Tunnel Shaping Steps

Continuing on from my last post, here are some pictures showing our third shaping lesson with the tunnel.  Each session is only a few minutes long, but we have made a lot of progress.  Our first session, Sophia spent most of her time running and playing on the bed, and I spent a lot of my time waiting silently for her to interact with the tunnel.  I was able to click a couple completed tunnels and some other play behaviors with the tunnel.  The second session went better with only a moment or two of playing before she started noticing the tunnel.  The second session had Sophia offering a lot of behaviors with the tunnel - pushing it, biting it, tossing it.  By the end she was going through the tunnel on her own.  Here is our third shaping session ...

 

Remember to have your prop already in place before you bring your bird to the training area.  Here, as I put Sophia down, you can see she is already interested in and is orienting herself to the tunnel.  My clicker is in my hand and ready to use.  I don't want to miss an opportunity to reinforce her.

 

At first, click even for your bird approaching or looking at the prop. With shaping, it is important to get your bird interacting in any way with the prop and to continue rewarding that interest.  After awhile, you will begin to see certain patterns of behavior emerge.  Then you can start to narrow down which behaviors you will click. 

 

At first, I would click Sophia for approaching the tunnel from any angle, even if she ended up facing the middle where there was no opening.  But I slowly began to withhold my click until she got a little closer to the opening, and then a little closer, until she was finally poking her head to look into the opening.  She is already past that stage here, but I was able to stop the tape to make it look like she is peeking in. 

 

Then I stopped clicking for any other behaviors.  I only clicked for behaviors that brought her head to the opening of the tunnel. Sometimes that meant I clicked her for nibbling on the tunnel opening, but I wanted to keep her focused on that tunnel opening. 

 

During this process, I am not saying anything to Sophia except to praise her after the click and while I am feeding her.  I am standing far enough away from the training area that she is not distracted and coming to see me.  I am not luring her with my hand or a treat.  I am just allowing her to figure out on her own what gets the click.  Here are some various click points ...

 

 

Looking into the tunnel, poking head farther and farther into tunnel.

 

Walking farther into tunnel.  When you click at this point, the bird can either keep going through the rest of the way, or she may pop back out backwards.  Either way is correct and should be rewarded because you clicked. 

 

A little bit further through ... actually I clicked during the last photo and she is continuing through the tunnel to get her seed.  You can see my hand already coming in to her with the reward. 

 

Make sure to click for going in both ends of the tunnel.  Otherwise your bird will learn to only go in from one direction.  I am also turning the tunnel during our session so it is at different angles to me.

 

Here she comes ...

 

And gets her reward!  Good bird, Sophia!

 

Isn't she just too darn cute??  She is a ham for the camera. 

Next steps?  I am probably getting close to being able to add a cue, but first I want to take the tunnel to different areas in the house and do some shaping there too, so she knows that whenever she sees the tunnel I want her to go through it.  Once I know she can do it in other places and with some distractions, I will come back to her quiet training area and add the cue to the behavior. 









Clicker Shaping

Sophia and I have been doing shaping exercises with the clicker and her tunnel.  I saved a couple cardboard Pringles containers, cleaned them well, and cut off the closed end.  The first tunnel we used was only 3 inches long.  I wanted to make the tunnel inviting for her to investigate and easy for her to go through.  With it being so short, by the time she had poked her head through, her body was most of the way through.  I didn't want her to get inside and then feel trapped.  If she did, she wouldn't want to go back inside.

 

In the very beginning, we just played together with the tunnel.  I didn't really use the clicker at all.  I just wanted her to get used to it and see that it was a fun thing to play with.  I let her try different behaviors with it, like picking it up and tossing it, rolling it, etc.  I helped her go through it a few times.  But I wasn't trying to get her to do anything in particular with it. 

 

Then I moved to a slightly longer tunnel, about 6 inches long this time, and I taped it to a cardboard base so when she was walking inside it, the tube would not roll around.  This is the tunnel we use for training.  When she's really good at the trick, I will use a full size Pringles can and decorate it so it looks more fancy. 

 

 

 

I clicker train with UNSALTED de-shelled sunflower seeds that I break into two or three pieces.  I started with the seeds in their shell, but it took too long for her to break it open and eat the seed.  You don't want there to be too much time lapse between repetitions.  Plus, one seed is equal to 2-3 treats, so I was letting her get filled up on sunflower seeds, and I was missing out on opportunities to reward her.

 

In order for shaping to work, you need to do some advanced planning.  I enjoy using props for shaping exercises, because there are so many behaviors that a bird will offer you just with one prop.  You can pick what you want to reward.  Shaping with a prop also take the bird's attention off of me and the idea that I have the treat.  I don't want her to constantly be looking at me.  She needs to be interacting with the prop. 

 

Make sure your prop is already in place in the training area and reduce any distractions in the area.  Have the clicker and rewards handy and already broken into pieces.  Your bird should already know what the click noise means - that a reward is coming.

 

Be ready!  When you bring your bird to the area, have your clicker in your hand and ready.  As soon as you put your bird down, she is likely to want to go investigate the prop.  At first, you will click and treat for anything your bird does with the prop.  I do mean anything!  Don't let there be a lot of down time between clicks.  You want to keep your bird's interest in the prop, so keep those clicks and treats coming! 

 

Always end the session before your bird loses interest.  It's tempting to keep going when you're on a roll and your bird is making progress.  But always end on a good note, click the behavior, feed the bird and quickly remove the prop while your bird is eating.  Then you can remove your bird from the training area. 

 

 

 



Making Sprouts

Sophia enjoys the benefits of sprouted seeds a few times a week.  They are very easy to make, and she enjoys biting off the fresh shoots while shelling the seeds.  There are many health benefits to sprouting seeds too, because as they start to grow, they become a fresh green food!  Here's how we make them ...

 

You can use many different types of seed to sprout, but we just use a small scoop of her regular daily seed mix.  Put a scoop of seed in the bottom of a glass jar.  Then cover the seed with plenty of water.  Some of the seed will float, but that's ok, it will settle to the bottom as it gets saturated with water.  Leave the seed to soak in the water for roughly 24 hours in a spot that's not in direct sunlight. 

 

 

 

 

You can use a fancy sprout jar with a lid to drain the water away but leave the seeds in the jar.  You can strain the seed in a small strainer.  You can have a brilliant mother to recommend that you use a piece of plastic canvas from the craft store to cut a strainer lid for your jar!  Thanks, Mom!  Cut the plastic canvas to fit the lid size you are working with.  It works perfectly.  Sometimes a few of the very small seeds will fall through the lid, but most of them stay inside.

 

 

 

 

After soaking the seed for 24 hours, drain the water away and rinse the seeds thoroughly.  If you're using a jar, just strain the water off through the lid, then add water and flush the seeds, draining them whenever the jar is full - a few times. 

 

Drain the seeds well so there is no excess water left in the jar.  Now turn the jar sideways and roll it gently so the seeds stick to the sides of the jar.  This will spread the seeds out instead of them being in one big clump!  Air is important for the seeds to begin to sprout.  Leave the jar on its side where it's not in direct sunlight.  A shady spot in the kitchen is perfect. 

 

 

The next day, flush and drain the seeds again several times.  Repeat the rolling of the jar to spread out the seed, and let it sit on its side again.

 

On the next day, flush and drain the seeds again.  Now they are ready to feed to your lucky bird!  You should see that the seeds are well sprouted.  The sprouts will last a couple more days.  I put mine in a small container in the refrigerator.  If you leave them out, be sure to flush and rinse them daily and you may notice that the tips start to turn brown. 

 

It's very easy to make a batch weekly, and I make enough for Sophia to have 3-4 days each week of sprouts.  She loves them and will pick them out of her fruit and veggie dish first every time! 

 

Happy Sprouting!  

More Birdie Fun

Enrichment for a pet bird is very important - especially for a young active bird like Sophia!  She gets something new and different to do every day.  I have lots of toys which I rotate regularly.  Some are store bought.  Some I create for her.  The favorite right now is an empty toilet paper tube stuffed with drinking straws that I cut in half.  I stuff them in there tightly with a few treats and other foot toys.  She loves to pull them out one by one, carry them around the cage, and toss and twirl them.  When she's finished, I stuff them all back in for a different day's fun. 

 

I cut up her fresh fruits and veggies for the whole week, so each week I try to include variety in what I cut for her.  Some days she gets sprouted seed, some days I tuck in a banana chip or a piece or two of dry cereal.  She enjoyed some dry spinach tortellini the other day. 

 

Below you see Sophia with lots to do.  Not only is this good to keep her busy all day, but it helps her learn to be quiet as well. A busy beak is a quiet beak!  She loves her rope perch, but she also has a natural branch perch in her cage, and various other surfaces to climb on when she's on her play gym - rope, wood, and the fancy perches that are supposed to keep their nails filed down. 

 

The red thing behind her is her hut where she can hide or sleep.  I often stuff it full of toys and goodies for her to unstuff.  And I will find her inside fairly often, playing on her back with a toy.  She has a kabob toy - I love those! - with apple branches, grapes and a birdie bread muffin.  But the nice thing about kabob toys is you can change them every day!  Something new and exciting every day!  Sometimes I put beads and toys on them, sometimes food, sometimes both.  

 

 

 

Look for different ways to use your bird's toys.  Sophia loves the toy in the front of this picture with the two bells in it.  She plays with it a lot. But every now and then I will stick a piece of millet spray or other small treats in it along with the bells.  That makes it VERY exciting! 

 

To make Sophia's birdie bread, I used a box of corn muffin mix made following the directions.  I added finely chopped parsley, basil and carrots, and I added some of her pellet mix that has dried fruit in it as well. I made it in mini muffin tins - it makes a lot!  Then bagged them in small batches and froze them.  A little baggie of 3-4 muffins taken out to thaw at the start of the week and she can have several days of fun.  Pop them in the microwave for a few seconds before serving to take the chill off, but be careful they aren't too hot when you serve them!  Sophia loves to tear the paper off her muffins, so I leave the paper on for her.  She doesn't try to eat the paper, but she will dunk it in her water and make soup!  



 

Just Hanging Around!

Some pictures of Sophia - just hanging around!  She's quite the acrobird!  Sophia will be six months old tomorrow.  She plays constantly and is so much fun to watch!

 

 

 

Happy Fall!

Making a Travel Cage

I needed to make a travel cage for Sophia, that would keep her safe and comfortable on a long car ride.  She has a small travel cage that I used to bring her home from the breeder, but it was small without a lot of room for Sophia to move around.  I wanted her to have room to play and move around comfortably, and I knew she would need food and water during the trip.

 

I had a small cat-sized plastic airline carrier that I thought could work.  I cut a small hole in the bottom half of the carrier, just big enough to put a perch attachment through.  I made sure the perch would be low enough that Sophia would not be hurt if she got bumped off it during transit, but I knew she needed a perch to sit on and feel comfortable and stable in the moving car.  I chose a foraging perch to give her extra fun things to chew on during the trip. 

See screw/perch placement

 

Lots of millet remains after the trip!

 

 The bottom, I lined with paper towels.  There was plenty of room left for lots of foot toys, her favorite ball, and two small ceramic crock bowls which would not tip. 

 

I wanted to introduce Sophia to the carrier with as little stress as possible.  I wanted her to know it was a safe and fun place to be.  I started by just setting it near her cage where she could watch it and see that it wasn't a threat.  I left it there for a few days until she started to investigate it on her own when she was out playing.  I left the door of the carrier propped open so she could go inside without the door closing and trapping her in.  I wanted her to be able to get out whenever she wanted to. 

I put pieces of millet inside - a special treat that she only gets during training sessions - and that enticed her to venture inside and check it out.  I also put new and exciting toys inside in the hope that she would linger inside longer to play with them.  I added a little bit of water to one of the crocks inside the carrier.

 

Over the next few days I began to close the door of the carrier for a few minutes at a time while she was busying herself with the millet and toys.  Slowly, I kept the door closed for longer periods of time, keeping the carrier right next to me so she would not feel scared or alone. 

 

As she became comfortable in the carrier, I left her in there for several hours to play and eat, with me moving around the room and then leaving the room.  It was important before the trip for me to know that Sophia was eating and drinking and playing inside the carrier.  This meant she was content and not stressed.

 

During the trip, Sophia's carrier was strapped into the car for safety so it could not slide around.  I gave her some water in her crock, and a larger crock of fruits and veggies, along with sprouted seed to try to make sure she got enough fluids.  The trip was going to be over 12 hours in the car, and I didn't want to risk opening the carrier during that time and have Sophia get out. 

 

Sophia did great during the trip!  I could hear her munching away on her veggies and millet.  Sometimes I heard her bell jingling around.  The only time she squawked a bit was at dusk as the sun was going down, but once it was dark, she was quiet again.  

The Birdie Treasure Chest

 

This is Sophia's toy for tomorrow.  A leftover tuna box, some hemp string, and miscellaneous toys and goodies.  Birdie bliss!

 

 

 

The spiral things are cat toys.  They are very cool with lots of uses.  In this case, I've put two of them together, then rolled up some junk paper and cut strips in the ends to entice a curious birdie!

 

 



 

I used the string to put together some foot toys with beads and buttons, and I wrapped the nutri-berries inside little tissue paper rolls.  All goodies and toys went into the tuna box. 

 

 



 

Then I packed the box with lots of shredded paper ... again, from the recycling bin!  I just kept packing in as much as would fit!  Tomorrow I will also add little bits of veggies into the shredded paper for her to hunt for.

 

 



 

 

Then closing the lid, I pulled just a bit of the tissue paper and shredded paper through the lid and a hole I cut to entice her curiosity.  My plan is just to lay this on the bottom of her cage, but in the future I may also use some string to hang a box of goodies as well.  Or even attach it to the side of the cage. 

 

Voila!  A birdie treasure chest!!  This should keep her busy for a while.  Her cage may be a complete mess by the time I get home, but I will know she had a great time and is a happy bird:)  And, I can feel good that I entertained her with things from my recycle bin and her toy box!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



A Toddler Bird

Sophia has officially reached what the breeder calls the "terrible twos!"  The honeymoon phase from her coming into a new home is over.  She is exploring and into everything - just like a human two year old.  Her favorite word appears to be No, even though she's not saying it in human words.  Anything I want her to do, she does the opposite.  She won't stay with me.  She is trying out the tactic of biting when I reach into her cage to see if she can drive me away.

 

It is a time for great patience.  This too will pass.  I keep in my mind the image of the sweet, loving and gentle bird that she will emerge into.  I try to remind myself that these are all natural stages that Sophia needs to go through to learn about her world and about consequences.  It does no good to get frustrated with her.

 

If she squawks loudly, I just ignore her until she is quiet or is chattering nicely or saying nice words.  Then I am sure to go over and pay attention to her right away.  If she bites, I calmly make her stop and hold her firmly but gently around the middle until she has calmed down, and then we proceed.  If she bites when I reach into her cage, I freeze my hand until she sees that I am not leaving and she calms down.  Then she gets her favorite neck scratching as a reward and to show her that hands in her cage can be wonderful things. 

 

If I don't have the time or patience at that moment to deal with her antics, she is put back safely in her cage.  I have become an expert of making her cage into a scavenger hunt of very interesting birdie activities!  Because of her age and the fact that she needs lots to do to keep her entertained and out of trouble, I change her cage toys and activities daily, and sometimes more than once a day.  I know that putting her back in the cage will still allow her plenty of things to do, but she will in one safe place, not flying all around the house when I can't watch her.

 

Sophia is also getting to an age where she is much more athletic.  She is climbing and swinging and hanging almost constantly.  She is constant motion - hmm, just like a human two year old!  She is more daring now, trying things over and over again to find new and better ways of doing them.  She plays on her back with her toys or even with her toes.  She loves to pull and chew things apart and toss them all around, making her cage look like a mini tornado hit it!

 

Of course, there are still the calm and cuddly moments.  The times when she falls asleep on my chest (although they are fewer and farther between at the moment!), or when she snuggles in my hair after her morning bath, or when we play and wrestle on the floor.  We still do trick training and she is perfecting going through a longer tunnel right now, as well as learning to roll over.  We practice talking together, and she will come and give me sweet kisses.

 

I created some play shirts (for a few bucks at Goodwill), hoping to entice Sophia to stay on my shoulder for longer periods of time.  I also am hoping to keep my shirts clean and hole-free!  I sewed some brightly colored buttons near the shoulder, and made some simple bead and button toys to hang as well.  The toys are attached with safety pins that are on the INSIDE of the shirts, where Sophia can't get them.  They can be easily removed for washing. And the play shirts can easily be put on over top of my other clothes.  This way, if I have to go out somewhere later, my clothes stay clean and I can just take off the play shirt and go!

 

 

 



Splish Splash!

Sophia has learned to REALLY enjoy her daily bath time!  I so enjoy watching her.  She has so much fun!  Splish Splash!  

 

 

Leaving The Nest

What an exciting time when a baby bird leaves its nest!  It begins by learning to coordinate its movements in order to fly, to learn to control those movements in order to turn and land, and to actually get where it wants to go.  But very soon, it begins exploring farther and farther from the nest as its confidence increases.  It tries out new foods that can be found as it goes farther from the security of home.  The baby meets other birds outside its family unit, and it learns skills to live sociably with them.  It finds all sorts of new things to explore and play with. 

 

Just like other baby animals, a bird is very impressionable during its formative months.  Now is the time for learning about new places, people and animals.  Now is the time to try new foods and toys, to learn to climb and fly and flip.  Anything a pet bird might be exposed to later in life should be introduced while it’s still young.  Baby animals are programmed to explore and try new things and to learn from each of those interactions.  Adult animals are programmed to be cautious of new things, so if it’s something they haven’t been exposed to, they are normally cautious about it.  This is a survival mechanism. 

Something new in a wild bird’s environment could be dangerous to them, so caution is a good thing.  Being cautious might just keep that bird alive!  But to a baby, everything is new, so they need some time when they are young to explore and learn about their environment, to see what is safe and what’s not.  They will learn by trial and error, but birds are also very good at learning by watching others and mimicking their behavior. 

A baby bird leaving its breeder’s home is leaving its nest - that known security where it has been since it hatched.  Sophia had to learn a whole new environment.  Everything was new to her – our home, her cage and toys, and me.  In the first week, she was exploring her cage and her toys, and was learning about me and spending a lot of time with me.  During the second week, she began to branch out (no pun intended!) and explore the areas surrounding her cage, and surrounding me wherever I was at the time.  This week has been full of long-range flying and exploring all around the house. 

I must admit that it was easier when she would sit with me contentedly, or would play on her cage or play gym for longer periods of time.  Now when she is out of her cage, I am constantly going to fetch her from trouble and return her to where I want her to be.  But this is natural exploratory behavior for her.  If she was living in the wild, she would be venturing ever farther from her nest and her parents, exploring and trying out new things.  Of course, if I get out of Sophia’s sight, she will come right away looking for me … it’s not safe for a baby bird to be on its own completely in the wild, you know!  But once she satisfies herself that I am nearby, she is off exploring once again. 

Sophia has been with me for only three short weeks.  She has learned so much during that time.  Some of these things she has learned on her own.  Some of them, I have introduced her to.  She’s a very cuddly bird, so I’m doing a lot of work with her so she will allow me to touch her all over her body.  This is important to continue as she gets older.  There will be times when she needs to be examined by a veterinarian and restrained for me to groom her – clipping wings and nails mostly.  The more familiar I can make these actions for her now, the calmer and more accepting she will be for them later.

Sophia has learned several tricks.  She is beginning to potty on cue, which is very important toward keeping my shirts and house clean!  I make sure she goes potty before picking her up or letting her explore.  She's learning quickly.  Sometimes she gets distracted when it's time for training.  In this case, I do whatever it takes to make her successful.  If she is very distracted or not in the mood to train with me, I help her to end on a successful note, even if that means giving her an easier behavior to do instead, and then I give her a break.  There's no need to push her.  She will learn better later once she has calmed down.  Sometimes she needs to go exploring or to play a bit to get some excitement out of her system.  Sometimes she just needs a cuddle.  By giving her what she needs first, she will then be in a better mood to do what I want to teach her. 

Take a look at some of the things Sophia has learned in her last few weeks with me –

 

 

 

Clicking Continued

Had I continued for very long with clicking every time Sophia turned around, I may have ended up with a bird that only turned in circles on her perch, hoping for a bite of millet.  But at the same time, at other training sessions, I was also teaching other behaviors with the clicker.  And I was using the perch for other things as well, not just training time, but also fun and foraging time, and for potty training.  Birds are very smart and can easily learn that a certain behavior is always expected in a certain place in the environment.  I didn’t want that to happen.  But I kept the different behaviors I worked on separate for now.  She is just a baby and doesn’t know the behaviors well enough yet to ask for them together during the same session.

I began to add a cue “turn around” to Sophia’s circle trick, as well as a hand signal.  While she was offering the behavior over and over, I would inject the cue right before she would turn around, so it appeared as if she was doing it in response to my cue.  At this stage, she was not, but the cue needs to be given immediately before the bird offers the behavior in order for her to learn that they belong together.  I only clicked for the circles that were after my cue “turn around” or my hand signal.  The other circles were fine, they just did not earn a click and a bite of millet.
 

Very quickly she learned to wait for my cue and then she would turn in a circle to the right.  At the same time that I was teaching her this cue, at other lessons I was teaching her to spin in a circle the other way.  This was harder because she had already learned that turning in one direction got the treat, so she wanted to turn in that same direction each time.  I knew this was going to be harder for her, but also knew it’s important not to let your bird get one-sided and always turn in one direction.

By feeding her very slowly to her left side, I was able to get her to take one step at a time in the other direction, clicking and feeding for each step.  Soon I had her spinning in the other direction and I was ready to begin adding the new cue for going to her left, “spin” along with a hand signal in the other direction.  The next step was to only reward the spins that were done after my cue. 
 

Then I began helping Sophia learn to generalize her tricks.  I was still doing them during separate lessons to help her keep them clear in her head.  But I began to ask her to do them on other perches, on my knee, on my hand, on a flat surface, and in different rooms.  I want her to really know the cue and the behavior in all sorts of environments.  I continue to do this daily, and I am even beginning to add distractions such as a toy near her perch or a person walking through the room. 

At this point, I have begun to practice “turn around” and “spin” during the same training session.  If she makes a mistake, that is ok.  We all make mistakes when we are learning something new.  I know she is trying to figure it out, so there is never a correction.  She just doesn’t get a reward.  I tell her to try again and we go on with the lesson.  After the first initial confusion, she is really beginning to respond well to me mixing up the direction I ask her to turn.  I don’t want her to learn a pattern of turning one way and then the other, so sometimes I ask for two or three turns in the same direction before going the other way.  I also practice more of “spin” at this point, because “turn around” was the first one she learned, making spin the weaker direction.  By practicing it more, it will become stronger.  
 

I don’t think there is anything wrong with clicker training a young bird or any other baby animal.  But I am being careful not to stay at one stage of training too long.  While I want Sophia to be creative and be able to offer behaviors during training sessions, I’m not allowing her to get stuck on only knowing and offering one behavior.  If I had allowed her to just turn in a circle in one direction over many lessons, yes, it would probably be difficult to get her to offer me anything else.  But I knew that going into this process.
 

Teaching behaviors with props is much easier if you always want the bird to do the same behavior with that particular prop.  The prop then becomes the cue for that behavior and as soon as the bird sees that prop, it wants to do that behavior.  I am also beginning some prop behaviors at separate lessons during this time.  In addition, I am teaching other behaviors without the clicker and just using praise and scratching as rewards. 

Do I need to use a clicker to teach Sophia new things and tricks?  No.  But I enjoy using a clicker and watching my animals think and figure out what causes the click to happen.  I also enjoy the quickness and precision with which they can learn new things by using a conditioned reinforcer, like the clicker.  But I also teach new behaviors with other training methods.  I think each trainer needs to figure out what works best for him/her and that particular animal.  Giving blanket statements about not using clicker training (or other methods) with baby animals can be very discouraging and off-putting.  Not every method should be used in every situation, with every animal, or by every trainer.  That’s why it’s best to have many training tools in your toolbox.
 

Sophia says - Happy Clicking - Squawk!

 

 

To Click or Not To Click

 

 

I was reprimanded recently for beginning to use a clicker to train a baby bird.  I was told that the first behavior I taught her would become her favorite and she would never do any different behaviors for me.  I was told that 9 weeks old was much too young to start using a conditioned reinforcer like the clicker.  Wow, I was surprised, as I've been clicker training other animals for years and I've never heard anyone say that an animal was too young to begin using the clicker.

 

I started introducing Sophia to the clicker as a conditioned reinforcer several days after she came home, after I could see that she was settled in and was not stressed.  To condition any sound as a reward marker, you make the sound and then immediately give the reward, usually a food reward to begin with.  I knew that Sophia liked millet seed, but it isn't something I leave in her cage all the time.  So, to her, it was a special treat.  I held the clicker behind my back in the beginning.  I didn't want to have it too close to her making a loud noise that might startle her.  Holding it behind my back kept it farther from her ears so it was not as loud.

 

I clicked the clicker once, then offered her a bite of millet from my hand.  After doing this for a couple short sessions, she began to look expectantly for the millet when she heard the click noise.  Now she understood that the click meant the millet was coming.

 

Then I had to teach her that she had the power to make the click happen, which would bring her the millet.  I put Sophia on her perch facing away from me, because I knew that she would then turn around to face me.  As she turned around to face me, I clicked the clicker and offered her the millet.  Being new to the game, and having just learned to step up onto my hand, she ate the millet but also stepped up onto my hand.  While this was not the result I wanted as a final behavior, it did allow me more opportunities to put her back on the perch facing away from me.  Each time she turned around to face me, I clicked and offered her millet.

 

I also began strategically placing the millet reward to get Sophia to turn around again, so we could start the behavior with her facing away from me again.  She would turn to face me, click, and then I would feed the millet to her along the side of her body and eventually behind her, so she was turning around to face away from me to get her treat.  Then she was already in position facing away from me to begin the behavior again.

 

Being the smart bird that she is, she quickly learned to go all the way around in a circle on her perch to get the click.  I just withheld the click for a  nano-second after she turned to face me.  She knew the next step was to turn around more, so any movement that turned her more in a circle, I would click, and then feed behind her.

 

Soon I had a cute baby bird spinning to the right on her perch to get her click and reward.  And, yes, she did offer the behavior to me over and over again to get more reward.  That's what I wanted at this stage of training.  I continued to click her for turning around until I felt it was a good time to end the session.  Then I removed her from the perch and distracted her with other things to do.  Had I left her on the perch, she would have continued to turn in circles, wondering why I was no longer rewarding her. I didn't want to undo the training I had just done, so moving her to a different spot and giving her something else to do was important.  Always end the session on a good note!

 

To be continued ...



Introducing Sophia

Here's my beautiful Sophia.  She is a turquoise green-cheeked conure (GCC).  Sophia was hatched on May 7, 2013, so that makes her 11 weeks old now.  She's been home with me for two weeks. 

 

It has been a long time since I've had a baby bird!  I had a GCC many years ago, but I got her as an adult bird from a pet store.  She was not in the best of health and I only had her for four short years.  But I fell in love with her intelligence, playfulness, cuddliness, and her sense of humor.  I knew when I started looking for another bird this time around, that I wanted the same thing.  For me, a smaller conure is the perfect size.  And the fact that they are quieter than other conures is also a plus for me!

 

For a few years now, I would see and fall in love with various conures in the pet store windows.  I would ask to hold them and they would snuggle into me and I would long to bring them home with me.  But for whatever reason, the time was just not right.  How I missed having a bird!

 

Then, recently, I decided that it was the right time to bring home a new bird.  I found myself standing outside of a cage window in a pet store, looking in at the most beautiful bird.  It was a GCC, but it was more beautiful than the normal coloring I was used to.  I had only seen this coloring in pictures, but it was so much more impressive in person.  I asked to hold him.  He was so very sweet, and he was still so young.  My heart melted.  But for various reasons, I chose not to take him home that day.

 

Instead, I went home and did my research.  I definitely wanted a bird of that beautiful color - turquoise.  I looked up a few breeders online.  I figured I would need to get on a waiting list to get a baby.  But I found a breeder not too far from me who had just-weaned turquoise babies!  So, off on a road trip I went. And, home with me she came!