Some good firsts?

[Jacqi]

For those of you who don't know, Tiki is my 4+month old Hahn's macaw. She's very tame; never bites.

I want to start challenging her a bit with some training, but I don't really know where to start. This is less for my amusement & more to give us something extra to do together during our mornings & early evenings.

She already:

-"Steps up" on command nearly 100% of the time
-"Steps up" off a shoulder (her fav place) & off her cage (her second fav place) 90% of the time
-Touches her beak to your lips if you say "Can I kiss you" 25% of the time.

I've heard "touch" training with a rod with a colored tip is good general training. Any other suggestions? She's very bright. I think she'd take to most tricks well.

Note: I'm not interested in rolling over or laying down. At least for now, she's terrified of being on her back.

 

[whitewolf3307]

How about gimmie four (not five). My quaker when asked to gimmie four will put one of his feet on you finger. If you wave to him and say hi he will lift one of his feet and open and close it so it looks like he is waveing back.

 

[BraveheartDogs]

For those of you who don't know, Tiki is my 4+month old Hahn's macaw. She's very tame; never bites.

I want to start challenging her a bit with some training, but I don't really know where to start. This is less for my amusement & more to give us something extra to do together during our mornings & early evenings.

She already:

-"Steps up" on command nearly 100% of the time
-"Steps up" off a shoulder (her fav place) & off her cage (her second fav place) 90% of the time
-Touches her beak to your lips if you say "Can I kiss you" 25% of the time.

I've heard "touch" training with a rod with a colored tip is good general training. Any other suggestions? She's very bright. I think she'd take to most tricks well.

Note: I'm not interested in rolling over or laying down. At least for now, she's terrified of being on her back.

I would clicker train her and would start with a target to a stick which can turn into a bunch of different behaviors

 

[Jacqi]

Good thoughts. Thanks. Whitewolf, could you explain how you started training your quaker to give 4 & wave? I'm totally new to this.

 

[cmoore]

Many people recommend teaching a few tricks involving props before teaching non-prop tricks like wave. This is because the first behavior you teach your bird can often become the "default" behavior, the one he tries when he is begging for treats or attention, or the one he offers when he can't figure out what you want him to do. If you train a few prop tricks, he will have a chance to get used to the training process, and won't get hung up on that first trick.

Some quick and easy prop tricks you can teach:
- Targeting, i.e. beaking the end of a stick. This is a GREAT first behavior, since it's easy but also extremely useful for teaching future behaviors (e.g. turn in a circle, go through a hoop, climb a ladder, reducing fear of new objects, etc).
- Climb a ladder
- Pick up a miniature barbell
- Ring a bell
- Foot target (that is, stand on a marker, such as a piece of paper or a plastic lid)

A slightly more ambitious prop behavior is the retrieve. This one is lots of fun, and can be used to teach many other behaviors ("basketball", rings on a peg, coins in the bank, etc). However, it is a bit more complicated than the ones above, and usually takes longer to teach. I'd recommend teaching a couple of the tricks above to get the hang of it.

The method I use to train my birds is clicker training. It's based on positive reinforcement (give the bird something he likes when he does the desired behavior). It's a great way to build up a trusting relationship with your bird and to stimulate his super-smart bird brain. The clicker makes teaching and learning easier and faster - you're telling him exactly what behavior you're rewarding by using a distinctive sound marker (a click).

If you want to learn more about clicker training, I recommend the Yahoo group Bird-Click: Bird-Click : Bird-Click

There are also some great books available on clicker training for parrots. My favorite is Getting Started: Clicker Training for Birds by Melinda Johnson. (She's a moderator of the Bird-Click group, too!)

 

[Sharpie]

If your baby doesn't already (not sure if hand/syringe-fed)- you can train her to drink juice from a syringe. It sure comes in handy later in life if you ever need to medicate for any reason.

 

[cmoore]

Ooh, great suggestion, Sharpie! I forgot to mention husbandry behaviors. It is REALLY helpful to train your bird to accept things you'll need to do to him in emergency situations before the emergency strikes. This includes things like:

- taking liquid from a syringe (so you can medicate him)
- being towelled (so you can stop bleeding or pull a blood feather)
- step up onto a stick (if he gets somewhere you can't reach, or if he becomes hormonal and might bite)
- going into and out of his carrier willingly
- letting you raise his wings (one at a time)
- opening his beak on cue

And any other behaviors that will help him stay calm during vet visits or emergencies.