Target Training

[Sadie]

I am sorry to be bothering everyone again, i have been trying to keep busy and i got into target training. There wasnt much online that i could find about it other than a stick and making them touch it. nothing about how to first start doing it. My ultimate goal from it is flight recall.
So how do i start? do i just hold it in front of the bird until they touch it and reward? If i use a clicker will i always have to use a clicker or when can i phase that out?

where do i get the stick all the videos seem to use?
will i eventually be able to phase out the stick when i teach recall or will i have a stick in my pocket for the rest of his life

Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Most people use a chop stick or a wooden skewer stick.

Parrots are curious, all you need to do is have the stick in close range to their face and he will eventual touch it with his beak to see what it is. They might not figure it out immediately but pretty darn fast

You should always use a clicker touch training or using the target stick but once you start recall training and they have it down you can phase out the target stick.

The clicker is to tell your bird the instant he does something the right. Once he knows the behaviors you want him to do perfectly you no longer need it. I've noticed though that when I take the clicker out my bird goes into training mode and becomes very excited because she knows it means she will get walnuts.

 

[Sadie]

great! thank you so much for your help! i cant wait to start!
i thought they looked like chop sticks in the videos! i will have to get a few sets since it seems to be a favorite.
Thanks again!