Happy New Year from Stewie and Mika

noob =]

this is zoe- 5 yr old demanding sun conure-

i recently picked up a foraging toy for her to keep her occupied when im not around -

within the last month she has started plucking her feathers it all started when i started working more and leaving her home all day to amuse herself- i guess she didnt like that too much being used to being with me during the day- anyway, the toy keeps her amused for a long time and shes actually silent which is amazing-

id like to try to make my own foraging toys- the vet suggested buying those little chinese take out boxes or hanging paper cups in the cage stuffing them with whatever. AVI CAKES-- she devours those things like nothing-

one more thing before i add the photo- Dr irene pepperberg recently published a book called Alex and Me -- if you havent read it- i suggest you do, it is fantastic and i cant stop reading it.

I’m acclimating just fine…

thank you very much.

Now leave me alone so I can nap.

[Piper @ San Diego Museum of Art, Balboa Park]

We have been doing a lot of outings over the holidays to help acclimate Piper to the Big Wide World, and also to give Carly more opportunities for socializing outside of our flying time when it can be a dangerous distraction if she sees someone interesting just out of my sight. We used to do a lot of this kind of thing before she started free flying, so it’s no wonder she tries to find opportunities to visit people. Another “Doh!” moment for me.

Since our retraining efforts began last month, she has gotten much better about staying within a safe range at the beach, but still gets distracted by socializing in the park where the flying itself is less interesting, there are no gulls to play with, etc. So we are going to train very hard at the beach with the aim of “super-duper generalizing” of the recall behavior (as Barbara H deems it). This is a perfect time for it since the number of people is very low there right now, and will be increasing over the coming months as the weather warms. Automatic incrementing of level of distractions.

At Seaport Village at San Diego harbor yesterday Carly had a Red-Headed bonanza. She got to be held by a RH guy, a little RH girl, and an older RH lady. And then there were ducks.

More pics here: Social Outings

The debate begins

We had a friendly mock debate on the forum which had me in stitches laughing, so I thought I would share with you all. People divided up and tried to convince the other ‘team’ which caique species was the superior.

Posted by user Kokomo:

Let me shed a little light on this subject.

Back in ‘Ye Olden Days’ there was thought to be only one type of Caique and it was what we refer to today as ‘The Black Headed Caique’. We all know how awesome of a companion bird the BHC is so it should come as no surprise that any/every person of stature would obtain a BHC to as a status symbol. Being the BHCs were more than the folks bargained for the BHC quickly turned in to quite a bit more than status symbols. They won over the hearts of their human owners and became members of their family. Some BHCs were even regarded as royalty and owned/ruled over townships and cities. Now this was indeed a time of turmoil and imperfection. Big changes were afoot and not everyone was in agreement with the changes that were brewing. ***PAY ATTENTION HERE as it gets really complicated.*** A strange man from a small country just south of where one of the most powerful BHCs ruled came to town. (We will refer to this man as Mr. J. because history has many different versions of this story and we won’t complicate it with any of the names associated with them.) Mr. J. was a wise man and shared a wealth of knowledge with any and all people that would ask for his words. The ruling BHCs assembled a group of men to speak with Mr. J. The BHCs wanted to remain anonymous as they suspected Mr. J. knew a secret that would be thier undoing. Under instruction of the ruling BHCs these twelve men learned a lot from Mr. J. and one night at the dinner table one of the men asked Mr. J. if the beloved BHC was the best bird in all of the world. Mr. J. responded to this question with a pause and then answered -(and I quote) “No. There is another. One that is extremely close to the BHC but has a head that resembles the Sun.” RESEMBLES THE SUN PEOPLE. The men were taken back by this info. They didn’t know what to do. Should they go to their ruling BHCs and tell them of this news? Surely the ruling BHCs would want to banish and destroy all knowledge of this Sun Headed Caique. The men even feared that they would be either killed or have thier tongues removed to keep this secret safe from the people. The men continued to ask Mr. J. questions about the [i]Sun Headed Caique[/i] and had a local artist paint a picture of the bird. They asked Mr. J. if it would be appropriate to officially name the Sun Headed Caique the White Bellied Caique. Mr. J. said to the men (and I quote) “That would be a very accurate description but it wouldn’t differentiate the Sun Headed Caique from the BHC.” The men agreed with Mr. J. but told Mr. J. that the BHC’s name would differentiate it from the Sun Headed Caique and not make it seem like the Sun Headed Caique was trying to be like the BHC by having the word ‘Head’ in its name. Mr. J. gave some thought to his and said (and I quote) “Cool.” This is really a long story and many books have been written about it so if you want all the details just look into getting one of the books. I will tell you that when the BHCs got word of the teachings of Mr. J. they captured him and two of the twelve men that they had hired and had them CRUCIFIED!!!!! They wanted to set an example of what would happen if they caught anyone talking of a WBC or how it is the best bird in all the land.

I have included pictures of Mr. J. and the twelve men. This is just after Mr. J. told them of the ‘Sun Headed Caique’. They are discussing the official naming of what is now the WBC.

The debate begins

Why I like Training Parrots

I like what I do for a living. I get paid to play with parrots. Work often entails all sorts of things. answering lots of emails, many nights spent on the road, an endless "to do" list, but one thing I can count on to remind me why I LOVE this work is a great training session with a parrot. And I had one today.









Those who already train parrots may know exactly what I mean. When you are training a parrot a new behavior and you are taking painstakingly tiny approximations in the hopes that the bird "will get it" and HE DOES! WOOOHOOO! What a thrill. I like to call that the "training rush." It is the fabulous rewarding feeling the trainer experiences when the shaping plan was a success. This rush I think is what keeps me coming back for more.....it is my positive reinforcer everytime I train a parrot. Even if I am training a behavior I have trained 600 times before with 600 different birds. Each time I still get the little tingle in my belly.









While I was getting my "rush" today, I also paid attention to my parrot's reaction. I know I can never know for sure. But I think he got a bit of a "rush" too. Perhaps he was reacting to my enthusiam, but it seemed the moment he understood what he was to do, he started vigoursly performing the behavior...as if to say "Yes! Yes! I now understand what you want!"









And was I proud of my parrot? You bet. Did I think he is just the smartest parrot in the world? Of course. And did I spend the rest of the day thinking my parrot is wonderful? Yup : )









And you can too. Positive reinforcement training is not only good for you parrot...it is good for you too.


Copyright 2008 Good Bird Inc

Presents

8 month old Piper has gotten into the spirit of giving this Christmas. He is trying to give Carly some of his dinner — or shall we say, regifting it. Never seen this before from Piper!

Happy Holidays 2008

It’s been raining most of the day so we’ve been indoors except for a short jaunt between showers.

Which for some of us gets booorrringgg after awhile ….

Best wishes for a great 2009 everyone!

Alex & Me by Dr. Irene Pepperberg

How to Introduce New Bird Toys or a Bird Harness

Have you ever wondered the best way to introduce a new toy to your parrot or how to get it used to wearing a bird harness? Many birds are afraid of new toys and other items in their environment, but this article offers some tips that should help.
Toy Introduction

Often if a bird is not initially enthusiastic about a new toy, I will play with it in front of him, or we will play with it together on the bed to spark interest in it.

When, on the other hand, I have birds that are afraid of new toys, I first hang them near the cage, then on the outside of the cage near the bottom. (Height is very important to birds and things are less threatening if they are “below” the bird.) Then it gradually gets moved up, and when I see them start to mess with it while it’s still hanging outside, I move it inside the cage. This avoids those “help it’s gonna KILL me!” panic reactions.

That reminds me of a funny story: One day at the clinic I casually tossed Buddy the Amazon a big chunk of broccoli out of my salad. He reacted by DIVING off of his perch and screeching at the big bad green broccoli monster from the opposite side of the cage, on the floor. Poor Buddy. I retrieved it, broke it into smaller pieces, and he ate it, but he will be teased about the killer broccoli forever more!
Introducing a Bird Harness to your Parrot

Harnesses: Disclaimer: This is just MY opinion and my experience, and I’m not responsible for anything if you try it!! I have a built-in dislike of anything that’s more expensive just because it’s labeled for birds. I buy rodent water bottles and dog rope toys because they are exactly the same thing and cheaper. Well, I noticed that the bird harnesses I saw bore an astonishing resemblance to the cat/iguana harnesses I had seen, so I bought the smallest figure-8 cat harness I could find and tried it.

It worked great for me, and here’s how I did it: Standing behind the bird, hold the harness in both hands by the “open” loop with the closed loop up and facing away from you. Slip the closed loop over the bird’s head, bringing the crossover point down to the back between the wings, then quickly bring both hands around below the wings. Then your hands (and the harness ends) come together under the bird’s belly, where you quickly slip the end into the buckle and fasten it. Then stand back and let the hissy fit ensue for a bit! I also let my birds play with the harness off and on for a few days, letting them see that it was a “harmless” object and become used to the sight and “feel” of it, before I ever tried to put it on them.

I have actually had them end up “hanging” in the harness, and seem quite comfortable except for wanting to grab something with their feet. BTW, because of the location of a bird’s windpipe, it’s almost impossible to “choke” them like you could a dog or cat - compression of the chest is the only thing that will interfere with their breathing.

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