Listen to the New Parrot Podcast! It's Free

Enrichment Specialist Robin Shewokis and I have been doing a weekly podcast on Pet Life Radio. And we are pleased to hear the response has been great! Even better news is that anyone can listen to the podcast for free. If you listen via itunes you can subscribe and never miss an episode.(just click on the itunes icon under the episode title) We have a ton more topics scheduled to air in upcoming weeks. Here is the list of episodes available now. Click on the titles for links to each. Hope you enjoy them!

Meet Sid Price of Avian Ambassadors

Sid Price is a professional bird trainer, President Elect of the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators and a regular contributor to online training discussions in the companion parrot community. He and Barbara chat about some of the hot topics in parrot training.

Let’s Talk Wild Amazons with Michael Schindlinger

In this week’s episode Robin interviews bioacoustic researcher, Michael Schindlinger. Michael is probably best known for his field work with wild Amazons in the creation of the film Stalking the Wild Amazons. Robin and Michael discuss his findings and how they relate to caring for your companion parrot. Michael also shares an exciting ecotourism project that is helping parrots in the wild.

Australian Aviculture and the Next Generation

Vice President of the Parrot Society of Australia, Shane Hancock gives insights into the differences between aviculture in the United States and Australia. He also shares his efforts to get kids excited about birds via the very innovative “Fledglings” program.

Conservation of Spix Macaws through Training

Australian bird trainer Nicholas Bishop shares his love of birds and his ground breaking adventure training the highly endangered Spix Macaw for a medical procedure at Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation.

Finding Reinforcers & Creative Forms of Enrichment

So much to talk about…so little time! In this week’s episode Barbara and Robin discuss reinforcers for training and offer numerous suggestions for creating a vast menu of options for your parrot.

Einstein

Meet Einstein! A very articulate parrot who lives in Texas. To clarify….. this is not the Einstein featured on Animal Planet’s Pet Star, but she can give that one a run for her money. This chatty parrot runs through her vocabulary, including phrases such as “What does E=?” “Look at the grackle” and “Who let the dogs out? Who?” Barbara also interviews Einstein’s caregivers Marcia and Jeff to find out how they came to have such a special parrot in their home.

Feather Destructive Behavior... Possible Causes and Cures.

In this week’s episode Barbara and Robin tackle a widespread issue in the companion parrot community, Feather Destructive Behavior. They review some of the many causes and make suggestions for alleviating this very common behavior.

Screaming for Attention

In this week’s episode Barbara and Robin discuss the often lamented challenge of the screaming parrot. Training and enrichment strategies that address this behavior are reviewed.

A Visit to the Avian Veterinarian

In this week's episode Barbara and Robin discuss choosing an avian vet and ways to build a relationship with that avian professional that will most benefit you and your companion bird. Some training techniques for preparing for the visit are also discussed.