ScubaJ Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 A little background, my TAG is 5 months old and have had her for a little more then a week. I am still letting her get used to her surroundings and probably won't start really training her for at least another week or two, maybe longer depending on how she acclimates. Anyways, I was looking for some suggestions on what kind of things you should train your bird early, "baby steps". Really any tips or advice on training a young, and early bird would be great! Right now, the only thing that she is fairly good on and I am just "reinforcing" is the step up command. And other then that I am just trying to get her used to me touching her, specifically her wings. But other then "tricks", what useful things should I start to train. Potty training is on the list but that will take awhile as I am still trying to see signs early enough to do something about it. Well, any tips would be great! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Congrats on teaching her to step up, some new owners have a problem with that one. One useful "trick" would be to get her to stay on her playstand or whatever you put her on when she is out of the cage. This involves continuing to put her back every time she comes off of it even if it is a hundred or a thousand times, eventually she will learn that she is to stay where you put her. You should recognize the signs of getting ready to poop already, they usually back up a little and squat down and wiggle their tail, catch her as she starts doing that and you will catch her in time to take her where you want her to go. Give her some type of word command for her to associate with going and eventually she will know what that means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kibibi Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 I would recommend that you begin harness training her at as early an age as possible. She might be still be too small to actually use a harness but you can still start by training her to allow you to touch her and place the harness around her. Teaching her at an early age to allow the harness will come in very handy as she gets older. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundarg Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 ScubaJ looks like me and you are in the same boat i have had mines for 5 days now i think my parrot is settled into its new home ScubaJ i would be greatful if you and i keep in touch as we both got our parrots around the same time also because i would like to see how far you progress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScubaJ Posted January 4, 2008 Author Share Posted January 4, 2008 Great tips! Judy, I can't really take the credit for the step up. The breeder that I bought her from was very hands on with her birds, I think they started her... and I am just continuing. She actually has been pretty good about staying on her cage/play stand, even when I leave the room. But I will be bringing her to my work probably in February so I am sure she will try to explore then, and I will have to make sure she stays. Kib, Training Harness like a flight harness? I am still in the debate on weather to flight her or not. I will be searching/posting a thread on this as well, but I am sure there are TONS of great debates done on this already. Sun, sounds good to me! Thats one thing I always wonder when reading some of these "Successes" or tricks, how old are the birds? Ours being the same it will be nice to watch how they grow. Well, thanks for the replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Hi Scuba, On the flight harness, it is a good idea to get her use to one whether you intend to let her become fully flighted our not. The reason is they can still fly when clipped if they get spooked or a good wind comes a long. Another plus to getting her used to a harness, is it gets her slowly familiar and comfortable with you touching her all over, lifting wings and touching under there etc.. What this accomplishes whether you use a harness or not, is she will be very easy to handle for wing clips, nail clips or medical exams. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chapala Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 You might be interested in starting clicker training, all positive methods. Here's a Yahoo forum: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Bird-Click/messages I believe they have lots of articles in their file section on trainin, plus can answer specific questions if you post. You may have to join the forum before you can view the files. Reta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah_Rae Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Good thread guys. :)All awesome suggestions. ScubaJ and SunDarg,congrats on your new babies...mine is coming home in 3 weeks. YAY!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatB Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I just started clicker training with my 21 month old TAG. He's catching on so fast it's blowing my mind. My question is "would he be learning this quickly without the clicker?". I tend to think yes, but the clicker is working so I'm going to stick with it at least for a while. His two "tricks" (both learned within the past couple of months) are 1) poop on command and 2) following the pointer. According to the training manual I'm reading, getting him to follow a pointer (or target, they call it) is the basis for teaching lots of other behaviors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScubaJ Posted January 5, 2008 Author Share Posted January 5, 2008 Dan, thanks for the info, I will get one on order soon as it makes perfect sense. As for the clicker training, I heard about it last week or so. I am interested in finding out more but haven't looked it up yet. The only thing I found was that Chet Womach guy, and... that looks like a scam. I googled him to find some reviews... nothing praised him anyways. Thanks for the info chap and Kat. Hannah, thanks and good luck with your future grey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 ScubaJ wrote: The only thing I found was that Chet Womach guy, and... that looks like a scam. I googled him to find some reviews... nothing praised him anyways. You're smart, real smart!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatB Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I ran across the Chet Womach site in the past, too, and came to the same conclusion. He may be perfectly legit, but the site is too much like a snake oil salesman for my tastes. Here's a link to the site where I found the clicker training material I'm using. http://www.avitrain.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScubaJ Posted January 6, 2008 Author Share Posted January 6, 2008 You're smart, real smart!!!! Hehe, reminded me of the Oxy Clean commercial but for bird training... just doesn't sound right. KatB, thanks for the link, got one on order already! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundarg Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 what is a clicker i dnt understand what u mean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundarg Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 i have tryd to join the group http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Bird-Click/messages it is pending i hope it does work so i can start finding out more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatB Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Sundarg, Clicker training is a method for training animals through positive reinforcement. I don't think you absolutely have to have a clicker (you know, the little box with a metal tab that makes a clicking sound when you press it). You can click with your tongue, or use any other kind of cue, as long as you're consistent. You start by teaching the animal that when they hear the sound, a treat is coming so for the first several training sessions you're just clicking and handing out treats. Once you get that association down, you start making the sound when the animal does something you want him to do then immediately give the treat. The idea is that you can click at the exact moment the good behavior is happening, so he'll know what he did right. It's difficult to deliver a treat at the exact moment, so that's why you first need to get the sound associated with the treat. It's the treat he's after, but the sound tells him he did something that will get him the treat. I know I'm rambling, but once you join the bird-click site you'll be able to get lots of good info on the technique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah_Rae Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I've used clicker training with all of my dogs, starting when they were 4-6 weeks old (I hand raised 3 litters), and had awesome success. I love showing people what my dogs can do. I am excited to do the same with my grey. Countdown...16 days -Hannah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HilaryQ Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I'm counting down too Hannah-Rae! I've got 7 days left until we bring our baby CAG home. I also have trained my dogs (not using clicker, actually, though I might start) and feel pretty comfortable using the similar, positive reinforcement methods with my future grey. I think the key is patience and consistency. At least birds don't "jump up" and get strangers all muddy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah_Rae Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Hilary, it's funny you mention the jumping, as my britany mix is CONSTANTLY jumping and got mud all over my face the other day. She is so smart, but very exciteable. Congrats on your baby grey. I am so excited for Juji to come home...and helping him/her reach its full potential. -Hannah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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