Taming

[Gabriela020]

Hello,

I have purchased an Indian Ringneck about 3/4 weeks ago. I got told he was just over 3 months however he looks about 4/5months old now (assuming this as his eyes are no longer completely dark). I didn’t want to clip his wings as I wanted him to be a free flying bird, and even though he’s not tamed we let him out the cage and he flies around. When it’s starting to get late I tell him to get in his cage and he now understands that he has to go in. However when in the cage and I put my hand in he gets scared, also when sitting on his cage and someone comes too close he flies away.

I have tried to take him into a small room (dowstairs toilet) as I have seen online that a smaller room might make it easier to tame. I have managed to touch and stroke him with a perch however he doesn’t really seem to want to get on it. I have also given him food which he took from my hand once and then flew off.

Does anyone maybe know what else I can do to make him trust me and make him more sociable? I have had a cockatiel in the past and it would sit on my shoulder within 4 days so I’m concerned that 3 weeks might be more than enough for him to get comfortable?

 

[wrench13]

Ringnecks are a whole different thing from cockatiels.

From what I am reading , this guy is essentially in the wild state. Forget that small room stuff, and forcing him to like petting. First of all, forcing anything on parrots is a trust buster. Parrots are all about trust, and at first they have no, zero, nada reasons to trust humans at all. So anything you do with or to him, ask yourself first - "Will this gain trust or break it?". Sitting reasonably close to his cage, with out freaking him out, and reading to him in a soft soothing voice is a trust builder. Day by day, move the chair closer to his cage, until you are right next to it. A great thing to read out loud is the "I love Amazons" thread at the top of the Amazon subforum - it contains HUGE amount of information applicable to all parrots nit just Amazons, and your ringneck won't know the difference. 1/2 an hour a day would be what I would start with.

If you can and he will accept them, offer at small treat ( piece of pine nut, sliver of almond, piece of walnut, what ever) to him EVERY time you pass his cage. If he wont take it from your fingers, drop it into his food bowl, or have a special bowl just for this. The idea is to teach him that ONLY good things come from humans.

FYI - ringnecks are well known for NOT liking to be touched or petted or scratched, their feather structure is totally different than most parrots. Even after taming most do not like it. If he does accept it, stroke WITH the grain or direction of the feathers, not against it ( like most parrots like).

Another thing about ringnecks - they need almost daily interaction with humans, positive interaction. They are well known for going back to an almost wild state if that is not present in their lives.

They are great parrot companions when you understand them and respect their boundaries. We have a member here SilverSage who breeds them and knows tons of info on them. The posts from her are worth looking up in SEARCH feature.

 

[Gabriela020]

Ringnecks are a whole different thing from cockatiels.

From what I am reading , this guy is essentially in the wild state. Forget that small room stuff, and forcing him to like petting. First of all, forcing anything on parrots is a trust buster. Parrots are all about trust, and at first they have no, zero, nada reasons to trust humans at all. So anything you do with or to him, ask yourself first - "Will this gain trust or break it?". Sitting reasonably close to his cage, with out freaking him out, and reading to him in a soft soothing voice is a trust builder. Day by day, move the chair closer to his cage, until you are right next to it. A great thing to read out loud is the "I love Amazons" thread at the top of the Amazon subforum - it contains HUGE amount of information applicable to all parrots nit just Amazons, and your ringneck won't know the difference. 1/2 an hour a day would be what I would start with.

If you can and he will accept them, offer at small treat ( piece of pine nut, sliver of almond, piece of walnut, what ever) to him EVERY time you pass his cage. If he wont take it from your fingers, drop it into his food bowl, or have a special bowl just for this. The idea is to teach him that ONLY good things come from humans.

FYI - ringnecks are well known for NOT liking to be touched or petted or scratched, their feather structure is totally different than most parrots. Even after taming most do not like it. If he does accept it, stroke WITH the grain or direction of the feathers, not against it ( like most parrots like).

Another thing about ringnecks - they need almost daily interaction with humans, positive interaction. They are well known for going back to an almost wild state if that is not present in their lives.

They are great parrot companions when you understand them and respect their boundaries. We have a member here SilverSage who breeds them and knows tons of info on them. The posts from her are worth looking up in SEARCH feature.

Thank you so much. When left alone in the room he does usually make sounds when someone leaves. Making it seem like he wants someone to be with him. But I don’t know, we have his cage in the living room where everyone always is and let him out everyday for a few hours and he just flies around. He has recently started getting slightly more comfortable with having us a little big closer. However I’ve noticed that it’s probably only when he’s in a good mood or when he’s tired. When he’s tired and we want him to get back into his cage he usually does not react to us or our hands being too close to him.

So am I ok to keep letting him out the cage and let him fly around the living room with us being around? Or will he just be used to flying and not wanting to interact with us?

 

[Ira7]

I don’t want an unclipped bird flying around at will before he’s trained.

 

[wrench13]

I agree Ira for a couple of reasons. Danger to the parrot firstmost. Walls, mirrors and windows are not things parrots understand immediately. As are hot areas like kitchens. Secondly, yeah, it would take longer to 'tame' a parrot that can just fly off anytime they want to.

Original poster, I would keep him caged at least until he takes a treat from you as a reward, steps up, and allows being placed back in the cage, with no fuss, before I would let him fly 'round the house.

 

[Laurasea]

Silvwr sage aviary has good articles on IRN. They can be much more fearful of hands, sometimes folding fingers can help.
Home - Silver Sage Aviaries

 

[Gabriela020]

Silvwr sage aviary has good articles on IRN. They can be much more fearful of hands, sometimes folding fingers can help.
Home - Silver Sage Aviaries

Thank you, I’ll have a read.

 

[Gabriela020]

I agree Ira for a couple of reasons. Danger to the parrot firstmost. Walls, mirrors and windows are not things parrots understand immediately. As are hot areas like kitchens. Secondly, yeah, it would take longer to 'tame' a parrot that can just fly off anytime they want to.

Original poster, I would keep him caged at least until he takes a treat from you as a reward, steps up, and allows being placed back in the cage, with no fuss, before I would let him fly 'round the house.

Thank you. Will this not appear to him as a form of punishment? I’m just scared he might trust me even less if I don’t let him out after him freely flying around the room for about 2 weeks. I will maybe try to keep in his cage for a few days and see how he reacts?

I was sceptical about wing clipping at first as I’ve read that apparently it affects muscle development and that sometimes it actually has negative impacts on some parrots. I will read more into it, however I have been advised before to not clip wings.

 

[Ira7]

I agree Ira for a couple of reasons. Danger to the parrot firstmost. Walls, mirrors and windows are not things parrots understand immediately. As are hot areas like kitchens. Secondly, yeah, it would take longer to 'tame' a parrot that can just fly off anytime they want to.

Original poster, I would keep him caged at least until he takes a treat from you as a reward, steps up, and allows being placed back in the cage, with no fuss, before I would let him fly 'round the house.

Thank you. Will this not appear to him as a form of punishment? I’m just scared he might trust me even less if I don’t let him out after him freely flying around the room for about 2 weeks. I will maybe try to keep in his cage for a few days and see how he reacts?

I was sceptical about wing clipping at first as I’ve read that apparently it affects muscle development and that sometimes it actually has negative impacts on some parrots. I will read more into it, however I have been advised before to not clip wings.

Don’t get me started on this subject. I always get in trouble with it:

If you feel a bird shouldn’t be clipped because of health reasons, okay. (I don’t believe this.) But clipping certainly doesn’t contradict that rationale for one or two molting seasons. However...

If you don’t clip, and that bird is flying around the house like crazy to get away from you, he’ll never be trained, and he’ll hurt himself.

Clipping the bird makes him look to you “for help,” and that help is rescuing him from the floor, and getting on your hand for a tour of the house.

 

[Laurasea]

I dont think keeping him caged till he steps up is a good idea. You can target train and train him to go back to cage hands off. I dud this with my untamed budgies and my quaker who was terrified of hands. It actually wasn't difficult, they learned really quick. First few times takes awhile, takes praise and bribes.

This young age its important to be exposed to so much. Bird that learn to fly well, don't crash around the house, even in a panic. All mine are flighted, except the poor clipped quaker bsby abd its been 5 months wait fir feathers to grow back, can take a year or 2 years fir flight feathers to molt back and grow in. The budgies are untamed and can panic easy, they never crash into anything, neither do any of my others. Its only burds that are clipped, haven't learned to fly and think on the wing that crash into stuff..
https://parrotvolancy.com/wing-clipping-early-development/

This is good article
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/stress...ot-companions/

IRN are tricky as tgey revert to wild if nit constantly worked worth, and tgey aren't all that into being petted. Target training will be yiur freind. Burd Tricks on yiu tube has great target training videos

I didn't watch this one but I'm always impressed with their understanding of burd behavior
[ame="https://youtu.be/VHAr1IcIW9U"]My First Time Having an INDIAN RINGNECK PARROT! (Yikes) - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://youtu.be/3f0_c8adEBY"]How to Train an Indian Ringneck Parrot | 5 Perfect Repetitions Concept - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Gabriela020]

I dont think keeping him caged till he steps up is a good idea. You can target train and train him to go back to cage hands off. I dud this with my untamed budgies and my quaker who was terrified of hands. It actually wasn't difficult, they learned really quick. First few times takes awhile, takes praise and bribes.

This young age its important to be exposed to so much. Bird that learn to fly well, don't crash around the house, even in a panic. All mine are flighted, except the poor clipped quaker bsby abd its been 5 months wait fir feathers to grow back, can take a year or 2 years fir flight feathers to molt back and grow in. The budgies are untamed and can panic easy, they never crash into anything, neither do any of my others. Its only burds that are clipped, haven't learned to fly and think on the wing that crash into stuff..
https://parrotvolancy.com/wing-clipping-early-development/


This is good article
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/stress...ot-companions/

IRN are tricky as tgey revert to wild if nit constantly worked worth, and tgey aren't all that into being petted. Target training will be yiur freind. Burd Tricks on yiu tube has great target training videos

I didn't watch this one but I'm always impressed with their understanding of burd behavior
My First Time Having an INDIAN RINGNECK PARROT! (Yikes) - YouTube

How to Train an Indian Ringneck Parrot | 5 Perfect Repetitions Concept - YouTube

Thank you, he is already a very good flier, he knows the room very well. He goes in to the cage once we tell him too before going bed. It’s just he doesn’t let us touch him or go too close to him.

I have read that it might be a good idea to only give him water in the morning and then when he’s hungry in the afternoon try feeding him gradually by hand. We have tried it today and he had an apple that we attached to a perch and gave it to him that way. Maybe then gradually holding the perch slightly more closer to him until he lets me feed him?

And thank you for attaching the videos!!!

 

[Laurasea]

Birds have a fast metabolism, and food moves through them fast, that's easy sll the poops. So I would nit withhold food.
You can remove food over night, if you want to do training first thing in the morning. But then feed!! I'm very against with holding food!!!
Birds will only do 2-5 reps abd very short few minutes session.

My burds will take a treat or bite if food from me all day long Regardless of how much they have been eating free choice..

 

[wrench13]

Only water in the morning?? After not eating all night? What bad advice. My friend, you're going to have to be more selective on where you get parrot information from. There is all sorts of HORRIBLE advice available on the internet. Seriously. So far you have demonstrated this with: trying to tame in a closed bathroom and now this bit of bad advice. Some more HORRIBLE advice you will find:

Starve the parrot before training sessions so they are more food focused
Putting the bird in his cage and covering if they scream
Hitting, pinching or otherwise physically hurt the parrot if he bites
Splitting the tongue to encourage talking ability

And MANY more instances of truly horrible, harmful, dangerous and downright cruel advice. 30 years ago these might have been the state of knowledge about parrots and their care, but so much has been learned and discovered about their nature since then. Did you know that parrots are as intelligent as a 3-5 yr old human infant? With about the same level of emotional and cognizant involvement. Would you starve your kid in the morning to make sure he pays attention?

 

[Gabriela020]

Only water in the morning?? After not eating all night? What bad advice. My friend, you're going to have to be more selective on where you get parrot information from. There is all sorts of HORRIBLE advice available on the internet. Seriously. So far you have demonstrated this with: trying to tame in a closed bathroom and now this bit of bad advice. Some more HORRIBLE advice you will find:

Starve the parrot before training sessions so they are more food focused
Putting the bird in his cage and covering if they scream
Hitting, pinching or otherwise physically hurt the parrot if he bites
Splitting the tongue to encourage talking ability

And MANY more instances of truly horrible, harmful, dangerous and downright cruel advice. 30 years ago these might have been the state of knowledge about parrots and their care, but so much has been learned and discovered about their nature since then. Did you know that parrots are as intelligent as a 3-5 yr old human infant? With about the same level of emotional and cognizant involvement. Would you starve your kid in the morning to make sure he pays attention?

Ok yes that makes perfect sense. Think it was literally from like 10am - 1pm that it was recommended, so not early morning. Which probably gives the bird time to eat before? But yes I understand, that’s why I wanted to get advice on this as it’s only something I heard might work motivate the bird more? I Appreciate you responding.

I just want to know what is the best method of positive reinforcement? As I have mentioned before I’ve had a cockatiel and all it took was millet for him to come onto your shoulder and he was tamed very quickly. I understand that an Indian Ringneck is much harder to tame therefore I’m looking for other solutions that have worked for other people and their parrots.

 

[Gabriela020]

This is the video from YouTube where the woman goes through her taming process. I thought she did a really good job and wanted to try a similar method. I can however understand that my IRN might be not yet read for this.

[ame="https://youtu.be/w-CJ2ML9Nh8"]How To Tame a parrot - How To Teach an Untamed Indian Ringneck Parrot To Step Up - YouTube[/ame]

YouTube seems to be one of my main sources of information to go to. When using google, a lot of the questions did not relate too much to my situation which is why after coming across this forum, I’ve decided to share my situation. And I’m very thankful for the advice and links that everyone has been sending!

 

[wrench13]

Not the way I trained my parrot. Look closely at 1:29, she is forcing him to step up by cornering him into a small space. Yes he stepped up, but you can see he is not happy, looking around for an escape route. Would this work? Maybe, but really parrots are all about trust. See how he tries and succeeded in flying off at the soonest opportunity? Is this video all bad? No, she is right, move slowly, keep training sessions to 5 min ( maybe 10) and proceed at your parrots pace. Those are valid.

My approach is to use a food treat and verbal praise together. Here are some tips from one of my previous posts. Substitute your parrots name for Habbii's

It is known that parrots are often food motivated. It is known. But some, perhaps yours, are motivated by verbal praise or by a short little scratch. These are known too. BUT there is nothing wrong with any of these as the initial motivating factor. And for some parrots and some tricks, the bird may just do the trick for sheer pleasure of doing it.

The main thing is too figure out Habibi's very favorite motivator, the one he will do anything for. And that now becomes your training tool. A food motivation is easier to work with, because you will want to remove the food from his day to day feed; use it only during training. And it may be only a small little piece of the favorite food. My Salty loves pine nuts, and they are small, but I cut them into 2 or 3 (or more) pieces for training. Some other points I added , to another response on training:

Consistency - its so important to be consistent in training , so the parrot does not get confused by mixed messages. Ask for the action the same way, every time. You both should ask for the action the same way. Same verbal and same hand signals.
Immediacy - If your using a clicker, click it as soon as the action is done, followed by the treat. The click says YES you did it right, and the treat reinforces it. I personally just use a verbal Good Boy instead of the clicker, but you get the idea. You all need to use this, you and any family! Training is an evolving incremental process, at first he may not do the complete action, but closely watch and any movement or action that approximates what your trying to teach is considered good and should be rewarded.
Patience - Parrots can sometimes take and accept change at a glacial pace, especially compared to our monkey brain adaptability, so patience is definitely needed.

I personally set aside a specific time each day, 365/yr, for training sessions with my Salty. Admittedly, you'll want to do more, to get Habibi to do the basic step up, which is essential, but after that is successful, I always recommend these set training sessions to teach other things, which can range from simple things like shake hands to more complex tricks. After awhile, HaBibi will come to know that these are special times, to learn new things and get treats and develop that special relationship with his flock. Doesn't have to be long, 10-15 min at most. In our house, everyone knows that the decks get cleared at 8:45pm sharp for training session time, including Salty, and he comes ready to run thru the evenings tricks and learn new ones ( which he is, at this point, amazing at).

Hope this helps. Feel zero amount of shame or frustration in using a food related training treat. After awhile the reward is gradually decreased until he completes the entire trick or action and only then rewarded. Example, we have 8 stacking cups, I lay them out and Salty has to stack them in size order. At first I gave a treat for each cup correctly selected and put on the stack. And then it was for every 2 cups, then every 3 cups, etc, etc. Now the trick is fully taught and Salty stacks all the cups and receives his reward only after all the cups were correctly selected and added to the stack. See how that works? and be aware that parrots will cheat if allowed to. Oh Yes, cheat! In the example above, Salty will try and 'pre stack' some of the cups while I am laying out the other cups, so he has to do less work!.

 

[ctwo]

When the IRN flares his tail it means he is scared/uncomfortable. The IRN in the video looks terrified to me.

I mostly left mine alone and waited for him to come to me, and did not force myself on him. I offered him treats and good foods, he always had staples to eat and clean water, and always a bath. I left his cage open all the time I was home so he could do as he please. It took time, but he started to come to me and eventually even got a bit clingy. He has moods so I just go with them and am rewarded with his affection nearly every day. I don't even have to bribe him with treats, but he sure loves when I offer him one of his favorite nuts - but sometimes he'll even pull my finger in instead of taking the treat so he can climb up to my shoulder to be with me. That is two years of patience and I still feel like every time I look back a few months, we've made even more progress. Of course, I've been home 24/7 the past year and his cage has been open ever since.

 

[Anansi]

Hi! You've gotten some great advice on this thread so far. I'll just throw in my two cents as well.

First, there is nothing wrong with wanting to keep your bird flighted. I never clip, either. No shade on those who do. Everyone here loves their birds and cares for them in the way that works best for their situation and household. I'm just pointing out that training can definitely be done without clipping. Especially in the case of a bird who already flies as skillfully as yours apparently does. It just takes time, patience and consistency.

First, work with your bird at his pace. Every bird has their own personality. While your cockatiel might have been quicker to trust, your IRN seems to be a bit more on the skeptical side. Nothing wrong with that. You'll just have to work around that tendency.

An important thing to remember is that you don't want to force your bird's compliance. And methods such as withholding food seeks to do just that. Does it work? Sure. But is it right? Not so much. And it also builds your relationship based on the wrong kind of foundation.

No, what you want is a relationship built on the fact that your bird actually wants to be around you. That he comes to associate you with good things. Which is why so much of Al's (wrench13's) advice in the prior posts was pure gold. Basically, the trick to training is getting your bird to want to do the things that you want him to do, rather than cowing/dominating him into doing what you want. Know what I mean?

How? Here's my approach.

First is building the framework. Which starts with food scheduling. Personally, I don't free feed (leaving food available all day long). Instead, I set defined meal times for my birds. Since I work, I give two full meals a day. One in the morning, and one in the evening. And these particular meals are always given in their cages. Why? Because the idea here is to establish their cages as places of food and shelter, rather than as prisons. If they consider their cages as places to go when they are hungry (a driving motivation for them in the wild), they are not going to view them in a negative light. Quite the opposite, in fact. The positive association is so strong in my birds that they never resist a return to the cage.

Another thing this does is to set up a training schedule that is far more inclined to your success. Basically, while you never withhold food, you schedule their training sessions for when they will actually be feeling hungry. Namely, 15 or 20 minutes before dinner time. It is at this time that they will be most food-motivated. (If, by the way, your are home all day and prefer 3 smaller meals to two bigger ones, the idea still works. It's a flexible technique. Just pick a routine and be consistent with it.) So, as Al mentioned, you find his favorite foods (and try to pick stuff that is also swiftly consumed. Nothing slows the flow of a training session like waiting minutes for your bird to work his way through the treat you've provided) and make them only available during training sessions. For Jolly and Maya, I use almonds, cashews and other assorted nuts that they love. But break them down to slivers so that they don't get full before the end of the session... or ruin their appetites for dinner.

Target training should be the priority. Here is the best video I've seen on the process: [ame="https://youtu.be/HaOicTtwIZo"]Beginners guide to target training parrots - YouTube[/ame]

And while I'm at it, here is a great video on keeping flighted birds in the home: [ame="https://youtu.be/NzyZGdMp9kM"]Myth-busting! Parrot Training - Indoor Free Flying - DUCK!! Pet Parrot Free flight Skills - YouTube[/ame]

As for the flight training itself, I do advocate using smaller rooms. Just not bathrooms. I'm thinking more along the lines of bedrooms or dens. And not for the purposes of forcing a step up or anything, but rather as a great place to focus on target training. Buying a few training perches for this purpose would be a great help. And the more limited flying space would cut down on the possible distractions. Then, as they improve, you begin working with them in larger spaces.

Remember, if you get them to associate good food (or whatever else motivates) with doing the stuff you are asking, your bird will eventually grow eager for you to ask them to do something so they can earn their reward. They're hard workers in nature. You want to replicate that paradigm to the extent possible.

And they come to enjoy the sessions. And relish the challenges. My birds started with simple targeting, then moved on to learning how to fetch, and now fetch based on the color I've requested. Like us, they enjoy mental stimulation. Just look at the immediacy of recall in this video of my male ekkie, Jolly. I can't even get the words out of my mouth before he's on his way. He didn't always respond with this immediacy. That took time and the building of association. But now, he looks forward to it with enthusiasm.
[ame="https://youtu.be/_kR9S47I8e0"]Jolly Flight and Recall Training - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Gabriela020]

Hi! You've gotten some great advice on this thread so far. I'll just throw in my two cents as well.

First, there is nothing wrong with wanting to keep your bird flighted. I never clip, either. No shade on those who do. Everyone here loves their birds and cares for them in the way that works best for their situation and household. I'm just pointing out that training can definitely be done without clipping. Especially in the case of a bird who already flies as skillfully as yours apparently does. It just takes time, patience and consistency.

First, work with your bird at his pace. Every bird has their own personality. While your cockatiel might have been quicker to trust, your IRN seems to be a bit more on the skeptical side. Nothing wrong with that. You'll just have to work around that tendency.


An important thing to remember is that you don't want to force your bird's compliance. And methods such as withholding food seeks to do just that. Does it work? Sure. But is it right? Not so much. And it also builds your relationship based on the wrong kind of foundation.

No, what you want is a relationship built on the fact that your bird actually wants to be around you. That he comes to associate you with good things. Which is why so much of Al's (wrench13's) advice in the prior posts was pure gold. Basically, the trick to training is getting your bird to want to do the things that you want him to do, rather than cowing/dominating him into doing what you want. Know what I mean?

How? Here's my approach.

First is building the framework. Which starts with food scheduling. Personally, I don't free feed (leaving food available all day long). Instead, I set defined meal times for my birds. Since I work, I give two full meals a day. One in the morning, and one in the evening. And these particular meals are always given in their cages. Why? Because the idea here is to establish their cages as places of food and shelter, rather than as prisons. If they consider their cages as places to go when they are hungry (a driving motivation for them in the wild), they are not going to view them in a negative light. Quite the opposite, in fact. The positive association is so strong in my birds that they never resist a return to the cage.

Another thing this does is to set up a training schedule that is far more inclined to your success. Basically, while you never withhold food, you schedule their training sessions for when they will actually be feeling hungry. Namely, 15 or 20 minutes before dinner time. It is at this time that they will be most food-motivated. (If, by the way, your are home all day and prefer 3 smaller meals to two bigger ones, the idea still works. It's a flexible technique. Just pick a routine and be consistent with it.) So, as Al mentioned, you find his favorite foods (and try to pick stuff that is also swiftly consumed. Nothing slows the flow of a training session like waiting minutes for your bird to work his way through the treat you've provided) and make them only available during training sessions. For Jolly and Maya, I use almonds, cashews and other assorted nuts that they love. But break them down to slivers so that they don't get full before the end of the session... or ruin their appetites for dinner.

Target training should be the priority. Here is the best video I've seen on the process: Beginners guide to target training parrots - YouTube

And while I'm at it, here is a great video on keeping flighted birds in the home: Myth-busting! Parrot Training - Indoor Free Flying - DUCK!! Pet Parrot Free flight Skills - YouTube

As for the flight training itself, I do advocate using smaller rooms. Just not bathrooms. I'm thinking more along the lines of bedrooms or dens. And not for the purposes of forcing a step up or anything, but rather as a great place to focus on target training. Buying a few training perches for this purpose would be a great help. And the more limited flying space would cut down on the possible distractions. Then, as they improve, you begin working with them in larger spaces.

Remember, if you get them to associate good food (or whatever else motivates) with doing the stuff you are asking, your bird will eventually grow eager for you to ask them to do something so they can earn their reward. They're hard workers in nature. You want to replicate that paradigm to the extent possible.

And they come to enjoy the sessions. And relish the challenges. My birds started with simple targeting, then moved on to learning how to fetch, and now fetch based on the color I've requested. Like us, they enjoy mental stimulation. Just look at the immediacy of recall in this video of my male ekkie, Jolly. I can't even get the words out of my mouth before he's on his way. He didn't always respond with this immediacy. That took time and the building of association. But now, he looks forward to it with enthusiasm.
Jolly Flight and Recall Training - YouTube

Thank you so much, your advice is very useful!! I’ll start practicing basic target training with Blu in his cage.

And wow Jolly is beautiful, you did such a good job in training. I hope one day Blu will trust me and do the same.

 

[Anansi]

You're welcome. I'm glad I could help. Feel free to reach out with any other questions.

And thank you! I'm sure you and Blu will get there as well. Looking forward to seeing that video.