weird ways of training

[hawker]

hi guys I'm new to the forum and wanted to see if anyone else has some weird training techniques.

My grey is really hard to train , he's super tame and friendly but when it comes to training him its super hard. I've tried all sorts of methods of teaching him things but he's just not interested what so ever.

Recently I've found that the best way to teach him to get comfortable with his harness is to kiss the harness and then he joins in and wants to kiss it to. We had a bit of a set back a little while ago with the harness when he freaked out half way through putting it on and he didn't want to go near it for months. We are moving house in the next few weeks and theres a lot of woodland around us that i would love to be able to take him to in his harness. I would love to have him in it by the summer months but i know its a slow process and i can't force him into it.

Has anyone else had or having troubles with their greys and not wanting to learn new things.

Mine is still a baby really he is just over a year and half old now. Anyone got any tips for us as we have been patient and tried all that we can think off to help him learn new things but he shies away from most things

Thanks in advance , Josh

 

[clark_conure]

i'm still...wait ........."you have him in a harness"?

you have a parrot harness trained and you can't.......what are you trying to teach him; advanced calculus? I think you're alright for the time being.

 

[hawker]

i'm still...wait ........."you have him in a harness"?

you have a parrot harness trained and you can't.......what are you trying to teach him; advanced calculus? I think you're alright for the time being.

hes not harness trained , we broke the process down and half way through the processes he freaked out and it scared him now he doesn't like going near it therefore starting again.. ps next time keep your sarcastic comments to your self , only asking a question .

 

[clark_conure]

I only assumed from your text. I was more surprised than you were taken aback.

what exactly are you trying to train..step up, poop, etc.

 

[Kiwibird]

I feel your pain on having a particularly stubborn bird who doesn't respond to 'normal' training methods! Lots of patience and persistence required to teach a stubborn parrot something they don't want to learn Took the better part of 2 years to get our amazon comfortable wearing his harness. He's about 20 years old, not exactly a baby, but did eventually learn because we were more persistent about him wearing it than he was about not wearing it. Sometimes, highly intelligent parrots like to pick battles of willpower with their owners and it's a matter of not caving before they do. We have found that putting it on in lower lighting helps. I also think buying a color similar to his body color (in our case, green) helps it not be so much of a glaringly foreign thing being stuck on him. My husband helps hold him while I buckle it on, so having a second person may be helpful too. He still isn't thrilled about it, but he tolerates it well at this point.

What style of harness do you have? The Aviator seems to be the most "popular" harness. However, IMO, unless you have one of those robotically trained birds like the professional trainers have, it looks like a positively terrifying experience for both a less than compliant bird and the frazzled human to try and get one of those on (or off!). We have the feather tether for our bird, which buckles on (and buckles off, no yanking anything over the head or body!). Not as well known for some reason (perhaps because the mainstream trainers all use the Aviator???), but much better design for stubborn parrots if you ask me. The harness can be put on 2 ways and does not have an attached leash for the noncompliant parrot to get tangled up in. Not a fat chance in hell we could get the other style on him if we had a billion years to try, but given enough time he did eventually let us put on the buckle style one.

Another thought for walks outside- have you considered getting a pak-o-bird? We've had one for years and they're awesome! A bit pricey, but a worthwhile investment a million times over! Convenient in so many ways a harness simply isn't. I believe a CAG is similar in size to a BFA and the 'medium' is a perfect size for Kiwi: https://www.celltei.com/products/pak-o-bird-medium-size.html