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Old Trick forgotten, what to do?

Exchange information about how to teach specific tricks to parrots. Most of these techniques should apply to all bird species. Share your success stories.

Old Trick forgotten, what to do?

Postby dohcsvt » Sat Aug 14, 2021 9:19 am

Hello. I have a green cheek conure that I trained daily while I was on back shift. I would get up in the morning and training him and my sun conure would be part of our morning routine before breakfast. However, when I moved to day shift the training regimen fell off to only weekends. Then when I started working a lot of overtime it simply became when I could do it. None of the tricks are anything special just simple things like clicker training, target training, turn around, shake, wave, fetch etc... Most actions have stayed in his little mind including fetch with a table tennis ball, but he also used to fetch coins. However, now he is scared to death of the quarters that we used to use. In fact, as soon as I try to get him to fetch a quarter, any further fetching for that training session is over. He will still do the other tricks, but no more fetching at all. I have tried laying the quarter on the perch while we are training, but he just wont go near it, I have tried slowly working it in for him to touch it, no go. I have tried targeting him to it and that failed. I have no idea what has caused the fear of this prop that he used to so readily grab and place in a cup or shot glass? As a side note, the sun conure has no issues with the quarter or any other prop.

I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions? Thank you in advance.
Stanley the Sun Conure :sun:
Ollie the Green Cheek Conure :gcc:
Stan and Ollie the great comedy duo, always making me chuckle!!
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dohcsvt
Conure
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 239
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: A green cheek conure and a sun conure.
Flight: No

Re: Old Trick forgotten, what to do?

Postby Pajarita » Sat Aug 14, 2021 10:25 am

I am sorry but I cannot help you, maybe Michael will comment, he is the training expert. My birds are all trained and are super obedient but not to do tricks, just to mind commands needed for cohabitation with humans and other birds - things like 'Go home' (so they fly back into their cages), 'No' (self-explanatory), 'Don't touch' (when they go for something they shouldn't), 'Be nice' (when a bird is bothering another one), 'Excuse me' (when I need to move from where they are perching), etc. See? the thing is that all I do is for my birds' benefit and, in truth, doing tricks like fetching (as cute as it is) doesn't really enrich a bird's life at all... they would much rather cuddle with a human (MOST especially GCC's who seem to have one single drive in life and that is to ride their chosen human's shoulders and cuddle next to his/her neck for hours and hours), fly, interact with other birds, peel bark of a branch or chew on something they can shred... natural behaviors. In all honesty, if I were you, I would spend what little time I have for them just loving them and allowing them fly as much as possible and consider myself lucky that they don't scream, bite or pluck.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Old Trick forgotten, what to do?

Postby dohcsvt » Wed Aug 25, 2021 8:06 am

I appreciate your input, but this is some of the more quality time I have as they are bonded and the sun doesn’t like to leave his cage so the green cheek only comes to us when we have food, because of course he wants it. The green will fly to us, but returns to cage after just a few minutes. The training sessions are performed in a separate room with the door closed and the birds are fully focused on me… it is our quality time. They seem to enjoy it and I feel that it does enrich their lives.
Stanley the Sun Conure :sun:
Ollie the Green Cheek Conure :gcc:
Stan and Ollie the great comedy duo, always making me chuckle!!
User avatar
dohcsvt
Conure
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 239
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: A green cheek conure and a sun conure.
Flight: No

Re: Old Trick forgotten, what to do?

Postby Pajarita » Wed Aug 25, 2021 11:25 am

We will have to agree to disagree on this. I have never found anything that supports the idea that training for tricks and performing them present any benefits to parrots... It seems to me that it's mostly for the human. I know that Michael, as a trainer, thinks that parrots benefit from the practice but this is one of the things that we disagree on. I follow Nature and parrots did not evolve for obedience (non-hierarchical society) or to work in any way (prey and not predator) and, as they are undomesticated and genetically identical to their wild counterparts, their needs are the same as the ones still in their natural habitat. They benefit from freedom (no cage), society with other birds of their own species or one very similar, the right light schedule and the proper diet, namely, what they get in the wild. This is not my opinion, mind you, it's a scientific fact.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes


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