Parrot Training Mistakes…and a New Parrot Training DVD!

I have just returned from Finland where I was fortunate to present a two day seminar on parrot training. This was my second time with these folks and it was just as much as fun as the first time. I wanted to share one of my moments of learning from the weekend.

We had a nice big group….around 60 people. Almost every person brought a parrot too. In Finland it is common practice to keep parrots fully flighted. This has helped many parrot enthusiasts in Finland already get acquainted with training with positive reinforcement. We definitely had some great trainers in the room. However all those birds flying around at the same time could get a bit chaotic. Fortunately we were able to split the group into separate rooms for training and made some progress.

One of the challenges with bringing parrots to a new location for training is that sometimes the behaviors they present so well at home fall apart in a new environment. This can be due to a number of factors such as environmental distractions or perhaps the behavior was not generalized to new locales. One such behavior for several of the parrots was going back into the travel cage. Whenever the parrots were to be left unsupervised (for example during the lunch break) we wanted the birds to be safe in their cages. While most cooperated we had a few who probably needed more practice going back into their travel cages for positive reinforcement.

One such bird was Wilma, an Amazon parrot. On the first day when Wilma decided out on a perch was better than in the cage, we got a little sneaky. We basically took parts of her travel cage off so that we could lower it over her while she sat on the perch. The process was pretty uneventful and Wilma was secure. However it was not ideal since Wilma did not voluntarily climb into her travel cage.

The next day I forgot to mention to Wilma’s caregiver that it might be better to work with Wilma in her less distracting hotel room until the crate training was solid. Come lunchtime Wilma was already out and about in the big room. Although what Wilma really needed was a few training sessions, the schedule was tight and we decided to try our sneaky technique from the day before. Here is where we made our mistakes. We all were hungry and anxious to go to lunch..so our patience was limited. Wilma had also learned from the day before that lowering the cage over her would mean she would be in the travel cage and not by her choice. She very quickly started choosing to move away from us. Despite this we tried a few more times……more bad choices on our part. Finally we got smart! We decided Wilma could stay out in the room and someone would remain with her to supervise. We could take turns grabbing lunch.

After lunch, workshop organizer, and parrot trainer extraordinaire Milla volunteered to train Wilma to go into her cage. However because of her trust depleting experience with the cage Milla needed to find a high value reinforcer to get Wilma interested. A lovely pastry did the trick. Another great idea Milla had was to rearrange the cage so that it was easy for her to position her hands so that Wilma might enter the crate. You can see the arrangement in the photos. She also placed Wilma’s perch close to the cage so she could climb from the perch onto the cage and into it on her own. In about 20 minutes Wilma was going in the crate on her own. After so many pastry nibbles we thought she might be ready for a drink of water. We added her water cup to the cage and Wilma took the last few steps she needed in order to get a drink. Success! Wilma still needed more reps on the behavior before it would be solid, but we were happy she made it this far. Everyone felt much better about the process….especially Wilma.

I must admit one of my favorite parts of the live parrot workshops is the interesting training scenarios that occur. Each bird and behavior presents different challenges. And the feedback I often hear is that the parrot training demos are extremely educational. Reading about it from a book just doesn’t present the whole picture. This leads to my mention of the new DVD. A while back we filmed one of my live parrot training workshops. It is finally available. It includes 3 discs and 4 hours of information. You will learn how to train your parrot, read his body language, solve parrot behavior problems and watch me demonstrate these techniques with parrots I am meeting for the first time. Most of all you will learn how to have a great relationship with your bird based on trust. I hope you will check it out and discover how these training methods can help you have a fun, well behaved and interactive companion parrot. To order the Basics of Parrot Training: A Live Workshop DVD just click this link.

At the seminar in Finland we also taught parrots to drop things on cue, get comfy with a towel, allow us to bring nail clippers to their toes, get used to a harness, turn around on cue and more. I also hear there is some embarrassing video of me jumping up and down to encourage a very sweet umbrella cockatoo to put her crest up. My fingers are crossed that clip does not make it to the internet : ) In any case the workshop was great fun. I hope to meet those of you who read this blog at a parrot training workshop in the future.

PS. I also learned that sitting naked with strangers in a sauna and then jumping into a lake is a typical Finnish tradition. But making eye contact with a girl or boy you like in a bar is totally embarrassing!

Barbara Heidenreich

http://www.goodbirdinc.com/

Copyright Good Bird Inc 2010

Making New Things Fun for Your Parrot

My parrots just blow me away sometimes. Or perhaps it is better to say that training with positive reinforcement blows me away. I recently brought Delbert, my yellow naped Amazon parrot to a new location for a photo shoot. He is fully flighted and an extremely competent flyer. Before letting him out, I made sure the room was safe for a flighted parrot. Windows and mirrors were all covered, dogs were outside and no one was allowed to open a door unless he was safe in his travel cage.

New environments can sometimes be pretty frightening to parrots. Delbert has been around a number of new places, but not near as much as I would like him too. So I was going to have to really observe his body language and see how he responded. What I wanted to avoid was my bird flying around the space in a panic.

My first signal that things were probably going to be OK was when he started chatting away while we were doing the final set preparations. He watched from his travel cage and starting asking “Ya wanna come out?”, “Are ya ready?”, “Here we goooooo”

Letting him look at the space for about 20 minutes was a great opportunity for him to acclimate. There are some things that usually evoke a fear response in parrots such as things moving overhead, quick movement nearby…but sometimes it’s the things you don’t expect that you have to watch out for. This is when reading your bird’s body language becomes super important. Although he had been looking at it for some time, a long narrow cardboard box was simply unacceptable. Any steps too close to that would send Delbert circling around the room. Fortunately because of all his recall training he would land on my hand after a few laps. We opted to remove that box while Delbert was far away from it.

Another thing that proved a challenge was the backdrop. The colored drape would occasionally move. This especially happened the moment Delbert would launch off of my hand for a cued flight. Although it took him a bit of time, the way he gradually got past this challenge was by doing simple behaviors and getting reinforced. Delbert loves flying to new people. So for some of our photos he got to fly back and forth between me and new people. This meant treats and attention that he loves. Pairing doing simple A to B flights and getting reinforced made the background fade into …well, the background!

Delbert presented excellent flights on cue, posed like the super model he is for his close ups and enjoyed preening the hair on every head there. He also ended the day snoozing on the photographer’s shoulder, beak grinding away. I suppose technically a photo shoot is “work” but I have to admit it sure felt like fun to me….and I think for Delbert too. (I think we were done shooting way before he decided it was time to wrap it up.) What made it fun was reading his body language and remembering to use positive reinforcement to make sure the experience was a good one for him too. Hmmmm, maybe he has a future in modeling. Look out Zoolander…..here comes Delbert!

Barbara Heidenreich
http://www.goodbirdinc.com/
Copyright Good Bird Inc

This Parrot is Gonna Be a Talker!

Wrigley the double yellow headed amazon was quite entertaining last night. He is certainly starting to stretch his vocal abilities. He is mostly just producing sounds at this point, but every once in a while says "good bird", "hi", "hello" and does a little aria. He seems to be trying to copy the sounds my yellow naped amazon Delbert makes...including "Hi Delbert!"

I just had to share a video clip as I find it fascinating watching him develop his vocabulary....and he is pretty cute too.


Barbara Heidenreich
www.GoodBirdInc.com
Copyright Good Bird Inc 2009

Harness Training Your Parrot

Ah, the harness. So many people want to train this behavior. And for many parrots this is a very difficult behavior, and for trainers a behavior that can try your patience. However this doesn't mean a caregiver should give up on positive reinforcement to get there. It just means preparing to take some time, maybe a lot of time.But for me that is absolutely A-OK.

For those of you who have been to my seminars and seen video clips of parrots sitting for blood draws and perched patiently while they receive an injection, you no doubt realized those are behaviors that were trained with tiny, tiny approximations and took some time to train. I recently read the manuscript to a friends book in which she said "you can be sure that shaping with the smallest approximations is what is behind the most impressive behaviors"

We have a tendency to take for granted that our parrots should do things we want, when we want. Especially when it comes to behavior we accomplish easily with other species such as our dogs.

I implore people wanting to train this behavior to take a moment to pause and relax and say "it's OK if it takes me two years to train this behavior" It probably wont take you that long, but it will let you calm down and not feel pressured to get the behavior done right this second. Go at the pace your bird dictates works for him.

I often tell people what if this was a lion or a porcupine....what would you do if that animal did not want to go in the harness? : ) (I mention the porcupine because at one zoo where I consulted we did work on training a porcupine to wear a harness) Force will likely cause aggressive behavior or an animal that wont come near you. And as has been mentioned before, our goal with positive reinforcement is to create an eager participant and in turn continue to foster that wonderful relationship we can have with an animal.

I too have been working on this behavior. I started maybe 1 year ago with one of my amazon parrot's and have worked on the behavior off and on. I went through a lot of experimentation. Different harnesses, different shaping plans, etc to try to find the easiest methods. I have also worked on this behavior with the two young parrots currently at my house. One has mastered the behavior and one is still learning. Once everyone (and another one I want to start on this behavior) is trained I will have a comprehensive teaching tool for this behavior. However here is a sneak peak to get people started. It doesn't have all the steps outlined, but it may help you get some ideas.

The bottom line is that difficult behaviors require small approximations, using high value reinforcers, training when the animal is most receptive to those reinforcers, going at the animals pace.....and time. Be patient. You have many years ahead of you with your parrot.

PS The harness I am using is the Aviator Harness.

Barbara Heidenreich
www.GoodBirdInc.com
Copyright Good Bird Inc 2009

Who Wants a Parrot that Talks?

Everyone! Well, sometimes it seems that way. One of the popular requests I receive is for information on training a parrot to talk. The truth is there is no guarantee that you can get a parrot to talk. Otherwise we would think of great talking parrots as a dime a dozen and everyone would have one. You can be a great trainer, but part of the equation is the bird and its learning history.

If you are one of those people who has a parrot who is trying to copy sounds, all I can say is “Woohoo!” You have it easy. All you have to do is create the situations in which your bird is likely to make a few sounds, reinforce and then put the sounds on cue.

One of the parrots staying at my house for some training is a double yellow headed Amazon parrot, newly renamed “Wrigley” (Yes, Jackson and Joker have new names. Jackson is now Beni and Joker is Wrigley) Wrigley is already showing an interest in talking. One thing that helps is that my yellow naped Amazon parrot Delbert talks up a storm. So Wrigley hears Delbert’s phrases and sayings throughout the day.

This morning when Wrigley stepped onto my hand to come out of his cage he blurted out “How are you!” I must admit I had a little tingle in my stomach. It is exciting when a parrot starts to pick up sounds you like. And one of my training mantras is “if it happened once, it will happen again” I suspect I will be hearing a lot more of our Wrigley in the days to come.

Those of you who do have parrots that talk probably have noticed that they often get chatty when there is a loud continuous sound such as the vacuum cleaner or water running. This is a great way to encourage your parrot to vocalize so that you can reinforce sounds you like. Here is a little video clip of Wrigley practicing his various sounds with the vacuum running in the back ground.....and a slight interruption from Beni. Enjoy!

Barbara Heidenreich
www.GoodBirdInc.com
Copyright Good Bird Inc 2009

Playing with Parrots. Make it Count

One of the things I do with my parrots is I turn playtime into training time. For example my yellow naped Amazon parrot Delbert loves to play with toys. Woohoo! I am happy to let him have a blast. But when he is out playing I try to arrange the environment so that he also might learn something else that is of value to me. I want him to think towels are the best place on earth. This is to prepare for the day he may need to be restrained in a towel for a veterinary procedure.

You will notice in this video clip that I have placed a baby blanket (my preferred restraint material. It is easy to manipulate) on the counter top where Delbert usually likes to play in the morning. Everyday I provide a few different items to play with in this area. Today it was an empty vitamin bottle and a plastic ball.



Essentially I am pairing positive reinforcers (toys he likes) with the towel. Next thing you know I am incorporating movement of the towel in our play time. It makes me very happy to see him having a great time and also knowing I am working towards reducing the potential stress of the restraint procedure.

Barbara Heidenreich
www.GoodBirdInc.com
Copyright 2009 Good Bird Inc

Getting a Parrot to Bathe

In many cases parrots love to bathe….as my Yellow Naped Amazon Delbert is happy to demonstrate here.



Jeez! Even my dog loves a bath. Honestly he would jump in the shower with me everyday if he could. But that is another story. Back to parrots. We are often told how important it is for a parrot to bathe. And yes I do agree. Many times a bird that has not bathed in awhile will have feathers that look tattered and unkempt. Some individuals may even engage in feather destructive behavior when bathing is lacking from their lives. And of course as Delbert has demonstrated, for some birds…it is just plain fun! Which is reason enough to want to make sure your parrot is getting regular bathing.

Unfortunately some birds do not respond with such enthusiasm to a bath. This can be quite the dilemma. Do you bathe your parrot against his wishes? Or do you never give him a bath? Or do you do my favorite….train it! Yes that is right. You can actually train a parrot to take a bath.

Rather than force a bath upon your bird and possibly reduce his trust in you. You can break it down into baby steps and train it. Tex Hankey wrote a great story about this very process with one of her cockatoos. It is in Good Bird Magazine Volume 3 Issue 4. I recently saw Tex at a conference and she said her parrot has continued to progress and actually now enjoys taking a bath. Prior to training he showed a fear response to the spray bottle and the mist it produced.

Other ways to introduce bathing to your parrot include hanging wet lettuce leaves near a perch. This can be enriching and get your bird accustomed to water on his feathers on his own terms. Other ideas are to present water in different ways. You may try a flat shallow pan, a fine mist, big droplets, or if you have an outdoor aviary, you may try a combination. For many years I presented free flight bird shows at Disney World. When parrots were done with shows, they often had the chance to hang out in the “bath cage.” This 8 x 8 enclosure had a mister, a sprinkler and a shallow bath pan available for birds wanting a bath. But it also had dry areas so that birds could avoid the water if they chose to.

If you are looking to add a parrot to your home, you can avoid this problem by finding a breeder who exposes his or her baby parrots to misting and bathing while the bird is still young. This practice goes a long way in helping create a parrot who eagerly anticipates a bath…just like Delbert. He likes his bath so much I sometimes find it hard to coax him to leave the bath perch. I actually have to hide the spray bottle to send the message that bath time is over. Now that is a parrot who loves a bath.

Barbara Heidenreich
http://www.goodbirdinc.com/
Copyright 2009 Good Bird Inc