TRAINING A 13 WEEK OLD CHICK

[razordogz]

hi, i have an african grey and want to train it to doo some tricks.
however i don't know which tricks to try or how to go about them.
i am new to the forums and not sure what i'm doing lol.
please can you suggest some tricks and what is best as a reward.
i am able to get his harness on without too much hassle.
i thought toilet training, but every time i miss cos he gets his claws in the carpet and i can't get him on my hand and back to the cage fast enough. i have heard push down on the tail to close the vent but i must do it wrong cos it don't work???

[Azure Hanyo]

See the "Taming and Basic Training" tab and search through, it is full of useful information!

Oh and uh... PLEASE DON'T PRESS ON THAT POOR LITTLE BABY BIRD'S VENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Excuse the caps, but...um...really? WHO told you THAT?! That is just mean, and I don't care if anyone agrees with this or not, I still think it's mean!!! You don't squeeze a kitten's tail against its anus to get it not to poop outside of the litter-box, do you???? Wow.

[razordogz]

i read that on other forums

[Azure Hanyo]

i read that on other forums

I'm not mad at you, I am mad at whoever told you to do it... It just seems mean! There are plenty of posts on potty-training birdies on the training blog and I don't think pressing the tail to the vent is mentioned. A good way to do it: have a "poop" area- like a free-standing perch surrounded by newspapers underneath- and when the bird poops or before it poops, put it on the perch and tell it to go. When it goes, reward it and remove it from the perch.

[Azure Hanyo]

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1758&p=7171&hilit=potty+train#p7171

Here is the more in-depth way! I really hope I didn't scare you off, lol!

[HyperD]

I think 13 weeks is too early for him to learn where to go potty. No harm in starting but dont expect immediate results.

Also with my sennie and my sister's CAG, I find just distracting them is enough to stop them going and then quickly going to the designated area, saying poop and the praise and reward any other training.

Anyway, lots of info in Michael's thread already so please check there

[Kaicho]

Our Congo African Grey is 5 months old... and has been able to do this since 4 months old.