Gracie, about 10 (TAG)

Today's strategy:  Make every bird feel warm, happy, and safe.  Continue the target training.  Be patient.

Last night Coco (cockatoo) broke down and took 10 sunflower seeds from my hand so that I could "click" and build the association between clicker and food.  He was desperate, I guess.  Last night he did step up and come out to play with me a few minutes before bedtime.  Again, desperate.  Since he's been a "mature" bird this past year, he's gotten independent and refuses to step up and.. he started asserting himself through biting.  This morning he ignored his healthful breakfast and although he took a sunflower seed from me, he threw it down in disgust.  If you have ever seen a toddler throw a tantrum at the table by throwing his veggies across the floor and looking defiant, you can "see" Coco in your mind's eye.  He refused to come out of his cage again this morning.  He is getting a golden opportunity to get a shower this morning.  Showers always seems to temper tempers... even mine!  :>

The other greys came out to the stand where they got hard boiled egg, broccoli, brown rice, cooked carrots, apple, cantaloupe (from my garden), grapes, and raspberry.   Raspberry could be called an "art tool" as well as a food because it decorates the stand, floor, wall, and lamp.  If I don't clean it up, the ants come in and, bless their tiny little hearts, they clean it up for me.  (usch!)  I did "click" when I presented the food (no stick) and the girls dove in while Bobby shook in terror at the back of the stand, not touching his dish.

So, my strategy of warm, happy, and safe... I cooked some organic 7 grain cereal for the birds with some sugar free dried raisins and cherries.  Then, I used my little blender and blended in some freshly ground almond butter and some applesauce/cranberry sauce I made last year.  I made it smooth!  All three grey parrots were raised "hand fed" and I hand-feed them once a week like they were babies.  (I can sneak in health food via this method and medicine, if I ever need to.)  So, guess what!!!  I hand-fed Bobby and Lucy the mixture while it was luke-warm.  Click-present-click-present-click.  "CLICK" means food!  Gracie (shown above) would have nothing of the colored mixture.  She hates "sticky" and she didn't trust the baby food dispenser when it wasn't off-white. (Sigh)  But, she did take a sunflower seed after targeting the little stick (now somewhat broken by Lucy) and we repeated a few times.

Last night, before bedtime, I gave each bird a few seeds in their cups and Lucy got some nuts, but not her favorite cashews.  They aren't used to the training diet yet and I don't want them to go to bed hungry.  Learning should be fun, not torture.  Right now they're all full of good breakfast, except for stubborn cockatoo.  The greys are whistling and talking (except Bobby, who is hiding).  The greys all get rolled out into the front room, side by side, where there are lots of high windows and sunlight.  They are a flock and they like it that way.  (Lucy (CAG) is always between Bobby and Gracie (TAGs).  We don't want the TAGs inspired to go into breeding mode by side-by-side friendship-building.  Coco is alternating the cockatoo-complain-screech and "hello."  He has his own window in a busy area where he can see me all the time, but where I can close the door when his cockatoo-ness screams too loudly.

More target/click training later when these little birds are hungry and motivated.  Also... when I am motivated.  <%

Coco was holding out, so I upped the anti and it worked!

Coco, 6 years old

Coco has been "holding out" on the training.  I've got him on a training diet (no seeds) and he's been getting grumpy.  Still, he has refused taking his favorite sunflower seed from my hand to eat it.  He does occasionally take it and throw it down in disgust.  ):  The first stage is getting him to figure out that the click from the clicker means "treat."  So, I try to give him a seed and then click when he takes it.   In dog training, they called it "loading the clicker."  You just build an association of treat=click.  The next stage is "target" where you get the bird to touch a target... you click (good bird!) and then, treat.  For 3 days Coco won't even take the treat!!!  So, after another failure this morning, I upped the anti:  Nutriberry!!!  It worked!  He took it.  I clicked and walked away.  I can't repeat it for a while because it takes a little time to "eat the treat."

Bobby:  He is too scared to stand on my hand all the way to the bird stand, but he only flew off once on the way there and not at all on the way back to his cage.  I've decided to "talk to Bobby" more, telling him where I'm taking him.  It seems to work.  Small breakthrough:  I was able to get Bobby to focus through his fear long enough (on the stand!) to target-click-treat three times before he freaked out.  You have to understand that Bobby is too nervous on the stand to even eat his warm lovely breakfast, so taking any food at all on the stand is a step in the right direction.  Go Bobby!

Gracie:  Gets it!  Target/click/treat is very straight forward for her!  Go grey girl!  She's a foodie and no seeds in her cage is motivation enough to target/click/treat!  :D


Lucy (CAG):  Jealous.  Angry.  Irritated...  Targeted once, click, took the seed... threw it on the floor and threw a hissy fit!  Hahaha!  I continued to work with the other two greys and Lucy got more jealous.

Birds back in cages.  Gave Lucy a peck on the head and a washed out yogurt carton to work out her frustrations on.  She just told me she was a "good girl" in my husband's voice, complete with Swedish accent.  How can you not love 'em.

PS  Cindy, the little doggie got her target behavior-click-treat lessons too.  She went through Pet Smart's entire 3-tier program, but I've been too lazy to keep her on her "paws."  We're all in  training!

Teaching old parrots new tricks or teaching old pet owner new tricks.

Lucy, 5 years old

    I have 4 parrots.   They are spoiled and often act like spoiled children, throwing small tantrums when they don't get what they want and refusing to give me what I want... loving pets that interact joyfully with me and with my husband.

Timneh African Grey (Bobby) is 6 years old.  He's been with us from the "pre-feather" stage.  He knows a few tricks like, giving kisses, waving, turning around, flapping his wings, and the best... meowing when I ask him what a kitty says.  He has gone "phobic" on us and is frightened of everything.  He still does his tricks for treats.  He whistles, but doesn't talk.

Timneh African Grey (Gracie) is about 10 or 11.  She talks a little, makes awful squeaky sounds, bites men, and makes blowing your nose sound when you reach for a tissue.  She flaps her wings on command and gives kisses.  We adopted her about 18 months ago.  We adore Gracie.

Lucy (shown above) is a 5 year old Congo African Grey.  She whistles, talks, and (reluctantly) does the same tricks like wave, flap, kiss, turn around, (used to) sound like a chicken when you asked her to.  She is stubborn, smart, funny, and bites when she is frustrated... which is often if she doesn't get her own way.  She can whistle part of the Adams' Family tune, 76 trombones, the Marine Corps Hymn, and more I can't remember.  She talks a lot, but could really improve her interaction.  Her favorite word of late, "water."

Lastly, there is Coco.  He is a 6 year old lesser sulfur crested cockatoo that we adopted 4 years ago.  He says some small things, but has become very stubborn with age and sometimes refuses to step up.  He bit me the other day... and he bit his bird sitter that he loves.  He was upset and we both cried.  ):  It just isn't like Coco to be like that.  He doesn't want to eat anything except sunflower seeds and gets really grumpy when they aren't provided.

Bottom line:  My birds get the best cages, light, water (filtered) and best bird food.  They get out of their cages every day onto a huge stand I built.  I cook warm food for their breakfast and have given them loads of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds in addition to their "bird food."  The "bird food" usually ends up on the floor.  It's time my spoiled birdie-children went to school and learned some manners.  I've been weaning them off the "treats" and getting them used to "bird food" and fresh foods.  I've ordered some bird training guides and I've already started.  This blog is about the progress.

9/27/11  The Timnehs (TAG) both took well to target training.  I "loaded" the clicker with good vibrations by giving the bird a sunflower seen and simultaneously clicking the clicker.  The morning lesson included only this:  Treat/click.... treat/click.... treat click.   In the afternoon, I added a little wooden stick.  The TAGs easily, curiously, touched the stick.  When they did, CLICK, and they got a seed.  Three seeds and they were veterans!  Coco refused the sunflower seed all morning.  He was hungry, but refused to take it.  (He is like that!)  Lucy (CAG) got mad, grabbed the seed and threw it on the floor.  I walked away and continued training on the TAGs.

9/28/11  The TAG's both consider themselves veteran target trainees!  :D  Although Bobby is scared of his own shadow, he seems to understand touch-the-stick-get-a-seed quite well.  I stretch him a little bit by having him outside of his cage and he did target/treat 3 times before freaking out... at which point, I just let him alone.  BREAKTHROUGH with Lucy this afternoon.  She allowed me to present-the-seed with a click in her cage this morning without throwing a tantrum, so I put her on the bird stand and UPPED the anti on the treat.  PEANUT BUTTER on a spoon!  OMG!  First I did treat/click at the same time a couple of times and then I present the stick.  She daintily reached out with that big beak and only just touched the stick (she broke on end yesterday!) and then got her peanut butter bite.  We repeated this 5 or 6 times.  She is so darn smart and so darn stubborn!  She knew exactly what I wanted.  COCO is holding out.  He's drowning "bird food" and trying to get filled up.  I know he wants a sunflower seed... but he twists his head away from my hand and refuses to take it.  I have yet to give him a seed with a click... I won't give up.  Cockatoos are ultra smart.  Tomorrow is a new day.

Ordered training materials.  Must set aside an hour or so every day just for training.  This is gonna be fun!