Clicker Training Lutino will not accept reward

[christine]

Hello, I am trying clicker training with my Lutino Cockatiel. She won't get on my finger but I can get her to a T Stand on a perch. She will bite the perch first and then get on it. My problem is she will not accept a reward for getting on the perch so how do I reinforce her when she is doing something good? I have tried every imaginable treat and fruit. Nothing works. For instance, I know she loves millet but will not accept this as a treat either. I don't give it to her in her cage. She comes out of her cage daily and climbs all over it and sometimes goes back in by herself. Or, after I work with her for awhile I put her back. I always click and praise when she gets on the perch but can't back it up with a treat so she knows something good just happened. She won't tolerate a head scratch at this stage either. i'm at a loss here. I would like her to step up eventually instead of using the perch. Any ideas would be welcome. Regards Montana

[mango]

What about sunflower seeds? If she likes them, remove them from her daily diet and only use them as treats.

[christine]

Hi Mango, I tried sunflower seeds but maybe I didn't give it a long enough try? I don't know why Valentine bites the perch before she gets on it? I don't force her on it. I guess to make it go away? Maybe when she bites it and doesn't get a response she thinks its safe? I think she wants to be social because she does come out of her cage on her own. Try as I might I can't think like a bird. Hoping she figures it out before I do. Thanks

[mango]

I read somewhere that they "bite" the perch to see if its firm/stable enough to hold them.

[Gerard]

Christine, has your bird taken food from your hand at any time. As Mango has said, find out what the bird's absolute favourite food is and remove it from her diet. Get her used to taking food from your hand if she is not used to doing this.

[christine]

Hello and thank you! I never thought that she bites the perch to see if its stable. You are probably right. I keep offering her food from my hand but she won't take it. Her most favorite food is millet. Now I take all the sunflower seeds out of her feed to see if that might work. I keep trying but no success yet. Either she is super cautious or frightened. Waiting for her to surprise me one day.

[vankarhi]

without reading any of the other replies I will just say my bit

A reward does not necessarily need to be "food" orientated. It can be praise or affection or patting. Whatever your bird feels is worth something to it.

I had a galah who loved eating but when it came to rewards.......she would TOSS any food I gave her and put her head down for a scratch....so her reward was a scratch.

My female eclectus was food orientated though.......but it had to be something "she valued" ...... which was passionfruit seed, slivered almonds, cornflakes, muesli. She did not like to be patted and was not really into us being animated for her reward either.

Erik my male eclectus (my female ekkies first chick) was food orientated but also could become quite excited if we got excited and animated if we made a fuss over him when he did something good. He also didn't mind a bit of patting.....but only if he was in the mood.

So you need to find out what it is your bird values the most and use that as the reward.

[avinet]

Mar 11, 2012 12:07:16 GMT 10 vankarhi said:

without reading any of the other replies I will just say my bit

A reward does not necessarily need to be "food" orientated. It can be praise or affection or patting. Whatever your bird feels is worth something to it.



So you need to find out what it is your bird values the most and use that as the reward.

The prolem comes when you have a bird that doesn't react to any reward - it just wants to be left alone. Cockatiels can be an especial problem - rarely will they respond to a food reward, and unless they love neck scratches then it is hard to find anything to use for reinforcement. And if they like scratches then they probably don't need work in the first place.

I've always found budgies and cockatiels the hardest to find a reward for - they are just so conservative about everything. If a head scratch isn't accepted then I am often at a total loss with a cockatiel to find a training reward.

cheers

Mike

[Robyn]

Montana I have to agree with Mike when training Cockatiels. Sounds like she is one of those teils that has a mind of her own. Look for other qualities you are able to work with. I am sure she is happy just the way she is.

Does she like leafy green veggies as a treat or maybe some fresh grown seeding grass. You can throw the old seed in the garden & grow fresh seed, tiels love the milky fresh seed.

[christine]

Hello everyone, Thanks for the input. Its certainly not food Valentine wants. I think I will go with the praise - she does listen! The little conure was out and jumped Valentine's cage and chased her all over the top. She was so frightened she hopped right on my finger. I guess I was the least threatening. The little conure keeps testing the Nanday's boundaries - he can be a testy little thing and I'm afraid Mike is right when he said he might lose a few toes if he is not careful and pushes too far. I believe you are right Robyn - Valentine really does have a mind of her own which I admire. She is really happy if I'm not bothering her. She loves Romaine.

Something new has come up. Valentine and a grey cockatiel have been mating for the last two days. I think they are too young not even 9 months old. Now what? The only babies I ever had with birds were finch babies and they are easy!

This all started with two male finches fighting over a female who had to be separated. Then I had to find some females for the lonely male. Which in my search I found the little green cheek, who, of course jumped right up on my hand, and the finches and also heard baby African Greys were coming available. Still waiting for the new baby. I don't even want to talk about the tiels, Valentine, Apache and Aztec!!! LOL I am so laughing at myself - - still! Thanks All! Montana