Is my 17yr old jenday conure too old to start training?

[Speaks_too_swift]

I have had my Sammy since she was weaned and I never realized that training would be good for her. I saw the parrot wizard videos and I would really like to train Sammy to be picked up and held on her back, towel train her, and maybe a simple trick. I'm just concerned that she might be too old for such a big lifestyle change since she is such a bird of habit. She's one to take hours of snuggling over playing every time. Would adding training be good for her mental health? Are there any things I should consider when trying to train an older bird? Should I even try?

Thanks in advance.

By the way, I'm new. Nice to meet you all!

[GMV]

hello.
the expression "can't teach an old dog new tricks" does not apply to parrots. it is never to late to teach a parrot to talk, or do tricks.

[Wolf]

you have done a remarkable job to keep your bird healthy and happy for this long. Parrots are capable of learning new things all of their lives. I do think that it may be good for her, because of the mental stimulation, but I would not add the toweling into what I was trying to teach her as it is stressful for a young bird let alone for a 17 yr. old bird with a life expectancy of just over 20 years.
I would try to look at the tricks that you are interested in teaching her from the viewpoint of would this be very stressful or not, and perhaps devise my own stress level guide and rate the tricks on it and keep the stress level low for the most part.

[Speaks_too_swift]

I'm so happy to hear that I've been a good parent! Also, I'm really excited now about starting training.

I think the idea of keeping it low stress is a really good idea, thanks for that. My goal will just be to teach her something she will enjoy learning. Maybe just a wave hello, so she can have fun with it. I don't need my bird to do fancy tricks, my only goal is to make my baby happy.

Thank you both for the helpful input and advice.

[GMV]

Glad to share the info i know.
Also, in case you were going to do potty training, an older birds body might not take that kind of thing as well,i'm not saying it can't be done because they are fully capable of learning it; but it can pose a lot of physical stress to suddenly start that kind of thing. I wish you the best of luck with training sammy!
i would guess that she (like most conures) is eager to learn tricks.

[Pajarita]

NO POTTY TRAINING, please!!!! I cannot say this enough times: it's unhealthy for birds to be potty trained and if this is a requirement, you should not have birds.

Yes, do train her but do just a single 10 minute session at the beginning and only increase it to two when she is OK with the whole thing. You don't want to change her good life so drastically from one day to the next. Personally, I would train her in recall instead of waving. Recall can save her life and waving doesn't really add anything to it.

[Wolf]

I don't potty train my birds, primarily because of the health issues involved with it. It is simply not good for them and could kill them and that means that it is not worth it, and tissue is both cheap and plentiful at my home.

Besides, if not for birds flying over us and pooping, who else is going to remind us of our proper place in the universe?

[GMV]

but doesn't the parrot wizard do potty training?
at least i am pretty sure he does.

[Michael]

Potty Training doesn't have to be detrimental when done the right way. It is more about managing than training. outlined here viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1758

[Speaks_too_swift]

Wow the parrot wizard himself! Hello!

I'm not to worries about potty training anyways. After so many years I have a good system going and don't want to stress out Sammy so just fun things for her