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Lorikeet seems tired and unenergetic and does notouch target

Discuss the methods and techniques of clicker training, target training and bonding. These are usually the first steps in training a young parrot.

Lorikeet seems tired and unenergetic and does notouch target

Postby Gavinlslyk » Wed Jan 03, 2018 9:29 pm

Hey guys,

Im new here but ive owned birds for while now. But never had a rainbow lorikeet, i got a 5 months old hand tamed rainbow lorikeet 3 weeks ago and i noticed that since i got her, she is very slow and not that playful.(not complaining, just worried) and i was wondering if that’s normal? She steps up very slowly or doesnt step up at all so i decided to take my time to start taming her. Ive tamed baby cockatiels before. But she doesnt bite the target and i dont have a clicker so i make the sound with my mouth. I dont know what to do to make her bite the target so she can be rewarded. So i decided to use food as a motivation to step up.

How i do it:
I repetitively say step up and put my finger on her chest and put the food close enough but far enough make her step on finger to reach it then a bite of treat is her reward. And i put back on the perch before repeating. But she seems very slow then stops stepping up after 5 mins like it cant be bothered but would still eat if she gets food.

My question:

Is it normal that she is that slow? Its liek she on my finger in slowly motion or uses its beak to grab my finger before getting on and still slow.
What can i do?

Also what can i do for the target situation? It just does not care about the target as if its not even there. I cant afford to go to the Vet since im just a student in Australia atm and barely have money for essentials due to high rent cost. :( HELP PLEASE


Thanks, :redbelly:
GAVIN. :)
Gavinlslyk
Parakeet

Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 1
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Cockatiels and Rainbow Lorikeet
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Gavinlslyk
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 4
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Cockatiels and Rainbow Lorikeet
Flight: No

Re: Lorikeet seems tired and unenergetic and does notouch target

Postby Michael » Thu Jan 04, 2018 10:16 am

The bird might be moving slowly because it is scared. I don't recommend putting your finger up to its chest though. I suggest putting your finger 9-12" to the side of the bird near the perch and targeting it to walk over and get on your hand by itself. Wait for the video I am posting tonight. You will see the outcome of using this technique correctly.

The bird is still very young. You have plenty of time ahead to figure and sort things out so take it easy. Patience goes a long way as long as you are doing things the right way.

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Michael
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Re: Lorikeet seems tired and unenergetic and does notouch target

Postby Navre » Thu Jan 04, 2018 11:53 am

It's worth mentioning that Lories are kind of different birds. Sometimes I think they're more butterfly than birds. They do make pellets for them, but they really seem to do better when they have fresh nectar.

When she moves toward you slowly, does she do a head bowing thing? This seems to be a lory thing.
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Re: Lorikeet seems tired and unenergetic and does notouch target

Postby Pajarita » Thu Jan 04, 2018 12:31 pm

Welcome to the forum! But I have to say that I was alarmed by your posting... Please let me explain. I did not like the lethargy you are describing and makes me wonder if the bird is sick or if you are not feeding it right - you do know that lories require a very special diet and should not consume hard, dry things or high protein, right? John Navre mentions pellets for lories but if pellets are unnaturally dry for regular parrots, they are even worse for lories which consume nectar, polen and fruits in the wild. I also think that you might not be aware of the fact that babies should not be trained. I know that you said you did it with cockatiels but cockatiels are special when it comes to parrot species because they are the ONLY ones that put up with things they don't like gracefully and kindly. They have, by far, the sweetest temperament and even put up with flooding techniques with patience. My point is that I think you might have the wrong expectations for the species you have because no matter how much you train it, you will never get the same results as Michael. Michael's parrots are poicephali and, like all other companion parrots, they bond very deeply to humans - while lories are aviary parrot and don't. But even companion parrots should not be trained when babies and need to bond to their human first for a successful training AND a well-adjusted adult parrot. Another thing is that you should never expect a lorry to bite the target. They have extremely specialized beaks and tongues and hard materials can damage them impairing their ability to eat properly. You also don't mention what it is that you are using as a reward - I hope it's not seeds or nuts.

So, my advice to you is don't rush things, bond with your baby bird first and you will see that you won't even need to train it to step up because the bird will want to do it on its own [the reward for them is to be ON you]. Re-evaluate your husbandry - especially the diet your are providing because babies are not supposed to eat adult food. Research the species you have more thoroughly so you can have realistic expectations. Last but not least, please consider the bird's happiness when it becomes an adult because aviary birds are never happy when alone.
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Re: Lorikeet seems tired and unenergetic and does notouch target

Postby Gavinlslyk » Fri Jan 05, 2018 12:15 am

First of all, thanks a lot for the reply!

Sorry for alarming you. So atm I am feeding her apples, pears, blueberries and a pinky touch of honey in morning once and afternoon once which she loves and i have a lorikeet powder (see photo) which I add warm water (a tablespoon of powder) (she usually eats 1/4 to 1/2 a small apple , see photo), she loves it too! Since ‘Cooper’ got home i have been hand feeding her. Cooper’s treat is a bite of apple. How old is it appropriate for her to start getting tamed

I saw a video of lories getting tamed and flight train at 2 months old and i thought it was ok to tame mine at 2 months old.

She seems to take its time when eatig off my hand and still a bit cautious which is normal. Ill get pellets as soon as possible, any brand recommendation?

What’s the best way of bondig with a lorikeet except hand feeding her. She used to stay in the cage, now she gets out often.

Also, I have a Rainbow Lorikeet ( see photo)

Thanks a lot,
Gavin.
Gavinlslyk
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Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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Re: Lorikeet seems tired and unenergetic and does notouch target

Postby Gavinlslyk » Fri Jan 05, 2018 12:23 am

Unfortunately, my photo is size too big :( i have no mean to downgrade the size. so the brand of the powder mix is Harmony and ill send a link the product

https://www.petstock.com.au/images/cach ... 04190.jpeg
Gavinlslyk
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Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Cockatiels and Rainbow Lorikeet
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Re: Lorikeet seems tired and unenergetic and does notouch target

Postby Navre » Fri Jan 05, 2018 9:00 am

Make sure that nectar mix is for pet birds and not wild birds.

Our rainbows get a full bowl of nectar near sunrise, another bowl at around 1100,another bowl around 2,and it gets pulled out near dusk. It separates so it’s hard to just leave a bigger bowl in all day. We add finely cut fruit to it a few days a week.

I can’t recall the brand of nectar we use. It’s a powder mix. We use 1.5 cups to a gallon of water. The brand might not matter since you might not be able to get it in Australia.
Navre
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Re: Lorikeet seems tired and unenergetic and does notouch target

Postby Pajarita » Fri Jan 05, 2018 11:19 am

Ah, thank goodness! Yes, you are doing the right thing but I hope you are leaving food in her cage and changing it often, just like John mentioned.

Now, you are going to see lots of wrong videos and read a lot of bad information online. It's not that the people who post these things are mean or want to harm birds, it's that they have been misinformed [most likely following somebody else's wrong advice]. You need to do research but only from scientific sources because the truth is that we know VERY little about parrots and their proper care so we need to be very vigilant about the info we actually use. My 'thing' is to try, as much as possible, to imitate what Nature evolved them for so, basically, what I do is follow Nature's guidelines. When it comes to baby birds training, you obviously cannot follow nature because they don't train in the wild but we can extrapolate what we know about training other species [even though all of the good examples we have are of domesticated ones] and we now know not to train puppies until they are, at least, 7 months old or colts until they are, at least, 1.5 years old. The thing is that no training does not mean no teaching -this is something people often confuse. I don't 'train' any of my animals but they are all very well-behaved and very obedient [even the wild-caught parrots!]. I teach them as I go along, the same way that one would teach a baby, a toddler or a small child. It's basically repetition of the same words and praise when the action these words elicit is the correct one. My birds know lots and lots of commands but they don't do any tricks -which is what training sessions are all about. So a baby will learn what commands like: step up, step down, come here, go home [this is what I tell them when I want them to go to their cage], be nice! [this is what I tell them when I see them getting ready to pick a fight with another bird], etc. etc. Parrots are highly intelligent and masters of the human tone of voice and body language and, if you are consistent and persistent, they learn very well and very quick.

But, again, the species you have is not really a good candidate for training. It's not that it won't work, it will! But it's not going to make it happy...
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Flight: Yes

Re: Lorikeet seems tired and unenergetic and does notouch target

Postby Gavinlslyk » Sat Jan 06, 2018 7:20 am

Phew, got me concerned for a bit. Thanks a lot! I dont wanna train them if that’s whaf training means. I just need her to step up and step down and go on my shoulder. :) Unfortunately, not everyday i can be home all day cause of work. She is currently 5 months and yeah i leave wet mix in her cage but she never eats anything but get excited to eat off my hand. It’s weird sometimes, she seems scared and squawk when i get home as if something scared her a lot. So she would be walk away from my hand unless i have a piece of apple to feed her then she gets calmer and just eat off my hand.. hope thats normal?

How long does it usually take for a bird to not be scared of the owner?

Ill make sure to follow your advices :) thanks a lot! I’ll get new powder mix then not wild bird ones.
Gavinlslyk
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Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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Types of Birds Owned: Cockatiels and Rainbow Lorikeet
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Re: Lorikeet seems tired and unenergetic and does notouch target

Postby Navre » Sat Jan 06, 2018 11:34 am

I know Michael was a Roudybush dealer. They make a Lory nectar powder. I really don't know the brand we use. It comes in a plain bag that we keep in the refrigerator. We mix a gallon in the morning and that feeds our flock for the day now that our numbers are down.

We use a pellet that is brightly colored and looks like tiny balls. We don't usually use artificially colored pellets, but we do for the lories. The ones who eat the pellets tend to drop a bunch into their water and make a nectar by dissolving pellets. Make sure the pellet bowl is right next to the water bowl. (This goes for all birds. Pellets are unnaturally dry and having the water right there can help...or at least it can't hurt)

My biggest concern with your bird is that she is eating enough. A lory cage should be a mess with droppings. Some constantly look like someone has dumped a bucked of water on them. If the cage, or the floor outside the cage isn't a mess, I'd want to make sure she was eating enough.

Is she tame enough that you can weigh her every few days without causing too much stress to her?
Navre
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