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Maximizing Training Motivation in Companion Parrots

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Maximizing Training Motivation in Companion Parrots

Postby Michael » Mon May 13, 2013 10:01 am

Maximizing Training Motivation in Companion Parrots

Article about maximizing motivation in companion parrots. This is about getting your parrot to do more of what you want, with better accuracy, for less treats, and for longer durations without health-inhibiting deprivation.
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Michael
Macaw
 
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Types of Birds Owned: Senegal Parrot, Cape Parrot, Green-Winged Macaw
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Re: Maximizing Training Motivation in Companion Parrots

Postby cml » Tue May 14, 2013 10:29 am

Great article Michael (though you need to work on your chart-visualising skills :P)!

The main reason to manage your parrot's weight is to keep it healthy rather than for training. However, with your parrot's weight already managed to keep it at the optimal healthy weight, motivation for food can exist. An overweight parrot with constant access to food will not only be unmotivated to eat, but it will also be less motivated to participate in activity because it is physically harder.

While I believe this is true, and that you can achieve more motivation by food managed, both parrots were still eager to train when free fed. I am hoping that managing the food intake a little bit more (but still offering the same ammount as with todays food management) that we can up their motivation a little bit more :).

There is also the desirability of certain treats over others. This can be a great aide in training. There are two ways to improve motivation based on the relative value of different treats. You can generally use less favorable treats but then mark major success with the better treats. The other approach is to mix all treats and provide different ones randomly. This approach is good for sustaining motivation because the parrot never knows what it's going to get. It must keep trying because the next treat may just be a whole nut.

Which method do you use? I find that our fellas like 2 things as training treats, everything else isnt something they like enough. Sunflowers as regular treats, and almonds as supertreats. Other seeds are used to train them to like the carriers etc through being available only there.

So to make the most of the motivation in a training session (after a warm up if one is needed), begin with more difficult or strenuous tasks first and then work your way back toward easier things by the end. For example, let's say your parrot knows 5 tricks, step up, and flight recall. But at the same time you're teaching a new trick and working on getting the parrot to let you grab it. To maximize training motivation and get the most out of a single training session, work on some flight recalls first, then teach the next portion of the new trick, then practice some old tricks, and end the session by taming

This is great advice, and something Ive found to be most effective as well.

Thanks for the article :D!
Stitch (WFA) and Leroy (BWP)
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cml
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Re: Maximizing Training Motivation in Companion Parrots

Postby Michael » Tue May 14, 2013 11:28 am

cml wrote:
There is also the desirability of certain treats over others. This can be a great aide in training. There are two ways to improve motivation based on the relative value of different treats. You can generally use less favorable treats but then mark major success with the better treats. The other approach is to mix all treats and provide different ones randomly. This approach is good for sustaining motivation because the parrot never knows what it's going to get. It must keep trying because the next treat may just be a whole nut.

Which method do you use? I find that our fellas like 2 things as training treats, everything else isnt something they like enough. Sunflowers as regular treats, and almonds as supertreats. Other seeds are used to train them to like the carriers etc through being available only there.


Great question. I actually use both depending on what I'm trying to stimulate. For maintaining behavior I use the random treat method but when teaching something new I vary the reward with effort. The parrots are so smart they catch on. But as for the ineffectiveness of your treats (the fact that you can only use 2) tells me that you're feeding your parrot too much. Part of soliciting more motivation is having a greater pallet of treat foods at your disposal. As you stop overfeeding your parrots, you'll discover that foods like fruit, pellets, and practically anything they are capable of eating can become treats. In order to avoid overfeeding treats to my parrots (since I do a lot of training), I often just give pellets as treats. They don't complain cause those are pretty big treats compared to treat foods I use. But doing this makes the treat foods even more effective and thereby gets me even more motivation.
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Michael
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 6286
Location: New York
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal Parrot, Cape Parrot, Green-Winged Macaw
Flight: Yes


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