Learning the next trick.

[Mangoismybird]

Hi everyone!

So last night I broke out the tools and a few pieces of wood and successfully made my Jenday Conure Mango a training perch! The first trick i decide to teach her was to "nod it" and bob her head. She succesffuly learned by mimicking me, and then picked up the voice command in under ten minutes. I was very impressed. Today, she does it right on cue as well, even off the perch or if i don't have a treat obviously shown.

Since I was so impressed, I figured I'd try to move onto to another non-vocal trick (her vocals are weak). Since I had read up on how to teach the "wave" trick by using the "step up" command, I started on this. While I made sure to make the "waaaavvee" and "NODIT" sounds very different so she'd be able to associate the sound with the trick, after a couple of hours of training over the past two days she has not picked up the wave trick at all. I feel like she would, except she, in anticipation to please me (trust me...the treats come straight out of her food ... she could get those anytime!) bobs her head like a maniac at the "waave" command. I try to wait for her to stop bobbing before i retry the "wave / step up" command, she nods while doing it

Any advice? I love my little bird and I want to give her a good start into her trick training. I know it seems like I'm rushing the training, but she is very eager to learn more and is always trying to listen and mimic me.

[coolhady13]

use hand and voice cues together ,don't use voice only I found that my cockatiel would get really confused if i used voice only also he learns tricks much faster when i'm using hand cues also its easier for him to differentiate each hand cue unlike voice cues , so i always use hand cues with voice im sure with a lot of training they will pick up the voice cues and learn how to differentiate each trick. so you should start with making a hand cue for "nod" and once he get it move on to teaching him "Wave" and if he nods while you are trying to make him wave just ignore the nods so that he learns that he has to do the tricks only on cue . its funny every time im out of treats and going to get some more my cockatiel just keeps doing random tricks .Good Luck.

[Mangoismybird]

use hand and voice cues together ,don't use voice only I found that my cockatiel would get really confused if i used voice only also he learns tricks much faster when i'm using hand cues also its easier for him to differentiate each hand cue unlike voice cues , so i always use hand cues with voice im sure with a lot of training they will pick up the voice cues and learn how to differentiate each trick. so you should start with making a hand cue for "nod" and once he get it move on to teaching him "Wave" and if he nods while you are trying to make him wave just ignore the nods so that he learns that he has to do the tricks only on cue . its funny every time im out of treats and going to get some more my cockatiel just keeps doing random tricks .Good Luck.

Thank you! I have been using a voice and hand command for wave, though I only used my head and voice for nod it.

And Mango also does that. Every time I'm having a snack, she'll start nodding, spinning, and occasionally will try to play dead to get what I have! Hopefully waving will be added to the little show.

[coolhady13]

Thank you! I have been using a voice and hand command for wave, though I only used my head and voice for nod it.

And Mango also does that. Every time I'm having a snack, she'll start nodding, spinning, and occasionally will try to play dead to get what I have! Hopefully waving will be added to the little show.

GREAT i can't wait for play dead trick to be posted i really want to teach it to missy

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7686&p=52429#p52429

[Mangoismybird]

GREAT i can't wait for play dead trick to be posted i really want to teach it to missy

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7686&p=52429#p52429[/quote]

Thanks for your advice! Today we were much better at distinguishing which trick was which, and Mango now performs a very good wave - she reaches all the way to her head and makes an arc (which is the way i make the gesture) , I was very impressed, especially compared to some of the waves i had seen other birds perform.

[coolhady13]

GREAT i can't wait for play dead trick to be posted i really want to teach it to missy

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7686&p=52429#p52429

Thanks for your advice! Today we were much better at distinguishing which trick was which, and Mango now performs a very good wave - she reaches all the way to her head and makes an arc (which is the way i make the gesture) , I was very impressed, especially compared to some of the waves i had seen other birds perform.[/quote]

very nice cant w8 to see a video of him

[Mangoismybird]

Coolhady13, look at the video in this post http://theparrotforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=7828

[DanielA]

I also am thinking on how I'm going to do a perch, how did you do yours? I would be grateful for the help thanks.

[Mangoismybird]

DanielA, I was looking for a perch and my parents didn't have time or take me seriously enough to buy me one (they didn't think a conure could learn tricks...) so I went out to the garage cleaned off and a broom handle and sawed the broom-bit off. I then measured that so it was just below my eye level (if my bird was standing on it.) I nailed a window-pane piece on top of that (it was more stable and more parrot-sized than anyother pieces of wood I could find...) and jammed the duo into a styrofoam block base on which I tape newspapers to collect poop and become interchangeable.
(Very useful since she will fly to her perch to poop over her cage, or me! lol.)

It was a little lopsided so I put a little weight on the side it was so and now it's very functional and does it's job. She -does- chew on the bar, but not so much anymore and it's still intact! I'm building another with help from a friend who knows what they're doing, actually using an old camera tripod as the base.

Basically I'm just getting creative...but even the backs of chairs are said to have worked.

[DanielA]

Thank's Mangoismybird, I had thought of the broom stick idea, and really I actually only have one broom, plastic handle, so I think I''ll go to my equivalent of Home Depot, buy a wooden base, a nice 4-5 foot long stick, nail them together, and get a foot long stick and nail that to the other stick.