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Training- weaning off treats

Rainbwhawk

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Hello! I am new to this forum and realize there may already be a thread for this so please feel free to point me in a direction.
I haven’t been able to find the answer to my question anywhere so far: when training, the goal is to eventually have the bird respond to the cue and perform the ‘action’ automatically without the expectation of a treat. We can’t always expect to have a pocket full of sunflower seeds.
So, how do you go about weaning then off of treats? What is the process and what is the timeline?
Thanks in advance!
 

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macawpower58

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IMO there is no reason to do so.
Would you keep doing your job if your paycheck was withheld?
I treat as often as I can. It can be a very small, but if it's a requested action, I reward with something liked.
It can be playing, treats, being loved on, or a new chew toy.
Something they like and want.
I always reward.
 

Rainbwhawk

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IMO there is no reason to do so.
Would you keep doing your job if your paycheck was withheld?
I treat as often as I can. It can be a very small, but if it's a requested action, I reward with something liked.
It can be playing, treats, being loved on, or a new chew toy.
Something they like and want.
I always reward.
I was thinking that may be the response I got. It definitely doesn’t hurt to give snacks I suppose :) . Thanks for the reply!
 

tka

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I agree with @macawpower58 - there is no reason to expect a bird to do things without some kind of reinforcer. Reinforcers are an essential part of communication with our birds. They're basically setting up the terms of the exchange: "you do something for me (which you may find weird or inconvenient) and you get a reward". We may sometimes ask our birds to do something that they perceive to be against their interests - to step up away from a favoured location, to step onto a perch from a favoured person, to go back in a cage after playtime, to stay on a stand or perch rather than exploring the floor - so a reinforcer helps sweeten the deal and helps us communicate what behaviours we want to see from them.

As your relationship with a bird strengthens, you may be able to use different reinforcers - for example a headscratch, a shared game or dance, a favoured toy, lots of verbral praise and attention - but it's important to understand that you still are using reinforcers. It's crucial that the bird finds whatever you're offering an adequate reinforcer: offering a headscratch to a bird who doesn't like being touched isn't reinforcing for that individual, and may even be aversive.

It's also important to understand that we are reinforcing behaviours all the time. Whenever you offer attention, you're teaching the bird that whatever it is doing will get attention :)
 

Laurie

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Hello! I am new to this forum and realize there may already be a thread for this so please feel free to point me in a direction.
I haven’t been able to find the answer to my question anywhere so far: when training, the goal is to eventually have the bird respond to the cue and perform the ‘action’ automatically without the expectation of a treat. We can’t always expect to have a pocket full of sunflower seeds.
So, how do you go about weaning then off of treats? What is the process and what is the timeline?
Thanks in advance!
I totally agree that offering a treat as often as possible is the way to go. You can however start switching to intermittent reinforcement meaning you offer the reward at various intervals. After 1 rep, then 3 then 2 then 4 and so forth.

This actually strengthens the behavior and keeps the bird on it's toes. Be prepared for some frustration at first until they figure it out. Start slow and build up to more times without a reward. Remember it doesn't always have to be food. Sometimes my birds will do things just because we are playing a fun game. Like flying, hopping or turning around if I reply with a happy excited voice. Stepping up when they are busy with something else, going back to thier cage or coming down from a favorite perch will require a treat (sometimes a very high value treat).

On the other hand my husband has trained them to do things just for a happy voice and his winning smile. LOL!
 

Rainbwhawk

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I agree with @macawpower58 - there is no reason to expect a bird to do things without some kind of reinforcer. Reinforcers are an essential part of communication with our birds. They're basically setting up the terms of the exchange: "you do something for me (which you may find weird or inconvenient) and you get a reward". We may sometimes ask our birds to do something that they perceive to be against their interests - to step up away from a favoured location, to step onto a perch from a favoured person, to go back in a cage after playtime, to stay on a stand or perch rather than exploring the floor - so a reinforcer helps sweeten the deal and helps us communicate what behaviours we want to see from them.

As your relationship with a bird strengthens, you may be able to use different reinforcers - for example a headscratch, a shared game or dance, a favoured toy, lots of verbral praise and attention - but it's important to understand that you still are using reinforcers. It's crucial that the bird finds whatever you're offering an adequate reinforcer: offering a headscratch to a bird who doesn't like being touched isn't reinforcing for that individual, and may even be aversive.

It's also important to understand that we are reinforcing behaviours all the time. Whenever you offer attention, you're teaching the bird that whatever it is doing will get attention :)
True, makes sense! I’ve only had him a couple weeks so I will learn what else he likes and use those as rewards too!
 

Rainbwhawk

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I totally agree that offering a treat as often as possible is the way to go. You can however start switching to intermittent reinforcement meaning you offer the reward at various intervals. After 1 rep, then 3 then 2 then 4 and so forth.

This actually strengthens the behavior and keeps the bird on it's toes. Be prepared for some frustration at first until they figure it out. Start slow and build up to more times without a reward. Remember it doesn't always have to be food. Sometimes my birds will do things just because we are playing a fun game. Like flying, hopping or turning around if I reply with a happy excited voice. Stepping up when they are busy with something else, going back to thier cage or coming down from a favorite perch will require a treat (sometimes a very high value treat).

On the other hand my husband has trained them to do things just for a happy voice and his winning smile. LOL!
Very helpful, thank you! :D
 
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