So, I was speaking with a woman last week who has a phd in animal behavior. She is a huge pigeon fancier and for her last research project she trained pigeons to tap different buttons with different hues of light. She studied how many different sequences they could remember. She had monkeys and people also do the test.
So, as I left her office I thought - how did she train all those (adult) pigeons to tap the buttons?! I have a 1 1/2 yr old pij and I would love to train him to do tricks. I read that parrots are actually pigeons' closest avian relative, and if parrots can do tricks then we know that pigeons definitely can! (I know you can even train chickens to run agility courses!)
Any ideas on how to train a pigeon to do tricks?
Has anyone else successfully done it?
thanks!
Kathy

Probably the same way you train anyone else. Repetition, consistency and the proper motivation. I would recommend sunflower seeds - 10 per day tops (cuz they're fattening) and train for very short periods.

With pigeons, the first trick is teaching them to take a single seed nicely from between a thumb and forefinger. After that decide what you want to teach. Then break it down in to baby steps and repeat, repeat, repeat. Teach in very short intervals when you have their attention. Anything you teach has to be done in a fun, rewarding way or they won't want to play and reward progress immediately when it happens so they get the gist of what you want.

Your post reminded me of the work of the scientist B.F. Skinner who used pigeons and rats in behavioural studies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ctJqjlrHA

Except I don't think you need to keep the pigeon hungry - Ollie has never turned down a sunflower seed.

"No really, I couldn't possibly - I had all that pellet earlier."

Wouldn't happen.

Jax&Paddy wrote:Your post reminded me of the work of the scientist B.F. Skinner

P.S. That's exactly what clicker training is.

lol. no- this woman was part of an animal conservation program. no starving pigeons here!
So, how do you train a pij to take one seed nicely from your hand? Yes, i agree that it is all about repetition. I just thought there might be some pij-specific tips to training!
I think, for me, the problem is that I just can't seem to find a treat that my pij loves. And he refuses to eat out of my hand anymore (it stopped when he was about 6 months. no idea why).
He also has a slightly broken beak, so it is difficult for him to pick up seeds that aren't in a deep dish. But I bet he can pick up something as large as a sunflower seed! I heard that those seeds were too big for pigeons, is that true?
Thanks!

Ollie sucks down sunflower seeds from my fingers like they're chocolate bon bons - no worries about size. As for how... she learned to take them nicely or lose them to the newspaper abyss below.

P.S. If Ollie's being anti-social, I find eating a few of the sunflower seeds while making num-num noises will hurry things along bit.

Hmm!! I'm not sure I like the thought of these pigeons locked up in cages. Are they ever free to fly I wonder?
Gladys

I can only speak for Ollie and while she is caged for her own safety, she's given plenty of fly time.

I was referring to the video about Skinner's experiences. Wasn't thinking about Ollie at all. We all know how you deal with her.

Gladys

Ahh, well... those are scientists - entirely different species.

Gladys, these experiments were done many years ago and sadly I suspect these pigeons didn't have any other freedom outwith their experimental living conditions.

There is a lot to read but this link gives much more information on the work of B.F. Skinner:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._Skinner

I only remembered about the theories of this scientist because I was required to learn it during my time studying.

Jax&Paddy wrote:Gladys, these experiments were done many years ago and sadly I suspect these pigeons didn't have any other freedom outwith their experimental living conditions.

There is a lot to read but this link gives much more information on the work of B.F. Skinner:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._Skinner

Pigeon-guided missiles? Yikes! At least kamikaze pilots chose their fate.

capthunter wrote:

Jax&Paddy wrote:Gladys, these experiments were done many years ago and sadly I suspect these pigeons didn't have any other freedom outwith their experimental living conditions.

There is a lot to read but this link gives much more information on the work of B.F. Skinner:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._Skinner

Pigeon-guided missiles? Yikes! At least kamikaze pilots chose their fate.

Look what your avatar pigeon did? Isn't that a pigeon-guided missile?

Yeah, sometimes mankind leaves a LOT to be desired concerning our animal/bird friends!!

As far as training...sometimes you can "train" when they are doing something they would do anyway.

Squeaks knows when I'm in the kitchen, there's a chance I may be making a salad and will drop pieces of green from above (a.k.a. "heaven") which he wastes no time gobbling down! That's called "Drop the Greens Game."

Then, we play "Catch the Pea." I gently throw out Canada Peas and he goes chasing after them and gobbles down.

Don't know why I've never tried to feed him by hand, so the other day when my friend asked me if he ate out of my hand, I said I had never tried! No time like the present, soooo, I grabbed a few Canada Peas, put one in my hand and held out to Squeaks who was sitting in his nest. Next thing I know the pea is gone! Gee, real surprise there since he DOES like 'em.

There are also times, he knows when he steps on my Crocs, I will lift him up onto a chair next to the computer. Since he gets petted and scritched, he knows the drill. 'Course he only does this when he's in mate mode...otherwise, in daddy mode, he's nest sitting on his egg(s)!

He loves Canada Peas, Safflowers and Hemp Seeds.

Love and Hugs
Shi

capthunter wrote:Pigeon-guided missiles? Yikes! At least kamikaze pilots chose their fate.

I laughed because of your avatar too! Did you ever hear the rumors about WWII killer dolphins?

Desert Fire wrote:He loves Canada Peas...

We have special peas in Canada? Really?

I've never used operant conditioning (a.k.a. clicker training), there's something kinda chilling about it. I prefer my animals to be who they were intended to be without "conditioning". Each animal has their own aptitudes and quirks.

Skinner's air crib sounds curiously disturbing.

At least most animal behaviorists (psychologists) take animal welfare into consideration now. The scientist that I mentioned who taught the pigeons to press the buttons is a huge pigeon lover. She has pictures of them around her office. She made sure that her pigeons received a lot of fly time and were very well taken care of!
Actually, one of the reasons that I want to be a biopsychologist is to prove that animal welfare should ALWAYS be considered first!

Jax&Paddy wrote:

capthunter wrote:

Jax&Paddy wrote:Gladys, these experiments were done many years ago and sadly I suspect these pigeons didn't have any other freedom outwith their experimental living conditions.

There is a lot to read but this link gives much more information on the work of B.F. Skinner:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._Skinner

Pigeon-guided missiles? Yikes! At least kamikaze pilots chose their fate.

Look what your avatar pigeon did? Isn't that a pigeon-guided missile?

Good point.