what to do??

[michellet]

I'd really like to begin training Missy, my GCC. She's about 16weeks old and i've had her for a little over 3 weeks. I dont have any interest in her being a "performing bird" as such, but i'd like to teach her a few things for fun and to enrich our bond, and to prevent her from getting bored, but training for trainings sake is not important to me. She steps up very reliably without reward, and is well socialised with my family and friends and will step up for them too.

My problem is that she does not seem to be at all "treat" or food motivated! I've spent the past week attempting "click-treating" with small pieces of pinenut...but most of the time she isnt really interested. As she is still quite young i'm very hesitant about witholding food in order to make her more hungry. She gets fed a mix of pellets, vegies, brown rice and soaked/sprouted seed twice a day, morning and evening. I leave the bowl of what we call her "slop" in her cage for a couple of hours, but she has seed available 24/7. She rarely touches the seed though. She's very affectionate and cuddly, and loves snuggling up against my neck underneath my hair. This is definately her preferred place to be whenever she is out of her cage. She doesnt appear to have any desire to explore or play. The only time she voluntarily leaves my shoulder is to chase away the budgies if they get a little too close, or to use the rope ladder i made her to get back to her cage from the couch for something to eat or a drink (i guess this means that she IS food motivated ).... and then she comes straight back to my shoulder. I personally dont have any problem with her "clinginess", but from what I've read GCCs seem to be playful and inquisitive .....but Missy isnt?!!

So here are my main questions...

1. Do you feel trick training is important for a pet parrot to be happy and healthy....do they NEED the stimulus?

2. At what age is it ok to withhold food?

3. Should I be worried that Missy doesnt seem too interested in playing independantly?

I'd appreciate any opinions and advice,

Thanks, Michelle

[captwest]

Some birds don't respond to food as a reward or aren't motivated by food, and that's ok, find what does "turn her on" , maybe praise(that's a good bird), or scratches might work, maybe just making clucking, happy sounds.Sounds as if being with you is her favorite thing , just figure out how to capitalize on that.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I'm in exactly the same boat with Scooter . He's totally tame and easy to do most anything with (well, he does occasionally have an opinion, but he's not afraid of any form of handling I've done.) My initial foray into trick training, done primarily as enrichment, didn't do much for him. He did not appear to see the point in doing something arbitrary for a bit of apple when throwing things on the floor and having me pick them up was much more fun.

I think the trick is somehow tapping into what is fun, and make it about that. I'm not a talented enough bird trainer to have figured that one out but I haven't given up yet, either.

I'm pretty sure with Scooter, food rewards are not the answer. For functional training I've done with him, praise and making a fuss or giving scritches and attention were what I used to reinforce behaviors and that has been successful. If I NEEDED to teach him something, I could withhold food and basically force him to get with the program, but I don't at this point. I can't see doing that for something I'm doing solely so that he'll have more fun, it just doesn't make sense. MHO.

[michellet]

I could withhold food and basically force him to get with the program, but I don't at this point. I can't see doing that for something I'm doing solely so that he'll have more fun, it just doesn't make sense

That's exactly how I feel entranced... I really love the way you think!

[Shani]

I wish i could help with the food thing, but Barney's the polar opposite to Missy at the moment. RIght now training him is a breeze, because everything is motivation. Food? Check. Praise? Check. Cuddles? Check. Anyway, my thoughts on these questions you've got:

1. Do you feel trick training is important for a pet parrot to be happy and healthy....do they NEED the stimulus?

Hmm, I think it depends on what you're trying to teach. If Missy wasn't tame, and you were referring to teaching her how to step up and come out of the cage, then I'd say yeah - that's definitely necessary. As for tricks - I guess some things can be more useful/necessary than others? Recall flight, for example, I think could be 'necessary' depending on whether your bird was flighted or not, and how graceful your bird is with their landings.

Long story short, in my opinion things that make handling your bird easier are probably a good idea to teach (so step up, recall flight etc), but advanced tricks? I think they can be a fun thing to do with your parrot and are good for mental stimulation, but aren't necessary provided that your bird gets plenty of attention and toys to play with. I'll personally be teaching Barney a bunch of things over time, mainly because he is really receptive to it (I haven't had to withhold food or anything to coerce him into training). If he was like Missy/Scooter I probably wouldn't push training beyond the basics.

2. At what age is it ok to withhold food?

I'm not really a fan of withholding food, but it should be fine to withhold food for a couple of hours, even at Missy's age if you're really wanting to get her into training. Just keep a good eye on her weight, and I wouldn't withhold it for more than a couple of hours max.

3. Should I be worried that Missy doesnt seem too interested in playing independantly?

I dunno :/ Should I be worried Barney's much the same? I'd say... "I hope not" because if you need to worry about it then so do I

[michellet]

thanks Shani

3. Should I be worried that Missy doesnt seem too interested in playing independantly?

I dunno :/ Should I be worried Barney's much the same? I'd say... "I hope not" because if you need to worry about it then so do I

ok, so i'll stop worrying

She really seems happy and content...loves cuddles and scratches...closes her eyes and makes this adorable little brrrr noise, almost purrs like a cat Occasionally i catch her playing on the floor of her cage with the foot toys i've left in her cage...but as soon as she sees me she comes to the cage door wanting out. I guess at the moment she prefers me and cuddles to toys and treatds... and thats more than ok with me