I don't understand it either why people are so against using treats to motivate birds. I'm doing a trick training seminar next month for the first time, and I am worried about people having that perception. My birds can skateboard, play basketball, play dead, etc. but it's only because I use treats for rewards. If I didn't give them any kind of reward, they wouldn't have made the progress they have. People have this idea that they don't need their birds to be circus performers, so they don't need to train them. But training is more than tricks, it builds strong bonds, provides mental stimulation, and can also be used for vet visits, giving medication, or possibly even saving your birds life in an emergency situation. Training is crucial.

Show me a chocolate bar and I will jump through hoops, lol. I use treats for training and it works.

Quakers have a special place in my heart. I'm thrilled (but not at all surprised) with Lefty's "rehabilitation." Great work JamieLeigh, Capri and Dave. And if Lefty needs a permanent loving home, sign me up!💕🐦

People think all pets are like dogs. Dogs have been selectively bred for 15,000 years to want to be with people. Your companionship is a reward to them. Birds aren't dogs. If you have a bird you have to work with it on its own terms. If you want a bird to act like a dog then just get a dog!

The adorable green monsters, I love how anybody can transform a bird as long as they do the right thing and know what to do, my cockatiels are so greedy and always try to steal my porridge oats :) !

I think you’ve done a beautiful job w/Lefty! It’s been an almost magical transition to watch him go from a dull colored, lonely guy to this now brightly colored, fluffy love bug. I love watching you bring out your birds own individuality, and embracing that. Never had a bird, always dogs and cats, but each animal is their own! Love watching your videos and how you incorporate your birds into your life.

People need as much or more training than pets do.

"You gotta prove that you're awesome." :] Well said. That is an important, rewarding, and fun mission!

I think what you described here, as to why ppl thought Lefty was deemed unadoptable,is an excellent example anthropomorphisizing and why its detrimental for your relationship with a parrot. We need to understand that birds are not people,they're not babies (not in actuality). When you have a bird you really need to understand it's nature,it may be tame but it's not domesticated. And for that reason training is necessary,it creates that common ground for ppl to interact w their bird and vice versa. Also knowing how to handle them and is needed to. It's sad that ppl associate training strictly for circus animals and that sort of thing.

Thanks for another amazing video! I really enjoy seeing all of your birds. They are all so beautiful and you have done a great job training all of them. I hope to one day have birds I would really like a little flock of budgies or a quaker parrot and in the way future I would love a galaha and a macaw. Also thank you so much for helping these little misunderstood birdies. You have truley saved their life. I also want to apologize for all the comments including mine saying that you should keep Lefty I now have watched the videos where you have explained why you cant and truly get it. Keep up your great work. Lots of love from Louisiana. ❤🐦❤🐦❤

THANK YOU, Jamie. 💚 I have a sweet little Quaker, and your info is right on. She likes verbal and little treat rewards.

I just wanted to personally thank you & Dave for bringing so much bird joy to me. I love birds had a Bee bee parrot once. I don’t have the time for them but do LOVE birds.

I can’t blame a bird, do you like someone eating off your plate?

You have done a fabulous job with both Lefty and Touche .... +'ve reinforcement is something everyone can do to create a more positive relationship with their feather family but I think you also have a gift that goes beyond basic learning theory. It's your energy, your voice, the way you connect with them ...... Yay for you.

Hi, JamieLeigh, thank you for this video! I am so glad you explained how humans need to interact with their birds in order for them to get to know us. Just think of how we need to interact with our human children. All creatures and humans need interaction. I think treats are a wonderful way to motivate birds! Keep up the good work, JamieLeigh!!! I love what you and Dave do with birds! Love, big hugs, birdie kisses. Barb, Beenie, Baby in Spirit. :)))

I love how you’ve worked with these two green puffs. Thank you for opening peoples eyes. ❤️🕊

I love the sounds! So cute. So nicer than my Umbrella yelling at me. He does have a sweet voice, it’s just when the dogs are being bad or his anxiety flares up.

Thank you so much for this video! I was one of the people who didn't initially understand his central problem. What good advice about how to decide on which animal to adopt! Being a dog person, I always suggest that you get the dog alone somewhere so you can more accurately assess their temperament. Shelters are super stressful places for most dogs. Can't wait for your Australia videos!!!

I hope you’re having a blast down under. I also hope you also had some content taped and ready to be posted when you need them. Try to relax about your channel. We’ll miss you for real but absence makes the heart grow fonder. If you have to film short videos that are posted with no editing. Remember “you’re on vacation. .

Odie was that way bc she had been adopted and returned to a sanctuary 4 times. After she got comfortable and noticed she had a home her lovey, yet ornery side came out. Love my Quakers. Awesome video.

Yes, food has made me close to my bird. He loves me and can't wait to hang out with me now, food or not. We brought our BFA home when he was 6 months old and we absolutely love him now. His name is Ricco.

I think people expect their animals to be submissive and if they say "step up" they expect it to be done. They don't realize, birds are not dogs. If you want a bird to step up, you have to ask and give it a reason to. If it still says no, that's it. That's your answer. Not everyone has the ego to handle being told no that way lol

I understand totally what you’re saying. I’m trying to adopt a cockatiel that’s almost like that. He’s to the point where he doesn’t even want to socialize with the owner and the other birds that he’s currently with. He’s in Prince George British Columbia right now, and I want to ship him up to the Yukon. That’s where I live. If I’m successful, he’ll be my only bird and I can start having some one on one training with him and turn his situation around. We’ll be the best of friends. I might have to buy some band-aids though.😂 Wish me luck!!!!

Birds and people are not so different. we all need to feel safe and loved and have a balanced lifestyle. Imagine that your life suddenly changed for you because lets say you moved to a new house everything would feel strange and that must been how Lefty was feeling.

Another good tutorial. Birds are not dogs. Dogs love you, just cause. A bird, what's in it for me?

Using treats and toys as rewards to train and build trust with my goffins cockatoo Frankie has worked wonders. He is 7 years old and I'm his 3rd home. Within two weeks he has learned to step up and loves to eat from my hand when he previously was terrified any time I moved or picked up an object. However, my Quaker will rarely take treats so I'm not quite sure how to train him? He loves spending time with me and is very tame but wont accept any rewards for training, he just enjoys being close to me and playing.

I just adopted a cockatiel that is aggressive (the bites dont hurt) but I will work with him and I hope he becomes a sweetie like Lefty did ❤️

I know when I sit down to eat I do not want to be bothered either. Great information as always! ♥️♥️

I love Quakers. They are a stitch and a half. Always seem to have something going on. I'm really tickled to see that you have some Quaker videos.

The noises they make 🥺🥰😍

People just don't realize that the food rewards don't have to last forever once you've built a relationship, as you've shown very well in this case! It's just a starting point, and a very useful one especially for adoptions and rehoming. It's a great way for birds to learn to trust you, and similar to the wire monkey experiment, eventually they'll accept that you're the warm loving comfort they seek rather than the food.

1:32 Lefty wasn't having any of that😄

I have a mated pair of Quakers I adopted as rescues. They've been a part of my flock for about 2 months now. They are crazy aggressive when they're together, on or in their cage. I have to split them up to get them to step up so I can move them. Lol I use treats as well. They're hilarious. I have no plans to separate or breed them, so I accept their aggression as a fact of life. Their favorite activity is to get on my shoulder and try to remove my glasses & earrings while I try to stop them. 💚💚

My Avian vet told me don't put 2 diff species together in a cage bc they could be best buddies and then attack each other. She said they wouldn't be on the same continent let alone in same flock. I saw a story on TV one parrot attacked a mulucan and left the bird legless and beakless. They were best friends b4 the attack. The owner left them alone for 5 mins.

I think it is easier to put it this way about food as a positive reinforcement, everything needs food to live and with your sons and daughters who does not go to an ice cream parlor with them or have a pizza night as a treat getting away from veggies. it is the same with dogs and cats and treats wanting to give them a treat for reinforcement. we love the ones we look after and care for and who does not love getting treats. great video

Love everything you do Jaime

My late husband and I went from Falconry (him, not me) to buying a Quaker after the male American Kestrel he'd had (and I fell in love with) died at the very old age of 12 known years. Tini was born in a nature center built for 2 injured birds and he was from one of several clutches of babies. From your channel, I have learned what we did wrong, which was just about everything. I ended up rehoming Chico, but I only have to look at the scars from bites on my left index finger to be reminded that #1 You can NOT replace one lost bird for another. #2 You can't expect a parrot to be as quiet as a bird of prey. #3 You have to interact with your bird by teaching him/her new things and don't be boring! I made toys for Chico and he was usually terrified of them for a few weeks until he understood the toy wasn't going to hurt him. #4(most importantly) Birds go through hormonal changes twice a year. Falconers don't generally show their hunting birds the affection that parrot owners do. If a bird of prey becomes "uncontrollable" , you can release them back in to the wild; parrots depend on you for life. No, I do not, and never will, ever have another bird, I don't have the personality for it. Thank you for showing me what went wrong, I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

I pretend to eat the food I give to my Hahns macaw she thinks its funny and doesn't mind me touching her food

Respect the species. They are not dogs. Dogs are by nature usually desirous of being with people and most people are familiar with them. Best lesson here is not to set the bird up for Un-success with your behaviors. Good video.

Jamieleigh, i desperately need to talk to you about a macaw im seriosly thinking about adopting. I met him for the first time yesterday when i picked up a goffins from the same owner. Theres just soooo much to try and type all my questions . Ive watched HOURS AND HOURS of your videos and others,ive read,researched etc. this is a HUGE decision for me,one that i am not taking lightly. The macaw is a 10 yr old male and hes been with a man for 7 yrs,2 other homes before him. Hes very protective of the man ,who is newly married. Thats why hes rehoming his birds. She hates him because she cant stand the noise,the mess and being tied down. My biggest concern is will he ever accept me ,especially since im female and hes used to a male. He screamed like he was dying when i asked for a few minutes to try and interact with him. Will he settle down eventually once hes away from his " daddy"?How long will the transition take? I dont date or have anyone in my home except my birds, dogs and an 11 yr old cat that could care less about my birds. Lol Shes not allowed to be in the same room with them unless im around so no dangers there. The dogs are yorkies and have gotten used to my other birds talking, screaming, chattering etc. I want to do whats best for the bird ,my feelings and wants come second. Another thing, his birds have been on a basically all seed and nut diet,occasionally a bite of veggies or some bananas . How have they survived this long on that diet? I hope you see this and get back to me. Any of the others who read this and care to give helpful ,positive advice from personal experience with macaws ,PLEASE feel free to comment. Thanks a bunch.❤️😀

You should adopt him

HELP! I have a 9 year old Cockatiel male. He has been in the family for around 7 years. Was not hand raised. We found him sat on a stand in a garden centre. He now lives with just me and has done for 4 years. I have always talked to him and he lives in the same room as me. However, he was never really tamed. From the day we got him, he was aggressive and goes mad with biting. I now have all the time in the world and am desperate to make his life as happy as I can. He has a mixed diet and is let out of his cage every day now. He will come out immediately but on his own and sit on top of the cage. I can feed him treats from my fingers most the time but even then he will occasionally go passed the treat to attack my fingers. He acts extremely aggressive when hands or even a hand held perch gets too close (hissing, lunging and frantic biting). It is all very confusing and a bit emotionally draining. I have been doing the usual taming techniques of sitting by his cage, talking to him, rewarding him for being calm ect. But he still has a very aggressive attitude. The minimum I want is to be able to have him step to my hands (or a perch) to move him from cage to stands if needed. Tried bribing him with treats but he still will not go near to stepping up onto anything. Been trying to calm and tame him for a month now with little to no success. I feel soooo guilty for the lack of free cage time over the years and want to fix it. He clearly has some form of a bond to me due because he will get as close as he can and calls out every time I leave the room. I can even hide my hands behind my back and he will hop on top of the cage door to 'kiss' my lips very gentle. But as soon as the hands return, boom...kill kill. Like I say, confusing and draining :) Been watching your vids and others to get some tips but just feel like I am making no progress. I still adore the little fella so he is with me for life, I would just rather not have another decade of bites :) What should I do? Do some birds just never get over the aggressive stage and are happy to simply do their own thing out the cage and be talked to? (Long post, sorry)

Good job.!

Thank you for the this video..

Hi, can I get the ingredients in that breakfast for your birds! Thank you so much for a great channel

Lefty has looked pretty adorable from day one.

Hi what would you recommend as treats? Our quaker parrot isn't particularly an eater.

I definitely thought this video was going to say he STILL was unadoptable. I was shocked. Happy he’s doing well though.

My Quaker Mayday does this with her cage. She HATES you invading her cage space. Sometimes I can get her to not bite, but I have to do it quickly before she can think about biting. So I’m taking a chance. I don’t like using a perch to get her out because I think it’s not helping in handling with my hands. Do all Quaker get like this? I hear being home defensive is a Quaker quality. I can tell when she doesn’t want to step up though. She puts her head down and quakes.

Food is love. Definitely part of the process of developing a relationship

Gosh I'm gonna miss these little guys!

Honestly, who likes having someone eating off their plate, having to share all the time or taking away your food when you’re not even done eating? I’d be deemed unadoptable as well. Some people take “ love, trust and respect “ for granted but it isn’t, it has to be earned. There’s nothing wrong with Lefty or Touché. We need to educate ourselves on birds or any other animals. It’s not up to the animal to know how to interact with us, it’s up to us, humans, to know how to Interact with the animal.

Awesome video. Food is an expression of love //just ask any Italian! I think it’s a universal inter-species language that communicates we are on the same team ☺️

My rescue Quaker will step up best if I sing her "step-up" song to her. Cage and food aggression are common in Quakers...but stick step up trading can also help...and help anyone to be able to pick up a bird that has had too many bad experiences with people. So nice to see you work with a Quaker...they are great birds.

So this bird rescue has no idea how to work with birds.....absolutely freaking wonderful

I get the sense that Touche would be some cunning little villain in a kids' TV show; using other birds as his gophers (instigator). All the while, he's chatting you up like you're best friends.

Watching Lefty I found out I'm food aggressive, hope I don't get re-homed😅

Lefffttttyyy!!!!!! Such an adorable Quaker 🥰🥰😍

Treats aren't the only way to reinforce that you are worthy but they are a good way. With some birds, this is probably the best way.

Your little green dinosaur is still lovely and still a baby.

Hi I am experiencing same issues with my quaker parrot that i have had for a week any tips??

This is the second video where it sounds like Touché is saying "Momma, whoa" and he does it when you put your hand in. Feels to me like he could have been raised around kids that said Momma a lot LOL. I could also imagine that when a child would put a hand out to him when he was in his cage and he went to bite they might say MOMMA (as in mom he is doing it again) and WHOA (as in a natural reaction to him being a little aggressive)

Could this possibly be my long lost Quaker I had in ohio when I was 7 and his name was dexter back then??? Probably not but would be cool and funny lol

I have one and I don’t regret it, all the time she is a little floof ball!

My lil green cheek gets aggressive when it's meal time... So we know, when he is eating, we just leave him alone.

I own 6 pets, only 2 rn r important. My 2 parakeets. Mike and slushie, both boys. The cutest partners ever! They love eachother. Id adopt this bird anyways. All animals deserve a chance

Bribery.....the best tool. Food the best bribery tool. The step up is the first trick. I discovered this by accident ... late night snacking and the parrot wanted in.

My quaker is deemed Unadoptable cos he's a toe biter. Non of my 16 budgies and lovebirds are spared. He would lure victims by mimicking their call. Headache everyday.

What do you do if your bird isn't food motivated? I have a parrotlet that looks at me like "I'm a bird, I don't DO dog tricks" when I try to introduce food into play or training. He's pretty well behaved on his own. He never bites and climbs into my hand if I ask, will go to his cage when I ask him to go inside and comes when I call him, but he will not step up. He turns around and walks away. He has never eaten from my hand or taken a treat that I've given him if it isn't in his or one of the other cages.

Hi omg I’m an old fan

Me = food to my Guinea pigs That’s how they know I’m good because I give them some food every time I see them

YES.... using your technique to bond with my Macaw

Thankfully my Quaker has never really been either food aggressive or cage aggressive. I’m not sure completely sure why that is with her 😂 She definitely tries to run away with food... sometimes from directly taking it from my mouth... when I’ve had to take food away from her because either someone’s left something around that she shouldn’t be eating or she’s managed to get into a packet of biscuits that were left on the side, I’ve thankfully never had her be aggressive with me. I don’t know if I’m doing something right and what that is... I can only be grateful that my beautiful bird and I seemingly have a good relationship :) (I’m not at all saying I’ve never been bit... or that she’s never told me off for something I’ve unintentionally done to piss her off 😂)

My quaker is food aggresive as well. When I change her food or water I have to take her away first. Her bites don't hurt, but I don't want them too either!

Saw the birds eating your healthy mix. I tried to do that but failed with my quacker. She does not like it. I don't want to stress her out and force her. But I'd like some tips on getting a bird to eat your food.

Could removing them with a stick and showing them the aggression won't work? I'm asking because that is what I'm currantly doing.

It's the same for dogs with issues. Give them a good incentive and you will start to see a diffetence. Just like birds people don't read dogs. Way to go Lefty and Touchè

Can you please do a video explaining good and bad eye pinning.....because I've heard ringnecks tend to eye pin when they're interested in something especially words they're trying to learn so I wanted to know the difference between angry eye pinning and interested eye pinning

❤️❤️😍😍

My quaker doesnt like me near her cage if i am moving it or if she is eating 😁😜

I would 100% adopt him but I have an African grey and my mom said no more birds if it were up to me I would adopt him no questions

Lol. I get food agressive too.🖤

"Who doesn't love food?" *raises hand* I realise I'm like the least normal person ever though.

My Quaker won’t even let me change the food I’m his cage without biting me. One minute he’s snuggling next minute he’ll bite me. Not sure what to do 🤷🏻‍♀️

my conure gets really cuddly and gets kisses but he gets mad if i take something off him that he might not be able to have . but he is such a clown

I don’t really see the difference in giving your dog treats to train them or giving your bird treats to train them. This is where I’m confused about their way of thinking.

If you take them out and will they fly away I don’t see any screening

They are too cute for me-

I cant watch this without laughing at touche

First! Love me some Bird Tricks!

Lil green r2d2 xD

HOW COULD LEFTY IS SO CUTE

4 thumbs down are from jealous girls lol

I want Touchè so bad.

You don’t look food aggressive 😩😂

You can train a animal to not be food aggressive I’ve done it with my dogs and my bird

I can't find a treat my quaker likes. only his food

I have question . Whenever I kiss my bird she screams, is this good?

Small animals like rabbits and rodents need foundations built on food just like birds. No one bats an eye when you lead a hamster out of its cage with a treat but boo when people finally recognize birds are genuinely intelligent and can build a real relationship with their human parents do they act like using treats is buying love. It is in a way. You’re trading food for trust. In my experience using treats for a while hasn’t stopped my animals and I building an amazing trust and little family and them genuinely wanting to interact with me instead of just wanting the food all the time.

Why r people so mean and say animal s r un adoptable .