When is it okay to start flight recall training?

[kikidee]

Navi is now 9 months old and my mom keeps urging me to start training him to come down from certain places he lands that she doesn't like (like the ceiling fan). I heard to put off formal training until they aren't babies. How old is appropriate to start flight recall and also harness training? Thanks.

[Wolf]

Have you done any training of him at all, yet ?

[Pajarita]

You can start training now but I warn you, birds don't like to come down from high places regardless of the training which only works if you reward with a high value item they can't resist and which they only get as a reward for training... and even then it might not work for that (they really like high places, they are birds that live in trees).

[Wolf]

I was waiting to see if you had done any training of him at al, so that I would know where you should start. I normally wait until they have adjusted to their new environment and then I start with the basics of target training, just enough so that I can come back to it later when I am ready to do further training in a more formal sense. I also teach them to step up or down when I request them to. They pretty much will step up on their own once they trust you so there is not much to that. I also start teaching them to come to me when I call them as this is an everyday skill that they all should know and it does not matter if they can fly or not I call them to come to me to step up, I extend that so that if they don't fly they will climb down their cage to reach me and if they can fly I get to go through that step of it as well so that not only do they come to me whenever they choose to they will fly to me when I call them. I start with a distance of only a few inches and gradually extend the range.
I mostly limit my training to just the areas that give me enough control to keep them safe from anything that they could encounter in my home. so it isn't a lot.

[kikidee]

Not really true training, no. I didn't think I needed to teach him step up, because he comes to me on his own and will always step up on my finger unless he doesn't want to, to which I don't force him. He is definitely comfortable in his environment. I've had him for around 7 months and he loves my parents and I, flies very well around the house, doesn't really bite unless its a random odd occurrence and even then its never hard. I am planning on getting him a clicker today and I have some chopsticks I can use as a target stick.
Was just wondering if he was too young is all. Thanks for the info!

[Wolf]

For the most part I don't consider step up training as most will do it on their own. Same with coming when they are called, it is just an extension of their normal desire to come to you on their own. But yes he is old enough. Thank you.

[Michael]

Training can begin from fledging. The younger you flight/harness train a parrot, the better. The only thing is that the methods used for training juvenile parrots may be a bit different from training adults. You will have to use bigger treats, smaller sessions, and deal with juvenile behavior in the midst of training. However, this pays off in the long run because those early habits stick for life.

[nerdybird]

Michael, what do you mean by "juvenile behavior"? I have a 6mo cockatiel, but it's hard for me to tell what might be normal " cockatiel behavior" ( this is my first one) and what might be young bird behavior.

Unfortunately he has a pretty drastic wing clip, and all he can do right now is flap and land on his tail The breeder said he had fledged before being clipped.

He was raised around a lot of activity and is very tame already, so I have already started target training him, and I'd like to get him used to a harness as soon as possible, even if he can't fly yet.

[Wolf]

I think that in the interests of clarity, I should let Michael define what he refers to as juvenile behavior. sometimes too many cooks will spoil the dish.
You got this cockatiel on or about Feb.13, 2015, so you have had it for less than a month. I usually request owners to give the first month with a new bird to the purpose of learning about their new bird and to work on beginning the creation of a bond with the bird as well as allowing the bird to acclimate to its new home and circumstances. I also see no problem with the beginning of target training during this period of time.
I agree that harness training needs to be done as early in your birds life as you can do it. I think that you will encounter less resistance from them , but I am also concerned that some people will get in a hurry and not take the needed time to do the proper preparatory training to insure that the process goes smoothly and does not damage the new relationship between bird and human. Michael has a pretty good training blog on putting on a harness that I think you would be well advised to read through a couple of times before you begin trying to harness train your bird.
Here is a link to the topic in case you have not already found it viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1329

[Pajarita]

This question is addressed to Michael so I will not respond except to say that different species have different behaviors and different ages when they mature.