Sometimes, there just isn’t enough love in the world to undo the damage wrought by former homes. And that is the truly hard part with parrots. Continue reading Loving Vi: Health Realities of Parrot Rescue Birds
Screaming is one way birds get attention (positive, negative, it doesn’t matter!) Now, I can’t definitively say whether or not this was the case for Miss Viola Waddlesworth at her former home, however, her friend Sam, the African Grey who went to a neighbor’s house, frequently shouts, “Shut up, Waddles!” …So yeah, we likely have a few years’ worth of bad habits to break with her. One major … Continue reading Teaching a Bird NOT to Scream: Reality
…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! She stepped up today from her cage to go upstairs. Granted, … Continue reading Step-Up Progress: Stepping Up for Bread!
Vi and I sing the end of “So Long, Farewell!” from The Sound of Music. Yes, we’re goobers. Continue reading And thus, Vi begins her singing career…
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 and I have been going agonizingly slowly in our developing … Continue reading Go Slow to Go Fast in Step Up Training: No Negative Experiences
Sometimes, just hanging out around your parrots and eating things will tell you all you need to know about what really matters to them. Continue reading Step Up Training: Find a Treat They Love
…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 her travel cage for a trim, as her nails and … Continue reading Grooming Helps Parrot Training: If at first you don’t succeed, redefine “success”!
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 even Indiana Jones wouldn’t make that leap of faith for … Continue reading Step Up Training: One Full Step Up (The First Time!)
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 a row, attempting to persuade her to put two feet … Continue reading Step Up Training, Consistent Foot/Wrist Contact: Slow and steady wins the race
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 to my wrist. But today was the day of toast. … Continue reading Step Up Progress: Lifting a Foot
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