It is with a happy heart that I can now say this: Vi CONSISTENTLY steps up! I waited two weeks to make sure, but it’s official: she is cage-bound no more! We made our goal of July! A little late, but better than never! When she’s in her cage, it’s her terms; she’s made it…
Category: Step Up
Detailed accounts of teaching an older, larger parrot to step up.
April Showers bring May TBD / Step-Up Progress: Semi-Consistent
The first time you catch your re-homed parrot dipping her head into her water and sending it flying all over the place is the time you should DEFINITELY give her a spray bath.
Step-Up Progress: Stepping Up for Bread!
…Because I have been busier than any person has a right to be, but we made more progress with Vi! She stepped up for Fletcher last night for a tasty piece of bread. She also let him pet her–exciting, because we were expecting her to be a one-person bird and merely tolerate him. Not so!…
Positive Reinforcement with Parrots: Every Experience a Positive One
“Spare the rod and then spoil the child!” Take that saying as the opposite what is meant by most folks, and you’ve got seriously the best advice you can take if you ever want to win the trust of a rehomed parrot… She needs to be a bit spoiled for a bit. 🙂 Spare that…
Go Slow to Go Fast in Step Up Training: No Negative Experiences
In the “a stitch in time saves nine” quotes category, there’s a popular saying in education: “Go slow to go fast.” Essentially, if you don’t want to re-teach a skill multiple times over, it’s worth teaching it well  and thoroughly the first time. Which takes patience. So, so much patience. Shockingly, this is also true for bird training! Vi…
Step Up Training: Find a Treat They Love
Sometimes, just hanging out around your parrots and eating things will tell you all you need to know about what really matters to them.
Grooming Helps Parrot Training: If at first you don’t succeed, redefine “success”!
…And then keep going until you match your initial definition! Hit a bit of a road block with Vi (extremely limited progress…) until today. I was headed to my local bird shop (Busy Beaks Bird Shop if you’re interested–I volunteer for them by maintaining their website) and decided to see if I could coax her into…
Step Up Training: One Full Step Up (The First Time!)
A leap of faith takes at LEAST the Holy Grail… of toast! More progress today! …But at what cost? I think this is a mistake that a lot of novice bird trainers (i.e. me) make–we don’t provide a reluctant feathered friend with enough incentive to take a biiiiiig leap of faith. Sure, Wa-Wa-Waddles adores toast… but…
Step Up Training, Consistent Foot/Wrist Contact: Slow and steady wins the race
We have foot-wrist contact! Consistently! Woohoo! Vi now knows exactly what she needs to do to get her tasty toast, and she did it several times–and she reminded me very clearly that it’s so important to continue going slowly with her. I tried to entice her with a big piece when she repeated the gesture five times in…
Step Up Progress: Lifting a Foot
Progress! Eeee! VI LIFTED HER FOOT TO STEP UP TODAY! I MADE MY GOAL! …The reason I am so excited about this is because I didn’t think I was actually making any progress; she was comfortable leaning against my wrist to take a chip from me, but refused, refused to even try to move her foot closer…