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Screams when he hears plates

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

Screams when he hears plates

Postby lwis » Sun Feb 19, 2012 12:15 am

Oh noooo! I think I accidentally conditioned my bird to call when he hears the sound of silverware against plates. He is freaking out as I type this....someone is doing the dishes upstairs.

So I feed Darwin a mashed diet twice a day mixed with pellets. I take a portion of the mash out and either thaw it in the fridge or microwave it for a few seconds, then I put it on a plate mix some pellets in and transfer it to his stainless steel dish. I think he hears the sound of me mixing his food and now associates the sound of dishes and cutlery with food! The other day he started calling for what seemed to be no reason; both my boyfriend and myself were sitting on the couch with him, and he usually only calls when he is looking for one of us. We then heard someone in the next room eating something and banging the fork against the bowl, and it hit me, we have conditioned him to do this. We also have a cat that whines whenever anything is put in the microwave, because she thinks she is getting her wet food. same thing, but Darwin is way louder, and more persistent. Needless to say we are switching to a less noisy dish to warm is food in. :?
I hope he learns quickly.
lwis
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Re: Screams when he hears plates

Postby Sparky » Sun Feb 19, 2012 4:45 am

Ohhh they are smart little blighters aren't they? :D

Sparky calls out for treats when he sees us eating, but I have to time it when he's NOT squarking when I give him something.

Way too smart for our own good, they are :thumbsup:
Jess and Sparky the IRN
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Sparky
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Re: Screams when he hears plates

Postby sidech » Sun Feb 19, 2012 7:54 am

You need to dissasociate the noise with receiving the food. Wait until he stops screaming + 5 minutes (vary the amount of time) before feeding him.

It will take time, but it's guaranteed to work if you never fail to do it this way.
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sidech
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