What age does Alexandrian Parrot Learn Tricks

[Chulbul]

I have a 4 month old Alexandrian Parrot who is healthy and very playful. However I have tried making him learn tricks like Hi by lifting his one leg . However after trying for almost a week and multiple times during the day I feel he doesn't understand anything that I am asking him to learn. He seems completely blank and ignorant . I wonder if it's too young for him to learn any tricks ? What age should I start teaching him tricks ?

 

[noodles123]

The key here would be to wait for him to lift his leg on his own, and then praise/reward that immediately (while saying "you lifted your leg! yay---or something"). Do not force him. 1. it's not safe, 2. it's not going to work. Catch him doing what you want (because they do this naturally) and label/reward it when it happens. Do this every time and as long as you do, he will catch on. Sometimes if you very lightly touch their toes, they will pick up a foot (but it just depends)<-- that is fairly safe, but don't try to pry his leg up or get him to do something he isn't ready to do.

The other option would be to train him to step up. After he understands step up (paired with the very words/action), tweek it a little. Instead of step up, say "wave" or something (as you move your hand a bur forward as you would for step-up BUT STAY BACK MUCH FARTHER so he can't actually reach your arm--you don't want him to lose trust in your arm---you don't ever want to jerk your hand away mid-step up) wait for him to lift his leg, as they often do when they want to step up and your are near. As soon as he lifts his leg, praise, reward and label the behavior.
You will need different words for step up vs wave/led lift or he will get confused. I want to emphasize that you do not want to SAY "step up" and then make him do something else. If you say step up, you should mean it. When a bird WANTS to step up, he/she will often lift a foot in anticipation without you even having to say anything and that is when you could add in a new trick. You just have to label it and reward it. If a bird lifts its leg as you approach, say "wave" (or whatever) and then immediately reward. In some cases that could be food, attention, a toy etc.

If he is fully weaned and climbing, walking, perching , and eating independently, you can start safe training/tricks to get him used to the idea but, keep in mind, it also will depend on how good you are at training and how well you understand bird behavior (plus, he is still young, so it is a good time to start, but be patient). You have to find out what motivates your bird and reward for the tricks. Never punish a bird..never physically try to force a bird to do something-- trust is huge in training and if your bird doesn't trust you, you will struggle. Give it time though-- they takes months to show progress in some cases (not because they are dumb, but because of other factors).

 

[Jottlebot]

How are you trying to teach him?

 

[Laurasea]

They learn by shaping the behavior into small steps and rewarding each step till they figure out what you want. It they aren't like dogs, and each one is different and unique. Good luck!

 

[wrench13]

After you teach him Step Up, which has to become almost a reflex action by him( becasue sometime you may need to move him Very Quickly), a good starting trick is to turn circles. In a neutral area waya from his cage (important with ring necks), like a table, place him on there. Then take a smallpiece of his favorite treat and lead him around with it in a small circle. Give him the treat when he completes one full turn. From there its just a matter of inceasing the number of turns, and slowly moving the treat higher up, using more of your index finger to make the circle in the air as he turns. Some tips on trick training.

set a specific time for training. Before dinner is good. there is motivation for thetreat then
Train for 10-15 minutes max, especially at first
BE CONSISTENt in how you ask for a trick and what signals you give
always treat immediately when the trick is done correctly and give verbal praise
increase the complexity of the trick a little bit at a time
watch for his natural behaviour and build on that

You'll find that as he understnds that you are trying to show him new things, he will learn much quicker. Parrots love to learn new things.

I started training with Salty at about 6 months, and we trick train every night - check out some of his videos, link is below.

 

[Chulbul]

How are you trying to teach him?

Normal he is on my hand standing straight that's when I try and talk to him and ask him to wave me a Hi by waving him back . I have tried tried and tried patiently since almost a week. Suddenly it struck me that I may be too early with him.

 

[Chulbul]

After you teach him Step Up, which has to become almost a reflex action by him( becasue sometime you may need to move him Very Quickly), a good starting trick is to turn circles. In a neutral area waya from his cage (important with ring necks), like a table, place him on there. Then take a smallpiece of his favorite treat and lead him around with it in a small circle. Give him the treat when he completes one full turn. From there its just a matter of inceasing the number of turns, and slowly moving the treat higher up, using more of your index finger to make the circle in the air as he turns. Some tips on trick training.

set a specific time for training. Before dinner is good. there is motivation for thetreat then
Train for 10-15 minutes max, especially at first
BE CONSISTENt in how you ask for a trick and what signals you give
always treat immediately when the trick is done correctly and give verbal praise
increase the complexity of the trick a little bit at a time
watch for his natural behaviour and build on that

You'll find that as he understnds that you are trying to show him new things, he will learn much quicker. Parrots love to learn new things.

I started training with Salty at about 6 months, and we trick train every night - check out some of his videos, link is below.

He has already learnt Step Up when he was about 8 weeks old. He does step up 90% when I want him to. I remember he learnt it within 2 days then. I now am convinced that I might be a little early to him for the tricks so I have decided to wait for 2 more months and then start.

 

[Jottlebot]

He needs to understand that he can do an action and get a reward. He's unlikely to just copy you, because what is in it for him!? If he steps up then he already lifts his leg so you have a basic wave there.

Will you clicker train him? You can start this now, even if you don't want to try and teach him tricks for another few months.

I clicker and target trained and then used 'capturing' to get the wave from a head scratch.

 

[Chulbul]

I have an update. He learnt his first trick of a Hand Shake ! Yay!

Now teaching him the next