Mama went on vacation

Mama went on vacation for a week and we had to stay with the bird sitter.  Boring.  Anyway, she's home again and tried to train us, but we couldn't care less for the seeds and treats!  Mama!  We love our mama and that's all we cared about today.  Well fed, gone to bed.  Tomorrow is another day.

Just a wee update: 

We are training twice a day with each bird.  In the morning, it's a shorter session because they've just gotten their fruit and vegetables and sometimes, a little scrambled egg.  Treats are interesting, but not very interesting.    Even if I don't have energy... or time... we train every evening until I feel the birds have filled themselves up and have started to lose interest in the training/treating.  There's always a mess with cages, water bowls, and food bowls anyway, so might as well have seed husks all over the floor and clean it all up at one time.

Coco is doing better.  Bobby is still phobic, but we're hanging in there.  Gracie is doing great and the turn-around is pretty much automatic by now.  Lucy hasn't lost her temper in 3 days!!!

Introduced new activity called "mama touch."  Lucy is uncomfortable being touched and Gracie only allows touch when she feels like it.  "Mama touch" is a carefully placed index finger on Lucy or Gracie's shoulder with a click and treat directly afterwards.  I have to use super-treats to get Lucy comfortable enough to allow this activity and then I can only "mama touch" 3 or 4 times before she "would rather not."  We've been practicing "mama touch" for 3 days and both girls have marked improvement in allowing me to touch them "on demand."  (Coco LOVES touch, so I'm not training this with him.  Bobby is a basket case, so we'll wait for later with this one.)

There's the update.  There's nothing fancy, just follow through and keep doing the routines over and over and over again.  I LOVE seeing the birds run to greet me and do their stuff!!!

Gracie Lou (TAG -11)

Happiness is a state of mind... and Gracie's Happy!

The training and diet regime are going very well.  Gracie is blossoming!  She and Coco love this new stand in front of the window, but Lucy's still scared of it and Bobby is in hyper-phobic-hyper-hormone status, so we'll wait until he calms down to give him the "window seat."

I weighed the birds to see how they are doing.  It's been two weeks since they went on a training diet (of sorts) and weren't allowed free access to seeds and nuts... but only got those during training. 

                    October 1             October 15

Lucy            432  grams            428 grams

Bobby          286 grams             278 grams

Gracie          312 grams             306 grams

Coco             276 grams             274 grams

Their weights are essentially the same, which doesn't surprise me as I have been very careful to train them until they "lose interest," a status that tells me that they are well-fed.  One "poop" can weigh 15 grams for Lucy and maybe 10 grams for the other three.  I feed Bobby a little extra non-training diet because of his condition. 


UPDATE:


Coco:  We had a great training session on the T-stand in the morning and the cage top in the evening.  When he's hungry, he steps up on command and comes running to target.  We're also doing "come'ere and gimme a kiss!" which he does very well at... when he's hungry.  He flew off the t-stand, so we decided it was time to trim the 6 flight feathers that had grown out.  Gotta be careful!  Prefers Natural Gold to Harrisons, but still offering both.

Bobby:  Whew.  (Sigh!)   I love Bobby AKA Bobert with all my heart.  He wants to train, wants seeds, wants to come out, but is trapped in his phobia. He doesn't train well at all on top of his cage... too scared.  Inside his cage, we're doing better.  *not* targeting with stick as it's still scary, but continuing on with simple waves, kisses, and meows... sort of "treading water" until he gets his mojo back.  Prefers Harrisons to Natural Gold, but eats both.

Lucy:  Ran all over the top of her cage yesterday, targeting and giving kisses... she was waving with enthusiasm and turning round and round and round when I asked her to.  No outbursts of frustration.  Finger still healing from her last "grump" earlier this week.  Trying to ignore bird kibble altogether, but seems to prefer Harrisons.

Gracie:  Turning around quickly on command most of the time now, both on cage door and t-stand.  Energetic, positive, quick to respond, and affectionate.  Go, old girl!  She prefers Natural Gold to Harrisons.  Chewed up her calcium perch (pink), so that got replaced with a new wooden one.


Conclusion:  All 4 birds seem to be thriving under the diet and training attention.  We are continuing with the shower-a-bird-a-day thing and it's 2 birds when Peter is home on weekends.  I cleaned all of the air filters (hepa, all 5 of them!) and am hoping that the showering will cut down on the dust.    The training diet "posture" is to provide the birds with AMPLE food, but in a controlled manner.  I'm noticing about an 80% DECREASE is wasted food and a 80% increase in enthusiasm for fruits, vegetables, and training treats.   

So, am I finally being a good parrot mom?  I think I'm on the right track.  They are more than cute little feathery toys; they are spirits in need of leadership and cohesive relationships... We're going to work on that from now on, until forever.

Isn't Lucy a beautiful little spoiled brat?

She looks so innocent, beautiful, and happy, doesn't she?  She bit the index finger that held the sunflower seed last night (Grrrrrr!)

What I'm finding out most about my parrots is that they have totally different "needs" as far as training goes.  Lucy needs tempering, Gracie needs to focus, Bobby need to focus on training more than his FEAR and Coco needs to focus, listen, and respond to requests from his momma if he wants to come out and be a silly, cuddle-bum, cockatoo.  I'm thinking that, just like children, birds all have their unique positive and negative traits that need to be encouraged and discouraged.  Trying to make a single training diet or plan of action to fit all the flock just isn't going to work.  If my kids read this, they'll laugh!  My son, the oldest, was Mr. curious and you could say "no" until the cows came home and he'd still stick his fingers into the electrical outlet.   When my daughter came along and tried the same activity, I just had to say "no no" once.  She cried and never did it again that I know of.

Here's a refresher rundown on the personalities of the four birds, listing their strongest trait and their weakest.  Hopefully, training will bolster the positive and temper the negative:

                        Most Positive                    Most Negative
Gracie-11:           Calm Temperament          Attention seeking (noise)
(adopted at 10)                                             Bites men (loves them, tho!)
Timneh

Coco-6:               Tolerant of new                Reluctant behavior (step up)
(adopted at 2)      Tolerant of touch              Refuses good foods
 LSC Cockatoo                                             Periodical Screaming         

Bobby-6:             Sweet/responsive              Scared of everything!
home at 10 wks   Knows tricks x 4
Timneh

Lucy-5                 Smart/talks a lot               Reactive/bite
home at 12 wks    Knows tricks x 4             Low frustration point/bites
Congo Grey         Interactive                         Not tolerant/Bossy bully bird      

Progress last two days... or, in some cases, regress:

Bobby and I have been practicing "step up" for click/treat training because he's grown more phobic with the hormonal upswing and is even afraid to put both feet on my finger.  A few repetitions this morning and I could see his demeanor  change and focus change from FEAR to FOOD.  I quit after we went through wave, meow, kiss, and about 10 step-ups.  He wagged his tail, so we left it on a high note.  Bobby Goal:  Confidence building.

Coco did great this morning and yesterday on the t-stand.  I asked him to target on the t-stand from the far end of the perch (about 3 feet) and got him running back and forth for the sunflower seeds.  He was allowed 1 hour on the T-stand while I did kitchen duty.  He gets one seed each time, but sometimes I give him a jackpot! to make him happy.  Jackpots are 2-seeds or (at the end of the session) a nutriberry seed ball.  We practiced turn-around, gimme a kiss, and targeting on the stand as well as step up.  This morning (breakthrough) he did step-up from his cage perch on command about 10 times without hesitation.  He did hesitate 2 times in the middle of the session and I reacted after 2 seconds with closing the cage door and turning to Bobby for a turn.  When I returned to Coco, he stepped up immediately.  <:  It's gonna take time, but it is working.   Coco Goal:  Erase reluctance to step up and build relationship.   Non-screaming time out of cage, close door/ignore when screaming.

Gracie is going great guns!  While she says "woof" all the time, it's obvious that she understands when I ask "what does a doggie say?" and reacts correctly every time.  We trained on the t-stand and the cage.  The t-stand training isn't going very well as she is still a little nervous about it, but it is going forward.  Her "turn around" is improving to the point where I only have to trace the route part of the way and she completes the circle.   All target training and wing-flapping tricks are going perfectly with her.  She never loses her temper with waiting or shows frustration.  I love that!  Gracie Goal:  Build relationship that doesn't depend on horrible, loud, repetitive noises to gain attention.  She is blossoming like a June rose with the training and both talking and whistling more.  I can't wait to see how far I can take this little chicken!  <%

Lucy, OMG, Lucy!  It has not been a good 2 days with Lucy.  She will *not* stand on the T-stand, but flaps away immediately.  (Wing trim coming next week!)  On the cage last night when we started target training, she touched the target and then purposely bit the end of my index finger instead of taking the sunflower seed.  (Grrrrrr!)  I made no sound, but retreated to the rest room to bleed heavily into the sink, find a band aid and silently returned to the bird room.  I offered my wounded hand and asked Lucy to step up, which she did, and placed her ever-so-gently on her perch.  I closed the door, covered the cage, and continued target/trick training with the other three birds.  I wanted her to "hear" the other birds in training, but not to "see" what was going on.  Her jealousy is easy to trigger and her frustration level, very high with little stimulus.  Seeing everyone else get seeds would really have angered her, counterproductive to what I would like to accomplish with her.  Once the other birds finished their training, I uncovered Lucy's cage and went through the paces of each trick and gave her a few seeds, perhaps 4 or 5... not more.  Her attitude this morning was 100% aggressive and non-compliant, so...  I did not attempt to train her after the first, rejected, attempt.  She has spent the day in her cage with "bird kibble" and none of her favorite fruits or vegetables.  (She had those on the bird stand earlier this morning and I usually transfer leftovers to her cage for all-day consumption.)  Lucy Goal:  Calm her spirit without breaking it.  She is an amazing bird with lots of brain power and talking/whistling talent.  Create situations where she has to "think" her way out of situations instead of becoming frustrated and "biting" her way into trouble.

I'm video taping some sessions and will edit and upload this next week.  Whew.  Tired.

Progress is being made!  I have to admit that it is messier to feed the birds seeds than just to let them have them inside their cages.  Small price to pay for the results I'm getting already.

Gracie and Lucy have the best attitudes and the best results. 

Gracie seems happy and anxious to target (anywhere) and gives kisses on request as well as "woof" when I ask her what a doggie says.  As a matter of fact, Gracie goes woof pretty often, just hoping it will bring a seed, but I only treat when I've asked for "woof!"  I've started having her "turn around" in different places, but still have to show her the seed and circle underneath her to get her to turn around.  Still, she does it.  She flaps her wings on command, too.  She never has an aggressive attitude, but loses focus fairly quickly.  She's a very stable bird, other than biting my husband when he puts her back into her cage.

Lucy only showed frustration by biting the stick once yesterday.  My ignoring the behavior and turning to another bird with my clicker, convinced her that "attitude" means you get left out.  She is turning around, waving, giving kisses, flapping her wings, and targeting all over her cage!  I pulled out an old "trick" from a couple of years back that we haven't practiced.  I call it, "touch your wings."  Lucy is very reluctant to be touched, so I just used my pinky finger and touched only her right wing.  It's like she held her breath... she is not a snuggler, but I think she would like to get more attention.  She's just not comfortable with it.  Lucy is beautiful and got a shower today!  (:

Bobby is a basket case, but we continue with treating for waves and meows.  I tried the target, but he freaked.  He's just on kibble, so he's wanting the seeds.  I'm hoping that "want" will trump fear, eventually.

Coco is a cockatoo.  For some people, that would be "enough said."   I fill his dish with "kibble" and he throws it all on the floor.   I'm pretty careful to have clean newspaper in the bottom of the cage when I fill his dish, so I can scoop up that food and put it back in the bowl.  (:  He doesn't want to "step up" to get out of the cage and spent most of the day *not* doing it.  Mid-afternoon he did step up and we managed a good 7 or 8 minutes of training on the new T-stand.  It went pretty well.  He runs to target and gives kisses for treats.  I've started "turn around."  He did it a couple of times, but he is a cockatoo... and went of somewhere in his own mind.

Diet and weight:  Birds are doing fine with weight.  I've withheld a lot of their favorite stuff until bedtime so that we could train, but then allowed some seeds and nuts to make sure that this transition in diet doesn't make them too lean and hungry.  It's amazing how much more they appreciate their breakfast fruits and veggies!!!  I weighed Coco because he's been so negative about eating the kibble and doing the training.  He hasn't lost a gram!!!

The girls are thriving with the attention and I see an eagerness I haven't seen for a while!  YaY!  Coco is a cockatoo (giggle!) and he will come along, when he feels like it.  Bobby?  I hope that his phobia improves, but I love him even "phobic" and I make sure he's in the training-loop albeit much limited.

I'll be gone much of tomorrow.  Good resting day for us all.

My girls on the new T-Stand

I'm getting pretty well trained, remembering to click "on time," and everything!  (:

The project for this morning was to create a better T-stand.  Hubby cut and glued and drilled and I did the introductions.   That's Lucy (CAG) in the foreground and Gracie (TAG) in the background.  Their old stand (shown behind the new one) was to small for Lucy to "turn around" and a little too high for me for training.

Progress with Coco (the cockatoo) is slow as molasses in January in Alaska.  (Groan!)  But, there is progress.  I offered a treat and said "step up" at least 40 times (over 2 days) for every single time he stepped up to get the click/treat.  Today, he tried out the new stand and seemed REALLY REALLY happy to be there!  He ran back and forth, targeting for click/treat and did the cockatoo-bounce-thing and looked the happiest I've seen in days.  Inch by inch...  Brought Coco a new preening toy recommended by Jean at the bird shop.  Thanks Jean!  He seems to like it!


Gracie (TAG) barks out a Woof! every time I come near her... wanting a click/reward, but I only give her the reward after I've asked her, "What does a doggie say?"  We practiced "turn around" and targeting on the old stand and she did super-duper.  On the new stand, she could only woof!  We did the proper sequence to get "woof!" and I gave her a cashew... a bigger prize than a sunflower seed.  She targeted and got a peanut!  Double-training:  She should learn to love the stand right away doing something familiar AND getting the best rewards for her work.  <%  Added a new calcium perch for her favorite perching area.  Her nails are tacky and she loves to chew.  She likes it!

Bobby (TAG) got a shower yesterday and then emptied two water bowls, bathing in his cage!  OMG!  He was so happy!  We're only doing non-threatening training until he settles down like wave, turn around, and what-does-a-kitty-say.  I fixed up a couple more foraging toys.  They're old, but he hasn't seen them for a few weeks.  He got a new "bucket" toy that hangs down from the top of the cage with cool junk in it to rip out.  He mouthed it a couple of times, but no panic.  GO BOBBY!

Lucy (CAG) only tried to break the chopstick once this morning.  I turned away and came back to find her waiting to get a re-try on the training.  She's been compliant and sweet ever since.  We are not introducing a lot of new things yet.  My goal is to get her attitude non-negative-reactive and to get her to do the tricks she already knows... WHEN I ask for them.   Lucy's cage is stuffed with stuff.  She gets a bucket like Bobby's to "talk into" as soon as her new cage arrives.  She loves to "echo" into the metal bucket and I love to hear her.


Food:  Birds had poached fish with their veggies and fruit this morning and they got a little scrambled egg.  The Timnehs, in particular, seem to be more protein driven and Lucy, more fruit inspired.  Coco likes warm proteins if you hold them for him (groan again).  Dry kibble is what we have offered all of the time.  They're still not diving into it very well.  They like the Natural Gold better than the Harrison's. 

Training Course:  I got the course and listened to the DVD and additional audio CD's that were sent.  They have some good information, but are at a lower level than what I have taught my birds already via information found for free on the Internet and through books I've bought.  Disappointed. 

Goals for the week:  Get Gracie to turn around better on command and reinforce target training and woof.  Bobby will get at least two showers this week.  It calms him.  "Tread water" and keep him interested, but not overly stressed.  Lucy will train better on the new stand as she get used to it.  Turn around needs to be practiced and I want her to "wave" a little better.  She's been lazy with it.  Coco: Continue to step-up retraining and target training on the new stand.  Laugh more.  Play more.  Make training more fun.

10/6/11 Gracie is a foodie, and Coco is stubborn AKA Cockatoo!

Gracie is a foodie!  She's doing great with the training.  I noticed that she said "woof" kind of a lot, so I showed her a seed and asked her, "What does a doggie say?"  She looked at me... the seed... the clicker... the seed (wait for it!) and then "woof."  It was quiet and soft, but a few repetitions of this and she belted out "WOOF!"  Thinking this might have been a fluke, I tried it again this morning after target training and, sure enough, she did answer "WOOF!" over and over again in answer to my question.  Is this the untapped genius in the family?

Bobby is a little better today, but still won't come out of his cage.  We aren't using the little stick, but ask him to meow and wave for a click/treat.

Lucy's getting excited about target training and we have been going through her repertoire of older tricks like waving, flapping, and turning around.  Her attitude seems improved with the attention and showers.   We all love attention, right.

Coco:  As mentioned before, he's refusing to step up and come out of his cage.  This is the situation where I got bit (and his beloved bird sitter).  He is baseline angry with the training diet, refusing fruits and vegetables, and acts like a rebellious teen.  I try to get him to step up (he's done this for years!) and he holds the cage side with his beak and proceeds to crawl up the bars with his feet to "CLING" and avoid being picked up.

Biggest challenge is holding my attitude to that of a beloved yoga instructor.  Relax.  Stretch.  Breathe.  Feel your breath... lalala.  It's hard not to mirror a bad attitude even when it's under 280 grams!  Today was Coco's bath day and last bath day, I got bit taking him out of his cage.  Grrrrr!

Breathe.  Clicker.  Target stick.  Sunflower seed.  He bit the stick (aggressively).  Relax.  Breathe.  Offer 3 other parrots sunflower seeds.  Show joy.  Try Coco again.  Gentle target, successful click and sunflower seed.

Next step, get him out of the cage with good attitude.  Go around to other 3 birds and joyfully complete target/click/treat sequence and return to Coco.  Place target closer to door and "target" while showing seed.  30 seconds.  Cockatoos genetic movement sequence must be linked to the movement of a sloth or chameleon.   (Patience.  Breathe.  Relax.  Wait.)  NO MOVEMENT TOWARD THE TARGET.

Repeat steps with target/click/treat with the grey parrots, ignoring Coco.

GwaaaaaaaaaLaah!  Coco is magically standing in his door opening.  Successful target/click/treat in the doorway before he climbs on the cage top and hops around idiotically.  Tried to get him to "target" on top of the cage and treat, but again... cockatoo responses are delayed and then, jerky.

Went back to other greys... see a pattern here?  Competition for the food seems to inspire Coco (I know it does inspire me.  I don't like to share chocolate.  Even if I do offer, I don't mean it.) and when I return, he targets, I click, and I give him 2 seeds.  I asked him to "step up" from his cage top and when he did, I got all excited, clicked, and gave him 3 seeds!

Yesterday Gracie got a shower, so today was Coco's turn.  He acted like he didn't appreciate the water hitting his yellow crest feathers, but after a few seconds, I saw that little tail waddle that tells bird moms everywhere that birdie is happy. <%

Bobby's shredding again... ):

Poor  Bobby, AKA "Bobert," has started clipping off his chest feathers again.  This is what he looked like before.  Now his chest feather looks more like 1/4 inch fur. ):  At least 30 chest feathers are on the cage bottom.  Last time he was hormonal, he clipped off all of his tail feathers, too.  I'm just waiting for that to happen.

Modified target training for Bobby.  Instead of the stick/target and him shaking violently in his heightened and sensitive state, I'm reinforcing his already-learned tricks, clicking, and rewarding.   I'm mostly using tricks that do NOT require him to come close to me as it appears that this increases his phobia.  I want him to feel good about the training and successful, so we are focusing on waving, turning around, and responding to "what does a cat say?" with meow.  I'm abandoning the "kiss" until he's calmer.  His phobia, associated with the hormones, seems to have high and low days.  For now, steady-as-she-goes with Bobby.

Yesterday there was minimal training as I was away all day.  Target training/clicking/treating were done just before the birds went to roost.  (Hee hee!  I LOVE CHICKENS) 

This morning, I noticed that the vegetable and fruit blend got a lot more positive attention from the grey parrots.  Even the picky cockatoo capitulated and dug through the veggies for a bit of my homemade birdie bread.  The training diet does seem to make the whole flock more "glad to see me" and generally more interested in food.  The dry bird food is not terribly well-received, but it's getting more and more attention as the seed-nut-treat-train that I usually provide... stopped running by their cage every hour or so.

Gracie<TAG:  Put her on a stand, in the kitchen, away from other parrots so Lucy wouldn't get jealous and grumpy.  She successfully targeted all over the place (click/treat) and she did two things she already knows... give me a kiss and come here!  We played and laughed and clicked for just a few minutes.  She's a foodie!

Lucy<CAG:  On the stand, she refused to train with seeds, so I brought out the peanut butter.  She targeted successfully several times, but she is lazy and doesn't want to go to the stick... she'd rather the stick was moved closer.  I have to remind myself to give the command/request once and shut up!  It's tempted to say "target, target, target..." until she gets it.  One should request once, shut up, and let the poor bird think and respond, right?   We also practiced kiss, wave, and turn around with clicks/treats upon successful completion.  I put the "target" training in between the other tricks.  You could see her wheels turning behind those beautiful grey parrot eyes.

Coco<LSCC:  Coco is my hardest nut to crack.  He is angry that he isn't being fed seeds constantly in his bowl.  I put him on his cage top I said, "come 'ere!" and he repeated "come 'ere!" and walked over to me, so he got a click/treat.  I alternated this behavior with "target" and "give me a kiss."  He still, at times, attacks the stick with irritation some times.  At those times, he gets no click and no treat.  I just turn to the next bird in the room.  He still refuses to "step up" to go out onto the play stand.  I'm gonna be patient and teach him to want to do what I request. 

Progress is slow, but steady all around.  I love these little guys and it's fun to see them thinking about what to do.  I just got the training kit with CDs and DVDs in the mail.  I'm going to read, listen, and ponder the course before I start trying to do everything at once.  I think all 4 birdies need to continue slowly with what we started this week while I "train the trainer" by reading and thinking.  Each bird is unique and I want to plan their training uniquely to fit their needs and abilities.

PS  I don't want to name the course yet.  I don't know if it's any good!  And, if the course is good, and I'm not, perhaps the makers of the course would prefer that I not mention them.  (Giggle!)

All 4 birds "get it" today and target/click/treat worked with sunflower seeds on all the birds, including Lucy!  I thinking the training diet is starting to make them more "inspired" to work for food.

Coco is still "ticked off" at the whole idea of working for food, but he's getting desperate:  It's either comply, or be stuck eating only bird food.

Bobby (TAG) is more fearful some days than others.  Yesterday was awful and today is a teeny bit better.

We are just targeting/clicking/and treating... moving the target and then, doing it all over again.  Today there will be 3 training sessions again, but they're very short... just like the attention span of spoiled parrots!  <%  They are (right now!) chatting, whistling, and (Coco) screeching.  I think they are anxious for more training session! (FOOD!)

Please feel free to leave your ideas on this blog.  ALL positive ideas are welcome!!!    

Here's a picture of Cindy Lou Who, the target-training-doggie!

Coco is "targeting..." reluctantly.

Coco is targeting...

Coco started touching the target for every sunflower seed.  At first he bit it, but then he got it... and just touched it... for the seed.  I'll take whatever time it takes to get his "ducks in a row."  He had bitten me again earlier today when I tried to get him out of the cage for a shower.  He has a temper.  He's never been a biter.  Puberty seems to have brought this behavior, a perfect reason to get him back on track with training.  So, I ignored the bite, waited a few hours, offered the seeds and target... and he got it.  Whew!  It's a start.

I weighed the birds yesterday evening before bed at 7 PM to verify that they weren't losing weight on the training diet.  Coco the lesser sulfur crested cockatoo (LSCC) and Bobby, the Timneh (TAG) could both use a little more weight.  Coco's a picky eater (wants only seeds) and Bobby is a quivering mess of nerves.  Lucy is about perfect weight (Congo Grey) and Gracie is too heavy (TAG).

Lucy    428 grams
Gracie  306 grams
Bobby  278 grams
Coco    274 grams

Target/clicker training was again easy for Gracie, but she was seemingly less hungry today, so she would only take a few seeds before I had to up the treat to a cashew.  She did "target" the stick when it put it clear across to the opposite side of the cage from her.  She threw all of her all natural bird food (kibble) on the floor of her cage.  Clean food was returned to her food dish.  In other words, if it didn't land in "anything," then I recycled it.

Bobby targets well, but he's so scared all of the time, he often drops the treat.  The Avian vet told me that peanut butter could be harmful to the birds (a mold, Aspergillus flavus, that can be found even in cooked peanuts) and we should avoid it.  But, the birds have had peanut butter (organic, freshly ground) for years, so I am using it as an ultimate-treat to tempt both Bobby and Lucy to calm down and focus on the target/click/treat training.   Lucy bit the blankety-blank-blank stick again (in anger/frustration) when I tried to give her a sunflower seed.  She took the cashew, but threw it (demonstratively) away and glowered at me.  So, I pulled out the peanut butter for now.

My plan of action:

-->Desensitize all 4 birds to the clicker and stick and get them used to target/click/treat over the coming week or so before attempting anything new.

-->Reduce and eliminate peanut butter entirely within 4 weeks by getting the peanut-butter-loving birds used to the training, the training diet, and replacing the peanut butter with almond butter.  Right now the almond butter is not enough of a prize to calm Bobby or incite Lucy to train properly.   Coco only marginally likes peanut butter and Gracie hates anything sticky, but she does like peanuts.  Again, peanuts will be eliminated.

-->Continue target/click/training at least twice a day for each bird and the dog (in front of the birds).  Move the "target" and get the birds to follow.  Get Bobby targeting more confidently and Coco/Lucy, less aggressively.

-->Shower the birds regularly!  Gracie and Coco got a shower today.  Game plan also includes one bird gets a shower every day.  Why?  Individual time spent with birds that also inspires relaxation for them.  (Also, less bird dust!)

Today was a good day, in spite of my very sore finger.  I've handled Coco many times after the bite.  He loves me.  I know that.  He's a wild-child and it's my responsibility to help him change that.

Highlight!  The bonus treat!  When Coco had successfully targeted the stick a few times in a row, he got 3 sunflower seeds instead of one.  After a few more single treats, he got a nutriberry.  Jackpots are proven to work in dog training, so hopefully it is helpful in bird training.  All the greys also enjoyed a "jackpot" of several bites of their favorite after a few single-treat-target-click rounds.

Tomorrow is a new day and all 4 birds (and dog) have shown greater understanding of what I'm doing.  I'm happy and I have a whole big box of band aids.  Let's hope I don't have to use any more of those!  <%

Train the trainer and then, train the birdies {:

Bobby during high hormone season

Yesterday was discouraging.  My birds did NOT want to target train and Coco (cockatoo) wouldn't even take food from my hand.  Bobby just shook and hid in the corner, Lucy had a BIG BAD attitude, and Gracie just wasn't interested.

What did I do wrong?

OMG!  EASY!  I overfed my little darlings and they weren't the least bit hungry.

I watched an online video about "the training diet," and contemplated my bird training road map to success.  I had set my birds up for almost guaranteed FAILURE!  I stuffed them for breakfast with hand feeding and warm scrambled eggs.  (Flashback:  If I fed my little children a burger and huckleberry milkshake at lunch, they never would have eaten a plate full of vegetables for supper!  Duh!  If I fed them a burger and milkshake every day for 5 years, they would be unhappy if I gave them salad instead and made them work for burgers and shakes!)

Loved 'em, cuddled 'em, did not lose my temper with the cockatoo even though he refused to step up.  (He got a shower.)  Allowed Bobby to cower and shake in the back corner of his cage and covered them up at 7 PM with fresh water and a very few seeds.  The "training diet" must be achieved, but I really do feel that they should be weaned off of their old diet.  I felt a few seeds at bedtime would keep them from feeling miserable. 

First thing this morning, I removed the seeds.  Most of the birds hadn't touched them, but had just gone to sleep like good birds.  Coco refused to step up and is "angry" and screaching this morning.  Bobby is having an exceptionally "frightful" day and although I put him on the stand, he was miserable.  The girls, Gracie (TAG) and Lucy (CAG) decorated the top tier of the bird stand and tied into their breakfast:  cold hard boiled egg, cold veggie/rice mixture, a grape, cantaloupe, and a bit of pear.

I pulled some winter squash from the freezer (Mom in Montana grows it for me and prepared it!)  I mixed 6 eggs with a cup of squash and some crumbled (overly dry) homemade birdie bread I'd made last week.  I blended the mixture and poured it into an iron skillet that I'd oiled with macadamia nut oil.  I cooked the mixture slowly while the "girls" watched.

My birds love this sort of mixture:  Warm, yummy, and full of vitamins.  Usually I just plop a gob in their dish and watch them go at it.

Today is a new day.  Clicker in hand.  Stick in hand.  Yummy stuff in other hand.  Here's what happened:

Bobby shook uncontrollably, touched the stick, grabbed the egg, dropped it, and ran to the corner.  We'll try later.

Coco (still in the cage because he wouldn't step up and I'm done shoving my finger in his chest) took the egg, but dropped it when I clicked.  He seems disconcerted by the clicking.  We are days away from target-touching, but he'll get there.  We'll try nutriberry later.

Gracie assessed the situation, touched the little stick and gracefully took the egg mixture.  Happy girl.  Relaxed.  This action was repeated alternately with Lucy, and Gracie was always polite and always targeted correctly.  She's 10 or 11, so old birds do learn new tricks!

Lucy:  Jealous!  Impatient! Angry!  She bit the stick and threw the egg away.  I turned my back, ignored it, and gave Gracie more.  Our little doggie was begging, so I showed her the stick, said "target," and when she did, she got egg.  (:    This really got Lucy going!  She dangled from the swing and beat the heck out of a toy, jumped down, and back up again.  MAD!  We repeated the sequence several times with Gracie, Lucy (throwing a tantrum and me turning away,) and then, Cindy Lou, the dog.   Suddenly Lucy's demeanor changed and she climbed down to the platform.  She was calm and her eyes had softened.  I offered the stick and she touched it as gently as a well trained princess and immediately took (gently) her offered egg.    We repeated 3 times with the same results.

Conclusion: 

Diet:  I'll continue to tighten the training diet while watching all four birds for weight loss.  The greys are at a great weight, but Coco has always been a little thin.

Patience:  They are all smart birds, able to learn.  It's not their fault I've waited such a long time.  It's going to take time to unlearn things, too. 

Reward:   Keep eye on goal:  Happy birds that interact well with others make for happy homes.  There is a great chance that any or all of these birds will outlive me.  I have to make them well-adjusted and joyful so they are "requested" and "wanted" and not just put into some shelter one day.

Coco has quieted, Bobby is preening, and Lucy and Gracie are chatting their tail feathers off!  Lucy is whistling "Deep in the heart of Texas!"  (:  Time to shower Gracie.  It's her turn.