Training My Adopted quaker

[Ninjatoine]

So I have a post in the quaker forum about My Adoped Bird child Sheldon who is 2 years old. Within 6 days through affection and training he's warmed up to me allowing me to give beak scratches, by the 10th day, i conquered his cage agression and this was a task I have some videos posted on my youtube.com/ninjatoine channel showing kind of where I started and where I am now.

I've been watching a lot of Parrot training videos specifically form the Parrot Wizard, and I've seen how tame his birds are, and there are a lot of people that ask if maybe his birds are Over Tamed. almost as if there mechanical and not themselves.

I guess where I'm getting at here, is having a highly trained parrot because I think sheldon is a good candidate for training like this a good thing? Or should I just try a few tricks and just let him be him? I think it's awesome to be able to take a bird anywhere and they are calm and can handle any social situation, but I also don't want to rob him of what makes him a bird... I don't know if I'm explaining this right...

But what are your thoughts as bird owners/trainers you all have far more experience then me I feel i'm on the right track but I want to make sure i'm doing the right thing. Sheldon is my first bird and I want to do the right thing for both of us. Thanks!

 

[Wayne361]

First you have to think.....how can training a bird "rob him of what makes him a bird"? I can scratch my head till it bleeds and this makes no sense to me. Does teaching kids rob them of being children? Does training a dog make the dog less of a dog? By thinking this through the only thing I can think of is peoples perceptions based on a one minute video. Meaning one minute video shows bird doing all sorts of tricks and assume that is all the bird is capable of. It doesnt show the other hours upon hours of bird/owner co-existing in a well bonded manner.

To address the other parts of your post I think you are absolutely on the right path. You will have a better behaved, well socialized, more confident and healthier bird because of it. Not to mention the strong bond training creates.
I have used Michael's site for probably 90 percent of my training knowledge and will say it is fantastic for someone interested in training their bird(s).

All the best and please keep us updated on your progress....if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Wayne

 

[Ninjatoine]

First you have to think.....how can training a bird "rob him of what makes him a bird"? I can scratch my head till it bleeds and this makes no sense to me. Does teaching kids rob them of being children? Does training a dog make the dog less of a dog? By thinking this through the only thing I can think of is peoples perceptions based on a one minute video. Meaning one minute video shows bird doing all sorts of tricks and assume that is all the bird is capable of. It doesnt show the other hours upon hours of bird/owner co-existing in a well bonded manner.

To address the other parts of your post I think you are absolutely on the right path. You will have a better behaved, well socialized, more confident and healthier bird because of it. Not to mention the strong bond training creates.
I have used Michael's site for probably 90 percent of my training knowledge and will say it is fantastic for someone interested in training their bird(s).

All the best and please keep us updated on your progress....if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Wayne

Thanks wayne for the reply, I'm glad to speak to someone that has used his training methods, I've been watching and learning about birds every day from other owners this forum and PW youtube videos/reading material, and I have learned quite a bit, I mentioned above that I've even began journaling any progress I make on youtube so if I have any other break troughs now that i'm almost done combating cage aggression i'll post the videos in here First i'll be working on stepping up, he's still timid and wants to be held on his own time so i'm still giving him time to adapt to his new home and family before I start any kind of serious training.

But I'm getting a clicker and some starter training materials.

 

[Wayne361]

Sounds like you are on correct path and learning quick. It is also good that you acknowledge that bird should adapt to his new surroundings before getting him too involved with training. I would stick to basics now. Target training is a great hands-off method of building trust/bonding...which you can extrapolate into step-up commands later.

Wayne

 

[Monica]

I would recommend Barbara Heidenreich. Melinda Johnson has a good book about clicker training.


I understand where you're coming from. Many people assume that when you teach a bird new behaviors, it's just "stupid pet tricks". Truth is, step up is a trick! Teaching the bird to go back to their cage is a trick! Teaching the bird to accept getting their nails filed without the use of force is a trick. Teaching a bird to accept force-free injections is a trick. Teaching a bird to take nasty tasting medicine, thus reducing having to force a bird to take meds.... also a trick! These force-free 'tricks' can help to prevent a bird and human's relationship from being harmed while they are sick or just require routine medical care.

These "stupid pet tricks" can be great in so many ways! And it really enriches the animal's life! Besides, what sounds more fun? Sitting in a cage day in and day out, occasionally coming out to sit with the human as the human watches TV, plays games or does something else? Or also having the ability to learn a variety of tricks that challenges your bind and body???? And introduces a new way of interacting with your human that can be fun and exciting? Through this new behavior you've now learned, you now have a new way to communicate with your human!

 

[Wayne361]

Bravo Monica! Excellent post!