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Originally Posted by Kristy29 I want to try recall training with Lily. How do you do that? And is she too young, or is it good to start young? |
I think when to start recall training would be based on how good her flight skills are. When I do recall training they fly to me and land on my extended index finger so they have to be skilled at judging distance and landing well - and when I take it to harder levels I will have them fly down to me, and flying down is difficult to learn.
I didn't begin any recall with Jerry until he was an adult. I don't have any experience with it with a baby, but as soon as the flight skills are decent I would think that it can be done at any age.
This is how I do it:
Have a treat that will ONLY be used as a reward - I use millet and they ONLY get millet when training. They love millet and when they only get it at limited times it's a real treat and they will work for it. Learn to palm a piece of the preferred treat in your hand and have it there at most times during the early training stages - after they understand what you want them to do, and understand the verbal and visual cues, they will later be able to do the recall and receiving verbal praise is enough. I like to treat them every so often during the training anyways just to make it that much more rewarding.
In the beginning, start from a short distance until they learn what you want them to do - start with just an arms length away or a few feet away. Choose a word or phrase to use, I use, "Come here!" I also gesture with my hand, a slight "come hither" gesture and I extend my arm and extend my index finger as the landing platform. As they get better with the short distances, gradually move further away, and eventually you should be able to call them from another room even.
When using the treat as the reward - timing is everything!! It took me awhile to master my timing. AS SOON as they fly over, be QUICK with the treat and verbal praise! (that goes for any positive reinforcement training - timing of the reward has to be spot on so that they know what they're being rewarded for) Also, I only allow just a small bite of the millet as the reward since during a training session they get treated fairly often.
Keep the training sessions short, one or two 5-15 minutes sessions per day - or longer or shorter as long as the bird is having fun. As soon as their attention spans drift or they get frustrated, STOP the training session. Once you or the bird becomes frustrated, the session won't go anywhere. Keep in mind that it should be light and fun and then they will be more than willing to work with you and it will strengthen the bond.
You can also incorporate clickers into the training (I actually do have some but have not used them thus far). Here is a link where Clicker Training is discussed:
Question about Clicker Training