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Old 08-31-2007, 07:01 AM   #1
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Default Keeping the fids busy!

I've been getting pretty lazy lately and in this last week or two have started stepping things up again as far as keeping the fids busy (besides new toys). Here's what I mean:

I've been meaning to get Lulu especially into more foraging activities and I've now been doing more with that - I stuff bits of Avicakes in toy crevices, like a wooden cylinder with two holes on each end, and in the larger crunch balls. I'm also beginning to get her to forage into her food dish. We're pretty basic right now, I put torn pieces of paper into her dish or sometimes mix beads in - she would push everything around to get to her food but now she's discovered that she can take out the paper and beads to get to her food

I have a foraging basket for Lulu as well - it's a small wicker basket that I used to just fill with various toys. But last night I totally revamped it with all sorts of stuff that she likes to pick up and chew on - balsa wood pieces of various sizes, chinese finger traps, scraps of paulie rope and leather strips, foot toys, straws, small plastic toys, etc.

I've picked up recall training again with Jerry. A few months ago we were working on that he got pretty good at it. But I've been slacking off on that and decided to pick it up again as it's fun for us both. It's the perfect exercise for him since he's such a busy body and he just lives to fly.

I'm going back to the basics with Winston since we haven't worked with him as much as I would like. This week we're just doing small things like having him take treats from my hand, and he very eagerly does that now. I hope to move him up to recall training in the future.

It feels good to get back into enrichment activities.

Last edited by svolk; 08-31-2007 at 07:14 AM.
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Old 08-31-2007, 08:16 AM   #2
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Default Re: Keeping the fids busy!

Sounds good. I have been slacking on training with the older guys since the baby moved in. Been working with her (him) a lot, and she (he) has made a lot of progress so far.

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?
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Old 08-31-2007, 08:59 AM   #3
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Default Re: Keeping the fids busy!

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Originally Posted by Kristy29 View Post
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

Last edited by svolk; 08-31-2007 at 10:20 AM.
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Old 08-31-2007, 09:11 AM   #4
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Default Re: Keeping the fids busy!

Oh yeah, she can't fly yet, cause her wings are clipped. Haha, duh. But I will start as soon as she molts. She can fly a little bit, if she starts from high she can go pretty far, like from the top of her gym on my night table to the floor. I really feel bad, because when she gets on the floor she tries so hard to go back up, but of course can't get more than a few inches off the floor. I can't wait until she can fly. I think I need to get her a really long ladder that goes from the floor back up to the gym.
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Old 08-31-2007, 10:22 AM   #5
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Default Re: Keeping the fids busy!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kristy29 View Post
Oh yeah, she can't fly yet, cause her wings are clipped. Haha, duh. But I will start as soon as she molts. She can fly a little bit, if she starts from high she can go pretty far, like from the top of her gym on my night table to the floor. I really feel bad, because when she gets on the floor she tries so hard to go back up, but of course can't get more than a few inches off the floor. I can't wait until she can fly. I think I need to get her a really long ladder that goes from the floor back up to the gym.
A ladder is a great idea for helping her get back up when she's too low to fly up - that's the whole idea of clipping, that they should be able to flutter down but not gain altitude. Jerry and Lulu came to me clipped so I know the frustration of seeing them struggle to get where they want to go but can't because of being clipped.
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