Training Treats for aggressive IRN?

[Andie]

What treats does your IRN love? I have tried many different fruits, vegetables, seeds and he does not seem to go for one in particular.

I need some suggestions because I have allowed him to develop some serious cage aggression which I now need to try and train him out of. My family are all scared of him! He is a TERROR in his cage, biting and flapping and squarking. Tonight he bit me very hard, no broken skin but the end of my thumb is still numb.

Once he is out of and off of his cage he is a lovely parrot! But I have to let him come out on his own and wait for him to leave his cage area entirely or towel him to get him out. Which is just HORRIBLE for both of us! Mostly for him...

The way I know it is solely cage based is the times I had HAD to get him right then (usually an impending vet appt.) and used a towel, as soon as I walk away form the cage with him and open the towel he is happily sitting on said towel giving me kisses.

He steps up, makes cute noises and is a very smart and curious parrot. I love him to bits but no one else in my house does!

[Andie]

I also wanted to ask if tiny pieces of peanut are worth the unhealthiness to train out of very bad habits like this. He does not get peanuts anymore.

I use large parrot roudybush in his peanut toys now instead of peanuts because the vet said they are so bad.

[Kathy]

Green apples and millet worked for me and my IRN

[expressmailtome]

You could try using pieces of pine nuts.

Matt

[Andie]

Kathy, do you use millet on the spray still or individual seeds? How did you deliver it as a training reward?

Matt, Are pine nuts lower in fat than peanuts?

[Monica]

Treats should be anything that is considered not part of the daily diet. Fruits and veggies don't normally fall into this category because they are suposed to be a part of the daily diet. Therefore, treats should be items such as nuts [peanuts are actually legumes - and so long as human grade may be fine - although I'd prob stick with roasted - if any at all], [sprig] millet, sunflower seeds, etc. Treats can also be petting or even praise.

With my cherry headed conure, Noel, when I was first working with her, she would not take treats from my hand. I wanted to reward her in some way, so I figured kisses would be a smart idea. Not really. If she stepped up nice, she got a kiss. If she bit when she stepped up, she'd get a "No biting" instead. Sounds fantastic, other than the fact that I also ended up getting bitten on the lips and chin! At least, several years later, I can now ask her for a kiss, and she'll lean towards me, and I can smother her face in kisses! And best of all??? No biting!

Charlie, my mitred, on the other hand... well, his kisses can be sweet and friendly, or he'll nip and kiss at the same time...

You can find out a lot about nutritional data of foods here.
Nutrition facts, calories in food, labels, nutritional information and analysis – NutritionData.com

[jenseits]

Roasted/human-grade peanuts are fine for training treats. In-shell, raw peanuts can harbor fungus, which is why bird mixes with peanuts in them are not recommended, but if you buy human-grade, roasted peanuts, I think that should be fine.

Peanuts are also not healthy as part of a daily, normal diet, but the point of a treat is that it is "high value" and not something the bird usually has access to.

To use them for training, just break them into small pieces so that your IRN can eat them quickly and be ready to work for another piece.

This assumes your IRN likes peanuts a lot. Again, the point of the "treat" is that it needs to be something the bird likes and is willing to work for. So if your bird doesn't like peanuts (or kisses or scritches or pieces of fruit) a whole lot, then it's not going to work as a training reward. It's not what YOU think is rewarding, but what the bird WANTS and is willing to work for that determines what you can think of as a training reward.

One way to conduct "treat testing" is to offer a bowl with a couple different items that you think he'll like (try different types of seeds, nuts, dried fruit) and see what he consistently eats first. You have to offer it separately from the regular food so you can actually see what he's going for. Do this a couple of days and see if there's a consistent pattern. Whatever he always eats first is most likely his favorite. That's what you should start training with. Keep the pieces small so that you don't lose training momentum and so he doesn't get full quickly. Keep in mind that tastes sometimes change and you may need to do the treat test again in a few weeks to see if he'd rather work for something else.

Most people find some success with any of the following:
- shelled sunflower seeds
- safflower seeds
- peanuts, walnuts, almonds or pecans broken into small bits
- a bite of millet (on the stem)
- dried bits of fruit (like mango, banana chips)
- a sip of natural fruit juice

Whatever you end up using as a treat for training should only be available during training and should be removed from his regular food offering.

p.s. as for delivering the treat, if he's very bitey and you can't trust him not to nip at you when you offer the treat, you can drop it in a cup or offer it from the tip of a spoon.

Hope that helps.

[Andie]

Monica, I was lucky with my lovebird and I trained her out of a minor biting habit (which she came to me with) using kisses. She now kisses anything she likes. Toys, people (un-prompted) and ears. Last month I even caught her kissing her eggs!

jenseits, offering from a spoon is such a good idea! I fear for my fingers if I start off with it in my hands... I am sure he will try and steal my spoon at first though. He is a little rascal!

I think I will try peanuts. I know he loves them. Before I knew they were bad, I gave them to him in the bulletproof can'o'nuts.

I will do the bowl test to make sure he still likes them.

[Kathy]

I used a two inch piece of millet spray. For my IRN- when he was acting like yours, i found by offering these foods he became curious enough to come to me which eventually led to stepping up and being comfortable with me.
I would only let him take a couple of bites and then draw it closer to me.
I used green apples as a treat- as he got enough other fruits and vegetables in his daily diet.