Introducing a Child to a Parrot

Blu Lu the Blue Throated Macaw made a new friend today. Before she arrived at my place I am not sure if Blu Lu had met any children or not. But her initial reaction to Camryn showed she was not sure kids were to her liking.

When three year old Camryn first arrived at my house she had “happy feet.” She was dancing and wiggling until she found some parrot toys to play with. Blu Lu flew up to a high perch and looked down on the activity. After awhile she was willing to come over to the adults in the room to munch on some pellets and pine nuts. Pretty soon Blu Lu was willing to stay put if Camryn moved closer. 

Eventually Blu Lu decided her belly was full and head scratches and cuddling were in order. Camryn’s mom and I were both happy to oblige. This again paired a positive reinforcer with the presence of the little girl.

Camryn joined us on the couch and brought a slew of parrot toys with her. After a while this proved to be too tempting for the much more relaxed Blu Lu. Camryn shared the toys and Blu Lu discovered kids can be fun!

The process took about an hour and a half, but it is time well spent. For Blu Lu to be a great ambassador for Blue Throated Macaws it is important for her to feel comfortable around the many different people she may meet in the years to come. Today was a great start on that training.

Here is a short clip of some of the interactions. Enjoy!

Barbara Heidenreich
www.GoodBirdInc.com
Copyright 2010 Good Bird Inc

Training a New Parrot!

I have a new addition to my flock of parrots. Meet Blu Lu a Blue Throated Macaw. Blu Lu was hatched at the Bird Endowment. The Bird Endowment is dedicated to Blue Throated Macaw conservation. They support conservation efforts in the field by providing nest boxes and sponsoring the work of field researchers who monitor the nest boxes and the tiny wild population that exists. Because there are so few left in the wild, another way the Bird Endowment is helping preserve Blue Throated Macaws is to maintain a genetically diverse flock of them in captivity. These birds live in large flight cages and are encouraged to behave like parrots, not pets. If for any reason the wild population should go extinct these birds may be the last hope for potentially replenishing the wild with Blue Throated Macaws.

Breeding is encouraged so that this flock is robust should that day come. However sometimes parrot parents don’t do their jobs. And unfortunately Blu Lu was a bit neglected by her parents. This meant hand raising her. Because of this her inclination to be around humans would make her a less than ideal candidate for the Bird Endowment flock. I was approached to see if might like to take Blu Lu under my wing and train her to be a spokes bird for her species. I said “yes” under one condition….Wendy Craig of Wendy’s Parrots would have to finish her hand raising. That is because besides being a caring, responsible and knowledgeable breeder; Wendy knows how to train with positive reinforcement. This meant from the time she arrived at Wendy’s she was already learning how to step up, step onto scale, recall, etc voluntarily via positive reinforcement. During that phase of development parrots are sponges and it means there is an important opportunity to shape behaviors that are important for a parrot’s life in a home. Check out my article called “A Good Start to a Good Bird” in the Fall 2010 issue of Good Bird Magazine for more about this.

Blu Lu’s name came from famous blues singer Blu Lu Barker .The Bird Endowment has a tradition of naming the birds after famous blues artists. I felt it fitting to follow suit. As a music fan myself, many of the other animals in my home are named after musicians (Waylon, Delbert, Joe Cockertiel)

Blu Lu has just arrived. In the blogs to follow I will update everyone on her training and progress. So far she is just adjusting to her new environment and getting to know new people. She is already great at stepping up and stepping onto a scale thanks to Wendy. Here is a video clip of the night she arrived. (Please excuse all the boxes in the background. I was temporarily storing some items at my house) It was a long day of driving and we arrived after dark. I gave Blu Lu some time to look around and get some treats from inside the travel cage before she came out. As you will see she adjusted rather quickly thanks to her previous training at Wendy’s. More videos and blogs on her progress to come. Check back soon!
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

Lecture on Parrot Behavior Problems

I was going through some old video footage and I found a lecture I gave at Parrot Festival 2010. The lecture was on Addressing Parrot Behavior Problems. It was a particularly interesting lecture because about three quarters of the way through the power went out! It turned out the entire grid had gone down. For about fifteen minutes I fielded questions on parrot behavior in complete darkness. The room we were in had no windows. What an experience!

It actually turned out to be pretty fun and I was amazed that most people stayed engaged in the Q & A and were still in attendance when the lights came back on and I was able to finish my lecture. I even got a special “The Show Must Go On Award” at the final banquet. It sits proudly on the bookshelf in my office.

I thought I would share a part of that video footage with everyone. It will give you a taste of what it is like to attend a parrot training event. Here are some of the main points the lecture covered.

• Parrot behavior (good and bad) happens for a reason.

• Changing the environment is one good strategy to address a parrot behavior problem.

• Make it irresistible to your parrot to do something else, instead of the undesired behavior.

• It is important to avoid using force, coercion or aversives with your parrot.

• Sometimes solving parrot behavior problems requires creative thinking.

• Instead of focuses on stopping bad behavior, focus on training your parrot to do what it is you want.

• 10 common parrot training mistakes.

The player will show in this paragraph

I should remind everyone that Parrot Festival is coming up again in January 2011. I will be there again as well as Robin Shewokis of the Leather Elves. Both she and I are offering a special 10% discount on online purchases made between November 21, 2010 and December 3, 2010.

PARROT PRODUCT DISCOUNT CODES:

To get your discount on parrot training products from Good Bird Inc just visit the Good Bird Inc website. When you are ready to checkout enter the code GBHDZE10. This should show a 10% discount off your order (discount does not apply to shipping or taxes)

To get your discount on parrot toys and enrichment information visit The Leather Elves website. When you are ready to check out enter the code BIRDBF. This should show a 10% discount off your order (discount does not apply to shipping or taxes)

Orders placed in the US by December 3rd will be shipped in time for the Holidays.

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



A Good Start to a Good Bird. Raising and Training a Great Companion Parrot

There is plenty of data that supports that value of having animals in our lives. As the third most popular pet, birds obviously hold a special place in many people’s hearts. However a common statement about parrots is that they are bad or challenging pets. Really? I have cohabitated with parrots for over twenty three years and really can’t think of a moment when I thought to myself “Uh oh. This was a mistake” In fact I credit my parrots for helping become the kind of pet owner all animals deserve.

More importantly having a personal connection with individual parrots has helped me become aware and concerned for parrot species in the wild. As technology takes over and more people become disconnected from nature, pets may be the only animals future generations experience. By fostering a connection and giving caregivers the tools to live successfully with parrots we are doing so much more than making great pets. We are creating deep bonds that can benefit individual birds and their wild counterparts.


Are Parrots Difficult Pets?
In my experience parrots are neither inherently good companion animals nor inherently bad companion animals. The behaviors parrots choose to exhibit are the result of what earns them reinforcers or what will cause an aversive stimulus to go away. In other words parrot behavior is the result of our behavior. If we choose to reinforce behaviors we like, we will see those behaviors exhibited more often. If we try to control parrots through unpleasant experiences we are likely to create aggressive behavior or fear responses.

The bottom line is parrot caregivers who are armed with tools and information on training their parrots with positive reinforcement are likely to have great success with a parrot in their home. Those who rely on coercion are sure to encounter problems and sadly miss out on the incredible relationship based on trust one can have with a parrot. The methods we choose to influence parrot behavior determine the outcome, not the genetics of the parrot. I have been fortunate to see successful parrot and caregiver relationships over and over again in my travels. Those who succeed have embraced the positive reinforcement approach to parrot behavior.

A Successful Start
Parrots are learning machines from a very young age. If you are planning on acquiring a parrot from a breeder I recommend .............read the rest of the article in our free sample of Good Bird Magazine.

Barbara Heidenreich
Good Bird Inc
Copyright 2010 Good Bird Inc

Parrot Excitement that Turns to Aggression

At a recent parrot training seminar I was fortunate to work with two amazing macaws. One was a Buffon’s macaw. These guys look very much like a military macaw but are much larger. In fact this big boy weighed about 1400 grams. That is heavier than some hyacinth macaws I have met! Willie was the name of the Buffon’s macaw. The other character was a green winged macaw named Nico.

Besides being macaws, what both of these birds had in common was a strong desire to make “googly eyes” at me. Perhaps I should elaborate. One of the behaviors many macaws will demonstrate involves making eye contact, usually eye pinning a bit, facial flushing and turning their hide side to side. This is sometimes accompanied by a cute vocalization such as a kiss or “hi”. This very engaging activity is quite charismatic and often gets an equally excited reaction from parrot lovers. In many cases this reinforces the antics of the parrot. However the problem with this type of interaction is that it creates a heightened level of arousal or excitement in the parrot. And quite often this can easily flip to aggressive behavior.

This excitement is not a problem if you have no intention of putting your hands or other body parts near the parrot. But if your intent is to work through a training session, this can create challenges. The first challenge is the increased risk of aggressive behavior. The second is that often the bird is so obsessed with trying to engage the trainer in a little face time that the parrot loses his focus on learning.

My strategy to address this involves a few things. In many cases talking will increase the excitement. This means I become the quietest trainer I can be. I don’t even use a bridge in those moments. I just try to deliver my reinforcer super quickly. I also avoid direct eye contact with the parrot. I usually look towards the bird’s feet. I can still see the beak, etc. but I am not encouraging more cute faces when I avoid the eyes. I also will step away if the parrot does start trying throwing out too much of the highly aroused behavior. When he settles again I restart the session.

This approach worked well with Willie and Nico and I was pleased to see both macaws presenting more calm behavior during their training sessions. Willie even learned to overcome his fear of my hand and stepped up a few times. However this was quite exciting for him too so time on the hand had to be super short to avoid nipping on clothes to get a reaction. With some more training he can learn to be calm while on the hand for longer periods of time.

Snowball the Dancing Cockatoo was also there. He can get pretty fired up during his dancing sessions. His caregiver Irena Schulz of Bird Lovers Only parrot rescue confirmed that waiting until he calms down after some dancing works well before asking Snowball to step up. Just like the macaws, trying to interact with him when he is super excited can lead to aggressive behavior.

Getting your parrot excited, dancing and in general all fired up is not off limits. It can definitely be a great reinforcer for behaviors that are hands off and already learned, or if you are quite confident it doesnt lead to aggressive behavior for your individual parrot. Just be careful to avoid it when it is time to step up or when you want your parrot to focus on learning something new if you know your parrot is inclined to flip the switch when he gets excited.

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

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