Right now Salty is.....
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Training progress.
Salty now can put a fourth building block on top of the 3 he already does. Its a bit if a stretch for him, 3 blocks is as tall as he is. He gets the fourth one like 2 out of 3 times, and gets frustrated if he can't do it in 2 or 3 tries, which is OK, I don't want him frustrated at a trick.
He managed to chew up 1 of the 3 darts that came with the small magnetic dart board. Now we are down to 2, but he has the trick down cold.
Salty has mastered putting a tiny dollhouse infant (in swaddling clothes) into a small dollhouse cradle. He was so scared of this tiny baby figure at first, retreating to a far corner of our training table at first ( very comical- this huge parrot vs this tiny figure), but he has gradually gotten braver and does thee trick without hesitation now.
He is still working on the bicycle trick. He knows where to place his feet and will stay stationed on them and takes maybe a 1/2 revolution of the pedals, but I dont like the exposed chain and sprocket mechanism so I have to come up with some sort of guard so he doesn't catch his foot in it.
ABC's are slow going, and we really haven't done much work with the letters. I have to try using food props to have him associate the letters with things.
Salty has been using the colored boxes to deposit like colored rings in them, but we had been only using 2 colors, yellow and red, becasue I thought more would confuse him, and he only gets them right 100% occasionally. Oddly enough, when I introduced the green box and rings, he gets those right 100% of the time, without prompts.
A newish trick, having Salty retrieve a small cylinder with bars in the middle was at first quickly brought back to me and Salty would run to get it (so cute), very much like a young puppy dog, but as we have progressed and he realized that he doesn't have to run to get it, he now strolls over to the toy and brings it back. So smart to have observed that the toy never is rolled off the table and he has no need to run to get it.
Salty is going thru a molt just now, from the look and feel a pretty heavy one, so he is a little bit grouchy, no where near what he was during mating season. He politely takes my finger and pushes it away when he does not want to be picked up, or scratched, but will nip me if I persist, so I am more than happy to comply with his hint!
He has so mellowed out since mating season is over. He was lunging at everyone including me, and he was loudly complaining about the lack of a mate, but all that has passed now.
Salty now can put a fourth building block on top of the 3 he already does. Its a bit if a stretch for him, 3 blocks is as tall as he is. He gets the fourth one like 2 out of 3 times, and gets frustrated if he can't do it in 2 or 3 tries, which is OK, I don't want him frustrated at a trick.
He managed to chew up 1 of the 3 darts that came with the small magnetic dart board. Now we are down to 2, but he has the trick down cold.
Salty has mastered putting a tiny dollhouse infant (in swaddling clothes) into a small dollhouse cradle. He was so scared of this tiny baby figure at first, retreating to a far corner of our training table at first ( very comical- this huge parrot vs this tiny figure), but he has gradually gotten braver and does thee trick without hesitation now.
He is still working on the bicycle trick. He knows where to place his feet and will stay stationed on them and takes maybe a 1/2 revolution of the pedals, but I dont like the exposed chain and sprocket mechanism so I have to come up with some sort of guard so he doesn't catch his foot in it.
ABC's are slow going, and we really haven't done much work with the letters. I have to try using food props to have him associate the letters with things.
Salty has been using the colored boxes to deposit like colored rings in them, but we had been only using 2 colors, yellow and red, becasue I thought more would confuse him, and he only gets them right 100% occasionally. Oddly enough, when I introduced the green box and rings, he gets those right 100% of the time, without prompts.
A newish trick, having Salty retrieve a small cylinder with bars in the middle was at first quickly brought back to me and Salty would run to get it (so cute), very much like a young puppy dog, but as we have progressed and he realized that he doesn't have to run to get it, he now strolls over to the toy and brings it back. So smart to have observed that the toy never is rolled off the table and he has no need to run to get it.
Salty is going thru a molt just now, from the look and feel a pretty heavy one, so he is a little bit grouchy, no where near what he was during mating season. He politely takes my finger and pushes it away when he does not want to be picked up, or scratched, but will nip me if I persist, so I am more than happy to comply with his hint!
He has so mellowed out since mating season is over. He was lunging at everyone including me, and he was loudly complaining about the lack of a mate, but all that has passed now.
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So by way of memory lane, seeing as it Salty's Hatching day (YAY!!!!) I am posting a video from 2 years ago, from march 2018. he is playing on his back, like a young, carefree parrot chickling. Salty is almost as crazy as he was, in fact today, well actually yesterday, he was going at it like a madman with his stainless steel tubular bell and a all stainless steel wind-chimey type toy. LOL, when he gets going on these its hilarious, he starts out just tapping them, increasing the frequency and severity and ends up with him have a loud boisterous arguement with it. Anyway, HAPPY HATCH DAY, my little boy!
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cnyguy
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Ralph, Scooter and I wish Salty a Happy Hatchday-- and many more! 
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Thank you so much, on behalf of Salty. He did a Zoom interview for a Pirate Festival in Rock Hall MD this afternoon. A virtual Pirate Festival due to Covid19.
Congratulations Salty on your Hatch Day!
We know that you enjoyed yourself as I'm certain that your family went overboard in the celebration of your special day!!!
We know that you enjoyed yourself as I'm certain that your family went overboard in the celebration of your special day!!!
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Nuthin' special, just a nice evening, watching parrot vids and Star Trek Enterprise episodes, with Salty on my shoulder. Someimes he talks on there, in such a quiet little voice and he runs through a lot of what he knows and some new stuff, but really quiet. Ttraining , as usual, with him showing off for his 'mommy'. Such a ham.
Amazons sure do love to 'show-off' for their favorite Humans!!!
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And Salty does it again. Tonight, during our nightly training sessions, I introduced a new trick. Its a small basketball hoop and backboard, with a chain style net. Salty has seen the trick and the colored wiffle style balls on the table next to his cage for a few weeks - not doing anything, just sitting there, 2-3 feet from his main perch/boing. Tonight it was the 4th trick up during our session. So.. Basketball hoop etc, on one end of the table, Salty on the other end. I showed him that the ball should go thru the hoop, nothing more than that. I handed the ball to Salty, and sure as shootin', he walked up to the basket and *PLOP* right thru the hoop. No hesitation, drama or quibbles, and he did the trick a few times too, each time with perfect aplomb.
Geri and I, once again, discussed why we think Salty learns new tricks almost effortlessly. Geri,
believes its because Salty is somehow smarter than other yellow shoulder Amazons or even most other parrots, regardless of species or size or other physical attributes. I always maintain that its a matter of training and the relationship I have with Salty. I think he knows that around the same time every night, we have a period where he gets some excersise. Doing various actions that he has learned, when done properly, will result in Salty receiving a treat. But he has also learned that he sometimes gets a new challenge for him to master. So he not only has learned to recall information ( past experiences, instructions and rewards) but actually understands that new things will be presented to him and he is expected to successfully interact with them. Salty is no smarter than his species or brethern, but he HAS been exposed to more challenging activities than they might have. One could say that Salty has learned to understand new things at a higher rate or more easily than they. To follow instructions or at least provide his own solution to the situation at hand.
An example would be the new magnetic dart board game we started working with a few weeks ago. You might recall the short video I made of the first time he was shown it and presented with the expected results. He got that trick after the second try. I think what shows that real learning is taking place is the folllowing; He was also asked to give the darts back to me. This little magnetic desktop dartboard folds out and and if you try to pull the magnet dart straight way from the board, the thing will collapse flat on the desk, which it did on my first request. Salty figured out that sliding the dart to the edge of the dartboard allowes the darts to be removed with out causing the dartboard to collapse. He figured that out, I didn't show him anything remotely like this. However, he was ready to learn, which is my point. He understands, because of the structure of our sessions, that his input or ideas will be needed in order to receive his treat and praise.
Now, does Salty always get it right first or second time? Does he always add his own input to a given trick or activity? No, to both questions, but he does these with much higher frequency than you would expect. I might be all wet here, and Saltys actions could be no more than a Pavlovian response to a set of stimulai but I think its more than that. Salty has learned to learn.
Geri and I, once again, discussed why we think Salty learns new tricks almost effortlessly. Geri,
believes its because Salty is somehow smarter than other yellow shoulder Amazons or even most other parrots, regardless of species or size or other physical attributes. I always maintain that its a matter of training and the relationship I have with Salty. I think he knows that around the same time every night, we have a period where he gets some excersise. Doing various actions that he has learned, when done properly, will result in Salty receiving a treat. But he has also learned that he sometimes gets a new challenge for him to master. So he not only has learned to recall information ( past experiences, instructions and rewards) but actually understands that new things will be presented to him and he is expected to successfully interact with them. Salty is no smarter than his species or brethern, but he HAS been exposed to more challenging activities than they might have. One could say that Salty has learned to understand new things at a higher rate or more easily than they. To follow instructions or at least provide his own solution to the situation at hand.
An example would be the new magnetic dart board game we started working with a few weeks ago. You might recall the short video I made of the first time he was shown it and presented with the expected results. He got that trick after the second try. I think what shows that real learning is taking place is the folllowing; He was also asked to give the darts back to me. This little magnetic desktop dartboard folds out and and if you try to pull the magnet dart straight way from the board, the thing will collapse flat on the desk, which it did on my first request. Salty figured out that sliding the dart to the edge of the dartboard allowes the darts to be removed with out causing the dartboard to collapse. He figured that out, I didn't show him anything remotely like this. However, he was ready to learn, which is my point. He understands, because of the structure of our sessions, that his input or ideas will be needed in order to receive his treat and praise.
Now, does Salty always get it right first or second time? Does he always add his own input to a given trick or activity? No, to both questions, but he does these with much higher frequency than you would expect. I might be all wet here, and Saltys actions could be no more than a Pavlovian response to a set of stimulai but I think its more than that. Salty has learned to learn.
As with Humans, the Parrot mind is designed to access, apply and remember. Not to understate Salty's abilities, but he is simply using his mind.
Now, it is more than fair to state that the framework you are using supports his abilities.
Now, it is more than fair to state that the framework you are using supports his abilities.
WOW, Salty!
1200 Responses!
110,000 Views!
That is clearly a Statement, Salty!!!
1200 Responses!
110,000 Views!
That is clearly a Statement, Salty!!!
LeaKP
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Salty is amazing!
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- Mar 20, 2017
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- Bumble - Pacific (or Celestial) Parrotlet hatched 02/19/17
Salty is the best.
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Inger when we gonna hear some more tales 'o Bumble??
Cagzo
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Looking forward to Saltys new trick.
- Apr 24, 2018
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- CAG Hen-Gracie age unknown, U2 Rooster-Anakin 2008-11/2/2024 RIP
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Mea culpa! I’ll head over and update her thread.
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Nothing special, just a beautiful day outside yesterday, so Salty and I went to pick up some toys and a few food items (Roudybush pellets and some new flavor Nutraberries). Stopped and had a lovely cold beer and some fries at an outdoor restaurant, while Salty chewed on toothpicks.
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We hope you like them, I really don;t do enough of these videos, Salty is always surprising me during our training sessions. Saw your channel too, very entertaining! Who knew cockatoos had such definitive taste.
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So frigging ANGRY! I set up to record tonights training session, with a mind to record every single trick Salty knows, from the very easy ones right up to his latest tricks, with plenty of rewards close at hand. The best possible lighting. The new stand I bought for the tablet, to hold it at the right angle, so it allows for the best viewing . I even talked up the video session at dinner, telling Salty how excited I was to get a record for posterity of all he has learned so far in his short ( 5 years! ) life so far. And Salty, the show biz trooper he is, cooperated fully, only refusing one trick (shooting pool); every other trick he was right on cue and even came up with his own twist on two of them.
But when I hit the playback button - nothing, nada, zilch, ничего (nothing in Russian). I was certain the camera program was engaged and the time counter was moving but NO. To say we are both dissapointed is not going too far. Poor Salty, while I'm sure he understood nothing about the process of recording, he certainly mirrored my own feelings of dissapointment and consternation at the lack of any outcome at all. Well, we will not be held back, hamstrung, by Samsung's cruddy video recording program. I'm going to test run it a few times tomorrow, again, and we'll try recording the same thing in a few days ( I don't want to stress Salty out by doing these marathon training sessions too close together). Salty tries so hard to do the tricks correctly, he deserves to have a really good record showing off his skills. I was hoping to be able to edit the recording, showing off his pride, or maybe smugness, in himself when he completes one of the really difficult tricks, and enter the snippet in this months Parrot of the Month contest. We may yet succeed !
Salty says "I'm ready for my close up, Mr. Demille!".
But when I hit the playback button - nothing, nada, zilch, ничего (nothing in Russian). I was certain the camera program was engaged and the time counter was moving but NO. To say we are both dissapointed is not going too far. Poor Salty, while I'm sure he understood nothing about the process of recording, he certainly mirrored my own feelings of dissapointment and consternation at the lack of any outcome at all. Well, we will not be held back, hamstrung, by Samsung's cruddy video recording program. I'm going to test run it a few times tomorrow, again, and we'll try recording the same thing in a few days ( I don't want to stress Salty out by doing these marathon training sessions too close together). Salty tries so hard to do the tricks correctly, he deserves to have a really good record showing off his skills. I was hoping to be able to edit the recording, showing off his pride, or maybe smugness, in himself when he completes one of the really difficult tricks, and enter the snippet in this months Parrot of the Month contest. We may yet succeed !
Salty says "I'm ready for my close up, Mr. Demille!".
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