Good Bird Inc Parrot Training Talk

Quick Training Tips: Using Foraging to Get Good Behavior

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:47:00 +0000

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Foraging is often looked at as a fun way to provide enrichment for your parrot. I am all about parrots having fun, but I am also very interested in teaching my parrots to be well behaved. Believe it or not, foraging activities can also be used to help influence your parrot’s behavior for the better. Here are four situations in which foraging activities can be used to help create desired behavior and prevent undesired behavior.

Tip #1 Use foraging to make going back into a cage or enclosure reinforcing:
If you parrot enjoys your company, going back into the cage can be a difficult behavior. Some parrots view spending time with preferred people as highly desirable. To address this, the goal is to make sure fun things happen inside the cage as well as outside. Giving copious amounts of attention inside the cage is usually not realistic. This means we have to offer something else as reinforcement. Foraging toys or activities that are delivered right when your parrot goes back in the cage are a great way to increase the value of going home. This time consuming activity also helps keep your bird focused on foraging instead of wondering where his favorite person went.

Tip#2 Use foraging to teach your parrot to enjoy spending time on a play stand:
Many companion parrot owners want their birds to spend time on play stands. Play stands are often positioned to ensure lots of socialization and enrichment. However play stands can quickly lose their appeal for parrots when everything (view, toys, diet, etc.) stays the same. Providing foraging activities can make a play stand interesting again. The novelty of having to search and extract food items from foraging toys can increase the likelihood your parrot will choose to spend more time on the play stand rather than roaming around the house. Mix up where food is placed and how your bird will access it regularly to keep play stands more engaging.

Tip #3 Use foraging to prevent your parrot from vocalizing for attention:
Many parrots learn to vocalize loudly when a preferred person leaves the room. A great way to prevent this is to engage your bird in other acceptable activities prior to leaving the room. This is a great time to offer foraging toys and activities. When your bird is eagerly foraging, you can slip out of the room and let your bird enjoy searching for his favorite foods.

Tip #4 Use foraging as an alternative to feather damaging behavior:
Feather damaging behavior is a challenge for many parrot owners. If your bird has this problem be sure to visit a veterinarian with experience with this condition to get an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan. In the meantime you can work on redirecting your bird’s behavior from feather picking to foraging. If you know there are certain times when your bird is prone to pick, plan on providing foraging activities just before that time. For example some birds seem to pick early in the morning. For these birds, foraging toys can be placed in the cage just as your bird is going to roost for the night. When the sun rises your bird may choose to engage with the foraging activities rather than destroy feathers.

Foraging is more than fun for your parrot. It is a great tool for managing behavior. Get creative with ways you can use foraging to influence your bird’s behavior. The end result is a well behaved companion parrot.

Barbara Heidenreich has been a professional animal trainer since 1990. Her company Good Bird Inc (www.GoodBirdInc.com) provides parrot training DVDs, books and workshops. She has been a featured speaker in eighteen countries and has been published in nine languages. Barbara also consults on animal training in zoos.

Copyright 2013 Barbara Heidenreich
Good Bird Inc

Help! My Parrot Wont Step Up!

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:46:00 +0000

It has been reiterated for years in the companion parrot literature…your parrot must obey the step up command! Obey and command. For me these words carry strong implications. I visualize a parrot with no desire to step up onto the hand being forced to comply. This usually involves maneuvers such as a hand pushing into a bird’s chest, quickly scooping a bird onto the hand, or peeling toes off of a perch. For a positive reinforcement trainer such as myself this is very unpleasant to picture. Why one might ask? Certainly the mentioned strategies can create the desired resulting behavior of a bird on the hand. However the process of training through force involves strategies that rely on aversive experiences. Pushing a hand into a bird’s chest, scooping or peeling toes are uncomfortable experiences for a parrot, no matter how minimal the aversive is.

Fallout from Force
There can be serious repercussions with lasting effects from using aversives to gain cooperation. One of the most common results is a parrot that learns to bite in response to the presence of a hand. The important word in that sentence is “learns”. Parrots are not hatched with an inherent aggressive response to hands. This behavior is learned through repeated exposure to unpleasant interactions involving hands. Often as a last resort, a parrot bites in an effort to deter the persistent pushy hand. Should the bite produce the desired results; the bird can learn in that one encounter that biting works! And it will be likely to use it next time a hand invades its space.

This is not to say one should ignore a bite to dissuade the aggressive behavior. A more trust building approach is to heed the parrot’s body language prior to biting. Typically a parrot will present other body language that indicates discomfort well before a bite is landed. By carefully observing body language and making adjustments so that the bird appears as comfortable as possible, a sensitive avian caregiver is more likely to gain cooperation without aggressive behavior.

The same can be said for fear responses. Many likely have met a parrot who will step onto an arm, or shoulder, but will do everything in its power to avoid a hand. Again it would be an odd adaptation for a parrot to come into this world with an innate fear of hands. More realistic is the explanation that the bird’s experience with hands taught it to display fear responses.

Positive Reinforcement Offers Hopes
Unfortunately it can be challenging to retrain a parrot to step up onto a hand for positive reinforcement after it has learned aggressive behavior (and/or fear responses) towards hands. But the good news is it can be done. This is particularly important to note as so many birds are often given up, left with little or no attention, or suffer fates worse than that due to being labeled a biter or no fun, through no fault of their own. It is always a sad moment for me to encounter a parrot that has learned aggressive behavior. It is sad mainly because it never had to be if the people in its life had been given the opportunity to learn about positive reinforcement.

Having worked in free flighted educational bird programs for years it was quite a shock when I first discovered the thousands of parrots that had fear responses or showed aggressive behavior towards hands in the companion parrot community. This observation lead me to conclude that the difference is information. The community training flighted parrots for shows has been raised on a positive reinforcement approach to training. Flighted parrots can easily choose to leave should a trainer resort to negative reinforcement to force a bird to step up onto the hand. Therefore negative reinforcement and its drawbacks are usually not a part of the training strategy.

The companion parrot community, on the other hand, has traditionally been fed advice that heavily promotes the use of negative reinforcement. This in turn has lead to a plethora of troubled birds. This means an important opportunity lays waiting for companion parrot caregivers. With positive reinforcement training finally making its way to many avian caregivers, parrots and their owners now have hope. No longer do parrots have to obey, instead they can learn stepping up results in desired consequences. They can learn to look forward to stepping up!

Positive Reinforcement Vs Negative Reinforcement
Change can be difficult. And those accustomed to using negative reinforcement to create behavior often present solid evidence as to why there is no need to consider other strategies. These arguments include the statement that negative reinforcement works! This is true. Negative reinforcement does work. However effectiveness is not always the measure one needs to consider as a conscientious caregiver. The reason is that the process of learning through negative reinforcement is not a pleasant one. Negative reinforcement is also sometimes called escape or harassment training. The animal complies to avoid the aversive experience. Not exactly a trust building process. In addition negative reinforcement training strategies create a bare minimum required response. Animals only do what is necessary to avoid the aversive experience.

There is also the misconception that negative reinforcement will create faster more reliable responses. While results can be immediate, it should be noted that quick, efficient, reliable, repeatable responses can also be attained with positive reinforcement.

Some argue that in an emergency the bird must step up quickly. In a true emergency, such as the house is on fire, it is understood that one may do whatever is required to ensure his or her parrot is safe. However sometimes the lines get fuzzy on what constitutes an emergency. Being late for work is not an emergency enough for this trainer to abandon her positive reinforcement training strategies. In the long run I will get more reliable performance of the behavior if I take the time to commit to using positive reinforcement even when it is slightly inconvenient to me. In my experience there is no real justification for the use of negative reinforcement for the behavior of step up in most cases.

Tips on Training Step Up with Positive Reinforcement
A key component of training with positive reinforcement is giving the bird choice. Rather than forcing oneself on the parrot, the goal is to teach the parrot choosing to come to the caregiver results in desired consequences. These consequences can be food treats, head scratches, toys, attention, etc. Identify what the bird likes and use this to reinforce approximations towards the desired goal behavior of stepping up onto the hand.

An easy way to teach a parrot to move in a desired direction is to train the bird to orient its beak towards a target. The target can be any chosen object. The target can then be gradually positioned closer and closer to the hand identified for the step up behavior. The identified hand should remain stationary and in a position that facilitates an easy step onto the hand for the bird. The goal is not to move the hand towards the bird, but for the bird to voluntarily move to the hand by following the target.

A bird that has had an unpleasant history with hands may show signs of apprehension or aggressive behavior as it ventures closer to the hand. Reinforce generously the frightened bird that dares to move in closer. If the parrot shows aggressive behavior, gently remove the hand as well as any positive reinforcers being made available to the bird for just a few seconds. This not only demonstrates to the bird that its body language was understood and acknowledged, but it also removes the opportunity to gain positive reinforcers. When this strategy is paired with reinforcement of the desired behavior, the bird can quickly learn to increase calm behavior and decrease aggressive behavior without the use of training strategies that rely on aversives.

Eventually the parrot can learn to voluntarily step up onto the hand to earn positive reinforcers. While the bird is learning to step up, the targeting behavior can be used to help direct the parrot where to go if needed for basic husbandry duties. This helps avoid caregivers resorting back to negative reinforcement training strategies to move birds during the re-training process.

Conclusion
A positive reinforcement approach embraces giving animals choices to participate. Caregivers can try to make it easy for parrots to choose to present the desired behavior, such as step up, followed by ample rewards. The result is a companion parrot that eagerly anticipates interacting with its caregivers. One of the joys of sharing ones life with a companion parrot is the relationship that can be forged between the caregiver and the bird. Positive reinforcement fosters trust and that incredibly rewarding relationship. If there is one thing you change in your handling strategy, make it this. Move over step up command….. here comes the step up request.

Copyright 2007© Good Bird Inc.To learn more about products and services to help you train your parrot visit www.GoodBirdInc.com

Barbara Heidenreich has been a professional in the field of animal training since 1990. She is the President of Good Bird Inc (www.GoodBirdInc.com), a company that provides parrot behavior and training products to the companion parrot community. These products include Good Bird Magazine, books, videos, and parrot training workshops. Barbara Heidenreich has been a featured speaker on animal training on six continents and has been published in nine different languages. Barbara Heidenreich is a former president of the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators and served on the Board of Directors from 1997-2009. She is a behavior and training consultant for KAYTEE and SuperPet.

Barbara also consults on animal training in zoos, nature centers and other animal related facilities. She has been a part of the development and production of more than 15 different free flight education programs and has worked with over 40 different animal facilities. In her career she has trained animals, trained staff, and/or presented shows at facilities around the world.

The Parrots and People Advancing Avian Medicine

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 18:18:00 +0000

My 26 + year old Amazon, Tarah

It can be devastating to lose a beloved pet. Because parrots can live so many years it can be particularly difficult. I often joke that my relationship with my Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot, Tarah is the longest in my life. I have lived with that bird since 1987! And yes I would be crushed if anything were to happen to him…I mean, her. (I am still adjusting to the confirmation that my “boy” is truly a girl.)

It is for this reason I do what I can to provide a healthy life for my parrot. But there are some things we need to know more about in order to protect our birds. This is why the research done in regard to avian medicine is so important.

I am fortunate to live close to a university that is well known for its groundbreaking work in avian medicine, Texas A & M University. The Schubot Exotic BirdHealth Center is a division of the veterinary teaching hospital that is devoted to the advancement of avian care. Their mission is to improve the health of wild and exotic birds by promoting research into the cause, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of avian disease.

One area of interest currently on the edge of a major breakthrough is Proventricular Dilatation Disease (PDD). There have been major strides in accurately diagnosing the disease and there is the hope for the development of a vaccine in the near future. Researchers at The Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center are a significant part of this important work.

Over the years a number of birds that carry PDD have eventually made their way to The Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center. They are well cared for by students and veterinarians at the University. I have been fortunate to spend time with these birds and their caregivers. The birds have participated in training workshops and were also the stars of an excellent project by veterinary student Kelsey Daugette. She trained several of the birds to be voluntary participants in medical care.

The Schubot birds enjoying a toy from Dot Rambin

Making sure these birds have a good quality of life is important to everyone. Parrot enthusiast Dot Rambin helps contribute to this by making, donating and shipping toys to the center. She uses Café Press to help raise money to do this. My yellow naped Amazon Delbert has agreed to allow his image to be used on her Café Press items to help get more toys for the Schubot birds.

If you want to help Dot, be sure to visit her Café Press page and buy a few items. Here are the links.

Greeting Card http://www.cafepress.com/drambin/9690203

She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot http://www.cafepress.com/drambin/9683689

My parrot can talk. Can your honor student fly? http://www.cafepress.com/drambin/9702790

Pets http://www.cafepress.com/drambin/8573121

To learn more about the research on PDD at The Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center, listen to my interview with Dr. Sharman Hoppes on the Wings ‘n Things podcast. Visit Pet Life Radio and look for Episode 36. And visit the website for The Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center.

Barbara Heidenreich
Copyright 2013
www.GoodBirdInc.com

My Top Three Animal Training Moments 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 01:07:00 +0000

Animal training is always a thrill. There is a special moment that happens when an animal understands what you are trying to communicate. I swear there is an adrenaline rush associated with it for the trainer. And I often wonder if it's the same for the animal? A part of me thinks it is because you often see a little change in the reaction from the animal. It's like they realize they have solved the puzzle! As you can imagine it can be quite difficult to pick out just three special training moments in a year full of animal training. But here goes! Here are my top three…… and a runner-up.

1. Sirocco the Kakapo: It would be hard for any animal training I've done to compete with the experience of working was Sirocco the kakapo. There are many factors that contribute to this. First the training addressed a very serious behavior problem. One that had in fact put Sirocco in danger. There is a great satisfaction knowing the training has helped ensure his well-being. Also rewarding was seeing how the rangers were successfully applying positive reinforcement training with Sirocco while he was on display. One ranger described it as “being introduced to Sirocco's brain.” I liked that. They definitely have a greater understanding of how to work with this very special parrot. And of course playing a small role in the conservation of these amazing parrots was the icing on the cake for me.

2. Elephant Training at The Santa Barbara Zoo: One of my regular gigs is consulting with the Santa Barbara zoo on animal training. We do often work with the elephants, but during my last visit we encountered a very difficult training challenge. Susie an Asian elephant had already been trained to wave a eucalyptus leaf with her trunk. The problem was whenever the trainers tried to switch the leaf for a different object Susie would eat the new object! We tried a few good different strategies, all of which failed. We really had to put on our thinking caps to solve this problem. We decided to start with reinforcing for giving up the eucalyptus leaf when cued. We did fast repetitions of this. Next we paired the leaf with another similar object, such as a piece of bark or twig. And repeated the process. After more fast repetitions we slipped the leaf out of the equation. Success! Susie gave up the bark instead of eating it. We repeated the pairing of the leaf with several different objects and practiced phasing out the leaf. We then just started offering her novel objects, and as we had hoped she did the behavior instead of eating the new objects. Although the behavior doesn't seem very difficult, it really was for this particular elephant. It was a huge accomplishment and a big thrill for all the trainers involved when Susie chose to give up an object rather than eat it. I was even jumping up and down I was so excited over our success! Those are moments when trainers get that rush I described!

3. Training my Macaw to Paint: My macaw Blu Lu certainly isn't the first animal to paint. But she may be the first parrot to paint pictures of other parents. And she is the first parrot I've trained to paint. This was another behavior that was not as easy to train as one might think. Getting a parrot to pick up a brush is no problem. Training the bird to strategically place that brush on a piece of canvas is a lot more difficult. Once again I had to think strategically to determine the approximations I was going to use. I don't want to give away too much because detailed instructions will be in the next issue of Good Bird Magazine, but in a nutshell I used a variation of a retrieve to get this behavior. The best part is that all of Blu Lu’s paintings were raffled off to raise money to save parrots in the wild. When all was said and done about $4000 was raised and donated to blue-throated macaw conservation project the Bird Endowment.

Runner Up: Training Veterinarians to Train Rabbits: I teach parrot training workshops all the time. I usually know what to expect when we bring a group of 20 parrots into the room and have people try to train them. Some will work, some will be too nervous, some won't be motivated to eat until later in the day, and some will be simply fantastic. Each parrot offers us a learning opportunity and in most cases we get some behavior out of just about everyone. This year I repeated the process with 20 rabbits. Just like the parrots, the rabbits came from a rescue. These rabbits had never participated in a rabbit training workshop before, so there was no way to predict how they would react to a new environment, new people and the training. We were all pleasantly surprised when almost every single rabbit eagerly participated. Not only did they participate, they all learned several behaviors throughout the day. Best of all the veterinarians got to practice using positive reinforcement to teach rabbits to cooperate in their own medical care. I am thrilled that so many veterinarians are on board with incorporating training into their day-to-day practice. It is the wave of the future!

Here are my top 3 non animal training related moments of 2012:

1. Meeting Bruce Springsteen……. He really is nice!
2. Singing “Ramble On” with Robert Plant and 200 other lucky fans at my favorite music venue.
3. Spending an evening of laughter with the wonderful John Ellis before he unexpectedly left this world too soon.

A new year starts in just a few hours. I hope you will add some animal training experiences to your year in 2013. Teaching your parrot to target, turnaround or maybe even step up can really bring joy into your life and your parrot’s life when you train with positive reinforcement. Indeed it will be a very Happy New Year!

Barbara Heidenreich
www.GoodBirdInc.com

Respecting the Bite

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 18:15:00 +0000

I am a wuss. I admit it. Oddly enough I think it has worked in my favor when it comes to working with animals. I don’t “take the bite” whether it is from a mosquito, a parrot or a lion. In fact I do everything in power to avoid a situation in which I might get bit. With mosquitoes sadly it usually means very little camping for me and when outdoors I am bathed in massive doses of repellent. With zoo animals such as lions, it usually means training through barriers and offering reinforcers via utensils, and avoiding creating aggressive behavior. With parrots……believe it or not I actually take an approach similar to what I do with lions! Not because I think parrots pose a particular lethal threat to my person, but because I respect a parrot as much as I respect a lion. Let me repeat that “I respect a parrot as much as I respect a lion.”

Respect

To understand this better perhaps I should elaborate on what I mean by “respect”. I interpret this as showing consideration for what an animal is telling me with its body language. For example if my close proximity to an animal is creating the slightest fear response or hint of aggressive behavior I recognize it and acknowledge it. I then do whatever I can, which may include backing away, to put that animal at ease.

Sometimes humans have an inclination to suggest that whatever activity they are doing is “no big deal” or should not be bothersome to their parrot and forge ahead, regardless of what their bird’s body language is saying. There are countless times I have heard someone say “Oh, he doesn’t really mind. Go ahead.” or “He is just being stubborn. Make him step up.” or “It’s just a bluff. He isn’t really aggressive.” Ouch. Those are painful words to a positive reinforcement trainers ears. There is an implication in those statements that I should ignore what the bird’s body language is telling me. Even if that body language is saying “No! Stop it. I don’t like what you are doing.”

Why should a parrot owner care about respecting their bird’s body language? Because it is a critical element in successfully addressing biting behavior. I would surmise that most people do not want to get bit by a parrot. I am certainly one who falls into that category. This is when being a wimp works to my advantage. I am not willing to get too close to a bird until it gives me body language that indicates comfort. Certainly this is step one in avoiding a bite. My next goal is usually to associate something of value with my presence. This may mean offering food treats from my hand, a spoon or a bowl. It may also include offering toys or enrichment, head scratches or praise. It all depends on what the parrot shows a preference for. By pairing a preferred item or experience with my presence, hopefully I will gain some value to the parrot. If I am successful I usually start to see a parrot whose body language indicates he is anticipating more “good stuff” coming from me. Woohoo! At this point not only does the parrot seem to be engaged, but I am usually also beginning to feel more confident and trusting of the bird.

The process described above usually happens before a request for the behavior of “step up” is even considered. This is mainly because I am not comfortable placing my hand in front of a bird with whom I have not had the chance to build up some trust. (See the article “Training your New Parrot. Where to Begin?” in Good Bird Magazine Vol 2 Issue 4 for more suggestions on interacting with a parrot for the first time)

Sadly in the companion parrot community I see so many parrots that show fear responses or aggressive behavior towards hands. Because of this when I do bring my hand to a bird for the step up behavior it is done slowly and carefully. All the while I am paying close attention to the bird’s body language and looking for a bird who is at ease before proceeding. All these intricacies help me avoid creating a situation in which a parrot may want to bite.

When Birds Bite
Shoot. I messed up. Either I misread the bird’s body language or I asked for too much, or maybe I simply don’t know what happened just yet. But I got bit. Now what? This is a question that is often posed to me. “What do you do when the bird bites?” If unfortunately a caregiver does get bit, the first immediate response in my opinion is to detach the bird from the person. If the bird is holding on, usually a thumb and forefinger can be placed on the top part of the beak to pry the parrot off of whatever is in their mouth. Other strategies can include redirecting the parrots attention, and simply putting the bird down in the nearest available safe location (perch, cage, couch, table, playstand, etc.)

A bite can be very painful and by all means I do not recommend holding steady while a bird chomps away. This is the erroneous idea that by taking the bite the caregiver will teach the bird that biting has no effect. In truth there can be other reinforcers that maintain that behavior over which we have no control. For example grinding away on flesh may provide a stimulating tactile sensation to the bird. The only way to remove that reinforcer is for the bird to not have human flesh in its beak.

Another question often presented to me is “How do you let the parrot know what he did was wrong?” I must admit this question makes me cringe a bit. This is because I see it as a request for approval to use aversives to punish a bird for biting. In reality in most cases aversive punishment would not be the strategy of choice to address biting. The primary goal would have been to avoid creating the situation in which the parrot would be inclined to bite in the first place. This may mean teaching the bird what to do instead of what not to do. It may also mean making antecedent changes to facilitate success for the parrot. There are many pathways that can lead to a non biting outcome had they been considered. All of which do not involve an unpleasant experience to teach the bird to do something other than bite.

For me if a parrot bites I do nothing than more than make sure the bird is no longer on me. This gives me time to pause and think about what I could have done differently to avoid the situation. It also forces me to make a mental note of what circumstances created the aggressive response. It also gives me time to deal with any emotional fall out I may experience from being bit. Sometimes our feelings are hurt when an animal we love responds with aggressive behavior. If I am to focus on building trust with a parrot, the last thing I want to do is to react in a manner that the bird would find unpleasant. This means I do not try to punish the parrot by shaking or dropping my hand, yelling “no”, waving a finger in his face, or flicking his beak. All of these would very likely damage my efforts to build a successful relationship with the parrot.

Conclusion
At a recent conference I overheard a conversation in which it was whispered “I bet she never gets bit.” In truth I can’t say it never happens, but it is extremely rare. It is certainly not from a lack of interacting with parrots. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to meet 100’s of new animals each year. However with each animal I am careful to read body language and to do my best to build a relationship based on trust. I take advantage of any positive reinforcers the animal likes and use these to help increase my worth to my training subject. I am happy to report it is not magic, nor does it take any super powers, or “whispering” techniques. Anyone can have a successful bite free relationship with a parrot when they give their parrot the same respect they would give a lion.

Barbara Heidenreich
www.GoodBirdInc.com
Copyright 2008 Good Bird Inc. First appeared in Good Bird Magazine. Reprinted with permission.

To learn more about products and services to help you train your parrot visit http://www.goodbirdinc.com/parrot-store.html

Sirocco the Kakapo Finds Love in an Unusual Place

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 18:32:00 +0000

Crocs shoe company I hope you are listening because I have a story for you. Those of you who have been following my blogs on training Sirocco the very rare and endangered kakapo may recall he has a little behavior problem.

Male kakapo are very unique parrots. They double in size in preparation for breeding season. They climb mountains and build bowls in the ground. They sit in these bowls and “boom” for females eight hours every night for three months. They hope their exquisite vocalizations will draw in females for a midnight rendezvous. They will mate with as many females as they can in a season. Once mating is over the males go back to being solitary, nocturnal parrots, discretely roaming the forest floor of their predator free islands. They have nothing to do with the chicks or their mothers. In other words a male kakapo has only one thing on his mind when breeding season rolls around….mating!

On the one hand this is a very good thing. There are only125 kakapo left in the entire world. We need the boys to be very interested in making babies. Sirocco, on the other hand presents a unique case. Sirocco is imprinted on humans. His preferred partner is a human head. Because male kakapo are so driven to mate, Sirocco can be relentless in his efforts. This has lead to aggressive behavior directed at people not receptive to his advances and injury to Sirocco when one person attempted to thwart his overtures. My job was to help address his obsession with mating with human heads.

Last year we successfully transferred his affections to a stuffed owl. However upon learning kakapo can mate for 40 minutes we abandoned that idea. Hello Crocs! The team informed me Sirocco had a history of taking Crocs shoes from the ranger houses. By the time we decided to try a shoe, I was already on my way back to the US. Plus Sirocco was not sexually motivated last year. This year was different. Sirocco was most definitely interested in mating with heads.

It was time to test all of our hard work. Our goal was to teach Sirocco that presenting an acceptable behavior would earn him the opportunity to mate with a Crocs shoe. Sirocco had already learned how to target, station, step up, move from point A to B when cued and more. His reinforcers in the past had all been favorite nuts. It was time to see if access to a shoe could also be used to reinforce good behavior.

Sirocco certainly demonstrated he was interested in mating. He made many attempts to climb to heads when the opportunity was there. The team started looking for the tiniest body language that meant he wanted to mate. In those moments we asked him to target or station. If he responded we offered him the shoe. As you can see from the video the reaction is pretty strong! It seems to be a combo of amorous and aggressive behavior.

Whatever it was, it worked! Sirocco responded quite strongly to the Crocs. He did so well, we kept raising the criteria. We started making heads more tempting. We targeted him to climb onto a head and what did he do? Nothing! As one ranger put it “In the past he would not have been able to help himself.” We also tried a few other things that often get him going, like walking quickly down the trail. Fast moving boots used to be quite a trigger for Sirocco to attempt to climb up a leg and work his way towards someone’s head. Instead he targeted away from feet when prompted.

The plan was working. Sirocco was doing acceptable behavior and it was getting reinforced with the opportunity to mate with a Crocs shoe (or a favorite treat). This was HUGE! Sirocco is a well-loved ambassador for the Kakapo Recovery Programme. Although his behavioral issues made him famous, at times they made it difficult for him to do his job. And more importantly his safety came into question. Now we had a way to manage his behavior and make sure his interactions with people were safe.

Crocs shoes before (Right) and after

People often ask why we did not train Sirocco to mate with a female kakapo. Fortunately Sirocco is well represented in the gene pool. His services as an ambassador bird are currently more important. So for now the only object of his affection will be his beloved Crocs shoe whom we have officially dubbed the “Krokapo.” Like many conservation programs, kakapo recovery is dependent on funding….what do you say Crocs? I see a beautiful relationship developing between your shoes and a very special species on the brink of extinction.

Barbara Heidenreich
Copyright Good Bird Inc 2012
www.GoodBirdInc.com

Visiting Sirocco the Kakapo One Year Later

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 05:41:00 +0000

We found Sirocco on this hillside

Waiting for Sirocco to appear

Wow. I am tired. But it is a good tired. I was up at 3:30 AM to catch a flight and then a boat to Maud Island, current home of Sirocco the kakapo. We headed out to find the nocturnal parrot around 7:30 PM, hoping he might be out and about a little early. He wears a telemetry transmitter so we zoned in on an approximate location. The problem was he was waaaaay down at the bottom of a steep incline. It was up to Sirocco to come visit us, not the other way around.

Sirocco is one of only 125 kakapo left in the world. He plays the role of ambassador for the Kakapo Recovery Programme raising awareness and funds to save his kind. When off duty he roams gorgeous Maud Island. Hand raised due to an illness he does enjoy human companionship (unlike his wilder counterparts.)

Tonight we were counting on his desire for our attention to lure him out of the forest. Our group of five chatted, laughed loudly and called his name. Two hours later a rather large green parrot crawled out of the brush onto the pathway near us. Our group took a seat on the ground and no sooner had we done so, Sirocco climbed in our laps.

Last year I worked with Sirocco to address a few behavior problems and improve his interactions with his handlers in general. This was my chance to see his progress. I was floored! Sirocco had blossomed. He clearly knew his behaviors well. He also had learned new ones. Normally a very solitary and non-tactile species of parrot, Sirocco was allowing and appeared to be enjoying being touched. We started brainstorming ways to use this to help with his care, such as training him to allow his telemetry transmitter to be replaced with minimal or no restraint. He also readily offered a number of vocalizations including the infamous “Skraaaak!” He had only offered the call a few times last year. We started working towards capturing the behavior right then and there he offered it so much. He also readily hopped onto the arms and legs of different members of our group when cued.

Sirocco also displayed some of the problem behavior we had experienced last year. At times he showed some aggressive behavior and thought about climbing up towards people’s shoulders. However he was very easily redirected to acceptable behavior and would relax quite quickly. This was HUGE! It was clear his handlers had learned what things might trigger bad behavior and were quite good at responding appropriately to prevent doing things that might escalate his problem behaviors. This was very encouraging. As breeding season gets closer Sirocco is anticipated to be a bit more motivated to present some of these undesired behaviors. The more opportunities we get to reinforce acceptable behaviors now the more likely we will be able to get him on track when things get more challenging.

We ended up sitting with Sirocco and enjoying his company for several hours. Our very pleasant interlude was interrupted occasionally by little blue penguins walking the trails to feed their chicks. Around midnight we finally decided to head back. Sirocco needed to continue his night of foraging and dining on plants in the forest. It’s time to put on weight for booming season!

Read more about Sirocco’s training in this blog

Learn more about how you can help save kakapo parrots from extinction at the Kakapo Recovery Programme website.

More updates on Sirocco to come. Stay tuned!

Barbara Heidenreich
Copyright Good Bird Inc 2012
Good Bird Inc
www.goodbirdinc.com

Addressing Parrot Behavior Problems

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 18:00:00 +0000

I often hear people say living with parrots is difficult. While it might be different from the companion animals typically seen in our homes, it doesn't have to be a challenge. In fact it can be quite pleasant if you know about potential behavior problems and how to prevent them. Even if a parrot behavior problem has already arisen, the good news is behavior is modifiable. Parrot owners can fix behaviors problems when you have the right tools. I am happy to report I live with really well behaved parrots thanks to training with positive reinforcement.

Recently a recording crew was here to record my yellow-naped amazon parrot Delbert saying "thank you" for a commercial. They also wanted general parrot squawks from my blue-throated macaw (and my two amazon parrots) However I have trained my parrots to present other sounds instead of squawks and screams. It may seem hard to believe but we actually got tons of talking and virtually no parrot screaming. That can be the situation in your home too. Just be sure to focus on reinforcing sounds you like and withholding reinforcement for sounds you don't like.

Here are more some more quick tips to help you address parrot behavior problems.

Barbara Heidenreich www.GoodBirdInc.com Copyright 2012 Good Bird Inc

Paintings by Blu Lu Macaw Raffle Winners!

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 20:57:00 +0000

Blu Lu the blue throated macaw is an avian artist and ambassador for the parrot conservation organization The Bird Endowment. She has created 15 original pieces featuring her version of our favorite companion parrot species. The paintings are being raffled off via the Chirping Central Conservation fund. All money raised is going to help blue-throated macaws in the wild via the Bird Endowment. The video clip below shows Blu Lu picking the winners of all but the top three sellers. Watch the clip to see if you won! Spoiler alert: If you would rather just skip to the winners names, they are posted at the end of the blog.

Don't forget the three favorites paintings have not been raffled off just yet. The winners for those three paintings will be drawn at the American Federation of Aviculture Convention August 15-18, 2012. The top three still available are as follows:

1. Blue-throated macaw
2. African grey
3. Moluccan cockatoo

You can buy your tickets on line at Chirping Central or in person at the AFA conference in San Antonio. Good luck and thank you for supporting a great conservation project! Here is a final peek at the last three paintings.

Blue Throated Macaw

African Grey Parrot

Moluccan Cockatoo

Winners so far.....

Peach-faced lovebird: Kim Witalis
Rose breasted cockatoo: Paula Rossow
Caique: Tina Arnsten
Scarlet macaw: Pamela Price
Senegal parrot: Juli Sands
Sulphur-crested cockatoo: Jamie Whittaker
Female Eclectus: Rebecca Ross
Sun conure: Christine Haskell
Quaker: Amanda Wilcox
Male Eclectus: Lisa Johnson
Blue-fronted Amazon: Kathleen Koestler
Green-winged macaw: Bill Christian

Barbara Heidenreich
www.GoodBirdInc.com

What All Pet Owners Should Know

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 17:50:00 +0000

I was recently asked a question for an article. What would you like all pet owners to know? Here are a few of my thoughts.

1. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. It can be easy to man handle our pets. However using force to get your pet to cooperate can damage your relationship. Instead focus on teaching your pet to be a voluntary participant by rewarding him for cooperating.

2. Young animals are learning machines! When your pet is still young there is window of development in which he will be very receptive to new experiences. Take advantage of this critical period by exposing your pet to things that will be important to his care in the future. These might include things like nail clippers, or travel in the car, or odd surfaces. Be sure to pair these items or experiences with positive reinforcers such as food treats, attention and toys.

3. Pet parents play an important role in a well behaved pet. Your pet is not inherently bad or good. By focusing on rewarding your pet for good behavior you can create a little angel instead of a little monster. Your pet will learn desired behavior earn more reinforcers and are therefore worthwhile doing. Although it is easy to forget, be sure to make the effort to frequently reinforce your pet for being good.

4. Here is a technique to apply when your pet misbehaves. Our tendency is to want to punish our pets with aversives when they misbehave. Unfortunately this can be damaging to our relationship with our pets. A more trust building approach is to ignore the undesired behavior and reinforce your pet for doing a different acceptable behavior instead. For example instead of punishing your puppy for jumping up on you, take a step back. The moment his four paws hit the floor lavish him with praise and attention at his level. This will teach him to keep four paws on the floor instead of jumping in order to earn attention. Best of all you get to be the good guy, instead of the bad guy in your pet’s life.

Barbara Heidenreich
www.GoodBirdInc.com
Copyright 2012

Barbara Heidenreich Radio Interview - Listen to the Archived Show

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Mon, 28 May 2012 18:50:00 +0000

I recently was a guest on the Tom Anderson Radio show on KOAN Fox news radio in Anchorage, Alaska. Tom was kind enough to send the audio from this show sans commercials! For some reason the callers audio is a bit funky, but still understandable. For more on the capybara I mentioned visit http://gianthamster.com/ For more resources on parrot behavior problems visit my FAQ page. Enjoy!

Barbara Heidenreich
www.goodbirdinc.com
Copyright 2012

How to Address Fear in Parrots

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Sun, 13 May 2012 23:20:00 +0000

Have you ever been really scared? Perhaps it was a moment when you did not have control. For example as a passenger on a turbulent plane ride, or you realized someone was targeting you to pick your pocket, or you were stuck in a big crowd of people pushing you opposite to where you wanted to go. The adrenalin rushes associated with those scary moments can be exhausting. Your body may shake, you may squirm, run or panic or even freeze.

Try hard to remember that feeling. It will make you a better parrot trainer.

So many people think what they are doing to an animal is no big deal because they know it is not going to hurt the animal. Think of the parrot that is being restrained against its will for a nail trim. Many parrots show significant signs of stress and fear when restrained by a towel. So much so they are terrified at the sight of a towel. I have also seen this happen with parrots who have been strapped into a harness involuntarily. While the humans may know no physical harm will come to the parrot, the birds dont know that. Their panic is real. Having empathy for that fear is important.

Getting past a fear response is not about forcing an animal through the experience until the event is over. An ideal strategy is to avoid creating the fear response in the first place. This may mean taking things a bit slower. And more importantly it usually meaning pairing things you know your parrot likes with the experience.

I was recently at a friend’s house talking about desensitization and counter conditioning procedures and the different processes that can be used. We decided to explore some of the differences with a cute little terrier named Blue. First we used systematic desensitization. Blue was resting peacefully on a chair. While she lay there we gradually moved a big scary vacuum closer and closer as long as Blue remained relaxed. We made sure she could see us moving the vacuum and watched her responses. Eventually the vacuum was right next to her and she showed no need to be anywhere else and continued resting peacefully.

In the next steps we moved the vacuum cleaner to the center of the room and put treats all around it. Suddenly her body language changed. She sniffed, licked and explored every inch of the vacuum. Later when we moved it to the side she wouldn’t leave it alone, even though all the treats were long gone. Her tail was wagging and her focus was on the vacuum. By pairing something Blue liked with the vacuum we went beyond tolerance to loving the machine.

I use these same procedures with parrots all the time. I certainly don’t want my parrots fearing things like scales, towels, nail trimmers, etc. I start with systematic desensitization and then switch to classical conditioning, and then many times start incorporating operant conditioning. I use shaping with approximations to teach my parrots to actively present specific actions related to the no longer scary object, such as stepping onto the scale or taking fluids from the syringe. But first and foremost I avoid creating a fear response at all costs. Because I know fear is not always easy to overcome.

It’s true I am comforted when a pilot tells me turbulence is expected and for how long. However the truth is I am still much happier when there are no bumps at all. My flight is even better if there are movies to watch and snacks to enjoy.

Be empathic when your parrot shows a fear response. Take a little time to help him overcome what he fears. The end result is worth it.

Barbara Heidenreich
www.GoodBirdInc.com
Copyright 2012

Sirocco the Kakapo in Your Home!

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:08:00 +0000

Check out this awesome project! Artist extraordinaire Arlene Powers has made a painting based on one of my photos of Sirocco the kakapo. How cool it that?

Here is the best part. This original painting could be yours! This painting is being raffled off via the Chirping Central Conservation Fund. For just a single dollar you could potentially be showing off your own piece of fine art featuring the one and only Sirocco. (If you have not read about my adventures with him, be sure to visit my blog about training Sirocco. It was the thrill of a lifetime)

All funds raised are going directly to the Kakapo Recovery Program. This means your contribution will help save kakapo in the wild. This unusual, nocturnal, flightless parrot is down to only 127 individuals. The team is working nonstop to ensure a sustainable population is here for generations to come. Having been privileged to meet Sirocco in person I can say kakapo are simply fascinating and unlike any parrot I have ever seen. The team has had great success increasing their numbers, but there is more work to do and your entry will help. The drawing for the winner will take place at the American Federation of Aviculture conference in August. No limit on the number of tickets you can buy. Go for it! Get your tickets here!

Barbara Heidenreich
www.GoodBirdInc.com
Copyright 2012 Good Bird Inc

How to Become an Animal Trainer

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:31:00 +0000

Many people have an interest in working with animals as a profession. In truth there are many different types of jobs one can consider. Animal related professions include veterinarians, veterinary technicians, zoo keepers, pet store employees, wildlife educators, breeders, wildlife rehabilitation, animal rescue and welfare organizations, groomers, boarding facilities, field biologist, and of course animal trainer!

In the world of animal training there are additional categories. You may have an interest in presenting educational or entertaining shows or training zoo animals for health care. Some people train animals for TV and film. Other animals are trained for search and rescue and for assisting people. Animal training expertise is also required to work as a consultant to help solve animal behavior problems.

Every type of animal related profession requires certain skill sets and some require college degrees. The world of animal training is no exception. The science that is the foundation behind all animal training is called Behavior Analysis. Individuals interested in becoming trainers should invest time in studying this science. There is no secret to animal training, nor is there any whispering involved. Influencing animal behavior is all based on the principles of behavior analysis.

Knowing the science and applying it are two different things. Animal training is all about practical application. This means practice, practice, practice. Ideally you want this to happen with the guidance of an experienced trainer. This will help you improve your technique tremendously. You can learn about the science and how to train by attending animal training lectures and workshops. You can also get your feet wet by watching instructional DVDs.

Getting educated is an important part of being a great trainer. However hands-on experience is also critical. Find ways to spend time with animals. In the beginning it may mean volunteering or accepting the less glamorous jobs working with animals. However any professional animal trainer will tell you, those experiences are worth their weight in gold. There is always something to learn from the time spent caring for animals. Zoos, animal shelters, wildlife rehab facilities and some veterinary facilities will accept volunteers. Take advantage of these opportunities to enhance your hands-on experience. Exceptional volunteers are often the ones who land full time jobs. Treat your volunteer work as an important step towards becoming a professional in the animal world.

If you are looking to hang out with Donald Trump, keep in mind most animal professions don’t lead to six figure incomes. However working with animals can certainly be rewarding on a personal level. And if you are a positive reinforcement trainer you can bet your work is making a difference in the lives of the animals you train. You also get to be on the receiving end of a lot of love coming right back at you. If animal training is your dream job, go for it! The world needs more people sharing kind and gentle ways to work with animals.

Barbara Heidenreich
www.GoodBirdInc.com
Copyright 2012 Good Bird Inc

Parrot Paints to Save Lives!

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 21:06:00 +0000

I am so thrilled to be able to share a new project with you. Blu Lu my blue-throated macaw has learned a new behavior. Painting! In the zoo community we frequently train animals to paint to raise money for conservation. I have seen everything from primates to penguins painting. However there have not been that many parrot artists. Knowing how adept they are at using that beak, it certainly seems like a relatively easy task to master. Blu Lu did learn the behavior rather quickly...once I figured out a strategy to train it. (That part is not always as easy as it sounds.) You can watch a little video of her painting below to see how she does it.

While it is certainly a blast for her, I wanted to make sure her artistry would benefit her wild cousins. I decided to have her paint her version of other parrot species commonly seen in homes as companions. The paintings will be raffled off to raise money for blue-throated macaw conservation. Over the last few months she has made tons of paintings! Including the following species:

Blue-throated Macaw
Scarlet Macaw
Green Wing Macaw
Moluccan Cockatoo
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Rose Breasted Cockatoo
Peach Faced Lovebird
Senegal Parrot
Caique
Sun Conure
Quaker Parrot
African Grey Parrot (photo right)
Male Eclectus Parrot
Female Eclectus Parrot
Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot

You can be the proud owner of one of her framed pieces of original artwork. Visit www.ChirpingCentral.com to buy your raffle tickets. We have set it up so you can choose which paintings you would like an opportunity to win. The person who buys the most tickets also gets a special bonus prize. See more information below.

ENTER TO WIN A PAINTING BY BLU LU

Blu Lu specializes in imagery that features parrot species commonly kept as companion animals. Each piece is unique. Here are the instructions to enter to win a framed original painting by Blu Lu:

1.    Review the collection of paintings and pick your favorites.
2.    Click on the link(s) to your corresponding favorite pieces to buy your raffle tickets.
3.    Buy as many as you wish for each of your preferred paintings. There is no limit on how many times you can enter.
4.    Winners will be drawn by Blu Lu on August 1st, 2012. This will be filmed and posted to the site. Winners will also be notified directly. The three paintings that receive the most entries will be drawn live at the American Federation of Aviculture (AFA) conference in San Antonio, TX August 16-18.
5.    Deadline for online entries is 12 midnight CST, July 31st, 2012. In person entries will be accepted for the top three pieces up until the live drawing at the AFA conference.

All funds will be donated to the Bird Endowment, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving blue-throated macaws. Their Nido Adoptivo ™ program funds the building and monitoring of artificial nest boxes for wild blue-throated macaws. Competition with other species for nest sites has contributed to the macaws’ demise. Supplemental nesting has made a difference for these rare parrots. (www.BirdEndowment.org)

Blu Lu is a highly endangered blue-throated macaw. There are less than 300 birds left in the wild. Hatched in captivity, Blu Lu is an avian ambassador for the conservation project The Bird Endowment. (www.BirdEndowment.org) Her artwork raises money for parrot conservation and other charities. She is named after blues singer Blu Lu Barker. She is trained by Barbara Heidenreich (www.GoodBirdInc.com)

Cross posting and sharing is appreciated.
Barbara Heidenreich
www.GoodBirdInc.com

Regulatory Information Animal People Should Know

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:52:00 +0000

Whether you are an animal industry professional or share your life with companion animals it is important to be aware of the laws and policies that apply to the animals we steward. The following links will help you learn more about US federal government policies in regard to animal welfare. These documents below are provided by The US Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS).

US Fish and Wildlife (FWS) regulates native species. People are not allowed to "own" native species. You are given permission by the government to acquire or steward them for various reasons such as education, display, falconry or research. Many birds in the US are protected by the Migratory Bird Act. Any birds on this list require a permit from the federal government to be in your care.

Keep in mind there may be other state and city regulations, policies, ordinances and laws that apply to animals in your area. It is a good idea to check on the local level and state level as well as the federal level to make sure you are in compliance.

Here is a list of some of the most often requested regulatory and guidance documents from USDA APHIS:

Law: The Animal Welfare Act

Regulations: 9 Code of Federal Regulations Animal Welfare

Policy Manual: Animal Care Policy Manual

Dealer Inspection Guide

Exhibitor Inspection Guide

Research Facility Inspection Guide

Inspection Requirements Handbook and Attachments

Information and Fact Sheets:

Fact sheet on the Animal Welfare Act

Licensing and Registration Under the Animal Welfare Act

Types of Animal Welfare Act Licensees and Registrants

Glossary of Animal Welfare Act terms

Regulation of Commercial Animal Dealers

Regulation of Exhibitors

Regulation of Research Facilities

Information on the AWA inspection process

Fact sheet on Compliance Inspections

Information on the AWA enforcement process

Animal Care Inspection Information Search Tool: searchable database of inspection reports

It is a lot too read, but I hope you find these links useful.

Barbara Heidenreich
http://www.goodbirdinc.com/
Copyright Good Bird Inc 2012

Sex and Sirocco the Single Kakapo

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:49:00 +0000

This is the fourth in a series of blogs on Training Sirocco the Kakapo. Click here to read the series from the beginning.

The main reason I had come to New Zealand was to address Sirocco’s undesired sexual behavior. What I had learned about kakapo natural history is that the males are extremely motivated to copulate during breeding season. With companion parrots we often advise people to remove all the environmental triggers that increase hormone production and associated reproductive behaviors. This might mean keeping light cycles the same, offering a less rich diet, removing access to nest sites, avoiding mate like bonds with your parrot, etc. These tend to work really well at keeping parrots from going into what people like to call a “hormonal” state.

However Sirocco would be living outside, roaming an island like a wild kakapo during breeding season. (Which by the way I thought was awesome! How many animal ambassadors get to do that?) There would be no way to control the environmental triggers that lead to hormone production for him. And as mentioned in a previous blog the mating strategy of this species is very different from the parrots typically kept as pets. The males will call for a female for up to eight hours a night for three months. They will mount nearly anything that passes by their bowl. And once they engage they have been seen mating up to an hour and a half. This is a very sexually driven parrot!

My plan for Sirocco would not be the same one often suggested for companion parrots. Instead my goal was to redirect Sirocco’s sexual behavior to something other than someone’s head. Once that relationship was established the goal would be to offer the new object as a reinforcer for desired behavior. For example, if Sirocco wandered up to a ranger house in search of some action, he could get exactly that for doing the right behavior. In this case when envisioned him stationing on one his stations. His reward could be access to the object for mounting.

The “object” has become quite the fascination. Years ago I had won a barn owl puppet in a raffle at an IAATE (International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators) conference. Because kakapo have a facial disc they are often called the owl parrot. Even their scientific name Strigops means “owl face.” I decided to bring the owl with the hopes it might be able to replace people’s heads as the object for sexual behavior. I knew it may not be the object we ended up using, but I figured it would be good to have something just in case.

By the time we introduced the owl Sirocco was already hip to how training worked. We used a target and treats to get him interacting with the owl. It was quite adorable when he gently squeezed the stuffed owl beak with his own beak. However at this point we had not seen any sexual behavior.

One night after a great training session, Sirocco started to work his way to the top of the hill. He stopped half way sat down and started booming (It is hard to hear the booming in the video You might need headphones). This is the low frequency calls the male kakapo make when seeking females. Sure enough he climbed up team member Daryl’s leg and started copulating with his head. I thought this is our moment! I presented the owl near Sirocco’s feet and eventually got him on the owl. I lifted my arm with him on it. Sirocco then climbed to my head. (Yes I had my head humping moment. I suppose I need a T-shirt that says “I was humped by Sirocco”) I presented the puppet at his feet. We traded Daryl’s arm for mine inside the puppet and now Sirocco was on the puppet on Daryl’s arm. This is when a wonderful thing happened. Sirocco made another attempt to get on Daryl’s head when he didn’t have success he redirected to the puppet and starting copulating with it! It was our sign that our training goal was achievable.

Although the owl was a big hit for the media, it soon became clear we needed an object that could be left with Sirocco. Holding a puppet for 40 minutes of humping was not realistic.

Sirocco has a history of stealing Crocs® shoes and taking them back to his bowl. We decided these might be a better object. While I was there we didn’t have the chance to try a shoe out. But since then I mailed a care package of eight Crocs® to Sirocco. I will share more on Sirocco's training and hopefully will be able to update everyone on how Sirocco’s training has progressed since I left in the next blog. Stay tuned!

Barbara Heidenreich
Good Bird Inc
Copyright Good Bird Inc 2011

Sirocco the Kakapo Talks!

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 00:15:00 +0000

This is the third blog in the series of Training Sirocco the Kakapo. Click here to read from the beginning.

Parrots have their unique calls and as any parrot owner can attest you quickly learn which calls are associated with fear responses, well being, contact calls and so on. I didn’t know kakapo language when I was working with Sirocco and at first it was perplexing.

I finally heard the call so many describe as a “skraaak” on my second or third night working with Sirocco at Zealandia. The trainer in me wanted to know why did he do that? What does it mean? It happened after we had finished training, attended to his feeding station and were half way down the trail back to the house. My first thought was all our interactions had been really pleasant maybe it is a contact call and the skraak was his way of saying “come back”. Then it happened one night while we were heading back down the hill after Sirocco had displayed some aggressive behavior. That made me think maybe it was his way of saying “go away”. Finally longtime member of the kakapo recovery team Daryl Eason arrived to work with us. He is a walking encyclopedia on all things kakapo. We asked him what the call means and it soon became clear a ‘skraak” can mean different things under different circumstances.

Up to this point we had not observed Sirocco when he called. We only heard it. One night he skraaked during a training session! It was pretty fascinating to watch him do it. An innocent touch to his tail caused him to belt out a skraak. In this case he seemed mildly perturbed and perhaps a bit surprised by the tail touch. However he carried on with training right after the incident. Other times he skraaked when he was ready to exit the display area and another time he skraaked when he was perfectly calm and relaxed.

There was another vocalization we were lucky to experience almost every night. We were getting much better at reading Siroccos body language at this point and felt we had a good handle on what a “happy” kakapo looked like. Sirocco’s facial feathers would be nice and round, his body weight low on the perch and he would often start to get a half lidded sleepy look. This usually happened after he had consumed a few nuts and was starting to slow down in the training session. It was at this point he would start to “talk.” Sirocco didn’t talk the way we think of parrots talking, as in mimicking human sounds. Instead he would make this gentle, breathy chortling sound. He seemed to be more inclined to make the sound if people spoke gently to him or mimicked his sounds. To me it sounded similar to the noises an African grey parrot might make when feeling a bit “in the mood.” But Sirocco's gentle sounds were never followed by anything sexual. I would get to see what sexual behavior looked like on another night. More on that in the next blog.

Barbara Heidenreich
Good Bird Inc
Copyright Good Bird Inc 2011

Sirocco the Kakapo: What to do about Parrot Aggression

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:49:00 +0000

Second in the series of blogs on training Sirocco the kakapo. Click here to read the first blog.

Sirocco finally did show some of his undesired behavior. But it wasn’t sexual behavior, it was aggressive behavior. Every night after a pleasant session in the public display area of his enclosure, Sirocco would be released to roam about the larger off-exhibit section. At the top of the hill in the off-exhibit area is where Sirocco had a supplemental feeding station. Each night we had to climb the hill to clean and restock the station.

Kakapo are inactive and slow moving during the day. At night they are an entirely different creature. They can run through brush with incredible speed. When Sirocco heard us at the top of the hill, he raced to meet us. Although Sirocco does many things that are very parrot like, kakapo are at the same time so different from any other parrot I have encountered. I studied his body language as he approached us, trying to determine if he was interested, sexual or was it something else. There were three of us there trying to understand what this bird was communicating. When he tried to bite my boots it finally became clear. We definitely witnessed our first full on display of aggressive behavior. In addition to getting a better handle on body language associated with aggressive behavior we also needed to determine the triggers. We came up with a long list of things we thought caused Sirocco to aggress. (Movement, darkness, squatting down, location, and later I learned that male kakapo will also defend their bowls/territory.) In the end we decided the best thing to do is to have one person prepare his feeding station while he is being trained in the display away from the area where he aggresssed. Then when it is time for him to go explore we wouldn't be near his bowl to trigger aggressive behavior.

However we knew there might be other situations in which avoiding him might not be possible. After Zealandia he was going to return to Maud Island. He would have free range of the island and would likely be coming to visit the rangers at their houses. This meant there could be a situation in which Sirocco might show aggressive behavior. Knowing this we decided it would be worthwhile to train him to do a behavior that is incompatible with attacking. We decided upon stationing. In the display on Zealandia we had already been training this behavior. A series of logs and stumps made for great training stands and stations for our evening sessions. Our plan was to make several stations near the houses on Maud. If Sirocco had enough history for being reinforced on a station he may very likely choose to go there to get reinforced rather than aggress. Also rangers could redirect Sirocco to his station prior to any undesired behavior being exhibited.

To reduce the likelihood Sirocco would show aggressive behavior near his feeding station we started training him in the daytime. As I like to say he was a “rock star.” He immediately grasped the concept and proved once again how eager and ready he was to learn. As you can see in the clip we gradually added criteria to his stationing. For example we increased the amount of time between delivery of reinforcers. We added some of his known triggers such as movement, squatting down and turning our back to him. By training in the daytime we took away one of the factors that seemed to contribute to aggressive behavior. This allowed us to have successful interactions that we could reinforce. Overtime we could gradually add training this behavior closer to sunset and finally in darkness. As you can see from the video, Sirocco was all about it and ranger Linda did a great job training him. Next time: Sirocco Talks!

Barbara Heidenreich
Good Bird Inc
Copyright Good Bird Inc 2011

Uh Oh. My Parrot May Have Killed Santa

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 22:00:00 +0000

Happy Holidays from me and my gang!

Barbara Heidenreich
www.GoodBirdInc.com

Training Sirocco the Kakapo

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 00:28:00 +0000

Last May I had the incredible opportunity to meet seven highly endangered kakapo chicks. (Read more and see video here) During my visit one of our conversations centered on a very famous kakapo named Sirocco. Many of you may know Sirocco from the viral video from the BBC TV Series Last Chance to See. Sirocco mated with zoologist Mark Cawardine’s head. I came to learn his behavior was a mixed blessing. On the one hand it lead to a video that threw a great deal of attention to the Kakapo Recovery Program, a program that is having success in part due to public support. On the other hand Sirocco’s persistence was endangering his safety.

During breeding season male kakapo have a desire to mate that is quite likely stronger than any other parrot species I have encountered. Males have nothing to do with nest building or raising offspring. There job is to attract females and mate with as many as possible. They do this through a unique series of tracks (trails) and bowls (small depressions in the ground). Each night these flightless and nocturnal parrots march up the tracks to their bowls. Once the bowl is tidied up the male settles in and begins to suck air into air sacks on his chest. This allows him to produce a low frequency booming call designed to entice females to visit. If a female or just about anything passes near his bowl, the males charges and mounts.

Sirocco is different from other kakapo in that he was hand raised. A respitory illness when he was just a nestling meant he needed extra care. It was learned too late that having been raised without other birds meant Sirocco would never develop an interest in female kakapo. Instead the objects of his affections are people.

The way kakapo live and are now managed is to allow them to behave as naturally as possible. This means they are free to roam their island habitat. Sirocco was no exception. However unlike other kakapo he chose to visit the human accommodations on the island. For a newcomer to the island a Sirocco encounter was at first thrilling. However as the videos I watched revealed things turned sour quickly when Sirocco would relentlessly try to climb up to people’s head to mate. Sirocco even built his bowl near the trail to the outhouse and would ambush rangers on their way for a pit stop. Imagine a 3000 gram parrot who is determined to climb to your head? Even for those with experience with parrots this could be a challenging situation. The concern was that someone might accidentally hurt Sirocco trying to deter his advances.

Having learned Siroccos story I realized positive reinforcement training could help! I was determined to come back and help get Sirocco’s behavior on a better track. I had been traveling to lecture like crazy this fall. I literally came back from one event on a Sunday and flew to New Zealand the next day. But this trip felt more like vacation than work. Even after 20 hours of flying and a 7 hour time difference, I was energized when I landed in Wellington.

My first night meeting Sirocco was one of observation and lots of discussion. He was living in an enclosure at Zealandia, a haven for New Zealand wildlife. Sirocco was there temporarily as an ambassador bird for the project. Over 4000 people came to see a kakapo, for many their first ever. The second night was when the fun really began. It was time to see if Sirocco would respond to training. I like to think I projected a calm exterior, but inside I was tingling with excitement. I approached Sirocco exactly the same way I do any parrot I am meeting for the first time. I showed him what I had (pieces of macadamia nuts), assessed his body language to see if he had any interest and then slowly and carefully offered a treat. His reaction? More macadamia nuts please. Sirocco was clearly going to be an excellent student. He quickly learned to target. He started stepping on arms when cued, and stepping off. It soon became clear we were going to need to come up with a long list of behaviors to have on stand-by because he was learning so fast.

Although it was a blast for me to train Sirocco, the goal was for his caregivers to learn how to influence his behavior. Subsequent sessions were spent making sure the rangers were feeling comfortable with getting Sirocco to do some simple behaviors and train new ones. Things were going so well Sirocco’s minder, Linda and I were wondering if we were ever going to see any of the problem behavior I was there to address. Our moment came several days into his training. I will save that story for the next blog. More to come!

Barbara Heidenreich
Good Bird Inc
Copyright Good Bird Inc 2011

My Five Most Memorable Moments as an Animal Trainer....So Far

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000

As the year comes to a close, it is a time for reflection. Here are some memorable moments for me in the animal training world. Enjoy!

Bottoms Up!

For five years I was part of a team that presented a bird show at the State Fair of Texas. One of my roles in the show was to do a short segment with a yellow naped Amazon parrot that sings seven songs. While we were on stage a man in his twenties was pacing back and forth off to the side. It was evident things were a little off. As the parrot was singing his little heart out I turned to look at the audience. Rather than smiling faces I saw a giant bare bottom! This meant the audience was getting a great view of the other side. Neither the bird nor I reacted. Instead we continued with our routine. Several men from the front row tackled the guy and pulled him aside. I chatted with many audience members after the show during the meet and greet and hardly anyone noticed. I was amazed.
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Thunk, Thunk, Thunk
For many years I presented bird shows at Disney World in Orlando, FL. One routine involved having a large Eurasian eagle owl fly over the audience and land on a stump at the back of the house. For a fun volunteer experience a guest was invited on stage and the owl would be cued to fly towards and just over the head of the volunteer to land on another perch. This was to give the guest an awesome Kodak moment. However on this particular day the owl flew from her release box with a heavy astro-turf mat clutched in her talons. (The mat is used to catch droppings as she waited for her release.) As she flew to the back of the house the mat hit each and every guest in her flight path in the head. When she landed she sat with the mat firmly in her grasp. Owls have a tendency to hold on to things in their talons at all costs. I couldn’t help but burst into a fit of giggles. In fact I was laughing so hard I was crying. This was because I knew she had to fly back. This meant more face-thunking. Like the great performer she was, she completed the routine flawlessly with her giant mat in her clutches. I know I enjoyed that show immensely. I think the audience members not in her flight path did as well.

Kakapo!
I have met my fair share of celebrities; however no one has made a greater impression on me than Sirocco the kakapo. Sirocco is famous for getting frisky with zoologist Mark Cawardine in this viral video. Kakapo are one of the most interesting species of parrot. They are unique in so many ways. They are nocturnal, flightless, solitary, lek breeding, giant and incredibly endangered. After learning Sirocco’s sexual behavior was a problem, I volunteered my services to see if I could help. Getting to train such an unusual, rare species was thrilling and rewarding. Sirocco took to training like a fish to water. He proved to be an incredible student. My most rewarding moment was when in one session he redirected his sexual behavior to the object we had designated. It convinced me we could get a handle on this problem behavior. I will also never forget traveling with him from the big city of Wellington to his summer home on Maud Island. It took a few car rides, a plane and a boat to get there. To make his boat ride less bumpy he sat on a lap in the cabin and took in the view. Surreal!

Out Go the Lights
I lecture a lot. Sometimes for 6-8 hours in a day. And I love it. I never seem to tire of it. Perhaps it is the pleasure of interacting with an audience. One of my favorites audiences are the folks at Parrot Festival. This annual event is targeted towards anyone with an interest in parrots. One year I was about three quarters of the way through my lecture when the lights flickered and then went out completely. The room had no windows. The doors from the room led to a dark hall. It was truly pitch black. Rather than panicking, somehow we calmly segued into a lengthy Q and A session about parrot behavior problems in complete darkness. People had to shout out questions because a raised hand could not be seen. Amazingly it all went pretty smoothly. Finally the generators kicked in and we continued with the presentation. Turned out the entire grid had gone dark. To add to the excitement a plane flew so close to the hotel we thought it was going to crash! See a clip from my lecture on Parrot Behavior Problems here.

In Your Face
I was lucky enough to make an appearance on the Jay Leno show back in 2000. Once again I had that infamous singing parrot with me. Prior to seeing if the bird would sing, Jay asked me a few questions. While I was answering I was reinforcing the parrot for sitting on his perch and waiting patiently. I was offering sunflower seeds which meant a little extra chewing activity for the parrot. Somehow the bird’s vigorous opening of a sunflower seed resulted in a perfectly aimed shell hitting Jay right in the face! I don’t think either of us could have planned it better. Fortunately the parrot went on to sing his song….although he took his sweet time which made me sweat bullets for a few seconds there. However it was a memorable segment and for a short while was part of their opening sequence for the Tonight Show.

Barbara
Barbara Heidenreich
Good Bird Inc
Copyright 2011 Good Bird Inc

Too Many Parrot Feathers? Send them to the Feather Distribution Project

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:27:00 +0000

Are you one of those parrot lovers who saves your bird’s feathers? Are they now just gathering dust and you are not quite sure what to do with them? Or perhaps you have been struck by the holiday spirit and like the idea of giving a gift that would be very meaningful to someone else. I have the perfect solution for you: The Feather Distribution Project.

Awhile back I was very fortunate to hear Anthropologist Dr Jonathan Reyman lecture on a topic I found fascinating. He explained that feathers were an important part of the culture of native peoples who live in Pueblos of the southwest. As I recall he explained years ago he was doing some work in this area and was asked by the Pueblo Indians if he could help them acquire feathers. Although not connected to the parrot community, Dr Reyman took it upon himself to make a repository for parrot feathers that could be distributed to the people of the Pueblos.

I did not quite understand the impact of this until I had the opportunity to visit two Pueblos myself. It was explained that our group of travelers worked with parrots and could help with feather acquisitions. Although fiercely protective of their culture and ceremonies, we were given a very special presentation that explained the important role feathers play in their religious ceremonies. While the presentation was enlightening what was even more impactful was the deep emotion and gratitude coming from our hosts. We experienced this at both Pueblos we visited. A parrot feather in a vase may be nice for us, but to them it is a connection to the spiritual world. Learning this really affected me. From that moment forward I have saved every feather my parrots drop and sent them to the Feather Distribution Project.

It has been super easy. I have a large baggie that is always ready and waiting for feathers. Once the baggie is full, I label it with the species of birds. I then put everything in a mailing tube to protect the feathers and send them to:

Dr. Jonathan E. Reyman
Illinois State Museum Research & Collections Center
1011 East Ash Street
Springfield, IL 62703-3500

The feathers are not bought or sold. They are given to the Pueblo Indians who submit request forms. This can potentially help protect parrots from being used for feather commerce. In the past Pueblo Indians often had to resort to eBay to acquire feathers…and where those feathers come from and how acquired is often unknown.

The feathers can be dirty, damaged and just about any size. The feathers are cleaned and sterilized at the museum. Damaged feathers are fine because feathers are sometimes cut into elaborate designs. Please only send parrot feathers. Feathers from native North American birds cannot be legally distributed via this avenue.

So if you are not sure what to do with your parrot feathers, consider sending them to the Feather Distribution Project. I can guarantee the recipient of your feather gift will be extremely grateful.

Barbara
Barbara Heidenreich
Good Bird Inc

The Good Bird App is Here!

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:26:00 +0000

I have been working on this one for awhile, and it is finally here! Announcing the Good Bird app for Android phones! Iphone users your version is almost ready : ) The Good Bird App let's you practice training my parrot Delbert to talk on cue. In other words you get to practice capturing behaviors and inserting the cue. If you just want to hear Delbert talk and give him treats there is an option for that too. Here is the link to download the Good Bird app for Android phones:

Here are the instructions:

Train Delbert the Parrot
Here is your chance to practice training a parrot. The animated Delbert is based on professional animal trainer Barbara Heidenreich's talking Yellow Naped Amazon parrot. You will notice Delbert says quite a few things. The vocalizations the animated parrot makes are actual recordings of the real Delbert. Your goal is to try to capture one of his vocal behaviors and put it on cue.

When your session begins Delbert will start offering behaviors he knows how to do. When Delbert presents a vocal behavior you want to train, reinforce him with a food treat. Simply place your finger on the treat and slide it into his beak. Just like in real life, if you quickly and consistently reinforce the behavior you want, the parrot will offer it more frequently. When this happens pick a cue and try to insert it just before you think the behavior will be offered. You will notice a variety of cues to choose from. The cue gains meaning when inserted just before the behavior is presented and then reinforced. If you have played correctly Delbert will present the behavior you have chosen on cue. To practice your training skills, delete the session and retrain the behavior using a different cue.

Repeat the process for all the different behaviors Delbert knows. You can save your training session and come back to it later. You can also delete your sessions and start over at any time to fine tune your training skills. The animated Delbert learns quicker than a real parrot, however just like in real life you may need to be a patient and observant trainer in order to capture the behavior you want.

Play with Delbert the Parrot
Have fun cueing Delbert the Yellow Naped Amazon parrot to talk and sing. Select your cue and watch him present his behavior. Be sure to reinforce him with a treat for being a good parrot.

Here is the link again. The app is educational and fun and it costs just $1.99. I hope you will check it out. I will post links for the iphone version as soon as it is available.

Enjoy!
Barbara Heidenreich
http://www.goodbirdinc.com/

Medicating Your Parrot

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Heidenreich) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:00:00 +0000

I have an older blue-fronted Amazon parrot. She is at least 25 years old. Since she was an adult when she came into my life she is likely quite a bit older than that. Her body is certainly showing evidence of aging. She was diagnosed with arthritis a number of years ago and has been taking glucosamine daily ever since.

Giving her glucosamine is fortunately relatively easy. Avian veterinarian Dr Scott Echols gave me a resource for excellent quality supplements. I learned from him that supplements are not well regulated and you can’t always be sure you are buying what it says is on the label. The source he recommended is a company called Usana. I buy glucosamine tablets from them and pulverize them. I sprinkle the powder on cooked quinoa (a high protein grain) that my parrot adores.

To pulverize the pills, I use a mortar and pestle, a tool I was introduced to in college chemistry class. It just takes seconds to get a fine powder when you use this ancient tool. I bought mine for a few dollars at World Market. I also use the mortar and pestle to pulverize the heart worm pills I give my dog. Despite their claim to be tasty, my dog is not fond of them. After I grind the pill up I mix it with palatable treats such as cheese or tuna juice. They taught us about acids and bases, how to make soap and the formula for alcohol. But now it turns out the handy dandy mortar and pestle was the best thing I gained from chemistry class.

I also recently learned about another way to give medications that has exciting potential for the parrot world. Dr Susan Clubb and I recently lectured together at the Kaytee Learning Center. She mentioned she has delivered some medications transdermally, especially Haloperidol for parrots with feather destructive behavior. I LOVE this idea. Can you imagine simply gently rubbing a medicated cream onto your parrot’s foot? The medication is then absorbed through the skin. This wonderfully non stressful way of delivering medication is perfect to help maintain trust between the caregiver and bird. Too many birds learn to fear their owners when they end up being toweled over and over to be medicated. It can take a long time for some parrots to trust humans again. Unfortunatley this method is not yet readily available for all types of medication.

This predicament caused by restraint is why I made an eBook to help people learn how to train their parrot to take medication from a syringe. It is a pretty simple behavior to train and one I demonstrate at most of my parrot training workshops. Best of all it also helps avoid having to restrain a parrot to medicate it. However most people don’t take advantage of this resource until it is too late and the bird is already sick. This is a resource to use now, before your parrot is ill. To encourage people to train this behavior right away, I actually offer this resource for free. All you have to do is visit this link for the free eBook offer. You will need to go through the motions of “buying” the eBook. You will see a box for a promo code. Enter the code PARROTRX. This will take the balance of your order to $0. Don’t click “Make Payment” unless the balance says $0. You will immediately be sent an email with a link to download the book.

Please note the eBook works best on PC’s. We had a hard time finding a resource that would work well with both PC’s and Macs. (Wish those two would play nice with each other.)

Just recently I received this wonderful email:

"I want to let you know that your video on medicating birds was extremely helpful. I was able to train my 30 year old Congo African Grey parrot to accept oral antibiotic medication within minutes of being offered the medication in a syringe while he was sitting on a free standing perch. I have been toweling him for years and it was never a positive experience for either of us. I was absolutely shocked when he immediately accepted the antibiotic solution. Your video helped turn an unpleasant experience into a fun event. He willingly swallowed more of the antibiotic than he ever swallowed when held in a towel. Thank you so much for your video. I just wish I had known about it sooner!

Emails like this make my day. It makes me happy to know there is one more parrot who has learned taking medication can be fun! Medicating a parrot is something all parrot owners will likely face at some point in their bird’s life. I hope you find the ideas and resources above helpful to you when that day comes.

Barbara Heidenreich
Copyright 2011 Good Bird Inc
www.GoodBirdInc.com