Working With Non Food Motivated Parrots

Everywhere I read about birds, it is stressed about how valuable the clicker is in the training program. However, nowhere have I found a source for buying one! I get several pet catalogs, subscribe to Bird Talk, and read your e-mails………so where do I get a clicker?????

yvonne, you can find them at any larger pet retail chain stores. look in the dog training sections.

2 of our 3 amazons–could care less about food as a treat–so would LOVE to see more information on this–Love your letters–e-mails & information–Thanks
SCREAMING is my worse problem–with all 3 amazons
A very close 2nd–is one of the amazons–hates me & attacks me WAY too aggressively–never have found out why–he LOVES my husband, & I need to “make friends” with him cause my husband has lost over 1/2 his eyesight, & is on dialysis 3 times a week; The bird–KEESAHA”–flew down on the floor once & I reached down to pick him up, & he bit the crap out of me–so yes–I am scared of him

Dear Chet, I would love to know how to reward my cockatiel, “Charm”, without food. She is so smart (smarter than we are) but very independent. She will not allow me to touch her but loves to sit on my shoulder. I often feel if I could meet her emotional needs she would respond more. I do not have the funds to envest in more training but love her so much would gratefully invest more time.
Thank you so much for your past videos and love your e-mails. They mean a lot to us “old folks”.

chet, i would be interested in the program. i have an african grey and b&g macaw.

Hi,
I have a 1 y/o african grey who is very friendly, total chatterbox, but is not food motivated even when I use your techniques of keeping his food away to make him hungry. He doesn’t seem to have any one food that’s a favorite although he eats everything under the sun. He’s not much into eating from our hands, but loves his bowls and our plates. I would like to teach him tricks like I did my umbrella cockatoo such as the wave, rings on pegs, basketball all learned from your videos.

So any help to make him a “trickster” like the cockatoo I’d love to have.

Thanks, Peg

Chet,I to would be interested in this program I have a 8 year african grey.

Hi Chet, Thanks so much for your super emails, I’ve learned so much from them, too. I would love to join your webclass. I have a 7 year old Severe Macaw, a rescue bird, who had been abused by her former owners, then returned to the pet store, where she stayed for nearly a year, until I came along and bought her. I’ve had her for 5 years. She’s getting a lot better about screaming and biting, but it’s taken a lot of love and patience. Your articles have really helped a LOT, thanks so much! Sometimes I reward her with food, but like today, she just wanted to be with me, and cuddle. When I realized that, she was great! She loves to lay on her back, in my lap, and preen. I scratch her head, and help her preen her pin feathers. I think a lot of times when they scream, it is because they’re getting new feathers in. I know she’s really cranky then, plus when she goes through her mating season. She’s been aggressive, too, and once I realized what was up, I understood where SHE was coming from, I would back off and let her be. I’d keep her in her room, and let her mellow out. She went through some horrible “terrible twos”, when I first brought her home, and was pretty agressive at times. We get along great 99% of the time. I’m still working on the screaming, getting her to say “Hi!” when she wants to come out, and not letting her out until she does, then I praise her. Wish I had done it this way from the beginning!

I have a 2 year old Congo African Grey who refuses to take food from my hand even when she’s hungry. She just stands there and dilates her pupils at me. Aside from not being able to trick train her, she has started barking like my dogs. She sometimes barks for hours and I almost had her convinced that it was a bad thing by leaving the room whenever she started but I started a new job. While I’m at work my roommates yell at her and even throw things at her cage to make her stop so of course she has gotten worse. I will be moving out soon but into an apartment where I can’t have her barking all day while I’m at work. I truly believe that if I can trick train her, she won’t be so bored and feel the need to bark anymore. Please create this program to help me and my baby bird. We need you!

Hi guys,

I would love you to produce a course that meets the needs of parrots who are not necessarily food motivated. I know for sure that my Male Eclectus woudl prefer to sit on the window perch! So, if he doesn’t screech he gets to sit on the window perch and if he’s good on the window perch he gets to snuggle into my long hair when I relax on the couch – it’s working like a charm! AND if all else fails, he is a popcorn freak!

Thanks for all your help, i know for sure that I’m meeting many of my bird’s emotional needs but i would definitely enter into a course like I described above.

Take care,
Wendy Cooke.
Victoria, Australia

We thought our red lored Amazon was annoying for the past three years, then we recently got this 2 1/2 year old Mealy Amazon and learned what screaming is really about. Haven’t determined a treat that would be halfway nutritious so would really appreciate your help.

Thanks, Stac

My Conure I received just a month ago because the owner was away from home so much and wanted her bird to have a more social life. Well, I have certainly provided that, with her cage right beside my sofa. My problem is that she won’t come out of her cage. She is not very food motivated and I’ve tried motivating her with a toy she likes. No go. I don’t want to just grab her, even with a towel for fear she will be mad at me forever. Help! I would be interested in a program.

Eleanor

Hi Chet!

This would be a wonderful idea especially for ME! I don’t know what is wrong with my birds, but they do not like treats, will hardly eat seed, and the treats they like are nuts, so yes, I am having a problem with feeding them too! I tried your pellets, but I just can’t get them to eat them. I think Smokey, (Timneh African Grey) chewed up a few, a few times, but that is all. I just waste my money on treats at the Pet Food Store. Smokey likes JUNK food, especially PIZZA! I give her a good sized bite, smash it with a paper towel for the grease. lol, pick out the veggies around and she likes the ground beef. She also likes SWEETS! My nanday conure does also! I don’t know what to do about this situation. They do like the birdie bread I make, but if I make it all the time, they quit eating it. I find that crushing the veggies some helps them eat them. Doesn’t like peanut butter. My birds doesn’t like much of anything except what isn’t good for them, like sunflower seeds. So I wouldn’t know what to treat her with if I start this program I have had for so long! The reason for not starting it, is my health, and what I am having to do about it. Oh, she likes safflower seeds now when she used to didn’t. At one time, one store, that is all they sold, as their premium Bird Seed. I buy Vita Vittle all the time. They also have changed that now, and it doesn’t say GOLD on it anymore, and there are more sunflower seeds. HELP. She loves the milk from my cereal, but I don’t let her have much. I’ve had Smokey for 19 yrs. She is also attacking my arm or the back of my hand, just all of a sudden at times. Its hard to talk sweet to her after this with blood running everywhere, but that is the only thing that will calm her down. The back of my hand is what she will bite or forearm. I look like I have been in a battle. She was really good today though, no biting and has been good. She never did play a lot, just at times, but it didn’t last long, but she wants my finger with whatever it is I am playing with, with her. Any ideas? I bought the pedicure not knowing if I was doing the right thing or not, and NOT, except for the beak. And she doesn’t mind it much. Its a hassle to trim or file her nails, I don’t cut them at all, she always ends up bleeding, no matter how little I take off. She talks the whole time, tells me she loves me, says words she hardly says anymore. She has a huge vocabulary, but does not use them very often. Gets stuck on a few. And Chet, you will not believe this and it is “scary” but she comes out in a sentence sometimes, words she has never said before asking me a question! and never says again. I told your wife about what she did in the den one time. It was built off the garage, and my husband was in there with the door open. After I sat her on the back of a chair, she said, “Mama, “Are you married? I said, “Yes Smokey, “I’m married to Daddy. She said, “To Daddy?” I said yes. That was it. My husband came running in there and said, did she say what I think she said? I said, she sure did! She does it a lot now, in spurts, different things that she doesn’t know. Please let me know your opinion on this. She absolutely did NOT know these words to put them together like that and as far as marry, she had never said that before.
Thank you so much,
Keep up the good work,
J C

I would b interested for my daughter. She has a cockatiel that isn’t particularly food motivated. He is friendly and doesn’t make a lot of noise but she wants to be able to teach him tricks. Fortunately for me my Amazon is very food motivated. Hmm…maybe the fact that I have an Amazon is why I think her cockatiel is quiet

Ok, this came up, YES I would be very interested if you would do this! I have a nanday conure and a Timneh African Grey, very intelligent.

Hi Chet, Yes I’d be interested if you kept the cost down.
I have an African Gray Congo named Humphrey Bogart. We’ve spoken before about him but I know how your business has grown.
My concern is I’m a flight attendant and gone for 5 days at a time. My husband works a lot and doesn’t give Bogie much time. So as the terrible twos go he holds my husband over a barrel and totally misbehaves which gets him even less attention. My husband simply doesn’t let him out of his cage because he can’t trust him. I gave him his flight feathers last spring (Bogie not my husband) and I love watching him fly. I haven’t figured out how to train him to come back on command so it’s strictly house flying. Anyhow Humphrey uses this new found freedom of flight to bolt on my husband who doesn’t discipline him for not following the house rules. So I need some common thread that both my husband and I can follow to let him know yes he has a choice and yes we are his flock but there still are rules to adhere to. Thanks Chet. Kim and Bogart

My blue and Gold, Wallace, 11 years old now has started a strange bevaour in that he does not really scream, but bends forward and semi flaps his wings, grunts and looks into the distance as if expecting to see something. He is not interested in treats. What to do?

Yes I would be interested. We have two lovebirds, whilst the male is more responsive to training the female isn’t, and he is only interested in coming to us when she is being protective over the food. they both have their own food pots, I put up foraging toys etc., but she is still insistent on pecking his feet when he goe to the food. He will fly off when this happens and then quickly fly back to the food and so it goes on. during this time he will come to us for treats. But would really like him or her to come to us just because they want to. The male will happily sit on my hand, and will bear a little sneaky petting, but once the treat has gone will fly off. We don’t really want to separate them, mainly because much of the time they are fine together and preen, so I think they would miss each other.

Thanks

Angela.

Hi Chet, Loved your lastest news letter – i have an african grey, Robbie, and she is not interested in food based rewards at all. Sometimes she wants her head / neck / chin scratching but then changes her mind and lunges at me – not all the time, but it does happen at least every week, and she can be a complete sweetpie, then suddenly start biting (not too hard, but its still a shock). I would love to work out why she does this. I’ve tried so many things without success, so some more knowledge to help us both would be great. She’s on Harrisons pellets and eats some veggies. She loves being near me but doesn’t like too much attention, but can’t stand it if i’m in another room to her. She had her first birthday in December and is going through her ‘big’ moult, which i don’t think is helping her temperament. She occasionally takes a shower in the kitchen sink at my parents house, but nowhere else!!! She is fantastic and our relationship is great – its just she can be very grumpy at times! Thank you for all your help so far, Sarah & Robbie

Chet,
I think this program would be terrific! There are many times when I’d rather give another type of reward to my babies for being good! Thanks for thinking of us!

Chet,

i really am interested in this kind of program. i have a cockatiel almost 1year old which think im his mate and screaming in my ears all the time even on my shoulder and petting him a lot when it does not scream . i really would like to have no longer headache .

Chet,
My Hahn’s Macaw will train for food but what he REALLY wants is to be on my shoulder. He has bitten my ear now 3 times, really hard, and it takes weeks to heal and I am honestly afraid to have him on my shoulder any longer. I have used many of your training techniques to try to get him to sit on my arm but he is afraid of my hands and will only step up if I cover my hand with my sleeve. So the issue here is that I know what non-food treat he really wants but I can’t give it to him. Please consider this if you develop a course.

Hi Chet,

I’d love to see an online course on working with non-food-focused birds. Even those who *are* motivated by food like non-food rewards sometimes, and being able to pick up a variety of things they’ll work for would make any training regimen easier.

I (still) don’t have a parrot (yet), but I’ve worked with a couple birds, and this would be a great course to take.

Testimonials:
Of the two birds I’ve worked with since looking at your materials, one is a budgie (aka a “parakeet” or budgerigar) named Tweetie that I budgiesat. When he came to my place he was scared of hands, terrified of people in general, and wouldn’t eat anything but seeds, who after 2 months would step up without fear, chase a crochet hook around for a bit of spray millet, and they fly back to his cage when he got bored. He had enough of an attitude that he’d only cooperate with tricks on his timetable, but he wasn’t scared of people, would sit calmly on someone’s hand while being petted (on his breast only) even in the presence of any kind or number of strangers, and was starting to engage in pre-talking mutters when he had to leave.

The second bird I worked with is a greenwing macaw name Rudy who was in a pet store at the time and the staff had taught him (unintentionally, of course) to bite. He’d already broken one staff member’s thumb while she tried to change his food and a customer’s thumb while he was out on a T-stand. I couldn’t use food training with him, nor clicker training since he was in a pet store, but by watching his body language until he invited me to come scratch his neck, I showed him I respected his boundries and he came to beg me to take him out of his cage whenever he saw me. By saying ‘down!’ once and turning my back on him when he immediately climbed on top of his cage, it took me at most 30 seconds to get him to come back down and climb onto my arm again. By telling him ‘down’ and ignoring him for a minute or so when he did something he knew he wasn’t supposed to (or continued an activity I had just told him not to do), he learned ‘gentle’ meant he was beaking too hard, and any number of other social niceties that make it comfortable to hold a bird. When I first started working with him no one else would. By the time he was sold, he was a feathered social butterfly.

Shalom,
Julie Peace

Chet
Hi I’ve been reading your web site I have a problem with my umbrella cockatoo name KOKO he is 5 years old I got him feb 7 this year .WE had to drive 31/2 hours for him ,It was just myself and husband ,so we drove and KOKO was out of his cage that long he was great .when we got home show him around a few times ,cause i had alot of dogs at the time ,now i only have to dogs one cat ,any way my problem he is very fussy he only likes his seeds and peanuts mix lettuce .I have try other fruit no way cheeros he likes apples he likes only seeds in it .Also he loves tea goes crazy for it.He has his own room with his huge cage He always screams in the morning around 9 am and hard and in the evening what can i do to make him not scream and also last couple of weeks he is starting to bite my teenage girls guys he has no problem he lioves me KOKO BUT now im getting scared he is starting to bite females and i got a grand daughter that will be walking soon what should i do .. Also I bring him out and put him on the stair rail he is great then all of a sudden he will start screaming very loud could you please help me i love him very much and i hate to give him up dont have alot of experince with big ones that is but i really want to make this work any tips you can give me tks shirley IM so glad there is people out there that care for other like you keep the great work up you should get award for your caring again tks

CHET
Sorry one more question for you how do i train him to stop wanting me from 7 am to 4 pm til i get home from work .I will be starting up middle of april and im worry for him when im gone .I have him in his room but he always gets free play in his room i dont put him in cage at night and he is fine but how do i get him be ok til 4 pm pl help tks

I have an Amazon parrot called Yardie who does the dawn and dusk chorus every day. He also likes to screech when I leave the room for more than 10 mins. If I have an animated conversation with anyone, he shouts and laughs loudly. What I really dont like is that he does’nt want to know me when I have any visitor and tries to bite me. When we are alone he is very amicable and mellow. I am unable to find any treats that are healthy enough to give him although he likes toast and bread.I know he cant have too much of that. I would be interested in your online webclass.

Yes, I would be interested, Chet! My 9 yr old Green Cheeked Amazon is very hormonal and is driving me crazy. I try to give her a treat and she just drops it, wanting me to pick her up.

I would love learning more about my conure’s emotional needs through this program. Juno will work for treats and I have been training him using your training guide. When I first got him, he never screamed for attention, but lately, I can’t even leave the room. I have had him for about 5 months now and he about to have his first birthday. Anything that I can learn about the behaviors of this very cuttalbe bird whould be much appreciated.

I would be very interested in this topic. We have a Parrolet that is not food motivated in the least. We got him when he was 2-3 years old, we don’t really know. He’s good at stepping up but isn’t motivated by food. He wasn’t socialized very well with people. What he wants is to sit between our other two parrots cages so he can be near them. I don’t know how to reward him with this. If I take him to another room, work with him, then let him stay with our other parrots for a while, how will he make the ‘reward’ connection?

My male Indian Ringneck only wants to play. If I do not spend enough time watching him, he gets moody.

And, he will be very stubborn and upset with me –when going to his cage.

He also does not want me to play with the Senegal male. He is very jealous.

Help!

I would be very interested in this topic. I have a yellow nape amazon and a cockatoo. The amazon is noisy in the AM and the cockatoo in the PM (early evening). Some days my time is limited more than others, but would love to spend 10 minutes with each on the days, and eliminate the screaching for literally an hour at times.

I would be interested. I currently have a cockatiel and a pinneapple conure that have limited food interest. The cockatiel will only eat pellets from my hand and the conuse wil only eat bananas.

Yes, please write this program for non-food motivated birds. I have a blue fronted Amazon that RARELY works for food, even using your training program. Thanks.

I would love another option to train my bird. She is a rescue and was not abused but neglected. She is a congo african grey and can be very aggressive. She loves peanuts but I would like to find another option, I don’t want her to gain too much weight since I am weening her off of a mostly seed diet. She is still plucking though not as much as when I first got her. It breaks my heart to see such a beautiful and intelligent bird self-mutilate like this. She will eat from my hand and lets me pet her but only through the cage. She suffers serious anxiety whenever I have to put my hand in the cage to give her water and food and has no interest in coming out of her cage. I need help!!!

My Red Lored Amazon never responds to food. His favorite “treat” is verbal praise. He will do just about anything for an enthusiastic “Goood Bird”. He is flying and will fly to me if he wants to. He will always get into his cage when I ask him to. The one thing I really need to know is how to train him to get into his carrier – which I absolutely can not make him do. If you have any suggestions it would be great!

I would certainly be interested in a program for non-food motivated birds. Humans are not driven by the same triggers either! Thanks for sharing your impressive knowledge .

hi Chet,
it would be great if you could make this program. I am having trouble training my cockatiel who doesn’t seem to be motivated by food or a scratch. My cockatiel won’t come out of his cage, i have tried target training but he won’t go on the cage door, he seems to get upset when i leave him and gets excited when he sees me, so i think he wants to come out of the cage. His cage is next to my alexandrine, i don’t know if this would have anything to do with it, but any help is appreciated! thanks.

Would REALY appreciate any techniques for how to meet my Cockatoos unmet emotional needs and find ways to reward him! He’s not quite a year old and food is rarely of interest. He’s caged while we are at work M-F and we let him out before we leave for about 20-30 mins of interaction in the AM and when we get home around 5 until about 7:30 in the PM. But Max screams a good deal during his “free” period. When he does, we use the clicker and put him in his cage with the curtain drawn for 10 mins. – then we let him out again-and repeat as necessary. This is inconsistantly effective. We know this is an attention seeking behavior (and he enjoys throwing food and/or dumping his bowl) for attention as well. Any new behavior modifications you can offer we’d be excited to learn. Many thanks! Maxi-Prime’s Family

I have a 6 month old Sun Conure, Freckles. I am slowly discovering things he likes and things he doesn’t like. I added the top section to his cage (out in the free space) and he loves it, He also likes the two additional suspended dishes that are on it. He will not eat or drink from any dish that is on the floor. Now he is eating vegies, and fruit, and other stuff happily. He never squaks when he is out of his cage and down on the floor (with my 2 yr old Bassett Hound.) However, I have not found a way to happily pick him up to put him back in his cage. He squaks and bites like he is being killed, but when he is loose he loves me. He is beginningh to replace squaking in his cage with a singing type note and word sounds (he started saying his name yesterday!)

I have a 9 year old African Grey which is usually VERY pleasant to be around but is NOT food motivated at all. I know there must be a way to get to his birdy brain that doesn’t go through his stomach! Bring it on to all of us, please! Maybe we can actually get him to respond positively to someone besides me.

well my parrot is a food motivated one but i can not find any source to buy the clicker!!

Ok, I am an a beginner here. I have a lovebird that my daughter had to have. With a degree in zoology and a lot of experience with pets, I did my homework and bought a lovebird. His name is Jingle (a Christmas present) and we call him “Jing”. I have no problem with the care and cleaning, and spending time with him, I signed up for that. While he is very social and curious about everyone, including dogs and cats-have to be careful-he seems hoplessly bonded to me. I cant leave the room without him emitting a piercing contact call every two to three seconds until I return. When I do return, he paces against the closest side of the cage to my body, rattling against the bars frantically to come out. Doesnt matter how much time I play with him. If I play with him more, he wants more. If I play with him less, he wants more. The anxiety and insanity in the house was unbelievable. He is relentless.

This has been going on for over a year now. I couldn’t stand it anymore. Although I never had a better and more loyal friend, I decided to take the advice of many and get him a female lovebird companion. I just can’t as a mere human give him a full social life and have a life of my own. As I brought the new bird up the stairs, they began calling to each other before they had even seen or heard each other…they knew, wierd. They are getting along fine. He hasn’t lost interest in me-yet-as I was warned he might. He is still tame, loving and manageable outside the cage. They sleep in seperate cages, but I let them out together for an hour or two after work each day. They can both fly, and it is truly a pleasure to watch them explore the house together, bathing in the aquariums, doing their bird things together.

The noise has decreased, and when they are noisy to each other it doesnt bother me like when he was so desperate and lonely and it was directed at me. He checks in from time to time with me on these outings for pets, reassurance, and whatever interaction he needs from me. Still a good friend to me and my daughter. We were ready to let him turn wild and bond naturally to another bird, but that doesnt seem likely.

The female, (Belle) on the other hand, came from a garage aviary with 200 or more birds of various species. She was in a cage near the floor with another female lovebird for who knows how many months and never handled. In spite of that background she is fearless and curious. But she does not like hands! Although she will jump to my shoulder when coaxed, and walk around the house with me, she bites like crazy if a hand gets too close to her beak. Or my nose when she is on my shoulder) Not surprizing, since her experience with hands has probably only been to grab her against her will. I am working on gaining her trust and confidence, and have lured her onto my forarm a few times for millett. It is odd to see her so cautiously testing her footing, so alert to fly at the slightest sign of danger, while Jing is so confident and tame. Yet as I said she is fearless and will bite and stand her ground, even on my shoulder.

Jing is one and a half now, and he has had no contact with birds except for a parakeet in its cage at another house. Just having another bird in the room effected his behavior so positively that it was the final straw in deciding to get another lovebird. I picked an older female (two and a half) because I thought he might pick on an immature bird. She can definitiely hold her own. Her plumage looks great, she is alert and feeding well, and looks like she has gained weight. She is so unintimidated by people that I wonder if she was hand raised, then not handled for most of her life. While I can stand next to her and coax her to my shoulder (that is how I get her back to her cage) I can’t get my hands anywhere near her without getting bit. I have only had her for eight days now, and am pleased at how well she is adapting. Yet I wonder, will she ever tame down enough to be handled? Would I be better off if she were the only bird in the house? Jing could go to my daughter’s house for a week or so if it would help. I guess hoping that Belle will nuzzle my neck, play with toys with me, and step up to get out of the cage like Jing does is a long shot. But just how much can I expect from her? Any thoughts?

Hi Chet,

I have a Lutino Cockatiel, who is such a sweetheart. He doesn’t scream for anything, however, he will begin to repeatedly “chirp” until I give him what he wants such as a drink, food or just going into his cage. Chico is one of those birds that does not like the typical food items that most birds love. He does love popcorn, some cookies and a few other things. One of his favorite things is he will tip a Pepsi can so that he can get a drink, and I know that he shouldn’t have, but it is such a small amount that I pray that it will not. However, Chico has one “bad” habit that I don’t understand or know how to stop it. I know that all birds love to tear items up for the fun of it, but Chico doesn’t play with it or tear it up, he will actually eat the paper! He doesn’t care whether it is a piece of paper, a paper towel or a letter. He will just start tearing at it, then will eat it because there is never any mess when he does that. I have to stay on top of him so that he cannot get to paper.

Can you tell me why he wants to eat paper? I

Hi Chet

I have a grey, 2 year old Indian Ringneck. He tends to get aggressive about getting to food, so it’s more a distraction than a help in training. I’m struggling to find a concrete “reward” that will work for him since he has a fear of hands since my husband slapped him. I’m making major progress in getting him to like me and he’s allowing me to touch him on his head and back again – while protesting about it the whole time! – but that rules out petting as a reward as well. Other than that he’s really sweet and a wonderful bird. I know he loves sitting and playing by me, but I work full time which limits the time I can spend with him. I really need some advice.

Hi Chet,

Please do consider training info for non-food motivated birds. I know my parrotlet wants to be with me, and she wants to play when she’s out. She comes out several times a day, and I would like to train her, first, to play independently when she’s out on her cage top – she could stay out for much longer periods if she didn’t need constant interaction. And second, I’d like to increase her confidence around visitors, so that she will let them hold her. She also calls me relentlessly if she thinks it’s time to come out, whether I’m in sight or not. Down the road, I wouldn’t mind if she learned to speak a few words… Thanks.

The only time Ricco,my SunConure, is eager to “work” for food rewards is early in the morning when he first gets up. This can be an inconvient time for me… He’s really hungry early in the morning. So when I try any kind of training during the day it is frustrating for him and me. I would be interested in program that would help me use other forms of reward.

Thanks

I would love to see this . My mollucan is non food motivated, so rewarding him is hard.

It seems like my parakeets are not food motivated. Every time I take them out I will try to give them millet, but they won’t take it. I am putting some of them on a training diet, but so far it’s not helping.