# Starting from square two...



## popems (Nov 22, 2010)

After three weeks with Oscar and seeing some bonding taking place I realized that I am going to be spending a lot more time away from the apartment and got Oscar a roommate. I picked up a female, whom I have named Molly, who is already picking up some of Oscar's good habits such as coming to the cage door when I place millet there. I also finally got a spray bottle, so I can give them baths now. I tried it on them and they seemed to enjoy it at first, so I moved to a far corner of the cage and they came to me to get more! I am hoping this is a way to make some good progress with bonding. Is there anything that I should look out for in the next few days?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Nothing in particular, just spend lots of time with Molly so she bonds with you as well as with Oscar.


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## popems (Nov 22, 2010)

I'm back. I have been working with Oscar and Molly (gotta get a pic up) daily with the clicker training. Molly has made great progress thanks to the good example that Oscar is setting. The clicker training with a target stick is where I have seen the most progress with Oscar, he is still a little afraid of my hands.
Molly really loves millet, which has become an outside the cage only treat for both. I am wondering if she is too aggressive about it though. She will lunge and take big bites of the millet and chase Oscar away if he comes to get some too. Any thoughts?


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## popems (Nov 22, 2010)

Woo Hoo! Oscar said hello to me today when I came back from a couple hours outside my apartment!


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## shelagh (Nov 2, 2010)

That's awesome!


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

popems said:


> Woo Hoo! Oscar said hello to me today when I came back from a couple hours outside my apartment!


Yay oscar


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> I am wondering if she is too aggressive about it though. She will lunge and take big bites of the millet and chase Oscar away if he comes to get some too.


Many birds will do things with an excess amount of energy in the early stages of training - they try to KILL the target stick, go after the treat like a great white shark, etc. Then after they've been training for a while they figure out that they can get the same result with less effort so they stop putting out so much energy. It's likely that Molly will calm down after a while.

Is Oscar trying to horn in on Molly's clicker training reward, or is the competition happening during a casual treat-feeding session? If it's a clicker training session then Molly shouldn't have to share her reward. If it's casual, you can look for ways to reduce the competition. For example holding one piece of millet between the two birds so they can nibble on different sides, or having a separate piece of millet for each bird.


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