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.