do you ever trick your parrot into doing (or not doing) something?

[PlaxMacaws]

I must admit that I'm guilty of such trickery on occasion. One example involves Zaffer, my Hyacinth. He is often impossible to peel off of my arm or shoulder. The problem emerges whenever I require the use of both of my arms for a task. I find that in such cases it's easier to simply say to my tenacious friend, "Zaf, shoulder!" He will then happily move up to my shoulder, which may render adequate limb freedom for my current needs. But there are other times when the only option is a full extraction from my person of my clingy blue buddy - such as when I require the ability to move within a cramped area.

Enter the deception. All I have to do when Zaf is firmly anchored to part of my body (and in "lock" mode) is say to him, "let's go clip your toenails." Once I do that, he will immediately, and vigorously, leap off of my arm or shoulder and onto whichever structure or surface appears the quickest path away from me. It works like a charm!

I should also mention that Zaffer will always allow me to clip his toenails while he sits on a T-perch. He usually even hands me each foot willingly. But that's only after he has resigned himself to the fact that he's been placed in the posture and the procedure IS going to happen... i.e., that he has no out. If ever he thinks he may be able to escape before then, he'll embark on the aforementioned rapid beeline away from me. Conveniently, that tendency in him serves as a perfect tool for me to free myself from his grasp :)

Do any of you ever use similar trickery techniques on your birds?

[Dragonlady2]

I haven't had to use the "reverse psychology" trick...however, most of my birds will do a headstand for popcorn or a nutriberry. I save those for when it is time to go back into their cage. Joey and Peewee don't need any treat. I just tell them to go back in their cage and away they go.
I wonder who is fooling who....maybe Zaff is just humoring you...lol. They're pretty smart.

[PlaxMacaws]

I just tell them to go back in their cage and away they go.How I wish it were that easy with my guys. While I can (and do) regularly place each bird back in his respective cage, to get them to go in on their own (unless they choose to do so - and they frequently will) is another matter altogether. For example, to get Salsa to willingly walk to the cage door and climb into the cage, I merely need place a few uncooked wholegrain penne rigate pasta pieces in one of his feeding bay bowls. He loves the stuff so much that there's no stopping him then... he will instantly retreat into his cage to enjoy the exquisite crunchiness. As for Zaf, all I have to do is take my old red DirtDevil hand vacuum (that hasn't worked for eons) and place it inside the cage door onto the grate. He is so driven to attack the poor thing that it becomes impossible to keep him out of his cage while it's there.


I wonder who is fooling who....maybe Zaff is just humoring you...lol. They're pretty smart.I'm not so sure he's fooling me... each time I say "let's go clip your toenails" he hightails it off of me and away pretty darn quickly. I'm not saying he's not a smart bird. I'm just saying that he remembers how fast I can plop him on the t-stand and start snipping. So I think it's more of a "hell if we will!" statement from him than anything ;)

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Its t'other way around here, Casper asks us to carry him over to the back of the sofa (too idle to make his own way) then makes it clear that really he wants to be on a shoulder :)

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Casper: "I'm a good boy"... chomp :th_biggrin:

[09ladybug09]

I have to trick my conures all the time! They are constantly stuck on me and never want to go back into their cages. They love my phone so all I have to do is pull it out and they are on it so fast! So sometimes I put it in their cage to get them in their. The other thing I will use is Cheerios. They absolutely love them so if I put a few in their treat bowl they go right for it. I have a tiny Tupperware bowl of them and if I shake it they come flying. They are learning though. When it comes to bed time they are starting to go in their cage willingly.

[PlaxMacaws]

I have to trick my conures all the time! They are constantly stuck on me and never want to go back into their cages. They love my phone so all I have to do is pull it out and they are on it so fast! So sometimes I put it in their cage to get them in their. The other thing I will use is Cheerios. They absolutely love them so if I put a few in their treat bowl they go right for it. I have a tiny Tupperware bowl of them and if I shake it they come flying. They are learning though. When it comes to bed time they are starting to go in their cage willingly.I can see you and I use similar techniques. The way I view it is: They trick us in various ways, so turnabout is fair play :th_biggrin: