Station Training: What If He Won't Stay Put?

[lorika]

Hey everyone!

I've gotten my lorikeet Loki a beautiful playstand with lots of toys. I want to station train him, and though I've read some articles online, I can't really find a practical, step-by-step guide to do this.

One comes particularly highly recommended, by Lara Joseph, and though it's a good article I can't really see how she did it.
My problem is: what do I do if he won't stay put?

What I now do is... Tell him to sit on it, reward him when he does, and then reward him once every few seconds. But I have a lorikeet, and they're known for their hyperactiveness. When I get up, he wants to come with. I've tried to tell him 'no, stay here!' and point at his playstand, but once he's gotten it in his head to move, he's moving.

Does anyone have a solution for this, or a good step-by-step guide?

Thanks in advance! ^^
Lorika

 

[Birdman666]

1. The playstand has to be interesting enough that they stay on it. (Toys, food, sufficient room to move around and play.

2. When he flies off you keep putting him back. If after the third or fourth time he doesn't get the message, he goes back in his cage. If you want to be out, you have to stay put. Consistency is the key.

3. I actually have an entire bird room their allowed to wander around in, that makes it easier for them to stay put. (Although Sarah kinda undid Maggie's stay put training inside the house, and now the Genie seems to be out of that bottle.) So that makes it much easier for me...

[Yeah, that's nice, but I didn't WANT to teach her to climb stairs. I wanted her to stay DOWNSTAIRS IN THE BIRDROOM! That was the point... TOO LATE!!] So, we are working on, okay when I put you back you go back... and the struggle is ten seconds later she's coming back up the stairs and right back on my lap. As problem bird behaviors go, this is actually one of the nicer ones to have... but it can be quite annoying. So, it's easy to UNDO this one once you train them to stay put.

4. And when we go out, I have an object from home that they stay on, when not physically on my person, or in a tree. If they want to come, they have to stay put on that...

 

[lorika]

Thanks, Birdman! The thing is, my Lorikeet is slow with getting into his cage ;-)
What if he doesn't make the connection < going off playstand = back in cage > ?

Would it be good to maybe say: 'No' in a low voice and then move him back to his cage?
Thing is, I can't really grab him and put him back... He bites the **** out of me when grabbed. I can get him to go back into his cage himself though, with lots of praise, but won't that undo the whole 'punishment'-thing? Or do you think he will 'get it'?

 

[Birdman666]

First of all, It's not punishment per se...

Being out is a privilege, and it's a privilege you get extended the more you behave, and gets cut short if you don't.

What you are doing is giving a bird a CAUSE AND EFFECT that they associate with a behavior. They "get" that.

It's based on the idea that they learn:

IF I DO THIS, THAT WILL HAPPEN.

IF I DO THAT, THIS WILL HAPPEN.

The bird learns it, and it knows what to expect. (Doesn't short circuit the "What can I get away with today" impulse... but it gives them a base set of boundaries in a captive setting. These are my perameters. If I go outside them THIS happens.)

They learn that when it happens every time.

So if you say, okay, if you're not going to behave, go back in your cage, and he does it?

Sounds effective to me. Tell the kid "That's it! Go to your room..." Do they "get" that? UBETCHA...

 

[Birdman666]

And I really don't grab mine, unless I absolutely have to, and in that situation, I use a towel.

For the most part, mine step up/come here when they're told to, generally without biting. (Though Tusk has had his moments.)

Mine, for the most part, have been trained to pinch instead of bite. They're usually pretty good about controlling their bite pressure.