So I have a young GC about 3 months now, and I've had him for about 5 days. He has progressed great so far! He super confident in his cage, eats all day, plays with his toys, preens and just today has decided to use his voice. I've had him get used to me by having him follow my hand thats on the outside of my cage while holding his favorite treat, an apple. He has become pretty good at that and seems pretty confident having my hand near him while he eats his apple. He goes about his day while Im around and definitely has let down his guard. So today I decided that I would open the door to his cage to see if he wanted to come out. I have a perch installed on the outside of the cage for him to hang out on. After about 10 minutes he comes out, but almost immediately makes a break for the glass door to the outside. Since he is clipped (I picked him out after he had been clipped so couldn't ask to keep him flighted) he glided a bit to the floor and then ran the rest of the way to the door. Obviously he doesn't know there's glass there. So for about 10 minutes I tried to get him to come to me with an apple to avoid having to chase him around and grab him to put him back in the cage. But after a while I started to get nervous it was stressing him out to much because he kept trying to fly out. So I had to pick him up (us lightly as possible) to get him back into his cage. After I got him back in, I put the apple in caged and he snacked on it quit rapidly. He is super active and I feel bad having him in the cage all day, but how do progress to having him out without him trying to make a run for it every time?
Problems with my New GCC
- Thread starter Zazu123
- Start date
lollipoppy
New member
Does he have a play place near or on his cage, with toys & snacks and stuff?
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lollipoppy
New member
That will likely help keep him closer to home 
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noodles123
Well-known member
- Jul 11, 2018
- 8,145
- 473
- Parrots
- Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
Try station training and target training.
There are better videos out there but this is the idea....The click is just for them to associate action and reward:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MroN9umsNGY"]Parrotlet Recall and Station Training - YouTube[/ame] She is a little slow on rewards at times and eventually they will get full, but you can teach a bird this way if you find what motivates them. You want to keep it short and sweet-- she probably pushes it on longer than she should have-- you don't want them to give up.
The stick is generally used for target training only, but she is using it for both. You don't have to use a stick for station training, but if they target, it could be a way to extend that understanding.
There are better videos out there but this is the idea....The click is just for them to associate action and reward:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MroN9umsNGY"]Parrotlet Recall and Station Training - YouTube[/ame] She is a little slow on rewards at times and eventually they will get full, but you can teach a bird this way if you find what motivates them. You want to keep it short and sweet-- she probably pushes it on longer than she should have-- you don't want them to give up.
The stick is generally used for target training only, but she is using it for both. You don't have to use a stick for station training, but if they target, it could be a way to extend that understanding.
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noodles123
Well-known member
- Jul 11, 2018
- 8,145
- 473
- Parrots
- Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
remember that not all birds are so motivated by food--- if you are the motivation, then you may need to withdraw your attention/reaction until they do what you want (not in a neglectful way, but meaning...save your "YAY!!!" moments etc). I am not saying let them fly all over and ignore them, but you may have to silently avert your eyes and place them back on the perch (without giving a major reaction)...
Sometimes attention is a greater reward than food.
I do "applied behavior analysis" for a living and it works for people and animals. If you understand it, you've got this. It works consistently with everyone.
This is not perfect (kind of boring) but correct:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpuT3YBuKzU"]10000000 152455586221744 3733317470202430636 n - YouTube[/ame]
Sometimes attention is a greater reward than food.
I do "applied behavior analysis" for a living and it works for people and animals. If you understand it, you've got this. It works consistently with everyone.
This is not perfect (kind of boring) but correct:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpuT3YBuKzU"]10000000 152455586221744 3733317470202430636 n - YouTube[/ame]
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