My partner and I went to the pet store 3 days ago with our young nephews to get crickets for their iguanas her in North Toronto Canada.
I walked directly to the bird section as I grew up with an African gray, I owned several well training budgies and I just love all birds.
...there they were, 3 sweet green cheek conures from the same clutch, gurgling, huddling in unison and looking at me inquisitively
They were born this January 26 ( 4 months ago)and the pet store just discounted them because they have been in the store for over a month.
I couldn't t stop thinking about them for the rest of the day and how devastated they would be when someone would come and separate them.
... We talked it over seriously and a few days later after some prep we picked up our new bunch.
They are quite comfortable already, they come in and out of their cage and are completly comfortable around us wether we sit around on the floor together or around the cage. They come out of the cage when they notice i ve opened the door but are still shy with being brought out I have spent a min of 3 hours (split) a day handling them and I am ready to start touch training.
do I have to train them individually to avoid confusion with rewards or is there a way to train them together. I would like to start training them (possibly with a clicker ) as soon as possible
As you can imagine it is impossible for me to reward good behavior( if I use a clicker or any other sound/ tool or treat ) of each bird at the exact same time , also the clickers are quite loud, so for individual training I would have to distance myself quite a bit .
For now( last 3 days) they get quite anxious when separated, however if I keep the close to each other I am able to hand feed them and have them step up calmly, also they are completely comfortable being around me (very closed , standing sitting, face to beak) when we sit on the floor feeding talking etc
I would love help or suggestions from anyone out there who has resolved similar dilemma, if
anyone has ever brought home more then one bird at a time, I am unsure of how to approach the training, together or apart.
FOLLOW UP
today we are still training together
The main challenge was not stressing Jala, Kiwi and Aura when taking them out or returning to the cage
Solution
I let them come out of the cage on their own, which they do when I open the door, I left them on top of the cage a few minute after which I was able to get a all 3 to step up on a small perch and bring them to the floor.
After training together, I brought them back to the cage on the same perch and after giving them around 10 mins on cage, I slowly coaxed them in by walking around the cage closely and stopping them from climbing back up
happy birds = happy momma!Hope to chat with everyone soon, have a lovely evening!
Kasia and the kids: Kiwi, Jala, Aura
