My two caique parrots have been wearing their Aviator harnesses for about three years. They don't love the process of having the harnesses put on them, but they don't actively fight it either. For a while now I've been wanting to change that, to make it a happier experience for them. Lately I actually set about making a training plan and putting it ( Read more... )

I have recently discovered what a dusky conure croon sounds like. Instead of being the really adorable static-like noise that cockatiels make when begging for scratches or food, it sounds more like someone gargling rocks. I'm afraid I have to admit I find the sound not really pleasant, but knowing what it means from context, I think I can learn ( Read more... )

My birds are so easy-going that I sometimes get lazy about training them for husbandry behaviors like beak and nail trims. These things need to happen so infrequently that I usually forget to work on training the behaviors until it's too late ( Read more... )

I suspect only another bird nut will appreciate this post. Kappa's always surprising me with her smarts in little ways. She was nearly housebroken on her own when I first got her - she doesn't like to poop on me, and she does like to poop right after moving to a new place or right before flying, so it was exceedingly simple to train her to wait ( Read more... )

A while ago, I asked shadowrabbit for advice on how to prepare for my caiques' impending puberty. One of the things she recommended was teaching them to step up onto a stick ( Read more... )

Today I am working from home, and this morning I brought Kappa into my home office to sit with me. To my amazement, she flew off my shoulder and onto her playstand - this is a really good thing b/c just a couple weeks ago she started trying to mate with my hair, so the fact that she's progressed to knowing she shouldn't sit on my shoulder all the ( Read more... )

For those of you who don't know of her, Barbara Heidenreich is one of the foremost positive-reinforcement parrot trainers. She's written several excellent books on parrot training and behavior management and has put out a series of three DVDs that demonstrate how to use positive techniques to train parrots. The first DVD covers basic training, the ( Read more... )

Here's a typical scene of my two caiques flying around the house. Daedalus spends some time sitting on the couch looking out the window, while Icarus wants to spend most of his time on me. :P This video shows one of the best behaviors I've taught my caiques: Flying home on cue and pooping there.

Click to view

(x-posted to caiques, parrots101, and my journal)

Clickertraining.com just posted an article about training your dog for husbandry behaviors (e.g. nail clipping, vet exam, etc.

I am curious about how many of you have trained your parrots for husbandry/veterinary behaviors? If so, which behaviors? Which behaviors do you think are most important?

(x-posted to clickertraining)

I've got several things on my mind today regarding Banjo's care and general health. These are issues about which I've done general research but which I would love to get some specific advice about if anyone has some.

( Several Bird-Care/Health Questions )