Updates and Musings About Life with Parrots
I often hear it said that a lot of parrot behavior problems stem from the bird thinking it is “dominant” to the humans, and that the way to control the parrot is to reestablish the person’s flock leader position. But research has shown that not only is it not important to establish “dominance” with birds,…
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This is the bird prop I got for Stewie from Nature’s Chest — it’s intended to teach him color discrimination. Unfortunately it’s too small. He doesn’t have the dexterity to get the rings onto the peg.I’m going to try to teach him pull the rings off the peg instead and give them to me. He…
Read More...This cockatoo’s puzzle solving skills are really impressive. Doesn’t she look like she’s having fun? Just another example of children’s developmental toys making good (large) bird toys too. (Imagine having to keep a toddler entertained and healthy … that’s at least how much work a cockatoo takes too!)
Read More...I love this video! It’s of a cockatiel (which is about the same size as a sun conure) playing Connect Four (that four-in-a-row tic tac toe game that you play vertically). How adorable is this: This looks like it was taught via clicker training. I’m going to buy one of these travel size Connect Four…
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Stewie got tired of the “put the ball in the cup trick”… not sure why, but he just doesn’t want to do it anymore. Here’s a picture of him when he was still eager to do it: We’ve been working on “put the ring on the peg” but this one has been difficult. To tell…
Read More...Stewie knows how to retrieve finally! It’s not really on cue yet, though. Right now there are specific props he knows he’s supposed to bring to me that only appear when I want him to “give it to me” (that’s the verbal cue, not random use of quotes for emphasis). Because he’s still a bit…
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A friend recently recommended a book called The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell to anyone who had or was going to get a dog. Although I wasn’t considering getting a dog, I started reading it and got hooked. McConnell has a wonderful, friendly (yet not cheesy or “fluffy”) writing style, but what…
Read More...Here’s a great video of a caique (pronounced: kai-eek)Â flying and putting his toys away on cue, courtesy of the Bird Click group on Yahoo.
Read More...After a couple of failed approaches, we’re back on track with learning to retrieve. I was having trouble getting Stewie to hold on to a toy I handed him (he was just beaking it) and then we’d both get frustrated when it didn’t result in treats. What ended up working for us is for me…
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I can’t believe how quickly Stewie has caught on in our training sessions. Clicker Training for Birds is based on operant conditioning principles – basically: teach the bird that a particular action will result in a treat. Even before I started with the formal clicker training, Stewie already grasped the concept of doing something for…
Read More...A major breakthrough! Earlier over the weekend, Stewie was leaning towards me as I sat in front of my computer, super interested in what I was doing. So I scooted closer, offered him my arm and said “step up?” And the answer was “yes”! Okay, so he didn’t actually say anything, he just stepped onto…
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