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How’s often should I do training with my birds and give treats

Skyandkiwi

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Hello!
So I like to train my birds various tricks, and obviously reward them with millet. But I what to know, how’s often should I be training them and giving them treats, and how long should we each session take. (I have budgies)
Thanks in advance!!
 

Aves

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Everyday for very short sessions. Birds have short attention spans, and if the training session is too long and boring they may began to detest training.
5 minutes is a good base number. Add time or take away time as needed.
 
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Skyandkiwi

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Everyday for very short sessions. Birds have short attention spans, and if the training session is too long and boring they may began to detest training.
5 minutes is good.
My birds love training since its almost like an activity for them. Also, they know they will get treats! Would it be okay to do a little bit more than that? Since they know many tricks and I like to practice them at least once each
 

BirdWorld

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Would it be okay to do a little bit more than that?
It’s fine, but if they start to seem disinterested it’s enough. Test out different spans of time to see what’s right. No more than 20 minutes. I only train step up (perch) for about 5 minutes at a time since my birds aren’t hand tame and pretty skittish around me. And remember to give lots of treats at the end of every training session to keep up the positive reinforcement :)
 

Skyandkiwi

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Alright, thanks for the help. So is it okay to be giving them millet everyday for training? Keep in mind, I dont give them a lot. Just one small bite for every correct thing they do.
 

BirdWorld

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Alright, thanks for the help. So is it okay to be giving them millet everyday for training? Keep in mind, I dont give them a lot. Just one small bite for every correct thing they do.
If you didn’t know, seeds are necessary and should be given every day. They are actually healthy, just not in excess. It’s totally fine to give millet daily, just don’t be overdo it :)
 

Skyandkiwi

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If you didn’t know, seeds are necessary and should be given every day. They are actually healthy, just not in excess. It’s totally fine to give millet daily, just don’t be overdo it :)
Oh, right! I didn’t even think of that! Correct me if I am wrong but I think I read somewhere that it is supposed to be around 40% of their every day diet?
 

BirdWorld

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Oh, right! I didn’t even think of that! Correct me if I am wrong but I think I read somewhere that it is supposed to be around 40% of their every day diet?
More like 20-25%, 40 is a bit much, there’s lots of fat in seeds. ;)
 

aooratrix

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I give a reward any time I want to capture or reinforce a behavior. A reward does not have to be food: it has to be what the bird values most. For my BTM & GW, that's a nut fragment or pine nut. For my Hy, that's scritching.

Short periods are best, but it depends on the bird. If something happens that is trainable, like a teachable moment in class, you take advantage of it. I like 2-3 sessions a day. Your bird will be your guide.
 

Skyandkiwi

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I give a reward any time I want to capture or reinforce a behavior. A reward does not have to be food: it has to be what the bird values most. For my BTM & GW, that's a nut fragment or pine nut. For my Hy, that's scritching.

Short periods are best, but it depends on the bird. If something happens that is trainable, like a teachable moment in class, you take advantage of it. I like 2-3 sessions a day. Your bird will be your guide.
This is very helpful! Thank you so much!
 

JewellBird

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I try to do multiple small training sessions throughout the day with each of my birds. My budgies don't tolerate very long training sessions as they mainly want to fly around and play when out of their cage, so I usually just do short 3-5 minute training sessions with them a few times a day. My cockatiel loves training and I can work with him for 10 or more plus minutes sometimes multiple times a day. My GCC's training sessions last around 5 minutes and I just spread all the training sessions out throughout the day.
 

Skyandkiwi

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I try to do multiple small training sessions throughout the day with each of my birds. My budgies don't tolerate very long training sessions as they mainly want to fly around and play when out of their cage, so I usually just do short 3-5 minute training sessions with them a few times a day. My cockatiel loves training and I can work with him for 10 or more plus minutes sometimes multiple times a day. My GCC's training sessions last around 5 minutes and I just spread all the training sessions out throughout the day.
Lol, my budgies are the complete opposite! They could go on for hours if I let them :D
 
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