GCC Problems

[jaspy]

I have a 6 year old green cheek conure and I had recieved him from a previous loving owner who had him since he was a baby. I have had him for about 2-3 months and he really likes me and loves to hang out, but lately I have been trying to train him to step up on my hand because sometimes he will just avoid me. I have also been working to try and train him new tricks but run into the problem that he does not want to practice for longer than ten minutes. I have read so much on the internet and looked for people to talk to around town, but have not been able to get too much help and I finally found this website. I hope I can get some help from someone
Thank you

 

[cdog]

Gcc have short attention spans so you wont be able to work with him for longer than 10 minutes at a time. You just have to keep working with him and eventually he will learn new things. They also dont remember things very well so you will have to keep teaching to make sure they remember the things you have taught.

 

[lene1949]

Training 3-5 minutes per session would be ideal... You can do several sessions per day, but always end on a good note... If you see him getting tired or distracted, do something he knows really well, and then stop...

 

[MikeyTN]

How are you training him to step up???? The process needed to be repeated over and over. You hold with one hand while make him step up with the other hand then vise versa. Keep repeating the process everytime you take him out. He'll catch on.

 

[Kokihi]

I wouldn't be too worried about his attention span. My GCC Tori seems to have ADHD and always wants to go explore in the middle of training sessions. I usually just let him play and run around for a little bit, then use his favorite game "touch the stick" to get him to come back.

I'd suggest checking out birdtricks.com for some good training tips. I've been using their methods and they've been working very well for Tori and I. The have lots of free training videos, but I recommend picking up the taming training & tricks video they have for sale. It's got some pretty neat tricks and good advice in it.

 

[jaspy]

Your guys comments are all very helpful and am looking forward to practicing with jasper later. I was also wondering does anyone use clicker training. How hard is it to train a bird that isnt really a baby. lol He is about 6 years old is that going to make a difference