Can I begin training on top of the cage?

[Jstew320]

I adopted a 17 year old senegal about 4 days ago. He does bite sometimes when he is nervous but I think that this will get better once his wings grow out since the sanctuary had them clipped really short, and I am actually glad that this seems to be his only behavioral problem. He already steps up and lets me pet him. I took him into the bathroom with a perch this morning before I fed him for our first training session. I was just trying to get him used to the clicker but he seemed nervous in the new environment with the new perch so I've started just clicking and rewarding him on the cage since he is most comfortable there. I've read a few different articles online that said you shouldn't train at the cage but they didn't explain why. I would much rather begin training him somewhere that he's comfortable and content so that he associates those feelings with training rather than the nervous scary feeling of being in another new environment. Am I making a mistake by training him on the cage?

[marie83]

No I dont think you are at all, it would be pointless training a territorial bird there of course but perhaps better for a fearful bird. I've trained all mine apart from 3 in a different room. The 3 exceptions were all far far to scared to be trained elsewhere.
Once you have gained a bit of trust you may then need to move into another room if s/he is easily distracted or becomes territorial but other than that I cant think of ant other reasons.

[Jstew320]

Also I would really appreciate any tips on other ways to strengthen my bond with my bird!

[Jstew320]

Thank you so much for the quick feedback!

[Pricey_boy]

I've trained 3 lorikeets and a corella and I started them all off on their cages

[marie83]

Any training will help you bond with your bird. I suggest you read Michaels traing blog for ideas and how to guides. There are links at the top and bottom of each page on the forum.
I would say read as much as you can, its better to prevent a problem arising than to try to cure it once you have a problem.

Good luck and any questions there are people here to help

[Wayne361]

I started training Oscar from his cage. First thing I taught was to target. I had him targeting very well and then targetted him off the cage and eventually onto his training perches (which he was deathly afraid of at first). Once he was comfy with training perches all other training including flight training was/is performed on his training perches. Patience and positive re-enforcement is key.

Wayne