Just a little update...

There isn't a thing going on that is exciting, but there are some subtle changes around the bird room.  The timnehs both seem a little "needy" lately and I'm wondering if hormones are kicking up again.  We're still doing the training with both and Bobby (phobic Bob) is improving every day.  During "brave moments" he will cross his entire cage to "target" now and he's definitely clued into the training sessions... able to focus and put his "fright" to the back while he does stuff for food.

Lucy says "hello" all day long, hoping for a treat.  Getting her to sound like a chicken on command has been totally without gain, so far.  Her attitude about training is soundly positive and she runs all over the place for a sunflower seed... something she threw away a few weeks ago.  I'm just giving the PRIZE PISTACHIOS randomly now as a sort of jackpot and you should see her eyes light up when one pops up after a simple trick.  (Earlier I showed her the treat and then she would only respond if she saw the pistachios.  Now I put my hand into the treat bag, but do not show her what her reward will be.)  Anyway, Lucy has not shown any aggression for weeks.  I did note that she was nervously chewing on a spongy toy last night and my intuition tells me that foraging birds still need that "forage" to eat and relax at the end of the day.  She got a small dish with pine-nuts (in shell), cashew pieces, and a few safflower seeds.  The other birds got seed mix as they prefer, but no sunflower seeds, because those are exclusive to training.

Coco taking a nap on the bird stand.

Coco is plugging right along, doing as requested during training.  He still refuses to step up most of the time if I don't show a treat.  When he does step up without a treat offered, I make sure to give him a really good experience... a trip to the kitchen counter, a visit to the back door window, a mom-play time, and a little seed-ball when he returns to the cage.

What I want from my birds is to see them happy and interactive.  What I am getting is an amazing amount of affection back!

I do switch it up with the training.  We were busy this weekend, moving 7 tons of rock and dirt to landscape with, and I was simply too tired to do much with my birds.  Instead of training, they got clean cages, a pat on the head, a "training" at intervals as we were inside for lunch and dinner... and a nice bowl of their favorite seeds to much on before bedtime.  We got chickens at Sam's Club and the timnehs got leg and thigh bones to marrow out, something they all love.  Again, it's foraging work and good for them.  Coco doesn't like bones, but he loves the double-thick-glossy boxes from Sam's Club, so he gets those to keep him busy. 

Personally, I think the silly birds look forward to training and running like silly chickens to give me a kiss for a sunflower seed.   I can't believe the difference in our little flock!  We will always do training because it is the best time we spend together and so rewarding.