Let's start with terminology. In animal training, “behavior” is distinct from “tricks.” With dogs, behavior refers to an action designed for safety or convenience. Think of teaching a dog to walk on a leash or not to jump on people entering your home. In other words, to behave translates as social etiquette. Tricks, on the other hand, refer to actions performed in response to a cue. Think of a dog learning to lift a paw to “shake hands” - replicating a human behavior for human amusement.
However, from the parrot perspective, considering their extraordinary physicality and intelligence, the line is not so clearly drawn between behavior and trick. Actions of birds in the wild are shaped by hard-wired instinct as well as life experience. Imagine a scenario running through a parrot's brain: “If I go to that tree and hang by my foot in a certain way from a particular kind of branch, I can reach the best fruit.” That thinking process is not only clever but a matter of survival.
Actions taken by birds who have become pets may be similarly motivated but designed to make life easier in the human context. For example, visualize your parrot stepping up and onto your finger or arm. You are making use of a bird's natural perching instinct and experience to come to you – you are now the substitute tree branch! In contrast, some human practices are alien to avian instinct and experience, such as teaching a bird to calmly accept being wrapped in a towel to make nail clipping and veterinary exams less stressful. In the wild, a parrot doesn't have a neighborhood vet or groomer. Nature takes care of those things. So training a bird to do something unnatural but necessary in the human realm takes patience and practice.
Fun and social interaction are great motivators too. Many parrots enjoy being the center of attention. Learning tricks, such as lifting a foot and waving its clawed toes, can be a positive and rewarding shared time for your parrot and you. Remember this mantra: tricks AND treats!
RULES OF THE ROAD – MAPPING THE BASIC ROUTE
1.First, observe your parrot’s mood.
If the bird is frightened or tense, stop immediately. You don't want to reinforce any negativity. Try to figure out what upset your bird so you can start again at a better time and place or with a different training method. Also consider your own mood. Are you nervous, scared, unsure of what you're doing? Your bird will sense your calm and hopefully follow suit.
2.Go slow to avoid upsetting your parrot.
If an object is involved, such as a towel or ball, start by putting it where your parrot can see it. Gradually move it closer until the bird actually touches it, staying relaxed. With some birds and some objects, only minutes might be necessary. With other parrots or different objects, it might take weeks just to get this far. If your bird seems upset by the item you've selected, even at a distance, choose a different object or try one in a different color.
3.Never use negative reinforcement of any kind.
Don’t push your parrot and don’t become impatient. You are responsible for figuring out how to succeed. The bird may have its own ideas but will still be curious enough and bonded enough to you to want to work with you.
4.Even if the lesson goes great, keep it short.
If it goes badly, just stop and reconsider. Don’t expect a final product in one lesson. For most birds, three or four attempts at accomplishing a small step are enough for one session. Your bird has a lot of potential and a long life expectancy. No need to rush.
CLICKERS
Some people like them and some people don't. Clickers are simply a way to communicate the expected behavior or that the trick has been achieved. Clickers make a short quick sound. You can even make a clicking noise yourself, freeing up both your hands. If you're more comfortable saying “good bird” or a single word or phrase you use exclusively in training, that's just as effective. Clickers aren't effective when teaching some tricks and behaviors, such as a parrot adjusting to a towel. Sometimes it's better to make a slow but fun game to recognize how your bird reacts so you can adjust your techniques.
Eliminating fear and uncertainty are primary to reaching your goal. Birds are not always emotionally or intellectually prepared to deal with an approaching hand. Using a treat can help some birds realize you are not a threat. Stepping up onto a finger may come easily to birds, and in many cases just getting out of a cage is reward enough. Always remember to have assessed your training environment so your parrot is safe.
REWARDING THE TRICK
Whatever the source of your reinforcing sound, also choose a reward you know your bird adores. It doesn't have to be food, but a treat is easy and usually a strong incentive for most parrots. Think in terms of increments – the number of steps or repeating one step in relation to offering treats. Training sessions are not mealtime! Be sure to have tiny healthy bits on hand (a pea, a corn kernel, a bit of a nut).
You can also cue your parrot that a treat is coming by using your marker/click sound – first the sound immediately followed by offering the treat. After a few repetitions, the parrot should make the connection. You'll make the connection that the bird has learned “click equals treat” when you make the click and the bird gives you its full attention, looking or coming to you for the treat. Both you and your parrot are now ready for the first step of the trick.
THAT FIRST STEP
Your first step is to decide what you want your bird to do and break it down into small actions. Ready to try that first tiny action? Here are ways to make it happen:
1.Spontaneous:
Let's say your parrot already bunny hops across a table. You can take this natural behavior and enhance it. Does the bird always hop five times? If you know when the bird starts the hop, you can say “hop hop!” before or with the first hop, make your click sound, and reward. You can even give the cue during the hop across the table to make the mental/communication connection. Just don't wait till the hop is over, because then your click and reward emphasize stopping the hop! You could also stand at the end of the table where the parrot is hopping toward because the bird may come directly to you, making the reward a double inducement – the fun of hopping and getting to the favorite person. If your timing is off or the parrot doesn't understand, stop. Try later and move on to another fun activity that doesn't involve a training session.
2.Lure:
If the trick you want to teach is not something your parrot does spontaneously, you may try luring the bird to act. Do you want to teach your parrot to pirouette (turn in a circle)? Hold a treat just out of reach above the bird's head, leading the bird into a turn. If the bird turns, give the cue (“turn!”), help the bird complete the circle, make your clicking sound if you're including that in your training techniques, and reward. It may take only one or two sessions for the bird to turn without being led. Conversely, it's a trick you and your parrot can always perform together.
3.Prompt:
Imitation is not only the sincerest form of flattery, but something many creatures like to do. Your parrot may imitate a desired action as a reaction to your doing it. Your bird might bob its head if you vigorously nod yours, or bounce if you jump up and down or move your hand up and down. Again, if the movement scares your bird, stop. Remember fast excited motion may produce an aggressive response as well as a fearful one.
Teaching a bird to wave puts prompting to good use. Birds naturally lift a foot when getting ready to move from perch to perch. If you use your finger as a perch, bring it near your bird. Its foot is likely to lift up in anticipation of stepping up or wanting to touch you. As soon as the foot leaves the perch, cue, click, reward. You can gradually shape the behavior as the bird lifts its foot to the right height. Once that is well learned, touch or almost touch the raised foot so the bird closes its toes. At that precise moment, cue and click – if you're using that technique – and reward. Gradually encourage the bird to open and close its claws to imitate a wave.
CUES
Some parrots respond more to your body language than verbal cues.
Luring a bird into a pirouette can progress from a spoken cue to your circling or just pointing your hand or a finger above the parrot's head. Similarly the cue for waving may become wiggling your finger in a little wave.
PROPS
Some props are easy to work with.
They just have to be clean, not chewable and swallowable, and not toxic. For example, parrots seem to have a talent for putting an object into a container. Useful props include a whiffle ball and a small table-top basketball hoop, a coin and a miniature treasure chest, or wadded up paper into a recyclable cup.
Teaching a prop trick is different from non-prop tricks discussed above. With non-prop tricks, you start training at the beginning of the target action and proceed through to the end. With prop tricks, you start at the end and work back to the beginning. The cue is the prop itself.
Drop-It-In trick:
To teach the paper-in-the-cup, you start by holding the tightly wadded paper right above the cup. Click and reward when the bird touches the paper with its beak. Next, get the bird to take and hold the paper while you click and reward. If the parrot has other ideas of what to do with the paper, such as running off with it, no click - no reward - start again at the beginning. Finally click and reward when the bird drops the paper above and into the cup. Hooray! Once the bird dependably holds the paper and then drops it, the goal is to reinforce consistently dropping the paper into the cup. To enhance the trick, move the cup farther away so that the parrot understands to carry the paper to the cup wherever it is.
PROP SAFETY AND DESIGN
Make sure any prop you offer your parrot is an appropriate size, no sharp edges, as well as clean and non-toxic. Also make sure the prop does not make the trick harder to accomplish.
If you want your parrot to put a token into a piggy bank, choose a bank with a large slot. As long as a prop is safe and suitable for your bird, you can add to the appeal of a trick with colorful, humorous, or educational props. For example, if you teach your parrot to tug a cord to raise a flag, use the flag of the parrot’s native land.
Always keep in mind that your goal is to have fun with your parrot, not at your parrot's expense. Tricks may be amusing, but they are also opportunities for your parrot's intellectual stimulus and social interaction. Enrich your bird's life and your own. Let your parrot set its learning pace. Don’t push a bird beyond its growing capabilities. Training is all about being safe, positive, and fun.
Final word for finicky feathered friends? If your parrot doesn’t seem to enjoy learning tricks, do something else!
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