Bird Tricks

[Fletcher]

I purchased the whole program from Bird Tricks .com and was wondering if anyone here tried this program Fletcher 's not here yet ,but everything is in place,lights perches cage and food stuffs.This is not my first Grey. My first was about 20 years ago and he didnt do any tricks but he did talk alot.At the time i was a diver in the Gulf and didnt have the time to properly spend with him.Iam looking forward to working with Fletcher using this program, it has some pretty cool tricks and i think well worth the money i spent on it.Since chess is my favorite game iam sure i can do this (i love a good challenge)If anyone has tried this program i would like some feed back, they dont really look hard but i think it can be involed.

[judygram]

No I haven't tried the program from Bird Tricks but you can fill us in on how it works for you and Fletcher after he comes home, I would be curious to know if his methods work.

 

Look like you have everything set for Fletcher's homecoming, I hope it all goes well for him, just when is he expected to arrive?

[siobha9]

I have one of their CD's which I borrowed from a friend. The tricks that they teach certainly do work. But they take lots of patience, don't let the 10 minutes on the DVD fool ya!

 

And it definitely isnt as easy as they make it out to be. For example I tried to teach one of my greys the fetch routine. The first part of which is where she is supposed to pick something up from the table and drop it in my hand in exchange for a treat. Yeah right! She picks it up and chews quite happily on it and no amounts of treats will entice her to give it to me. (Maybe she is just too well fed ??) But she has mastered a couple of them.

 

Their taming techniques are VERY questionable however. They talk about taming a biting bird in 20 minutes or so. This I do not recommend. I believe in taking everything slow slow and still slower or the poor bird will be scared of you.

 

Also they talk about weighing how much your grey eats, and then feeding them less in their dish and the rest during trick training. Well that assumes that your bird is eating only pellets or seed. What about fruit, veggies and other human food that my greys love?

 

So my advice is have fun with it but take everything with a grain of salt!

 

Siobhan

[lovemyGreys]

Thanks for your input Siobhan , my money will be staying in my pocket on this one

[Fletcher]

Hello siobha9 thats my thinking how ever what i got out of them was the fact that they lead somewhere , i also thought 2 weeks yea right!Initualy purchasing what i thought was there basic kit that is what i thought,30 days later after which i found out (my fault)i just auto purchased the whole thing or a good portion of the whole thing,I called them and gave them a piece of my mind, then i proceeded to watch the tapes that i had purchased,i gotta say i am amazed theres a lot more tricks and they were very understandable of course ial have to prep this to the way Fletcher thinks and his attenion span but i look forward to the Best he's got, i love a good plan of attack.Fletcher only recieved pellets from the breeder so any change i make will be vet supervised as far as other foods go even tho ive always heard that there good for your bird i dont want to make his diet unbalanced.There is a complete DVD on there training diet i havent looked at it yet but soon i will.And of course a grey probally has to think the whole thing is his idea,but we shall see. Your grain of salt observation is duely noted.Yes very slow like a chess game i cant wait:) Thanks for the reply.

[Guest briansmum]

i havent used the progams either, i agree with points made by siobahn, the tricks are fun and a good bonding excersise for you and your bird as well as great stimulation for them, so by all means go for it and let us know how it goes.

 

i would be wary of things like "train your bird to stop biting in [amount] minutes" and "teach your bird to lay on it's back" i'm not saying theyre not do-able, but particularly with greys they are questionable techniques.

 

i also wouldn't start adjusting their food based on training, they need a very well balanced diet as i'm sure you know, and being intelligent animals they eat as much as their bodies tell them they need. so giving them less at meal times to encourage them to train seems cruel to me. so i would be cautious with that too.

 

short of finding a fun tasty treat to use when training i don't think their genral diet need be effected at all

[Fletcher]

Hopfully iam note stepping on any toes as that is not my goal but a few things i would have to disagree on .I dont think many birds eat what they need more like eat what they want,probally why we have to tip toe threw most food changes.Anyone doing or planning to do any training needs to have a far greater perseption of the effects of food training and as a former Schuthund trainer i can tell you starving your poor bird until he does a half cartwheel is not good.Now the book actually sez first cosult your vet before ,after an during this training which is A1 advice so far.Next the book actually sez NO bird will be able to do all these tricks ,more like you have to know your birds strong points and you choose the tricks that focus on your birds intel.I havent come across anything about biting in my tapes or the book but i would think if you need instructions on how to get YOUR bird to stop bitting YOU your not ready to teach it any tricks at all.The new Bird Talk sez bird owners are the least likely pet owners to be sitting in the vets office if so how can you tell if that big old bowl of food is so good for your bird and please dont tell me he looks healthy,that in know way is vet approved. I can see my vets office from my front door and i suspect when Fletcher finally does arrive they will see a lot of each other,thats a big part of love for your pets (all of them)What i liked most about Fletchers breeder and why i cose her is the fact that the money meant little to her she clearly spells that out and i must agree the bird comes first so at no time would starving my Fletcher so as to perform tricks is unacceptable.I ve been bitten everywhere a bite suit doesnt cover by some pretty rought guard dogs in the end even they have to know it nothing but love. Imagine having to suck that in for trainings sake. Bird tricks arent for everyone they just want you to think that.(sellin tapes)I most surely will keep you guys and gals posted on his results but i suspect it will take some time to achieve.{Feel-good-000200BB}