Please help me to tame/train 3 sibling GCC

[AuraKiwi&Jala]

Hello everyone, I am so exited to be here. I would like to introduce myself, my name is Kasia, I am 40 years old and I live in the country side just over 1 hour outside of Toronto Canada were my partner and I are in the process of opening our new centre for personal transformation.( bind, body and most importantly Spirit!)
3 days ago, we adopted 3 Green Cheek Conures!
My partner and I went to the pet store 3 days ago with our young nephews to get crickets for their iguanas her in North Toronto Canada.
I walked directly to the bird section as I grew up with an African gray, I owned several well training budgies and I just love all birds.
...there they were, 3 sweet green cheek conures from the same clutch, gurgling, huddling in unison and looking at me inquisitively
They were born this January 26 ( 4 months ago)and the pet store just discounted them because they have been in the store for over a month.
I couldn't t stop thinking about them for the rest of the day and how devastated they would be when someone would come and separate them.
... We talked it over seriously and a few days later after some prep we picked up our new bunch.
They are quite comfortable already, they come in and out of their cage and are completly comfortable around us wether we sit around on the floor together or around the cage. They come out of the cage when they notice i ve opened the door but are still shy with being brought out I have spent a min of 3 hours (split) a day handling them and I am ready to start touch training.
do I have to train them individually to avoid confusion with rewards or is there a way to train them together. I would like to start training them (possibly with a clicker ) as soon as possible
As you  can imagine it is impossible for me to reward good behavior( if I use a clicker or any other sound/ tool or treat ) of each bird at the exact same time , also the clickers are quite loud, so for individual training I would have to distance myself quite a bit .
For now( last 3 days) they get quite anxious when separated, however if I keep the close to each other I am able to hand feed them and have them step up calmly, also they are completely comfortable being around me (very closed , standing sitting, face to beak) when we sit on the floor feeding talking etc
I would love help or suggestions from anyone out there who has resolved similar dilemma, if
anyone has ever brought home more then one bird at a time, I am unsure of how to approach the training, together or apart.

Hope to chat with everyone soon, have a lovely evening!
Kasia and the kids: Kiwi, Jala, Aura

[laducockatiel]

It is great that you bought these birds together!

I think that it may work out to be ok with training all 3 birds at the same time, because even though you click when they do the right trick, only the one that does the actual trick will get a reward (a treat), so that shouldnt be confusing for them. It may turn out that they all go for the target, in which case, i think it may be more appropriate to train them at seperate times.

I think its best to start training them together, see how you go, if it doesnt work out for whatever reason, then i think its probably better to just train them seperate.

Good luck with your GCC's and training them and i hope all goes well. If you have any questions on this subject, feel free to PM me.

Regards,
Laducockatiel

[liz]

Basically you have triplets. Congradulations and my condonlences.

I would have done the same.

Human triplets respond better when they have each other for backup. Touch them and handle them as much as you can together. If they are tame enough cuddle them together. As they grow you will see different personalities come out just like tripletts. Human triplets are late talkers because the create a language between themselves. The more you can bond and handle them now the better off you all will be.

Have fun. I would love to see them.

[AuraKiwi&Jala]

[/img]Thank you everyone, that's a relief. I was getting stressed just thinking about the anxiety I woul inflict on them when separated . This mornings "floor" session went well although they stayed much closer to me yesterday, I think they just preferred the goji berries over sunflower seeds
I am able also to hand feed them in their cage but they run away and bite while I am taking them out ( wouldn t you) and bringing them back, is there a way I can try avoiding this ( my fingers are getting quite tender...note to self, next time just cover index and thumbs before I start and maybe they won t break skin ....)
Since they are eager to leave the cage when I open the door should I simply wait to pick them up when they are out? The problem with this is they climb to the top very fast and when I try to get them from up there I worry that they might try to fly off and get hurt ( unfortunetly they are clipped quite short...
I am open to all training tips
Very grateful, Kasia and the kids

ALSO, I wanted to post a picture but can t seem to find how...suggestions

[liz]

They are babies and huddle together. You need to figure out a way to be in the huddle.

Open the door and let them come out. Leave them on top of the cage - don't make them do anything. Can you put the cage closer to the floor or put something in front of it for them to land on.

Non flighted birds are very fearful. Myrtle was scared to death of my hands until she was able to fly.
While growing back her flight feathers she would jump off the top of her cage to test them. When she hit the floor she would come running to me and climb up my close to my shoulder. I still could not touch her but I transported her back to her safety zone. We did this many times since she knew I would not touch her. Once flighted we started a one finger tickle tickle to the feet. She is 2 now and I rescued her only a year ago. I am now her safety zone. My day is busy and I can't make exact play times for her so she makes her own contact. For a large part of the day she is an ornament on my shirt. Sometimes on my shoulder. Sometimes hanging off my back. She even travels upside down.

They are afraid of hands because they know they can be forced to do things. They are not afraid of faces. Myrtle cuddled and rubbed her beak on my cheek long before my hands could touch.


They are little - don't be afraid of them.

[AuraKiwi&Jala]

Liz
Thank you so much for you great suggestions. It is not possible for me to lower this cage but I will great a soft landing pad
I currently live between the city and the country, I have 2 weeks in the country to begin, so once they are well settled here, I will introduce them to the second house and cage
I bought a comfy cage for the car ( which I covered on the ride up north) which they seems to enjoy, I will reintroduce them to it during play time maybe in a few days?
I want them to be comfortable with car travel and both homes, it seems like this might be easy as they are quite calm by nature.... What a blessing they are!
Thanks again, have a beautiful day
Kasia and the kids

[laducockatiel]

For a good landing pad, get a couple of soft pillows and cover em with a blanket.

[AuraKiwi&Jala]

Update on suggestions...I let them come out of the cage on their own, getting them to then step up on a small perch is easy , then I lower them to the floor...easypeezy
Just finished one hour of clicker training.
I then perched them again and brought to the outside of the cage, a little while later I gently coaxed them in by walking slowly around the cage very slowly till they found their way back in, I have a feeling I was blessed with very docile and well tempered GCCs... Let's see what this evening play time brings

[cml]

You can also train them separetly, I train Stitch and Leroy on their own =), with the other one being caged (he who is second, knows its his turn next).
But most important when you get new birds is to hang out with them and bond. Get their trust!

[laducockatiel]

Update on suggestions...I let them come out of the cage on their own, getting them to then step up on a small perch is easy , then I lower them to the floor...easypeezy
Just finished one hour of clicker training.
I then perched them again and brought to the outside of the cage, a little while later I gently coaxed them in by walking slowly around the cage very slowly till they found their way back in, I have a feeling I was blessed with very docile and well tempered GCCs... Let's see what this evening play time brings

Awesome! You have done a really good job with looking after/training them! Keep us posted on their progress