shiraartain wrote:I think that tricks provide a basis for interaction. Fajr gets bored and goes off to make mischief if you're not interesting enough. Though I want to start with Lemon and Clover because they're not about to become completely hand tame and I need an excuse to have them willingly interact with me instead of using me as a perch and my clothes as a chew toy. None of our birds have any qualms about nipping or being uncooperative to let you know they don't want to do something, which I assume is true for all birds.
Exactly. Marmalade usually loves working on tricks, he gets so excited when he learns something new. It is something we can do together rather than just watch TV or have him sit and watch me do things. He enjoys that too, but is more likely to get bored and find something mischevious to do in the meantime. If he has lost interest in working on a trick or gotten frustrated he'll wander off or up to my shoulder for cuddles, which I'm glad to give him. I will usually try a different trick after a few minutes, sometimes he will do a different trick for a while, but if he's done, he's done, and that's okay. I have no intention of trying to force him, and he has no intention of allowing me to make him do anything. He participates with me because it interests him and he gets treats.
Today Marmalade actually did get the coin in the slot a couple of times, though not in a row. I think he is starting to experiment with that. Wolf's idea about putting it in the slot for him every time he puts it on top I think is helping a little. Before I had been showing him putting them in the slot, but not correcting the placement every time, so thank you for that idea!