Stationing?

[BirdyMomma]

Hello!
My beautiful, smart, affectionate, amazing little one year old Yellow Collared Macaw, Loki is becoming quite the little flier. She has re grown three flight feathers on each side (she was clipped when we got her) and is able to soar around our large common room, buzz around corners and turn on a dime. She flies to me when I call her pretty much 100% of the time. She is even learning to fly back to her perch..........my problem is, that now that she is able to fly, she won't stay there. She doesn't fly elsewhere, but will not stay on her perch, if she knows where I am. She wants to fly to me.....relentlessly.

We have several birds, and they are not yet flighted. I'm trying really hard with Loki, to get her to learn to stay put, before anyone else starts flying around the room. Her being airborne, while the others are not, has changed the climate among our flock. Our cockatoo, who was previously tolerant to oblivious of Loki, is now extremely hostile towards her, and will go after her if they are in close enough proximity. I am not sure if this is because of the flying, or due to the fact that our Amazon who has always been the cockatoos love interest, seems to have developed a serious crush on Loki since she started flying. She also takes great pleasure in buzzing inappropriately close to our Military, and startling him nearly off his perch.
I have resorted to removing her from the room for the period of time when I am training the others, as she refuses to allow me un interrupted activity with them. I will interact with her, then give her a reward, then turn to work with another bird, but as soon as she has finished her treat, she will fly to me (un prompted) and disrupt the other birds time. So for the time being she gets her own training time, before everyone else, and then she gets removed from the room.
So far, the strategies I am using to combat this are;
Asking her to recall, and clicking the instant she complies; meaning as soon as she leaves the perch, but NOT rewarding her if she flies to me un prompted.
And giving her an un cracked almond, (which buys me a few extra minutes) when I need to do something else, and I want her to stay put.

I think the first strategy is working, but slowly. If anyone has any suggestions, I would welcome them kindly

 

[NiRD]

She's clicker trained? As in she understands that the click means she is doing what you want and a reward is coming?

If that's the case, stationing is going to be very easy to train. First, remember that all behaviors start and end with you. During a training session, you are the one to make the decisions about when a behavior starts and ends. Most people have the start part down, but are you also making decisions about when the behavior ends?

When I work with any animal, be it bird, dog, cat, horse, goat, dolphin, I teach a cue to end the behavior. I use the word "free". For example, my cockatoo is learning to pick pocket for a new routine I am working on. When I give her the command to go into a pocket, she will continuously dig in there until I release her from the behavior. She will hold an item in her beak until I say the magic word to release her from the behavior. When I station my birds, they are there until I tell them "free".

So, how do you get them to this point? You will have to start with sessions to just learn stationing.

Put your bird on the perch. Click and treat. Initially you will need to use a much higher rate of reinforcement. Click treat, click treat, click treat, "free", and step away from your bird, allowing them to end the behavior.

Once your bird understands that what your asking is for it to perch on an object and remain there until you release it, you can increase distance, duration, and distraction. Initially you will start with very short sessions, thirty seconds long, standing right next to your bird, in a room with no other distractions. Now you can decrease your rate of reinforcement.

Give your bird the cue to station. Click treat immediately for going where it's told. Wait five seconds between another click treat. Station for about a minute this time. You will gradually be increasing the amount of time between click treats, and the amount of time on the perch. You will also gradually be increasing how far you are from the perch, what's going on in the room.

Always release your bird from the behavior before the bird loses interest or is about to take off. Remember, you want to end the behavior, not the bird. If the bird flies off, gently put it back on the object while telling it "no" in a conversational tone, and give it the cue to be on the object.

Occasionally start back at the beginning and do very short sessions. You want stationing to be a positive thing, not a long boring time out. Because this is a positive thing, when you get solid enough to start working with other birds, make sure you're still rewarding your bird for stationing. Perch, click treat, go to another bird and ask it for a behavior, reward that behavior and go back and click treat your stationing bird for staying in.place.

 

[BirdyMomma]

Why, thank you so much N!rd! Thank you for the detailed explanation. I cannot wait to try! I have not yet tried a situation where I end the behavior. I am eager to try this. As for a visual cue to stay, would an upright palm be suitable? I usuall say "wait" oar "stay" and she's kind of getting it. Also, part of the issue is that she just likes to be on me.

Thanks again! I'm excited and eager to implement your method!!

 

[NiRD]

I don't add a verbal or visual cue until the animal understands what is being asked. Think of a dog for example. If you tell them sit, they don't understand what the word means initially. You can say sit, but if they haven't been taught what sit means, they could think that the word means sniff, lick, chase your tail, stand there looking cute, etc.

The same thing is true for a bird. First, I get into a routine where the bird is performing the behavior for me. Here's an example. I'm currently working with one of my birds on take. I entice the bird to take the object by playing with it or holding it near her beak. I use no words except "free" to end the behavior, meaning she may let go.

Once I can pull an object out and she immediately takes it from my hand, I will start anticipating this behavior by telling her "take" just before she grabs it. By repeating this, she learns that the word "take" means to take the object, not to lean in, shift her weight, look at me, or anything else she could do if my timing isn't correct.

 

[Colorguarder08]

It doesn't really matter what you use as long as you pick one word and stick with it. Or use a two word cue which most people don't reccommend but when training if I want my animals especially my dog to know that a behavior is being "released" or just needs to stop I always say "no more". Usually if an animal is distracted saying it's name before the command will typically help let it know you are talking to it and it needs to pay attention. Of course that really only works if the animal knows it's name.

 

[NiRD]

Also, addressing the desire to be win or on you, you will need to make it more rewarding to be on the perch. If she gets off the perch during a stationing exercise, tell her no and immediately put her back. She gets nothing from you unless she is on the perch. On the perch she gets attention, treats, etc.

After you release her from the behavior she can get attention for being off the perch.

Don't be surprised if she really likes stationing and continues to go back on the perch after she's released. She will quickly learn that this is a cheap and easy way to get rewarded. All she has to do is sit there and look pretty.