New yellow naped!

[Michael]

Also sometimes when i approach him he lifts one of his wings up, is this a defensive position?

Sounds more like stretching but really depends on the way it is.

[Jontchaav]

However, i will start with the stepup / recall then target - or target first as i give him loads of chopsticks to bite and play with..

Target wont be hard but first i have to introduce him to the clicker, which i have tried but dont think he knows what it means yet,
also is this a good age to start training him? after all hes only 3 months old.

Also i have to find something that he likes, so far ive noticed he loves apples - but i dont know if thats the beast treat...

I will follow your guide and post if i have more questions, I can also post the progress/fails and what works and doesnt, maybe you will find something in your guide to do better or change, I dont know :p.
Thanks.

[Michael]

Actually I didn't start with clicker/target training on Truman. He still wasn't old enough to get into more formal training so I took it easy with him the first few weeks and just got him used to handling and flight recall. If you are a beginner though, it may better to go to clicker/target first just bearing in mind that it may take a bit longer than with a slightly older parrot.

But check out my flight training guide where I explain why I trained flight recall first.

You may also want to check out the goals I initially outlined for my new parrot and think about some of your own goals.

[Kathleen]

There's nothing complicated about clicker conditioning. Do it when the bird is hungry. Click and give the bird a treat. Repeat for a few sessions. You should know the bird is clicker conditioned because it will begin to expect a treat. It may perk up when it hears a click.

[Jontchaav]

And how do i know if its hungry :p?

[pchela]

You can do your training first thing in the morning before the bird eats or you can find his very favorite treat and only give it to him for training. I do not deprive my birds of any food but they only get sunflower seed (which is not great for them anyway) when I train. So, you just need to experiment and find that one food that your bird absolutely adores.

[Jontchaav]

Well i somewhat clicker-trained him just now, and he does step up much better now and i clicked everytime he did it and game him a bite of an apple.. He really loves apples because he takes huge bites and doesnt quit eating it! He almost ate one halv apple this training session.
When did you guys start to shower your bird? I tried to shower him a bit but that did not go well...

I dont wanna speed things up like i did last time with my bird, but i am somewhat afraid that it wont get weaned anytime soon... Since its an amazon i would really like to teach him a few things and then yeach it how to speak and fly - because really my goal is to be able to take it out and free flying with him.

[captwest]

Well here we go , I'm going to put my 2cents worth in.You have a golden oppurtunity with a young YN, Please don't stress with teaching and traing at this early stage of ya'lls relationship, The imporant thing is to gain your birds trust and srt the tone for your future relationship.Don't smother a new bird , yes you want to teach it all this great stuff, BUT that;s what you want! Your bird wants to find her place in the world, if that place is with you then work at gaining her trust. you can clicker train a 60 yr old YN. If her world turns around you then teaching her tricks later is easy, she'd like nothing better than to please you if your the light of her life. Start slow, give her attention when she wants it But stop before she has to tell you that thats too much , i'm tired of doing what you want. if she wants pets great gut stop befor she wants you to. Trying to teach her all yhat you want her to do at this point will make her resent you later when you can't or won't spend as much time with her. Do you want to be "THE MAN" in her life? Learn how to preen , not pet or sratch , but preen , like her mate would do, It's selfless giving, it's not something you do because it's cute or whatever , it's you fixing her feathers that she can't reach, like your wife or husband would do because they care. Yes start training early but talking you can do from the other room , youi don't have to be in her face, Free fighted sure, but it's much easier with a bird who wants to be with you for more reasons than a treat.Ther're lots of people on here who know a lot more than I about training birds, but trust me, work on your relationship first if having a lifelong compaion is what's important, AND YES she needs to learn to step up to come out of the cage and go back in , later in life it's not that big of a deal but at this early stage it is. I'll shut up now,Richard

[captwest]

I'm going out on a limb here and it's hard to tell from a picture of a young bird BUT i'd guess your bird is a hen,won't show moch yellow , weigh about 600 grams when mature and be a KILLER pet.Good luck, i wish she was mine!!!!! let me know how i did, Richard

[Jontchaav]

Well tbh its a he :p, and he WORSHIPS apples..
I trained him somewhat today, and what i want to do with training it at first isnt to do trix, i just want it to know a few rules, etc step up... Which he doesnt do unless he loses balance, then he reaches for something to grab with his foot..

Also i did some recalls and they did fine, except when its on a higher level to land, he kind of doesnt know where to land and passes the landing-place (my hand) and flys and flys and eventually crashes or i have to run to him and guide him.

Except for the recalls i tried to gain some trust by having my hand on his back, and giving him treats (so far i give him one bite of an apple as a treat while clicking)
i managed to get him used to having a hand on his back for a couple of seconds and he was very calm, but sometimes he didnt let me.. also when trying to put it on its back i have to force him to turn around, and he gets hysterical, then he calms down for a couple of seconds, and i turn him upside down, but you know by having my hand on his back then tilting him , that doesnt work , like, AT ALL.. It only makes things look worse and i get mad becuase it doesnt understand so it kind of actually feels like we will get more and more distant from each other instead of getting closer..

So for a while, or atleast untill hes tame and lets me have him on his back and such i will hold on with the train... A young parrot or a old parrot has the same level of intelligence, its just that the older one has learned more.

Do you have any tips/How did you do with your new parrot when you got him..
My macaw had have alot of time with him so he was kind of an attention whore.. But this one (Gonzo) is like, scared of new people for a matter of time, at the time being hes just walking around in the cage , having really bad balance and being somewhat tardish - also i have not seen him drink water yet perhaps thats the reason he likes apples so much?

And now hes just sitting on his "food-branch" and falling asleep..