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
