Frustrated

[txdyna65]

Im frustrated with trying to stick train Lucy. You guys have engrained it in my head that it needs to be done
before she gets hormonal. She only turns 1 later this month so Ive been trying for the last 4 months to get
her to step up on a stick. So far Ive had no luck whatsoever. The main problem is Lucy is scared of everything including her shadow lol Ive tried inside the cage, outside the cage, shes just afraid of it and usually ends up biting the stick or me. Ive tried different sticks and even a couple of her regular perches.
But even those she tries to run away or fly away.

We had no problems with Mango, he's not scared of anything, even tho he will step on a stick, they both prefer a finger or hand. Like I said though, I really want to get her stepping on a stick.

Ive actually been trying for the whole 10 months Ive had her, but the last 4 months was more dedicated to it. Would like some tips and help please.

 

[Bokkapooh]

What have you tried?

 

[Marcella2004]

When your trying to get her to step onto the stick or perch, do not go straight for it. By this I mean, very slowly go towards her with the perch.Because she is scared of everything, I prefer that each day, slowly get closer to her with the perch. If she begins to back away or flies away, place the perch back into its normal place, and try again the next day, and try to get closer.
when you get the perch next to her without her fleeing, hold it there for a minute or two, she will learn the perch is not harmful. This will slowly build trust in her and she will eventually step up on the perch. Then, when this is achieved , replace the perch with your finger or hand. Do the same technique, until she gains trust in you and perches on your finger or hand.

 

[JLcribber]

If she is not biting and you can handle her without the stick I don't see that you have a problem. You have no idea how hormones will affect her (which isn't going to be for a while yet) . You're presuming something that may never happen.

If the time comes that you must use a stick there are ways to get her on that stick. In the mean time you work on that trust and comfort so should you need to do that it won't be a (as) traumatic experience.

 

[Begone]

I agree with John.
Trust is what you should be working with. Love and treats and no demands at all. Only do things that she like.
IMO is it much better and important to build a good friendship or bond.

Im frustrated with trying to stick train Lucy. You guys have engrained it in my head that it needs to be done

Not me.

 

[Karen]

I agree with John. No sticks here. If there's an emergency and I must insist beyond the birds will, then it will be done, but beyond that, I believe in respect and I always ask.

 

[txdyna65]

Thanks for all the replies, as of right now, we have no trust issues at all. I dont have any problems getting her to step up on my hand. She actually comes and puts her foot up when I open the cage, doesnt bite or anything.
She is totally trusting of me, and I can pretty much do anything with her. I can put her upside down in my hand or lap and play tickle with her (which she enjoys) One of our twice daily
routines is for her to sit on my shoulder and we sing and talk to each other, we do this for about an hour each time.
Im her chosen one at this point, but she really likes women and will step up and talk and get all happy with them lol

I really dont have any problems with her other than her being scared of new things and not being able to get her to step up on a stick.
I know hormones are a ways off and I hope she doesnt change, I was just trying to prepare for it now.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

Kenny, when you play tickle with her does she beak your fingers? ( grab but not bite ) A fun game now but could be teaching her it's ok to grab your fingers. Later on when she matures… and she will … hormones take over and that playful grabbing will turn into a serious bite because it was ok before. I'm grateful Lola will step up on a perch for me because as she has aged she is more likely to bite. I can't even hand her a treat anymore so I place it on her tray. They don't stay sweet babies long enough.

 

[EkkieLuv]

Maybe leave the object you're stick training her with in a play area. Put treats on it, reward her when she goes near and progress her to touching it, etc. Make it a positive thing. My boys are not stick trained - in fact, they freak out with a moving perch headed toward them. But as an alternative, I can step them up with a toweled hand or arm. And always include a reward when they comply. You don't HAVE to stick train them... it's just a good way to move them when they're being stubborn.

 

[Macaw Lover]

If you don't have any issues with her now and she steps up for you why are you creating issues????????? If she is being as good as gold, why push something she does not like and you don't have a need for, at least for now? Maybe in a year or so, reassess things then.

 

[txdyna65]

Kenny, when you play tickle with her does she beak your fingers? ( grab but not bite ) A fun game now but could be teaching her it's ok to grab your fingers. Later on when she matures… and she will … hormones take over and that playful grabbing will turn into a serious bite because it was ok before. I'm grateful Lola will step up on a perch for me because as she has aged she is more likely to bite. I can't even hand her a treat anymore so I place it on her tray. They don't stay sweet babies long enough.

She rarely beaks me when we are playing like that, she mostly is just wiggling her feet and laughing. She does this until I put my finger there for her to grab and then pick her up.
She will play like this until usually Im the one tired of it.
Renee I didnt think I was creating an issue, I dont push her hard when Im working with her on it. I just didnt want to get down the road and hormones kick in and not have a way
to get her out of the cage safely. I dont think it would be an issue for me, but it may for my wife is why I was asking about this to begin with.
Lucy can sometimes be hardheaded in the mornings for my wife on weighing day. By that I mean she wants to beak her and not want to step up for her.
But if I come in she steps right up and we weigh her. This is usually the only time she is like that, but I do work out of town sometimes and I dont want
that to be an issue when Im gone.

 

[melissasparrots]

I have to admit that I do not have the secret to stick training birds. My only birds that are stick trained are ones that I got as adults. My young amazons know I'm serious about going back in their cage when I take out the stick. They don't step on it, but they are more likely to step on my hand rather than making evasive maneuvers when the stick is shown. It would be nice if your female were stick trained. Especially for your wife since your young bird is showing signs of preferring you. Chances are decent that in the long run, your wife might have problems with her, but you may very well be okay with her. None of my adult females that are my personal pets give me a hard time. Even when they are all wound up, vocalizing loudly and displaying, I can still get them to step up with minimal if any biting. Exceptions being if the dog is around. Even still, the bites my females give me are nothing compared to what the males give.
If I were to take the time to stick train an amazon, I'd do clicker training and bring your patience. I can get very young baby amazons to step up on a stick and they are innocent and unsuspecting. By the time they are weaned, they seem to have an inherent distrust of hand-held things that can potentially be a weapon even though I've never beat them or hit their cage with a stick.

 

[aooratrix]

I have to admit that I do not have the secret to stick training birds. My only birds that are stick trained are ones that I got as adults. My young amazons know I'm serious about going back in their cage when I take out the stick. They don't step on it, but they are more likely to step on my hand rather than making evasive maneuvers when the stick is shown. It would be nice if your female were stick trained. Especially for your wife since your young bird is showing signs of preferring you. Chances are decent that in the long run, your wife might have problems with her, but you may very well be okay with her. None of my adult females that are my personal pets give me a hard time. Even when they are all wound up, vocalizing loudly and displaying, I can still get them to step up with minimal if any biting. Exceptions being if the dog is around. Even still, the bites my females give me are nothing compared to what the males give.
If I were to take the time to stick train an amazon, I'd do clicker training and bring your patience. I can get very young baby amazons to step up on a stick and they are innocent and unsuspecting. By the time they are weaned, they seem to have an inherent distrust of hand-held things that can potentially be a weapon even though I've never beat them or hit their cage with a stick.

It's the same here. All of my birds act like I'm holding a king cobra when I get out a dowel or a perch JUST LIKE ONE IN THEIR CAGE and ask them to "step up." Conversely, all will step on the dowel on the gram scale and all use the shower perch. It's a conundrum. I think it can be a lifesaver with aggressive or hormonal birds, though.

 

[JLcribber]

I posted this to one of Wasabisaurus threads.

Well just between you and me. Knowing that you know Wasabi and Wasabi knows you. He's going to be reluctant to step up of course. I doubt he's really going to be scared of it rather he's just going to refuse to do it. The hardest part of this whole thing is to get him on it the first few times. He needs to realize for himself that this stick is not going to bite or hurt him. After conditioning him to the sight of it and it being around (say a week) and it comes time for him to get on it for the first time you just might have to "make him" get on it.

I don't know your skill level but I just grabbed Tika's tail and presented the stick in front of his chest all in one motion then pushed him on it, held him there and immediately started traveling around the house to change his focus from the stick to where we were going. After just a few times the stick was not "scary" at all.

I know people will say not to force the bird (positive reinforcement) and 99.9% of the time I feel the same way. But we are not talking about a scared bird. We're talking about a little terrorist who is not scared and pretty confident. I consider it one of those necessary evils like toweling. He needs to ride the stick and if he doesn't do it voluntarily then he needs "persuasion" to get over that initial hump.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

I have to admit that I do not have the secret to stick training birds. My only birds that are stick trained are ones that I got as adults. My young amazons know I'm serious about going back in their cage when I take out the stick. They don't step on it, but they are more likely to step on my hand rather than making evasive maneuvers when the stick is shown. It would be nice if your female were stick trained. Especially for your wife since your young bird is showing signs of preferring you. Chances are decent that in the long run, your wife might have problems with her, but you may very well be okay with her. None of my adult females that are my personal pets give me a hard time. Even when they are all wound up, vocalizing loudly and displaying, I can still get them to step up with minimal if any biting. Exceptions being if the dog is around. Even still, the bites my females give me are nothing compared to what the males give.
If I were to take the time to stick train an amazon, I'd do clicker training and bring your patience. I can get very young baby amazons to step up on a stick and they are innocent and unsuspecting. By the time they are weaned, they seem to have an inherent distrust of hand-held things that can potentially be a weapon even though I've never beat them or hit their cage with a stick.

That inherent distrust is something I will never understand about my zons. How they could have been such compliant feathered beings for a few years and then decide the perch is something to fear or that I'm up to no good if I bend over to pick something up. Lola will step up more readily for the perch but most of the time she will attack it first. Henry prefers to go in his cage on his own if I pick a perch up but not without a little resistance first. If I could use the reward system for him it would be great but he has never, ever been kind about taking a treat from the hand. ( like really….it's a treat not poison!)

 

[txdyna65]

I tried Johns approach this evening, distracted her and had the stick in front of her before she knew it was there.
Finally got her on it because she figured it was time to come out and play. We walked around the house for a bit and she was ok on it.
Later after playtime, I did the same thing and she got back on it and I put her in the cage. She did bite it a few times and squawked at it when I put her up, but overall not a
bad experience.

Ive tried clicker training with her, she hates the clicker and shes really not treat oriented. She doesnt seem to have a favorite other than almonds in a shell and pistachios in the shell.
We do make progress with things without the clicker and treats. She like praise and laughter and will just laugh with you and usually do whatever it was we were doing again.
Thank you all for the help and suggestions, we arent going to push it for now, but I will try this again tomorrow night and eventually get my wife doing it if its working.

 

[Clueless]

It also works for me if they are on the floor, the stick is higher and will raise them up so they step on it.

 

[JLcribber]

I tried Johns approach this evening, distracted her and had the stick in front of her before she knew it was there.
Finally got her on it because she figured it was time to come out and play. We walked around the house for a bit and she was ok on it.
Later after playtime, I did the same thing and she got back on it and I put her in the cage. She did bite it a few times and squawked at it when I put her up, but overall not a
bad experience.

Ive tried clicker training with her, she hates the clicker and shes really not treat oriented. She doesnt seem to have a favorite other than almonds in a shell and pistachios in the shell.
We do make progress with things without the clicker and treats. She like praise and laughter and will just laugh with you and usually do whatever it was we were doing again.
Thank you all for the help and suggestions, we arent going to push it for now, but I will try this again tomorrow night and eventually get my wife doing it if its working.

Good to hear. The trick to this is the distraction by immediately travelling around. They can't focus on that stick because they need to pay attention to where they're going.

Same with surprising them with the stick. They don't have time to "think" about the stick before getting on it. They're just on it. Showing them the stick let's them think and what they're thinking is "hm? How can I avoid that stick".

She will get used to it. In time I predict it will become a "favourite" way to move/travel. It provides better grip than your mushy arm and it's more stable. This is what "conditioning" is all about. Consistency.

 

[JLcribber]

Tika has ridden the stick so long now that if I offer my arm he looks at it like he doesn't even know what it is. Then he looks directly at his stick and says let's go.

 

[txdyna65]

Lol thanks for the encouragement John
Having owned a cockatiel for 15 years didnt prepare me for an amazon much at all.
Lucy really has been a good girl despite all my newbie mistakes, I think she has more patience than I do.