipping...but it has quickly turned into I'm not clipping him. I think at this point clipping is pointless. (& I absolutely hate doing it anyway! Birds are birds they should fly!) My little Yoshi is clipped already anyway & can fly like he's not clipped at all.

That said, I feel like this is a better place to direct this conversation. Since it seems he can fly no matter what. I'm leaning hard towards giving up clipping him again. I'd much rather teach him come & stay.

He already flies after me when I leave the room, he either lands in my hand, if I hold it out fast enough or lands on my shoulder or head. so I at least have that to work with.

I imagine saying come while hes mid air & maybe adding a treat when he lands? That would probably be a solid starting point for "come here" training? You think? Got anything else for me?

But how on earth do train a bird to stay!? "stay" is the most important one for sure. He does give fair warning before he flies. He does a very serious yes yes yes yes yes *body goes up & down super fast* before he takes off. So I'm thinking if I could just interrupt that yes yes yes yes moment...

...now that I think about it...go home would be nice addition as well.

I don't have any idea where to start with any of this! Any advice welcome & appreciated!

 

[AMD88]

Hi! I have been able to teach 2 of mine the "Go Home" phrase. Each bird is different, so you'll have to just try different things to see what he responds to. Sounds like you are off to a great start!

 

[Vampiric_Conure88]

I beleive Bird Tricks has info on flight training! They train their birds to free-flight and offer classes, I beleive. Someone there would know how to teach your fid to 'stay'.

 

[osklvste45]

I agree with no wing clipping. I read to many places that a good breeze and fear flight capability returns. There are flight training written and YouTube. Check out and compare. The #1 thing is patience and consistency. I gave up flight training. My baby CAG preferred wing flapping and walking. Still does. So I trained Nameliss to "Go back or Get back in there". I put 2 of her true loves pistachios in easy sight. Made it just a bit difficult by partially closing door. Repeatedly saying Go Back or You get back in there. When those are eaten give 1 more. I have to have to phrases. It's due to what I am doing. Sometimes I am in a hurry and don't want to be sweet. Now if I tell her to get back in there, I get birdie mumbling that I swear are insulting comments as she complies. The other is willing and treat is expected.

 

[Compadrre2]

Literally the only thing I can find on stay...need more input please

Yoshi is like this bird in the follows me sense. But there's no cue. I walk out of the room & he follows. I have tried giving him a cue encouraging him to come & thats when he refuses. The only cue that works (99% of the time) is picking up Tech, my other bird. He just really doesnt want to be left alone. As we say in the horse world...there are definitely holes in his training. Now how to take one step back in order to take two forward...? Teach come first? Then stay? Thoughts anyone?

He is very food motivated. & when on a perch picks up clicker training in a snap. But he's also quite adhd & gets distracted quickly. He's also super scetchy about things in your hand. Put it down & he runs over & puts his tongue on it. But it's scary when I'm holding it. I did name him Yoshi cause he puts his tongue on EVERYTHING.

 

[Compadrre2]

Update: so after watching the above video...his favorite treat is pineapple. So I grabbed some pineapple & started off just out of climb on reach, asked him to jump on my finger to get a piece, come & pointed at my (landing) finger with my other hands finger. He did it!

I took a step back & repeat. & repeat. & repeat. He's pretty good at come already. I'll keep doing that, unless someone else has any tips for me.

Previously, when he'd jump on the couch, I'd pick him up & raise my hand up & he'd take off back to his cage. So I've added a point to his cage & "go home" & a treat when he lands, to that process.

But none of that is stay...

 

[Compadrre2]

I agree with no wing clipping. I read to many places that a good breeze and fear flight capability returns. There are flight training written and YouTube. Check out and compare. The #1 thing is patience and consistency. I gave up flight training. My baby CAG preferred wing flapping and walking. Still does. So I trained Nameliss to "Go back or Get back in there". I put 2 of her true loves pistachios in easy sight. Made it just a bit difficult by partially closing door. Repeatedly saying Go Back or You get back in there. When those are eaten give 1 more. I have to have to phrases. It's due to what I am doing. Sometimes I am in a hurry and don't want to be sweet. Now if I tell her to get back in there, I get birdie mumbling that I swear are insulting comments as she complies. The other is willing and treat is expected.

My Tech does the same thing at bed time birdie mumbles as she goes in her cage. it's extra funny when I'm late putting her to bed on occasion. They get louder & when I turn the light off I get her ridiculous laughter. Bahahahhwahahah bad human! Past my bedtime. Bout d@mn time! Bahahahaha it's the funniest thing ever. Topped off by kisses when i shut the door.

 

[Tman]

Hello if you don't mind I would like to jump in here and let you know things that I do. This well give you more ideas on what to do.
Like the BT video shows. You call them to you bu, also at the same time teach them to go back to the perch. I started inches away. I put him on the perch, then ask him to stepup then put him have him go to the perch and give the command "Perch" then I would put my hand just a few inches away from the perch and call him by his name and say come. Just go slow and keep on working on coming to you and going back to the perch by saying Perch.
By going back and forth from perch to you he will go to the perch knowing you will call him to you. Once you have that down, you can work on stay. What I use is WAIT. As far as treats go. Have you tried bits of almonds or a hulled sunflower seed.? Thats something else to work on him taking a treat from your fingers.
Also you want him to go to his cage does the cage have a door that swings open. The two first pictures are of my cage with a perch on the inside of the door. This way the door is open, but it gives him room to fly up and land on a perch. The other picture is one of my training perches.
Do you train in the morning?
Before he eats or after he eats.?

 

[Compadrre2]

Hello if you don't mind I would like to jump in here and let you know things that I do. This well give you more ideas on what to do.
Like the BT video shows. You call them to you bu, also at the same time teach them to go back to the perch. I started inches away. I put him on the perch, then ask him to stepup then put him have him go to the perch and give the command "Perch" then I would put my hand just a few inches away from the perch and call him by his name and say come. Just go slow and keep on working on coming to you and going back to the perch by saying Perch.
By going back and forth from perch to you he will go to the perch knowing you will call him to you. Once you have that down, you can work on stay. What I use is WAIT. As far as treats go. Have you tried bits of almonds or a hulled sunflower seed.? Thats something else to work on him taking a treat from your fingers.
Also you want him to go to his cage does the cage have a door that swings open. The two first pictures are of my cage with a perch on the inside of the door. This way the door is open, but it gives him room to fly up and land on a perch. The other picture is one of my training perches.
Do you train in the morning?
Before he eats or after he eats.?

I have almonds & dehulled sunflower seeds, but he shows little interest (if any at all) in those. The pineapple (a piece of a slice) is easy enough to hold in my hand & I just let him take a bite for the reward.

So one of several reasons for all this, Yoshi is a menace. i have a rescue Starling baby in the kitchen. (Really in the same room as my other birds all day. Line of site. But technically in the kitchen. ) And while I'm ok with him jumping over to Tech's stand (she's in the middle of the them, technically still in the living room.) If she doesnt want him, she waddle stomps over & he bails. sometimes she doesnt care & lets him stay. So that situation is what ever. But, when she does chase him off 99.9% the time he flies over to the baby Starling & starts messing with baby pointy beak. (Baby really needs a name! )

So in order to stop him from immediately messing with the baby, I put a raised perch ontop of the babies cage. Idk if that is encouraging him to land there...but at least it gives me a moment to get up & go over to get him off there.

He's still very young & is super mouthy (not biting though) so my other half really isnt down to mess with Yoshi yet. So again ideally, this would lead to my other half being able to point & send him home.

That said, I'm kind of working with his bad habits currently. Instead of picking a time of day or anything like that. So today, day #1, when he jumps on the couch I've been doing "come" & "go home" same thing when he winds up on the babies cage. I just keep a little piece of pineapple on my desk for those moments. Idk if thats a good or bad thing. I'm all ears to advice.

I've been told his cage looks like birdy Disneyland but yes he has a bunch of different landing perches. But most of the time he goes to the big blue one.

Is "perch" better to say than "go home" or something? When it comes to the go home thing, I'm thinking of my other half in the kitchen, just pointing that general direction, from far away. idk if matters or not. But that would be the goal here.

 

[Tman]

Yes you do have a Disneyland.
I say this with all do respect. It's to much, it could be overwhelming to Yoshi. With parrots you want them to feel comfortable in their surroundings. With all that he probably feels more comfortable on the couch. You what to give him room to roam around, and play with a toy.
With a parrot he may like a place and stay for awhile. But he won't just stay when you say stay. He want to be with you. You are his flock. Readjust the top of his cage. Less perches a few toys. That may help him want to stay and play. But to keep a parrot that can fly. He going to want to fly around. One thing to do is put a table top perch by the couch. This way you can give him treats by the couch but he has his own space. They don't listen like a dog when you say ly down and they just lay there. Because he can fly he will want to fly.
As you can see I have ropes hanging around. The on above the cages. You see the toy you need to give them room to play with it. He may play on his cage for awhile but he won't just stay there.

 

[Compadrre2]

Yes you do have a Disneyland.
I say this with all do respect. It's to much, it could be overwhelming to Yoshi. With parrots you want them to feel comfortable in their surroundings. With all that he probably feels more comfortable on the couch. You what to give him room to roam around, and play with a toy.
With a parrot he may like a place and stay for awhile. But he won't just stay when you say stay. He want to be with you. You are his flock. Readjust the top of his cage. Less perches a few toys. That may help him want to stay and play. But to keep a parrot that can fly. He going to want to fly around. One thing to do is put a table top perch by the couch. This way you can give him treats by the couch but he has his own space. They don't listen like a dog when you say ly down and they just lay there. Because he can fly he will want to fly.
As you can see I have ropes hanging around. The on above the cages. You see the toy you need to give them room to play with it. He may play on his cage for awhile but he won't just stay there.

When I first got him he played with every last thing up there. Wake up, let him out & he'd run around & touch every toy with his tongue & then go to which ever one he decided to destroy that morning. he loves to run around everything like its an obstacle course! he jumps & dives & does all kinds of crazy stuff!

I had most of those things on his first little cage & when we upgraded, he looked a little lost & uncomfortable with all the extra room. He would just sit there, with a clear moping face. He wasnt his usual self at all, refused to play with anything too. So for comfort I wound up buying a second cage so I could customize the top part for him, I took the second grate & mounted it up top & put his old stuff on the new cage. Once I did that, he looked more comfortable with that all extra space. & went right back to playing like he did at his last house.

I'm in the room with him all day (literally 3ft away ) & he's out of his cage till bedtime. Same as Tech (my other green cheek.) Tech is very low key (always been that way.) I make it a point to spend time with both of them during the day. & bedtime cuddles are a house hold favorite too. But I do have to work at my desk during the day & he's an absolute menace on my desk! I can't get anything done with him all over my desk.

The couch is just the midway point between Tech & him. & I have to say he looks more lost on there then he does on his cage. I think he jumps there to test the Tech waters before going to her stand. If she stomps his direction he stays. & if she doesn't then he jumps on her stand. In my opinion the couch serves more as an asking point. Yoshi - Tech can I come hang out with you please?

I have tried putting a play stand on my desk...but he's not satisfied until he's off of it & nibbling (gently) on my fingers. Or putting his tongue on every key on my keyboard. Litterally blocking my hands from working. or attempting to shred my paper work... boss my bird ate my work!

There has to be some kind of boundaries! so I figured a bit of training in-between menacing would give him something new to do, engage his little adhd genius brain & would also help me get some work done.

He's so crazy smart, so active & such a brave boy! Tech is a super scaredy cat about new stuff but is the most chill bird ever. They couldn't be more different. I honestly think he's grown bored of his toys. I was thinking about getting that squawk box bundle for him. They do different themes every month. Shredding stuff is his favorite passtime.

In my opion he's bored. He's super nosey & curious about everything. He's definitely not uncomfortable. I'm very familiar with what an uncomfortable bird looks like...just ask Tech everytime I give her anything new. But I do think mixing it up is an excellent idea!

I could definitely try taking that top spinner off that would free up a lot of room in the front. I know it looks congested from the front (& maybe it is ) but theres really nothing in the back...he does have tons of open space up there. (Despite how it looks from the front ) I'll have to take a top down picture... I put one of those sea grass mats in the back laying flat just to make it easier to walk on. But all that's back there is a rope perch so he can get to the top perch from the back.

Update: ok I took the spinner perch off & his last shredder mat. Here's the best top down photo I could get. He's only got 5 toys up there. I get him toys that are a little too big for him, cause he destroys them so quickly. he definitely doesn't seem to mind. & two of those play mats. He loves those things.

I could also take off that L shaped perch & put on the ladder that came with the cage...it's metal & just goes from the top perch down to the front. ??? Thoughts anyone?

*please excuse his shred a thon mat toy mess in the tray.

 

[Compadrre2]

While I think the "come" training is going well, the "go home" part is not.

So I've taken a step back. & tell me who agrees please! I'm only on day 2 & am still not really sure what I'm doing here!

But I think I missed a step...wouldn't it make more sense to start with saying go home ((or perch) @Tman still hoping you'll answer my question about the word usage. ) & having him jump closer to the cage, onto the cage? Like start out just out of climbing range. Have him jump. Cause right now he's waiting for me to put my hand up, like our routine has been.

He's done come a ton of times now. But not a single go home...I'm 100% certain it's me doing something wrong.

Also how does everyone feel about clickers? I haven't been using it cause it's a bit awkward in my hand with the pineapple. But I'm starting to feel like I should've added that...

 

[osklvste45]

Maybe he just can't make up his mind what to do. His personality may be a run check this, run check that, run back and then decide. My CAG is a thinker. She slowly examines. Then goes to one and does whatever. She may stay with one all day or change. Only if new unapproved is in her space. Then immediate countdown to destruction begins. I honestly had 0 luck with clicker training. I'm 99% sure it's me. I worked critical care. Constant repetition of beeping, clicking and such annoys me. Nameliss picked up on that. Repetitive clicking. That didn't really bother me. It was out of cage time. She'd go to her stick. Click say jump on. Click you know that you can do it. Click Vincent Price laugh. Click Click click laughing. She'd even push that stick towards me clicking away. Well I don't approve of reverse training. I'd have to jump up 3 feet landing on a 1/2 inch diameter stick. At my age how would I look telling EMS my parrot promised me a pistachio? So where I'd go? Mental or surgery for hip replacement? Reverse destination? Clicker in kitchen drawer. That perch replaced with as they say different make and model. Took her months to stop training me. I got my my puppy. Watched a YouTube video on dog training. Clicker sit click ect. Nameliss watched ignored by me. The next day happily clicking away giving my 6 week old puppy orders.

 

[Tman]

While I think the "come" training is going well, the "go home" part is not.

So I've taken a step back. & tell me who agrees please! I'm only on day 2 & am still not really sure what I'm doing here!

But I think I missed a step...wouldn't it make more sense to start with saying go home ((or perch) @Tman still hoping you'll answer my question about the word usage. ) & having him jump closer to the cage, onto the cage? Like start out just out of climbing range. Have him jump. Cause right now he's waiting for me to put my hand up, like our routine has been.

He's done come a ton of times now. But not a single go home...I'm 100% certain it's me doing something wrong.

Also how does everyone feel about clickers? I haven't been using it cause it's a bit awkward in my hand with the pineapple. But I'm starting to feel like I should've added that...

I am here, not going anywhere don't worry.
This is going to be long so grab a drink and relax.
Let's talk commands. You want to use just one word. If you want to use ( Home) that's ok. Using one word will help him understand what you want. You may hear go home. But he hears sounds, not words. So by just using one word it helps him understand more.
Instead of go home just use (Home). Single words for commands. Home, come , up,.
Let's started from the beginning, he may come to you because of treats.
What you want to do is work close to the perch you want him to go to when you tell him home. Put him on the perch you want him to go. You want to be right there next to the perch. We are going to go slow (OK). Patience very important. With him on the perch ask him to step-up on your hand. Give him a treat. Tell him good bird. Now ask him to (Home ). When he does this give him a treat.
This is one reason you need to make sure the treats are small.
If its pineapple he likes. Cut the pineapple up in small pieces. You just want to give him a taste of it as a reward. So you are not waiting for him to eat it. A quick taste and you can keep going. You want to be close to the home perch so you can give him a treat when he goes "Home". Do not rush this you want him to understand when you say come he comes and when you say home he goes to the perch. And he knows that if he comes to you he gets a treat, if he goes home he gets a treat. This way by being close for now you can give him treats.
For going home and coming to you. Do this for at least one or two sessions.
Reason why it will make sure he understands what you are asking him to do. Yes he comes to you but we need to go back to the beginning so he gets the home along with coming.
It's going to take time. You also need to understand you need to be in a nice relaxed mood.
If you get upset he will get upset. You need to have fun doing this. If he messes up so what, just keep going. By going slow being close to the home perch, you can show him what you want and he will catch on.
As you keep going with your sessions move away from the perch. But once he goes to the perch give him a treat for going to the perch. And let him know good bird. Until you get him going to the perch, coming to you don't go to far away from the perch. You want to make sure he really gets the idea.
Here is something that is a little controversy. I don't know how you feed him, but the night before if you leave food in his cage over night don't. Once he eats his evening meal. Take his food bowl out. And in the morning don't feed him until you work on his training. No he will not starve. What you want is for him to be focus on working to get the treats. By having him hungry he will be more focused on doing what it takes to get a treat.
Once your session is done. Which should only be about 10 minutes. Go ahead and feed him his morning meal.
By keeping the training session to about 10 minutes you can quit on a good note.
He is my Tango. If you notice I have my thumb resting on his foot. I do that to help him with balance. He eats with one foot by me resting my thumb on his foot holding on, it gives him a little more stability. And the funny thing is he understands it. I put no pressure on it I just rest my thumb on his foot.
Start with this let me know how it goes and again patience.
Just relax have fun with it.
I will be here. Good luck.

 

[Compadrre2]

Maybe he just can't make up his mind what to do. His personality may be a run check this, run check that, run back and then decide. My CAG is a thinker. She slowly examines. Then goes to one and does whatever. She may stay with one all day or change. Only if new unapproved is in her space. Then immediate countdown to destruction begins. I honestly had 0 luck with clicker training. I'm 99% sure it's me. I worked critical care. Constant repetition of beeping, clicking and such annoys me. Nameliss picked up on that. Repetitive clicking. That didn't really bother me. It was out of cage time. She'd go to her stick. Click say jump on. Click you know that you can do it. Click Vincent Price laugh. Click Click click laughing. She'd even push that stick towards me clicking away. Well I don't approve of reverse training. I'd have to jump up 3 feet landing on a 1/2 inch diameter stick. At my age how would I look telling EMS my parrot promised me a pistachio? So where I'd go? Mental or surgery for hip replacement? Reverse destination? Clicker in kitchen drawer. That perch replaced with as they say different make and model. Took her months to stop training me. I got my my puppy. Watched a YouTube video on dog training. Clicker sit click ect. Nameliss watched ignored by me. The next day happily clicking away giving my 6 week old puppy orders.

He is crazy smart & figures stuff out so fast! But that whole run over here & check this, run check that & that stuff is why I say he has adhd. You couldn't have described that better.

& your reverse training thing had me rolling.

 

[Compadrre2]

I am here, not going anywhere don't worry.
This is going to be long so grab a drink and relax.
Let's talk commands. You want to use just one word. If you want to use ( Home) that's ok. Using one word will help him understand what you want. You may hear go home. But he hears sounds, not words. So by just using one word it helps him understand more.
Instead of go home just use (Home). Single words for commands. Home, come , up,.
Let's started from the beginning, he may come to you because of treats.
What you want to do is work close to the perch you want him to go to when you tell him home. Put him on the perch you want him to go. You want to be right there next to the perch. We are going to go slow (OK). Patience very important. With him on the perch ask him to step-up on your hand. Give him a treat. Tell him good bird. Now ask him to (Home ). When he does this give him a treat.
This is one reason you need to make sure the treats are small.
If its pineapple he likes. Cut the pineapple up in small pieces. You just want to give him a taste of it as a reward. So you are not waiting for him to eat it. A quick taste and you can keep going. You want to be close to the home perch so you can give him a treat when he goes "Home". Do not rush this you want him to understand when you say come he comes and when you say home he goes to the perch. And he knows that if he comes to you he gets a treat, if he goes home he gets a treat. This way by being close for now you can give him treats.
For going home and coming to you. Do this for at least one or two sessions.
Reason why it will make sure he understands what you are asking him to do. Yes he comes to you but we need to go back to the beginning so he gets the home along with coming.
It's going to take time. You also need to understand you need to be in a nice relaxed mood.
If you get upset he will get upset. You need to have fun doing this. If he messes up so what, just keep going. By going slow being close to the home perch, you can show him what you want and he will catch on.
As you keep going with your sessions move away from the perch. But once he goes to the perch give him a treat for going to the perch. And let him know good bird. Until you get him going to the perch, coming to you don't go to far away from the perch. You want to make sure he really gets the idea.
Here is something that is a little controversy. I don't know how you feed him, but the night before if you leave food in his cage over night don't. Once he eats his evening meal. Take his food bowl out. And in the morning don't feed him until you work on his training. No he will not starve. What you want is for him to be focus on working to get the treats. By having him hungry he will be more focused on doing what it takes to get a treat.
Once your session is done. Which should only be about 10 minutes. Go ahead and feed him his morning meal.
By keeping the training session to about 10 minutes you can quit on a good note.
He is my Tango. If you notice I have my thumb resting on his foot. I do that to help him with balance. He eats with one foot by me resting my thumb on his foot holding on, it gives him a little more stability. And the funny thing is he understands it. I put no pressure on it I just rest my thumb on his foot.
Start with this let me know how it goes and again patience.
Just relax have fun with it.
I will be here. Good luck.

YES! I'm not the only with really long replies! Seriously though, thank you for going into such detail! That is all super duper helpful!

 

[Tman]

YES! I'm not the only with really long replies! Seriously though, thank you for going into such detail! That is all super duper helpful!

Your so welcome.
Your in luck, I can't sleep so let me give you a run down on my flock.
To start off I have 4 LED lights above the cages. They are on two separate timers. Two turn on then 5 minutes later the other two turn on. Here in Las Vegas the sun comes up about 630am I have the timers set for 7am 7:05am. I get up before the lights go on. I start my coffee. I open the blinds in the kitchen which lights up the place a little. I say good morning to my for guys. Once the lights turn on, I get my coffee sit in next to the cages give everyone a morning treat. You see the night before after they eat their evening meal. I pull the food bowls. They have water just not food. They ate. You need to understand they have a different digestive system then we do. They fill their crop with food, and as they feel they need it they send it down to the stomach. So like the evening meal. The lights go out they still have food in their crop. Parrots don't sleep for 12hrs. But what the need is 12 hrs of rest, yes they do fall asleep. But they are awake some of the time at night. And they pull the rest of the food in their crop and use that. So first thing in the morning they are not that hungry. So I give my guys a treat. Small peice. I pull their water bowls give them fresh water. I have water bottles in the refrigerator so they get nice and cold water. Then I clean their cages. I pull the trays clean them scrub them down put fresh paper down. Then I check their foot toys on the bottom of the cage. If one has poop on it I toss it out . I pull the grill out and clean them. I clean all around the bottom edges, you know how they like to poop all over. Once cages are clean then I start my morning session. I don't feed them yet not till morning sessions are done. I work with each one for about 10 minutes. So say after all is said and done. Sessions last about total say hour. So you have hour for cleaning hour for training.
What you need to understand they get food, we call a treat.but it's food. My guys eat almond slices, and hulled sunflower seeds, and one likes millet. Cages are clean, training sessions done. Now they get breakfast. Depending on the day they may get pellets in the morning or chop. I switch it up.
But now think of this, I finish with cage cleaning. We finished the sessions, now they can relax enjoy their breakfast. And I can make my breakfast. By waiting to feed them .
1. they are motivated to learn and pay attention.
2. Everything is clean .
3. They can relax and eat in peace.
Thats just the morning.

 

[Tman]

Compadrre we need to have a chat about Yoshi. WHO IS TRAINING WHO???
You need to stop with the pineapple as a training treat. The reason Yoshi likes pineapple is the sugar . You need to take control of the situation. The reason he flies all over checks everything out and acts crazy, is because he's on a sugar HIGH. . (Notice how I am using the amoji) by getting Yoshi to take something more healthy as a traing treat, can you get millet spray?
See pictures at the bottom.
We are going to start to teach, Yoshi that we are the teacher and he is the student . We are going to teach Yoshi how to take a treat from are fingers.
The first picture is Pegasus my Indian Ringneck. I have had him now for 2 months I have never pet him once. He does not like to be touched. But he steps up for me. And he will take half of a hulled sunflower seed from between my big fat fingers, very gently. By using millet you can hold it long like the first picture. And work down to like the second picture.
He has to learn you will not hurt him.
Another thing we need to talk about. Your cage keep Disneyland open, but clean it up around the cage . So you can open and close it. This is for safety. If you have to leave, you want to be able to close him in his cage. If something major happens you want to be able to put him up in his cage and know he is not going to get into any trouble. He will be ok in his cage. If you are out have a major accident and can't get home you will at least know Yoshi is going to be ok.
Sorry for to doom and gloom. But you have to think of these things.
I see something else. The picture of Yoshi on the rope perch. (For training purposes)
Make this into a horse shoe shape on the front of the cage sticking out so you have an area to work with.
Does Mr. Yoshi know any tricks?
Wave
Spin
Targeting
I want to make sure am not going over things you and him know.
This way we can work on a few things so he doesn't get bored.
We need to work on Yoshi taking a treat from your hands.
This is where patience comes in handy. In training you work with him on the things that he has trouble with and it will make you and Mr. Yoshi feel good you accomplished something.
Its 3am. I'll post more later.
Ask me questions and I will answer the best I can.

 

[Tman]

Let's talk species, green cheeks are chatty. And they can be nippy. As you can see I have one too. When he lands on you can you scratch him on his head. You need to leave the perch on your desk so he has a place to land. Just don't give up so quick. So you work from home.?
This is another reason to be able to close the door on his cage. You need your time away from him. He has to learn sometimes he'll need to play in his cage.

 

[osklvste45]

Your so welcome.
Your in luck, I can't sleep so let me give you a run down on my flock.
To start off I have 4 LED lights above the cages. They are on two separate timers. Two turn on then 5 minutes later the other two turn on. Here in Las Vegas the sun comes up about 630am I have the timers set for 7am 7:05am. I get up before the lights go on. I start my coffee. I open the blinds in the kitchen which lights up the place a little. I say good morning to my for guys. Once the lights turn on, I get my coffee sit in next to the cages give everyone a morning treat. You see the night before after they eat their evening meal. I pull the food bowls. They have water just not food. They ate. You need to understand they have a different digestive system then we do. They fill their crop with food, and as they feel they need it they send it down to the stomach. So like the evening meal. The lights go out they still have food in their crop. Parrots don't sleep for 12hrs. But what the need is 12 hrs of rest, yes they do fall asleep. But they are awake some of the time at night. And they pull the rest of the food in their crop and use that. So first thing in the morning they are not that hungry. So I give my guys a treat. Small peice. I pull their water bowls give them fresh water. I have water bottles in the refrigerator so they get nice and cold water. Then I clean their cages. I pull the trays clean them scrub them down put fresh paper down. Then I check their foot toys on the bottom of the cage. If one has poop on it I toss it out . I pull the grill out and clean them. I clean all around the bottom edges, you know how they like to poop all over. Once cages are clean then I start my morning session. I don't feed them yet not till morning sessions are done. I work with each one for about 10 minutes. So say after all is said and done. Sessions last about total say hour. So you have hour for cleaning hour for training.
What you need to understand they get food, we call a treat.but it's food. My guys eat almond slices, and hulled sunflower seeds, and one likes millet. Cages are clean, training sessions done. Now they get breakfast. Depending on the day they may get pellets in the morning or chop. I switch it up.
But now think of this, I finish with cage cleaning. We finished the sessions, now they can relax enjoy their breakfast. And I can make my breakfast. By waiting to feed them .
1. they are motivated to learn and pay attention.
2. Everything is clean .
3. They can relax and eat in peace.
Thats just the morning.

Morning routine similar. Except Nameliss is awake, silently watching me 30 minutes before sunrise. Sunrise just before lights on she encourages me to get up. No coffee, take dog out. The day begins. Hour before lights out, no matter sunset I'm told to go to bed. She'll happily munch on her pellets. Just under 11 hours of quiet.