Posted by Zippoguy on Mon, 05/22/2006 - 06:15 :: Macaws
Hi! New here so please bear with me. I have a wonderful new addition to the family...a Greenwing Macaw. Toto is about 14 weeks old and doing beautifully. He has discovered his wings and I want to teach him to fly to me on command. How do I do that? Also, what is a good "treat" to use with him?

Ron
Posted by jtholley03 on Mon, 05/22/2006 - 20:09.
A good treat is what he likes the most. Just take it one step at a time.

treat him for stepping up. Treat him for being quiet, etc.

14 weeks and fledged you have the whole deal in your palm.

Positive reinforecement all the way.
Posted by NateW on Tue, 05/23/2006 - 01:22.
Welcome aboard!

You're looking for this article. :-)

And also check out fly to perch.

And also check out some of the other articles on training in general as they will help give you a broader perspective on training and on maintaining a good relationship with your bird.

Sunflower seeds make good treats, and so do safflower seeds (even for big birds like macaws). The nice thing about small treats is that you can reward them and move on to another repetition quickly, and you can give 2-3 of them at a time to reward big improvements. Almonds usually work well too, but you'll want to break them into a few pieces in order to keep the training moving along.

If you can put a mix of different seeds onto a plate and watch the bird eat, you'll see which ones they like best - that's your treat. I've also trained with bits of banana, but that gets kind of messy... seeds get messy too but at least you can clean up quickly with a vacuum.

Nate Waddoups
Redmond WA USA