Parrot Community Forum http://www.parrotcommunity.co.za/ This is a South African discussion and knowledge forum for parrot lovers and enthusiasts. en Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:56:41 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.parrotcommunity.co.za/images/misc/rss.jpg Parrot Community Forum http://www.parrotcommunity.co.za/ Parrot Training Mistakes…and a New Parrot Training DVD! http://www.parrotcommunity.co.za/showthread.php?t=564&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:45:00 GMT Image: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_afeTAVJKCgw/TIFnluwVLfI/AAAAAAAAAZs/W0Yr7FCXdEk/s320/parrot+crate+training+1.JPG ...
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









More... ]]> RSS News News Feed http://www.parrotcommunity.co.za/showthread.php?t=564 Helping Two Companion African Greys Acclimate to Each Other http://www.parrotcommunity.co.za/showthread.php?t=563&goto=newpost Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:18:12 GMT My Question:I am having great difficulty in trying to introduce a new baby African Greyinto my home with my two year old Grey. My first AG is very... My Question:I am having great difficulty in trying to introduce a new baby African Greyinto my home with my two year old Grey. My first AG is very hyper active,constantly leaning forward with wings spread, as if wanting to fly, hiseyes are always dilated and his general attitude is not relaxed. I am notsure but he received a bad wing clip which left him falling and hurtinghimself a couple of times and it was after this that his personalitychanged. His diet is Harrisons pellets with fruit and veg, My new AG isabout 8 months old, she is a female and very much the opposite of my firstbird. She is steady and gently and allows me to handle her all over withgreat ease. My first grey loves me very much but has always suddenly bittenme without any reason and has generally been a difficult bird since a baby.My concerns are the new baby is now becoming very scared of my first greyas he constantly wants to attack her. Every chance he gets he will run overto her cage and try to bite the cage or get to her. I immediately intervenebut get bitten badly also. I do not want to rehome my first grey but mayhave to do so if I cannot get him to accept the baby grey or at least calmdown a little. Someone suggested Dr Bachs Rescue Remedy for a start andallowing the bad wing clip to grow through but I would really appreciateany expert guidance I can get in this very distressing situation I am nowexperiencing.Many thanks

More... ]]> RSS News News Feed http://www.parrotcommunity.co.za/showthread.php?t=563 Enrichment! More than Just Parrot Toys http://www.parrotcommunity.co.za/showthread.php?t=562&goto=newpost Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:26:39 GMT Image: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_afeTAVJKCgw/TGrQQ0dPnMI/AAAAAAAAAZc/SfZ-lvLCxWg/s320/100_6958.JPG ...

I love the word “enriching.” Everything about it just sounds glorious. It seems to suggest being immersed in bountiful fun. Who can say “no” to that? Certainly not the animals in my household! They love enrichment and I love providing it. I can easily spend the entire morning offering fun activities for my pets and watching them revel in it.

One of the great things about enrichment is that it does not have to be all that difficult to include in your parrot’s (and other pet’s) life. Enrichment can be as simple as providing a head of lettuce as seen in this clip with some sun conures at a zoo.
It can also be playing some fun audio sounds for your parrot. I like to use one of those digital pictures frames to play bird sounds for my Amazon parrot Delbert. He sings along while I clean house or hop in the shower. I play this for him almost every day and simply mix up the recordings to add variety.

I also love to take items destined for the trash or recycling and turn them into parrot toys. Clean empty plastic vitamin bottles, plastic caps, and empty cardboard cereal boxes can be big fun! I stuff shredded paper and treats in the boxes and string them up with untreated leather strips. Who cares if they get destroyed? They were destined for recycling anyway. Kris Porter has a site called http://www.parrotenrichment.com/ in which she shares many inexpensive ideas for parrot toys you can make at home.

I also use enrichment as a way to help reinforce behaviors I want to keep strong. For example every time my yellow naped Amazon parrot Delbert is out of his cage I rotate out old toys and put in different ones. This can happen several times a day. This means every time my bird enters his cage something fun and interesting is waiting for him. This helps reinforce going back into the cage when asked. I keep a nice supply of toys on hand to make sure there is lots of variety.

Having worked in zoos for many years I also take advantage of an old zoo enrichment favorite…non toxic browse. I grow my own lemongrass and snip bamboo from a friend’s yard to also offer as enrichment. These are usually only good for a day, but they add yet another fun enrichment item to the list. (Always be sure any plant items you offer are non toxic, free of chemical, pesticides and road grime)

Here is a short list of some of the enrichment items I have on hand for my parrots:

Lemongrass
Bamboo
Plastic straws
Lots of foot toys to stuff into other toys
Untreated wood pieces
Old phone books
Plastic bottles (vitamin- remove any foil)
Cardboard boxes (cereal, crackers, etc)

My dog gets in on the action too. Not only does he forage for his food, but he also chases soap bubbles, plays in the sprinkler, tears apart boxes and even loves to pop bubble wrap. I am not sure who has more fun, my animals or me! Ah yes, enrichment truly is enriching.

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


More... ]]> RSS News News Feed http://www.parrotcommunity.co.za/showthread.php?t=562 Breedind blue and golds http://www.parrotcommunity.co.za/showthread.php?t=561&goto=newpost Tue, 17 Aug 2010 06:07:00 GMT I have a male and female blue and gold macaw and want to start breeding with them, any tips welcome I have a male and female blue and gold macaw and want to start breeding with them, any tips welcome ]]> Jakkals http://www.parrotcommunity.co.za/showthread.php?t=561 Allopreening http://www.parrotcommunity.co.za/showthread.php?t=560&goto=newpost Mon, 16 Aug 2010 23:32:45 GMT My Question: My male military macaw is becoming sexually mature. One odd behavior I've noticed is that when I am allopreening him, (I try to avoid any deliberate arousal), he now opens his beak and works his tongue in a very specific way, which he never did in the past. I know that the flehmen response is specific to some mammals, (although many more animals, including snakes, use the vomeronasal organ to locate mates). This is the closest thing I can think of in terms of behavior. I saw an intriguing reference to male mallards' changing their reproductive behavior when their olfactory nerves were sectioned, but I've never read anything that specifically relates to the behavior I'm seeing.Any thoughts about this? I never see him doing it when he isn't in more or less direct contact with me, but he isn't touching me with his beak or anything.Thanks, Nancy Sullivan

More... ]]> RSS News News Feed http://www.parrotcommunity.co.za/showthread.php?t=560 Breeding parrots and parakeets in a mixed species aviary http://www.parrotcommunity.co.za/showthread.php?t=559&goto=newpost Mon, 16 Aug 2010 23:32:45 GMT Dear EB, My aviary is in 6 sections all open. It measures 35 metres. The 17 parakeets use all the space. The parrots less so. I have 2 pairs of... Dear EB, My aviary is in 6 sections all open. It measures 35 metres. The 17 parakeets use all the space. The parrots less so. I have 2 pairs of rescue small birds - Plumheaded parakeets, a male aged 4 and a female 1, and Kakarikis both one years old. If they try want to breed next year will I have to separate them from the others. If so which month? The Rock Pebbler Parakeets that are housed there have bred twice with no problems. Thank you.Regards, Dot in UK

More... ]]> RSS News News Feed http://www.parrotcommunity.co.za/showthread.php?t=559 Allopreening http://www.parrotcommunity.co.za/showthread.php?t=558&goto=newpost Mon, 16 Aug 2010 03:22:21 GMT My Question:My male military macaw is becoming sexually mature. One odd behavior I'venoticed is that when I am allopreening him, (I try to avoid any deliberatearousal), he now opens his beak and works his tongue in a very specificway, which he never did in the past. I know that the flehmen response is specific to some mammals, (althoughmany more animals, including snakes, use the vomeronasal organ to locatemates). This is the closest thing I can think of in terms of behavior. I saw an intriguing reference to male mallards' changing theirreproductive behavior when their olfactory nerves were sectioned, but I'venever read anything that specifically relates to the behavior I'm seeing.Any thoughts about this? I never see him doing it when he isn't in more orless direct contact with me, but he isn't touching me with his beak oranything.Category:Behaviour and TrainingRequestor Name:Nancy Sullivan

More... ]]> RSS News News Feed http://www.parrotcommunity.co.za/showthread.php?t=558