Training questions

[momy442000]

I haven't posted much but I do read alot of the threads on this forum. So here goes another post...I have a CAG that will be 2 june 23rd and a TAG that will be 3 august 1st. I have never done "formal" training with them and want to know is it too late to start? Also if its not what would be the best way to begin and what would be a good thing to start with? Emma, my TAG is a girl(she was sexed) she is a hurricane katrina survivor- which I believe is why she is a little skittish,timid and jumpy she was born down there and a breeder from up here rescued her and then hand fed her till she was weaned...I'm not sure how old she was when the breeder rescued her.I got her at 18 months of age from a private person who just couldn't give her the proper attention...she took to me quite well...she just has her moods but I've really gotten to know her body language and when she wants to be played with and when she dosen't. My CAG on the other hand is abig play baby I've never seen a grey so acrobatic and wild when playing...needless to say we've had a couple broken blood feathers...Monty is a jabberbox and learns something new to say everyday. He likes to be where everybody else is in the family even though he won't let anyone except me come near him and I can do practically anything with him. He is always trying to get by Emma but she dosen't seem to want to be friends with him as much as he would like. Sometimes I think Monty is a little dog in the house rather than a bird(he even barks)previous owners had little yappy dogs. I've had Monty 7 months and the old owner is amazed at the attachment he has toward me almost instantly. So here is a little background on my babies.Oh one other thing has changed since I've gotten Monty-Emma has taken a step back from talking. I don't know if this is bad/good or just a personality thing...so do you think they could benefit from training and do you think with thier very different personalities I should have different approaches with training? I know this was a mouthful but I really value your opinions and felt in order to give me advice you should have a little idea about them. FYI Monty is not sexed just assumed to be male...not that it matters I just thought i'd mention it. so any advice/suggestions are greatly appreciated. THANKS SO MUCH!!!

[lovemyGreys]

Well it's never to late to train them & they are both still very young, obviously having different personalities they will each learn at their own pace.it is best to do one to one training so you can give each bird your undivided attention.Keep each training session short perhaps 10 minutes,15 max but have two sessions a day with each bird if you can.You say that have had no training, Can they both " step up " ? this is probably the first & most important command a grey owner can teach their bird.Here is a link for that....

 

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/behavior/f/birdstepup.htm

 

Here is a thread i recently wrote on understanding your greys body language, This will help you to see how they communicate with us..

 

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/african-grey/70476-your-greys-body-language.html

[momy442000]

They both step up...Monty will actually tell you to step up and then tell you "good boy". When I said training I really meant beyond the basics(sorry for the confusion)

[lovemyGreys]

Thats ok :laugh: what sort of stuff was you thinking about ? The same would apply as i said, small sessions individually.