Need advice on my GCC.

[Echo]

Training is great keeping in mind that the sessions should be kept short. When not training, a playgym should keep him stimulated. A playgym is an area where he has activities and visual stimulation, with colorful toys, ropes to climb, noisy toys, swing etc.
He won't maybe take to it right away or be shy with toys etc. and might want to observe all of it from afar before "jumping in" but he should get curious about it and eventually want to explore it.
No offense, but humans are not so exciting that a bird would be totally happy just hanging out on us!LOL

 

[flash_oesc]

Oh, I know...lol and I'm boring to boot!

I'd love for him to find something he wants to play with/on other than me all the time.

 

[flash_oesc]

I'm going to see how he reacts to this perch I'm building tonight, and if I can get him to like it, I'll build him a nice playgym to go beside his cage. I have tons of toys he never plays with stashed around the house, maybe he'll like them in a different venue.

 

[flash_oesc]

Well, bad news great news type of thing... He's terrified of the perch. Can't get within 5 feet of it without him flying away.
However...day three with these treats (Kaytee Papaya) and a clicker, I got him to touch the chopstick with his beak!!!!!! This may not seem big, but he actually walked a foot towards it, and touched it. For him, this is INCREDIBLE!!!!!

 

[secuono]

I thought raisins were bad...? Or did no one catch that?

Glad he's learning to like the things he feared.
My guy pretends to have no fear, but when something really scares him, he just flies away from it and calls me to come save him...

 

[flash_oesc]

I've heard the raisins weren't great for him (sugar?) but I didn't know they were bad?
Ours get spooked and goes straight to my wife's head, or if she's unavailable, his cage.

 

[flash_oesc]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z23aKOKR_5Y]Bam clicker training with Eric - YouTube[/ame]

A few days in to clicker training with Bam. This is incredible for him. You can tell he's still quite skiddish....

 

[MonicaMc]

Any progress, even minor, can be great leaps and bounds for a bird!

It's been about a week now, how's things going?

 

[flash_oesc]

I honestly appreciate you checking in on me. It's really nice when people take an actual interest in other people and their friends.

His clicker training is coming along quite well, he loves these new treats. He's learned to target, land on his new perch, fly over on command (most of the time), spin in a circle, and he even touching some SCARY SCARY bird toys...but he wont play with them still...haha

The grooming issue is still happening, and his smell is still quite prevelent. His tail is starting to get beat up a little bit by his agressive grooming now, but it's not as bad as his wings. We are trying to distract him whenever he starts doing it, but he goes back to it right away. He'll do it on my shoulder, head, perch...etc. I have no idea what he's trying to accomplish.

 

[MonicaMc]

At least it sounds like you are headed in the right direction!!!! Keep it up!

 

[flash_oesc]

I appreciate that. Thank you. I'm trying to get him to do forward flips...but the little man has NO IDEA what I'm trying to entice him to do...he just keeps reaching for the stick...but wont hang for it...lol

 

[MonicaMc]

Not sure how you are trying to teach him exactly, but if I were to teach that trick, I'd first reward him for touching the stick in front of his beak and repeat. Then reward for touching the stick at breast level and repeat. Then reward for touching stick at foot level and repeat. Then below foot level and repeat. Keep lowing the stick and rewarding him for each phase until he understands that he has to be upside down in order to touch the stick, then work on teaching him to do the full circle. If he hesitates at any step, to go back a step until he's comfortable with it.

 

[flash_oesc]

That's pretty much what I'm doing, he'll actually reach down below his feet to get it, but if I put it out of reach from his lean, he stands up really tall and stares me down...lol it's quite cute...just not what I want.