Is three months too young?

[Ariahna]

P.J. my is three months old. I have been trying to teach him to "shake" by raising a foot to touch the end of a finger. He is willing to work on learning this for a favorite treat (peanut) but he tries to bite my finger instead of touch his foot.

I first trained him to do target touch with a wood skewer stick (for cooking- I didn't have a chopstick but I will get one). I put two and two together, and I think he thinks he is supposed to bite the end of my finger for the treat, just like he does with the target stick. I decided to do more target training with him but instead of waiting for him to actually put his beak on the stick, I click and retract the stick right before he reaches it. His nibbling of my finger was getting harder, and he has never bitten me so I wanted to correct that "biting" of things quickly, but I am also wondering if his age may factor in somehow. I heard that younger birds can be a little more "nippy" but if anyone has any tips on how to teach this trick for a bird that wants to put his beak on things, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

[laducockatiel]

Three months s not too young, my cockatiel is two months old and I am currently teaching him and he is learning well. So, maybe present your finger in a different way. Push against his stomach quickly (similar to the way he steps up) and when one of his feet grabs onto you cloick and reward.

Hope this helps,

[Ariahna]

Thank you, that does help.