BIRD BANTER with Paul Lewis Think Like a Bird Having owned and operated a bird specialty store for the last 24 years I’ve come across a lot of people who’ve had birds when they were younger and just assumed that things haven’t changed as far as diet, caging and behavior goes. So much for the customer always being right, a big part of this job is to educate people on all facets of pet care. Training is an ongoing thing with pets, and one of the most important things I tell people is to “think like a bird”. Put yourself in the birds position, what is your bird thinking, how does it translate what you are doing to how it would affect itself.
Owner, Birds Unlimited Located in Webster, NY
shouldn’t be negative, it should be security. My parents could send me to my room as punishment, all my stuff was there, no punishment at all. What I see almost daily is people allowing birds to mouth them, a gentle nibble that doesn’t hurt. Then when they least expect it the bird bites a bit harder and they now reprimand the bird for essentially doing the same thing they previously allowed. When training I always want the bird to do something that it wants to do, not because we make it. For instance, give it a reason for wanting to step onto a finger. Don’t push into its chest until it gives in and steps up. It’s stepping up because it doesn’t want to fall backwards. Instead try offering a treat by your finger and see if the bird will step onto your finger for it. Here it’s doing so because it wants to get a reward. Behaviors that are rewarded are likely to be repeated.
a cage shouldn’t be negative, it should be security.
One of the most common problems people have is a screaming parrot, “Why does my bird scream?” and they hate it when I tell them they probably taught the bird to scream. They look at me as if I didn’t hear their question correctly. Nearly all screaming issues are caused by the owner rewarding the behavior. It’s natural for these animals to make noise, that’s what they do. Try telling your kids to go outside, have fun but don’t make any noise.
If you can put yourself in your birds position, try to see what it sees, training should make more sense to you and go more smoothly for both you and the bird.
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You’ve hopefully created an environment that is fun and stimulating for your bird, a normal healthy bird will at times be loud. However, if you don’t want the noise you know that the bird will be quiet for food, so a treat is given, or perhaps you let the bird out of the cage to quiet it, or you pick the bird up… these are positive rewards as far as the bird is concerned. What was that bird doing when it got something positive? Keep in mind, any behavior that is rewarded is likely to be repeated. Unfortunately, screaming isn’t the only issue to address. People reward birds for plucking their feathers, throwing their food, jumping off the cage / stand onto the floor, biting… Acting dramatically, a scratch on the head, food rewards, even a look in their direction at the wrong time might be what the bird is looking for and may be perceived as a reward. Think like a bird. Biting is another big problem that many people seem to reward. Don’t return the bird to the cage after a bite, a cage
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