New baby!

[pacoparrot]

I have a new baby green cheek named Elsa.She was born in January and is a DNA'd female. She is really good at flying and I would like to teach her how to use her wings properly. Right now (for the most part) she only flies to people. There is no escaping her. If you put her down she just flies right to your shoulder. I would like to teach her to be more independent, such as flying to a perch on command and staying where I put her instead of flying back to me. And then also teaching her to fly to me on command and from one person to another. I am using the clicker method to train her and it is working nicely. In the 4 days I've had her I've trained her to touch the target stick and follow it. I'm also working on putting a ball in a cup. She is making some progress but we may need some guidance with this trick. It is the foundation for many more. She is an all around great bird! I am planning on getting her the aviator flight harness and training her to it so we can have plenty of fun in the summer sun!

[Pajarita]

My dear, you are rushing things and expecting too much from a bird that, although it might look grown up, it's still a baby (at 3 months of age, all they do is stick to their parents and get their food intake supplemented by them). OF COURSE she'll go to your shoulder every time! That's what all GCCs do and, with a baby, multiply it by 100. Babies need constant company, lots and lots of love and good food (a couple of soft foods every day, some 'soft' seeds -like millet and canary seed, large pieces of fruit and leafy greens). Training comes when they are older, feel more self-assured and have already bonded with you. Flooding a baby is extremely stressful for them and baby birds that have stress when growing up end up been high-strung all their lives (not my opinion but shown through scientific studies) so be careful what you do these first few months because it will have consequences that will remain for the rest of the bird's life.

[pacoparrot]

I don't work with her that much. We just make a lot of progress when we do train. And I only bring like 5 seeds with me a session so once she does it right 5 times (usually only takes a few extra tries) we quit and go back to playing. Libertywings suggests you start with the baby before it's even weaned. I feel like the longer I wait with her the more she will become set in her ways like my other green cheeks. I don't make her do anything she doesn't want to do. She will walk across the room to touch the target now and I don't force her or make her do it over and over all day. She is just a fast learner. I'd say we only have 3 sessions a day and they last less than 5 minutes. And she is fully weaned and the oldest of her brothers and sisters at the breeder.

[Pajarita]

GCCs in the wild are not completely weaned at 3 months of age and I believe that nature knows more than we do so I follow nature's example.

As to Libertywings, that's Chris Biro and he has always been part of the industry, meaning he has something to sell. I don't believe everything anybody with a money interest has to say about a product...

[LisaB]

Baby Elsa is beautiful! I'm glad you are going to let her fly. I believe it's not only good for their minds, but important for physical health as well, especially cardio. I just love all the little Pyrrhura Conures. They are so intelligent and often underestimated. Congrats!!!

[pacoparrot]

Well with that in mind she is eating on her own but I do give her a lot of soft foods by hand. I don't see any harm in a little clicker training early on. She isn't exerting herself or being ignored. I am literally using the clicker to teach her how to play with toys and do small things like walk over and touch a stick or put a toy in a cup. And the treats I use are bites of fresh fruit, which is more than willing to work with. We work for barely 5 minutes and then she flies up to my shoulder to tell me that we're done. Flight management is going to be an important aspect of her young life if I plan on keeping her flighted. She has to learn where is safe to fly and where is off limits. And in my opinion (and I'm sure not only mine) the longer I wait the harder it will be to break the habits she develops. She is eating very well and I give her plenty of affection and treats. So worry not. And I've never heard that you shouldn't work with a bird because of age anywhere. I know that you must be much more careful and not push them at all but Elsa is more than willing to do a few behaviors for a bite of apple.

[pacoparrot]

[Pajarita]

If you read Chris Biro, no, you will never find anything that says a baby should not be trained but dog and horses trainers (as well as teachers) have used this principle for many years - and for a good reason.

One word of caution, if you expect her to learn which place she is supposed to fly and perch on and which she is not, you need to do more research about how parrots think - because obedient, they ain't! -LOL- They are not hardwired for obedience as they don't live in a hierarchical society... the neural path and/or instinct just isn't there.

[Elaihr]

If you read Chris Biro, no, you will never find anything that says a baby should not be trained but dog and horses trainers (as well as teachers) have used this principle for many years - and for a good reason.

One word of caution, if you expect her to learn which place she is supposed to fly and perch on and which she is not, you need to do more research about how parrots think - because obedient, they ain't! -LOL- They are not hardwired for obedience as they don't live in a hierarchical society... the neural path and/or instinct just isn't there.

Hi,

I know this might be a bit "off topic", but I'm just curious. I know parrots aren't wired for a hierarchical social structure, but is there perhaps any chance that they can warn each other of eventual dangers, in any way? Like, I know they don't "say" things like "I order you not to go there" to each other, but shouldn't they be able to communicate things like "watch out!"/"flee!" or similarly?

I really only ask this out of pure curiosity, I don't think I'd dare call out such a thing even if I knew how, as I'd be afraid it would make my parrot nervous and anxious, believing there were dangers everywhere.. But I guess it won't hurt to learn more about parrot communication

[Wolf]

Yes, they do! All herd/ flock animals have their own ways of communicating danger among other things. They all have a social structures which approves and disapproves of certain behaviors. Even when they sleep there are those tasked with maintaining a certain degree of wakefulness to protect the rest from danger. A social structure does not have to be hierarchal in order to exist and/ or function smoothly and effectively. We are just accustomed to this type of structure because of our predatory nature, it is the most common type of social structure found among predators.