Training help

[ScottRoberts]

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I feel like I live here on the forum. haha I have three main training issues and would appreciate all the help anyone can give me. These are the only things I plan to work on until they are mastered.

1) The biggest thing is trying to get Hela to not just fly about the house at will. I am worried for her safety as well as me being in control. Eight out of ten times her flying is to get to me. But other times it"s just out of curiosity and not always safe places. Chloe only flies once or twice a day and it's only to land on something that she knows is alright However never me. It's always a gym a swing a stand. Chloe loves me always wants me around talks like crazy when I am. She eats out of my hand and steps up without issue Now keep in mind this issue is only outside of their room that I have this concern. When they are both in there room Hela has a cage and Chloe has her tree that she has always had. Chloe was never much of a flyer and was very very rarely in a cage at all.

2) I would like both of them to fly to me on command. Neither does this right now Hela just wants to see everything and happens to like me enough to want to spend 90% of her time with me.

3) Lastly (for now) is bathing. I have seen a lot out there on this but I am ashamed to say until I started reading in this forum had no idea how important bathing is. The first time I tried to give Chloe three years a bath she hated it and I just said okay she doesn't like baths so that's that. Now that I see the importance and I really want her to learn baths can be fun.

I'm not sure if it's Hela's age or the breeder I had but she is pretty agreeable to anything I try with her as far as touching her her trying new things.
I have a very strange bathroom that someone decided putting rocks on the wall would be cool. I absolutely hate it and can't wait to be able to redo the bathroom and use tile. That being said I can not use a suction
perch in there.
This morning I filled the tub with about 2 inches of warm water and took Hela in there. She tolerated it.
I tried to make it fun but all she wanted was out. We played a little and then I gave in and got her out. The other part is should I do anything at all to help them dry off? I know a blow dryer would dry out their skin and I am worried just seeing a towel will freak Chloe out as that is what the groomer uses to cut her nail.

Full dis-closer I am kinda impatient and want thing to work on the first or second try however I know this is not even close to an option but a time frame and things to look for that show a little progress is happening would be awesome.

I am dedicated and determined that these are important things and will not stop until I have achieved them.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read all this and for any help ans suggestions,

Scott

 

[Sarah13]

1. Sorry, I adopted my girl and she's an adult so the curious stages of flying about as a young chickie are gone. I have found that doing play sessions, tricks, and target training sessions make her mentally and even physically relaxed and tired though (like taking a dog for a walk.). Your girl will be more inclined to sit and relax than fly about because she is tired and content.

2. For flying to you on command (request), use that baby-parent bond to your advantage! First introduce target training. Point a small chop stick directly at them and when they touch the tip out of curiosity or accidental bump, click/say good, whatever you decide, and give them a reward. (Treat, scratches, a toy) Sometimes you may need to lure them a bit to touch the stick at first but they catch onto the targeting really quickly. Soon they'll be following the stick everywhere to earn a reward with no lures needed. It works nicely for moving the bird about or interacting with them hands free. You then place the stick behind your hand or arm and have the bird step up to touch the stick. Slowly move your hand further and further away from their perch. They'll go from stepping up, to big reaching steps, to hopping, to fluttering, to flying. It can happen very quickly or take a little time depending on how motivated your bird(s) are on flying. Switching up the rewards so they are always excited and unsure about what goodie is in store can help. Also make sure to end sessions on a good note and when they are still excited. Leave them wanting more. You don't want to burn them out.

To get the "command" or "cue" inserted, just say the word you'd like them to fly for right when they look like they're preparing to take off. They will soon make the connection. Once they have the command solidly learned, you can start getting consistency. (Sure they are flying to you on command with no issues but sometimes they'll want to take their sweet little time or they'll fly to you without you asking) To help with this, offer the cue and give them only a few moments to fly to you. If they decide not to, put your hand down and turn away. They are smart and will realize that they missed out on an opportunity. Typically they will be much more responsive when you cue for them to fly the next time. They also appreciate you allowing them to say no and that will build friendship and trust. On the other hand, do not reward when they fly to you on their own. You want them to understand that flying on cue is what gains them a reward, not just flying willy nilly. Don't punish them of course, them coming to you is always good, but don't give them their training treat or they'll start just coming and going at will and not when you ask.

3. For bathing, some birds like showers, some like baths. Offer both. You're on the right track making it play time. My girl always loved showers so again, I can't really speak for helping a bird who isn't keen on showering. I can only recommend keep it fun and offer different options....spray bottles sprayed up into the air so the mist falls down is a gentle way to get them started I've learned. I taught my aunt's Umbrella cockatoo to enjoy showers this way. I've also heard that cleaning their cages and gyms and vacuuming makes them want to get wet. Again, I've never had to do that with my girl but apparently many owners have done that with success.

 

[Sarah13]

If you want a video demonstrating the target training just let me know. Sometimes reading can be trickier than just watching.

 

[ScottRoberts]

The video sounds awesome. thank you

 

[Sarah13]

Okay, no biggie, I'll post one. My girl is a Greenwing by the way. Her set up is very similar to Chloe's. She's flighted, is housed on a jungle gym instead of a cage, etc. I think that's awesome!

You're two fids are beautiful by the way. Your baby is really cute too. Macaws are so adorkable.

 

[Bokkapooh]

My guys want a bath when I'm vacuuming they love the vacuum noise and want to be sprayed with warm water.

How they show me they want a bath by fluffing up and flap their wings. Sometimes screamng

My suggestion on Hela flying around is to put a playgym in that area she tries to fly. Macaws need space to fly and move.

 

[rockybird]

I have small birds and cant help much, but I just wanted to say your birds are beautiful and you sound like a really dedicated owner.

 

[QBird]

Sorry another long rather random ramble on with thoughts or ideas.

How to get them to fly on command is covered above nicely, not going to bore you except for the fact flying ability makes a difference. My B&G will sometimes get to excited and launch herself into the air towards me, thankfully the room is a fair size I simply put both hands up palms facing out and she’ll loop past me back to a perch or cage, however she can fly well. She also flies when called and for this I present my arm facing her as a perch to land on.

My 8 year old Mac is just finishing a molt and now got his first full set of primaries (-2 on their way). He’s learning to fly, and is a catastrophe waiting to happen. He’s at the reach out and hop stage. He also launches into flight but due to his difficulties I do tend to get an arm in place under him in order to help him, otherwise he struggles, he has a forwards and upwards flight but the navigational skills need working on. I am letting him fly as he needs to

They do fly and need to explore and learn, if the navigational skills are not there plenty of land sites near her normal targets or places where she could get into trouble would be good. It’s also handy to remember for windows, blinds down or curtains shut or nets work great as it encourages the bird to either land or turn instead of crashing and if it did crash it can hold on to something as it goes.

Baths/showers are great to keep their feathers in good condition, some birds like a large bowl (with short sides) to go in on their own accord, others seem to want in the sink if you get there, some like misting and some like showers. My BTC loved the sink when I wanted to wash my hands or dishes etc. and my B&G learnt how to use the sink to her advantage but hates showers.

Wings out ready to squeeze into a small sink .. but for sure I won't get to be the first to wash!


Probably both, babies are much easier to coerce then older birds who are more stuck in their ways. Hopefully Hela will help to convince Chloe she wants a bath too. Although we all want this to happen quickly unfortunately birds don’t always work to our timescale and it can take quite some time. I usually bring the water shy Fids with me to sinks when I am ready to wash or prep fruit and veg this gives them a real challenge as they want the food but are not as keen to get close to the water. In addition to this if the bird has a friend who likes water it can start them off too so bring the friend with you, let the friend get involved with the water and leave the other bird a small distance away to watch.

Perches over a bath for a show work as do table top perches, also if you have a shower head connection you can get a fastening to this if you want a raised perch, one example which may fit on the bath or in it, also any hanging perch to hook off the shower. Sometimes it's fun to get creative

On another note the birds will be with you a long time, perhaps you could take time to get the birds used to their feet being touched which you can build up to holding the nails and eventually being able to get these clipped without the need to restrain the bird in a towel? I’ve had some success here but certainly can’t say all of them have or are willing to work on this one.

It’s warm here so with the birds who like blankets and towels they can play around others we leave them to dry out naturally. But towel games and peek-a-boo can be fun J

 

[Sarah13]

grr, I made a video yesterday on touch/target training for you but it wouldn't upload. I will try again.

 

[Sarah13]

Got it Scott! WOO!
I hope this helps. I didn't go into detail for everything but I made sure to cover the basics. Have fun!

 

[Sadieladie1994]

Now you need to make the video public or invite us all into your "privae" setting

 

[Sarah13]

Now you need to make the video public or invite us all into your "privae" setting

How do I do that?

 

[Bokkapooh]

Go into the setting.

Edit your video. Change the settings from private to public.

 

[Bokkapooh]

Go into the setting.

Edit your video. Change the settings from private to public.

 

[Bokkapooh]

@Sarah13

 

[Sarah13]

Video work yet?

 

[Clueless]

I have two amazons. Bath time here is on a PVC pipe stand - smaller one - that I sit in the shower. I then sit beside of the shower with the bottle, spray it into the air above the amazons so the mist falls gently. MC loves being wet - Secret, not so much. Hubby showed me how to turn our shower on a mist last weekend . . . . . I put MC on the stand and then gently slid it over under the mist but I made sure there was enough room that he could back out if he wanted to. He loved it.

Secret, again, made it through the shower but was biting at the water - not happy.

The PVC stands are easy to make and inexpensive. We made two for donations to the last parrot club fair. Main thing to remember is that PVC can be slick - you need to either rough up the pipe the bird will be standing on or cover it with vet wrap or something that they can grip. The nice thing about these stands is that if something happens and they fall apart - the bird will not plummet, it's a short distance to the floor and you won't risk scaring the bird from taking a bath.

 

[Sarah13]

Okay, I think I got it to be public. Woo!

 

[SueA555]

Great video -- thanks!

 

[Sarah13]

Great video -- thanks!

Thank you.....if you guys want another video of a similar topic or something new, just let me know. I love making videos with Val. I got a GoPro for Christmas so that should be fun.