Toothless is 3months old, he is not hand tamed, and is a wonderful flyer(hes fast and very controlled) I have been reading up on this page for a few months because i wanted to get as much info as i could about IRN's.
well my bird so far likes apples and REALLY loves watermelon, though watermelon seems to make him very hyper. Today i will buy a clicker in hopes that i can train him to not be afraid of my hand, im simply going to try and offer him millet while hes in his cage and click wen he does not flinch then move away and do it again... Please teach me if u know a method that i should use instead i am open to ideas thank you all so very much!!!
Hey im Jess my birds name is Toothless!!!
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ellieelectrons
- Posts: 2708
- Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:17 am
- Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Re: Hey im Jess my birds name is Toothless!!!
Clicker training is usually coupled with target training. You give them a click closely followed by a treat for touching a ball on the end of a stick.
I don't do clicker training but I do train my birds.
Millet is fine as a treat if your bird knows what it is and enjoys it. You can also offer other things as treats. I'll never forget the first time I waved a spray of millet in Janey's face thinking she'd love it and I completely freaked her out! She obviously didn't recognise it.
A way to figure out what to treats are your birds favs is to give them a bowl with all sorts of items in it and see what they eat first.
One key to training is to not give them rewards that are too big. A) it takes them a long time to eat it so you lose some continuity in your training and B) they get full quickly so the rewards become less effective. I use a variety of things with my birds such as granulated nuts, small pieces of grape, banana, sunflower seeds, almond pieces. I give them the biggest reward (usually a chunk of banana) for doing the behaviour that's the hardest to get them to do - and that's going back in their cage.
Maybe not straight away but in time, I would recommend having a place where you can interact with your bird away from its cage (eg. birdie gym or t-perch)- because birds can be territorial in their cage.
If your bird isn't currently accepting treats from your hand, that's probably the first behaviour to get your bird to do rather than trying to get it used to you petting it or stepping up... and you can do this quite well through the cage bars and once it's comfortable doing that, try doing it through the cage door.
Also if you have trouble getting your bird to step up onto your hand, you can try getting it to step up onto dowel first. Don't do what I did though and start chasing your bird all over the place with the bit of dowel. I did that with Janey when I was desperate to get her back into the cage and now seeing that piece of dowel can trigger an aggressive response in her.
Good luck and best wishes.
Ellie.
I don't do clicker training but I do train my birds.
Millet is fine as a treat if your bird knows what it is and enjoys it. You can also offer other things as treats. I'll never forget the first time I waved a spray of millet in Janey's face thinking she'd love it and I completely freaked her out! She obviously didn't recognise it.
A way to figure out what to treats are your birds favs is to give them a bowl with all sorts of items in it and see what they eat first.
One key to training is to not give them rewards that are too big. A) it takes them a long time to eat it so you lose some continuity in your training and B) they get full quickly so the rewards become less effective. I use a variety of things with my birds such as granulated nuts, small pieces of grape, banana, sunflower seeds, almond pieces. I give them the biggest reward (usually a chunk of banana) for doing the behaviour that's the hardest to get them to do - and that's going back in their cage.
Maybe not straight away but in time, I would recommend having a place where you can interact with your bird away from its cage (eg. birdie gym or t-perch)- because birds can be territorial in their cage.
If your bird isn't currently accepting treats from your hand, that's probably the first behaviour to get your bird to do rather than trying to get it used to you petting it or stepping up... and you can do this quite well through the cage bars and once it's comfortable doing that, try doing it through the cage door.
Also if you have trouble getting your bird to step up onto your hand, you can try getting it to step up onto dowel first. Don't do what I did though and start chasing your bird all over the place with the bit of dowel. I did that with Janey when I was desperate to get her back into the cage and now seeing that piece of dowel can trigger an aggressive response in her.
Good luck and best wishes.
Ellie.
Re: Hey im Jess my birds name is Toothless!!!
OH so i can try to give him millet through the bars? i didnt even consider doing that lol, as obvious as it sounds now!!! thank u, i will do this instead! he does recognize millet he loves it , thanks a ton!!!
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ellieelectrons
- Posts: 2708
- Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:17 am
- Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Re: Hey im Jess my birds name is Toothless!!!
Jess - good luck & best wishes with Toothless. Keep us posted on how you get on!
Ellie.
Ellie.
Re: Hey im Jess my birds name is Toothless!!!
Hey Ellie!!! im finally able to give Toothless millet and apple from a short chop stick its awesome!!! im doing it everyday now so i think soon he wont mind taking it right from my hand! i had a question for u, ppl on youtube keep telling me to get my bird away from my mirror and i was just wondering why they keep telling me this? His play stand is literally right infront of my closet and my closet doors are just mirrors