"You're doing this wrong..."-Jack the Senegal

[trueloveway]

Jack is my 6 year old senegal. Jack is my baby. I figured since he's not really trick trained other then step-up and a few words, starting would be a good way for him to show off his parrot intelligence and another opportunity to bond with Jack. So I went and got myself a clicker. And I thought I was doing everything right. Click, reward, repeat. At first Jack was patient with me, but I think I'm making a few mistakes, and I really want to hear from the experts.
1. Jack likes peanuts, so what I do is shell them up and cut them into bite sized treats, however, they are from his regular food. This brings me to my first question-Should I get another nut that's not in his regular food, or it is okay to do this?
2. I put him on a chair for training because it's my makeshift perch, but when I reward him, he wants to step up on my hand, so I train him like that. Is that okay?
3. Because he already knows step up, I started also teaching him wave. Will two training sessions (not at the same time, obviously) just confuse him?

Thank you so much for reading and possibly answering.

P.S I think it was Liz who told me not to clip wings, and you might be happy to know that Jack is starting to fly again. But it still scares me.

[pennyandrocky]

can you share what about flight is scary?i'm just curious i've been wondering excactly people with clipped birds think it's like.peanuts really are not good for his regular diet they should be treats seed too.pellets and fresh food should be his main diet.if stepping up on your hand makes him happy during training then it could only help unless that's not what you want him to do during his trick.you can switch up the treats just to make it new for him parrots tend to get bored he may love peanuts but think about your favorite food and having it everyday.mya tells me when it's time to train,and when it's time for bed because she wants to know what her treat is going to be.

[trueloveway]

[quote="pennyandrocky"]can you share what about flight is scary?i'm just curious i've been wondering excactly people with clipped birds think it's like.
The only thing that scares me about Jack flying is him getting stuck again. One day he flew behind my huge entertainment center and I almost couldn't get him out. I just want the best for Jack.

[liz]

I have ceiling fans and use them. I know everyone says you should not. If the ceiling fans are off when the cockatiels are out they use them as perches so I leave them on. They stay away from the wind.

Myrtle caught the tip on her wing on a ceiling fan. Just once. She now flies under them when she goes through a room. It only took once to teach her.

I am sure your bird is smart enough not to get caught behind furniture again.

I have never had a bird fly into a window or mirror. I did see Myrtle fly up to a mirror and say "hello there Myrtle".

[trueloveway]

Aww, that's sweet, Liz! Myrtle must be some form of entertainment for you then, huh? Jack does the same thing. He says hello to himself constantly, and "Night, Jack!" when he goes to bed. But now that I think about it, Jack flew behind the furniture when I first started bonding with him and whatnot, so do you think that had anything to do with it? (Right now, he's chilling out on my shoulder)
To pennyandrocky-I really don't know what else Jack likes at the moment. I mean, sometimes he steals my crackers when I'm not looking, but I didn't think that was healthy to give as treats. Also, plums. He's a...unique bird.

[liz]

Myrtle recognized herself in the mirror. I took her to mirrors and showed her Myrtle and Mommy. Sometimes when we are watching TV she will get on the top of the entertainment center. We have a mirror on the wall above it and she quietly talks to the Myrtle in the mirror.

For treats try the thin stick pretzels. I use a vegetable peeler to scrape the salt off. You can break them easily into small pieces. All of mine love them.

[Eurycerus]

My Senegal loves almonds, banana chips, small pieces of avi-cakes, and chunks of nutri-berries. And she only gets them as treats so it's special food!

[trueloveway]

I don't really know if Jack is a little picky, or what, but I've only found a few things he likes that I can use for treats. What are avi-cakes? I might try that, and he does like banana chips...maybe a little teo much.