Clicker Training
A clicker is a small plastic-and-metal device that costs just a dollar or two and makes a sharp click when squeezed with your thumb. In clicker training, that sharp click is used to communicate one simple idea to your bird: what you just did, when you heard the click, has earned you a treat. You can also say "good bird" or something like that, but the clicker has the advantage of being precisely timed, so you can communicate more precisely.
If you haven't done any clicker training before, your bird won't know what the click means - it's just a noise. So the first step is to teach the bird that a click means that a treat is coming. This is generally quite easy to teach, so it's a great way to get into training.
First, you'll need a clicker - or just something that makes a noise that is consistent, brief, and easy to hear. Most pet stores sell clickers from a bucket near the cash register, for about a dollar each. I use a keychain with a spring-loaded lever that makes a nice click when released. I've heard that a retractable ball-point pen works pretty well, and I know a guy who just clicks with his tongue, so you have a lot of options here.
Second, you'll need a reward. If you know what your bird's favorite treat is, get some. If you don't know, get some seed mix, put a tablespoon onto a plate, and watch what the bird eats first. Or try everthing in your fridge (except avocado!!!). I've had great luck with walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, and safflower seeds. I prefer safflower seeds because they're small - my birds don't get full even after eating a dozen or more.
If your bird has a habit of biting people, don't offer the treat in your hand - instead, place it on a spoon or drop it into the bird's food bowl from a safe distance. Everything described in this article can be done with the bird in its cage, with the door shut. There is no reason for you to get bit, or even to be in any danger of getting bit.
If your bird has no interest in food treats, you can use head-scratches, praise, or other rewards. One of my birds is much more interested in training when given a safflower seed AND a head-scratch.
Teaching Your Bird What The Clicker Means
Here's how you teach your bird that "click" means a reward is coming:
1) Click.
2) Offer the bird a reward.
Wait for the bird to eat the treat, then repeat the process. It's pretty simple, isn't it? Don't let the bird see the treat until after you click. Always present the reward in the same place (be it a treat, or your hand, or whatever), so the bird knows where to expect the reward to appear.
After doing that five times, just click. Does the bird look toward the place where you offered the treats? If so, the bird knows that "click" means a treat is coming.
If not, try removing distractions, training in a quieter place. Make sure that you're offering the reward in a consistent place, so the bird can see the pattern. Make sure you're delivering the treat within one or two seconds of the click. Make sure you're not showing the reward before making the click - you want the bird to hear the click, THEN see the reward coming, so they see these events happening in a sequence, rather than all at once.
Teaching Your Bird To Earn Rewards
Once the bird understands that a click means a reward is coming, the next step is to teach the bird that a click means "you've done something that earned a reward." For this, we will start with a behavior that birds will naturally perform - beaking something placed under their noses.
Generally speaking, "targeting" means touching some object with some part of the animal's body. When it comes to training parrots, "targeting" usually means beaking the end of a small stick - I use a chopstick, some people use drinking straws, others use plastic rods, you can use whatever you want. Beaking the end of a stick is a very simple behavior, and it's something that parrots do naturally, so it's very easy to teach. Here's how it works:
1) Slowly move the end of the stick to within an inch or two of the bird's beak.
2) When the bird beaks the end of the stick, click.
3) Withdraw the stick and present a reward.
If your bird is afraid of the stick, hide most of the stick up your sleeve, with just an inch or two protruding from your hand. Move the stick slowly, when presenting it and when withdrawing it.
If your bird attacks the stick and tries to chew it to pieces, click when the bird lets go, rather than when the bird bites down. Pull the stick away as soon as the bird starts chewing, and click when the bird's beak is no longer touching the stick.
With any luck, this will also take just a few repetitions before the bird realizes that beaking the stick = getting a reward. Watch the bird's body language very carefully... When the bird understands, you'll start to see it reaching out for the stick as soon as the stick begins coming closer. Then you know the bird understands this game.
Before moving on to more advanced behaviors, let's extend this targeting idea. Most birds will quickly learn to target a stick that is held within a couple inches of the bird's beak. But if you hold that same stick six feet away, the bird may well ignore you, or wait for you to bring it much closer. So now let's teach the bird to go to wherever the stick is.
(to be continued)
A clicker is a small plastic-and-metal device that costs just a dollar or two and makes a sharp click when squeezed with your thumb. In clicker training, that sharp click is used to communicate one simple idea to your bird: what you just did, when you heard the click, has earned you a treat. You can also say "good bird" or something like that, but the clicker has the advantage of being precisely timed, so you can communicate more precisely.
If you haven't done any clicker training before, your bird won't know what the click means - it's just a noise. So the first step is to teach the bird that a click means that a treat is coming. This is generally quite easy to teach, so it's a great way to get into training.
First, you'll need a clicker - or just something that makes a noise that is consistent, brief, and easy to hear. Most pet stores sell clickers from a bucket near the cash register, for about a dollar each. I use a keychain with a spring-loaded lever that makes a nice click when released. I've heard that a retractable ball-point pen works pretty well, and I know a guy who just clicks with his tongue, so you have a lot of options here.
Second, you'll need a reward. If you know what your bird's favorite treat is, get some. If you don't know, get some seed mix, put a tablespoon onto a plate, and watch what the bird eats first. Or try everthing in your fridge (except avocado!!!). I've had great luck with walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, and safflower seeds. I prefer safflower seeds because they're small - my birds don't get full even after eating a dozen or more.
If your bird has a habit of biting people, don't offer the treat in your hand - instead, place it on a spoon or drop it into the bird's food bowl from a safe distance. Everything described in this article can be done with the bird in its cage, with the door shut. There is no reason for you to get bit, or even to be in any danger of getting bit.
If your bird has no interest in food treats, you can use head-scratches, praise, or other rewards. One of my birds is much more interested in training when given a safflower seed AND a head-scratch.
Teaching Your Bird What The Clicker Means
Here's how you teach your bird that "click" means a reward is coming:
1) Click.
2) Offer the bird a reward.
Wait for the bird to eat the treat, then repeat the process. It's pretty simple, isn't it? Don't let the bird see the treat until after you click. Always present the reward in the same place (be it a treat, or your hand, or whatever), so the bird knows where to expect the reward to appear.
After doing that five times, just click. Does the bird look toward the place where you offered the treats? If so, the bird knows that "click" means a treat is coming.
If not, try removing distractions, training in a quieter place. Make sure that you're offering the reward in a consistent place, so the bird can see the pattern. Make sure you're delivering the treat within one or two seconds of the click. Make sure you're not showing the reward before making the click - you want the bird to hear the click, THEN see the reward coming, so they see these events happening in a sequence, rather than all at once.
Teaching Your Bird To Earn Rewards
Once the bird understands that a click means a reward is coming, the next step is to teach the bird that a click means "you've done something that earned a reward." For this, we will start with a behavior that birds will naturally perform - beaking something placed under their noses.
Generally speaking, "targeting" means touching some object with some part of the animal's body. When it comes to training parrots, "targeting" usually means beaking the end of a small stick - I use a chopstick, some people use drinking straws, others use plastic rods, you can use whatever you want. Beaking the end of a stick is a very simple behavior, and it's something that parrots do naturally, so it's very easy to teach. Here's how it works:
1) Slowly move the end of the stick to within an inch or two of the bird's beak.
2) When the bird beaks the end of the stick, click.
3) Withdraw the stick and present a reward.
If your bird is afraid of the stick, hide most of the stick up your sleeve, with just an inch or two protruding from your hand. Move the stick slowly, when presenting it and when withdrawing it.
If your bird attacks the stick and tries to chew it to pieces, click when the bird lets go, rather than when the bird bites down. Pull the stick away as soon as the bird starts chewing, and click when the bird's beak is no longer touching the stick.
With any luck, this will also take just a few repetitions before the bird realizes that beaking the stick = getting a reward. Watch the bird's body language very carefully... When the bird understands, you'll start to see it reaching out for the stick as soon as the stick begins coming closer. Then you know the bird understands this game.
Before moving on to more advanced behaviors, let's extend this targeting idea. Most birds will quickly learn to target a stick that is held within a couple inches of the bird's beak. But if you hold that same stick six feet away, the bird may well ignore you, or wait for you to bring it much closer. So now let's teach the bird to go to wherever the stick is.
(to be continued)