Parrot Flight Training- Improving Skills

It has been a busy month releasing the new DVD Train Your Parrot to Talk, putting out another issue of Good Bird Magazine, presenting at Parrot Festival and somewhere in all that I came down with a nasty virus! However even though I have been rather busy, every day there has been time made for Blu Lu training. Yay! I just have not had time to blog about it until today.

Blu Lu the Blue Throated Macaw from the Bird Endowment is doing extremely well. One of the behaviors she has really been practicing is her flight training. You may recall I posted a video a while back about training her to fly to different perches in my house. I wanted to share a video clip of her progress since then. She is really mastering her flight skills. She has learned a nice quick response to my cue for recall.

She is sometimes a little slower than I would like flying to a perch when I cue her. But I suspect that part of the problem is that being with people is also a strong reinforcer for her. So going away from a person is tougher than coming to one.

One of the benefits to training your bird to fly to designated perches in your house is that it makes it very reinforcing for your parrot to fly to those spots. So instead of chewing up the back of a chair, or flinging papers off of the table your parrot deliberately opts to go to the perches.

I do have another place in the kitchen loaded with toys that Blu Lu goes to as well. These also work as reinforcers for her to stay in that area and have fun. This really handy strategy of making the behavior you want your parrot to do the most reinforcing option is based on The Matching Law.

You can apply this to so many aspects of living with a parrot. Think of it this way. If your parrot has the choice to do behavior A or behavior B, whichever one he knows will earn the most reinforcers is the one he will do. This means it is your job to make the behavior you want your parrot do more fun than the one you don’t want. For example make it more fun to play on play stand, than chew up the books on the book shelf.

The video clip does not show off her maneuvering skills. She literally can fly through every doorway and turn every corner in my house, which can be quite tight at times. She is a smaller species of macaw, but even so, it is quite impressive. She also does this with impeccable precision. You can literally “see” her making decisions on the wing as she decides where she will turn and where she land. I never get tired of watching a young bird master flight skills.

More videos to come as her training progresses……….

Barbara Heidenreich
For quality information on parrot training visit http://www.goodbirdinc.com/
Copyright 2011 Good Bird Inc

The First Two Weeks Training a New Parrot

What a difference a few weeks makes. Blu Lu the Blue Throated Macaw from the conservation project the Bird Endowment has now been here about two weeks. In her first week here although quite cooperative I would describe her as hesitant. In other words the environment was so different to her that she was slow to get out and explore.

Because she is a flighted parrot I really wanted her to get those wings flapping and get to know the perches in the house. She quickly learned to fly to a PVC perch that was similar to one she knew from her time at the breeders. But I had to spend some time teaching her to fly to other perches in the house. You can see this process in the video clip.
The training has paid off! Now she is showing the kind of confidence I would expect out of a more seasoned flyer. She knows where her perches are and has figured out how to maneuver through doorways and around corners. So far she has not made too many attempts to fly to places that are not sanctioned for parrots. However when she has, I have returned her to an acceptable perch and reinforced her there with a toy, head scratches or a treat. My goal is to make the perches I want her to use the most reinforcing places in the room. Because Blue Throated Macaws tend to be active and inquisitive parrots (someone once described them to me as the engineers of the parrot world) this means I am going to have to be very attentive to this, especially in these early stages of training. Fortunately I just had a fabulous outdoor aviary finished that I hope will help keep her enriched throughout her lifetime. (More on that in future blogs!)

Besides facilitating flight training right away, I have also been very attentive to Blu Lu’s eating and weight. When a bird transitions to a new home, that dramatic change in environment can also cause a bird to eat a bit less. This is because the bird may not be feeling comfortable and is more focused on paying attention to the new surroundings and circumstances. Blu Lu responded to pine nuts even at the breeder’s house. So I was able to weigh her as soon as we arrived at my home. She easily stepped onto a scale to get a pine nut. I then started positioning her food bowl right next to the scale when she was out in the mornings so she would simply perch there to eat. Her weight fluctuated in the 20 -30 gram range at most. And has leveled out around 600-615 grams. I also paid close attention to the quantity of food she was consuming and types. Because she is a young parrot it is especially important she is eating a healthy, plentiful and varied diet. This can help set the precedent for the rest of her life.

We have also been working on meeting new people, being receptive to touch, harness training and more! I will save those for upcoming blogs.
I am a big fan of the Bird Endowment for many reasons. One being that I trust their funding goes directly to helping Blue Throated Macaws. When you order products from Good Bird Inc you will notice an option to donate to parrot conservation. All the money collected has gone to The Bird Endowment. And it is that time of year to send them a check! If you would like to donate to the Bird Endowment, please consider pressing the optional donation button for parrot conservation when you make your next purchase. Thanks for supporting parrot conservation in the wild and positive reinforcement training for companion parrots!

Barbara Heidenreich
http://www.goodbirdinc.com/
Copyright Good Bird Inc 2010

Training a Parrot to Recall Only When Cued

I love a flighted parrot. Flighted parrots challenge my training skills. When a bird is flighted he can choose to fly wherever he wants to. And if I have done my job well training with positive reinforcement usually the bird chooses to fly to me…….again and again and again. This is fabulous until I realize the parrot is launching himself at me every second he can. On the one hand my training strategy has made my bird eager to come to me. On the other I may have created a monster! If you are working with a flighted parrot and you find yourself dodging a bird who keeps flinging himself at you it’s time to put your trainers hat on and get to work!

Training a parrot to recall (come to your hand) is an important behavior for flighted parrots. With a skilled, confident flyer it can usually be trained very quickly, usually within one session. However another important step in training this behavior is teaching your parrot to fly to you only when cued, not just randomly.

A Review of Basic Recall Training
If your bird does not know how to come to your hand, here is a brief review of the basic steps. I highly recommend........read the entire article in a free sample ofthe all new digital Good Bird Magazine. Just visit http://www.goodbirdmagazine.com./

Learn about all the features in the new Good Bird Magazine including instructional parrot training videos at the Good Bird Magazine/WingNutz Club page.

Barbara Heidenreich
http://www.goodbirdinc.com/
Copyright Good Bird Inc 2010

Baby Parrot Training: 6 Months Later

Guess who I got to visit? Beni and Wrigley! They are the two young parrots whose training many followed here on my blog. I am happy to report they are both doing extremely well. Beni despite his initial attachment to me has happily moved onto another favorite person, John his main caregiver. However despite having a tendency to choose a preferred person he does still present behaviors for other people, including me. While I was there he did fly to me on cue. He also wowed me with his amazing flight skills. The Kaytee Learning Center is a huge open space and he has really had the chance to practice dipping, diving and circling the center. John installed perches high on the displays that allow for some spectacular flights. I can’t wait to see an audience’s reaction to Beni’s flying. I hear it is a crowd favorite.



Wrigley is also doing well. The first day he saw me he came out and eagerly practiced a few flights. He then launched into some of the new words and phrases he has been learning. His little eyes were pinning with excitement as he and I jabbered away together. I like to think it means he remembers me and was happy to see me. Of course it could have been that I had a pocketful of treats. Either way it was great fun to visit with both birds. Here is a little video clip of Wrigley. He is not quite as excited this day, but at least followers of his story can see how much more yellow he now has on his head. He is growing up!

I will be returning to the Kaytee Learning Center soon and will see if I can capture some clips of Beni too. Check back for further updates!

Barbara Heidenreich
http://www.goodbirdinc.com/
Copyright Good Bird Inc 2010