When you are bringing home a new parrot, is training your new feathered buddy the first thing on your mind? Or are you in the same camp as one of my clients, Matthew, who emphatically explained to me: “when I think of training, I think... The post When Do I Start Training My New Parrot? appeared first on Avian Behavior International ..read more

Over the years, my team and I have learned that while fly offs can be daunting, they also offer unparalleled opportunities for growth and learning in bird training. Fly offs happen for many different reasons, and it’s important to assess what you can and can’t... The post What Fly Offs Can Teach Us About Bird Training appeared first on Avian Behavior International ..read more

There is a very well known debate in psychology as to whether nature or nurture informs our behavior. It turns out, this debate is common among animal behavior scientists as well. It turns out, both nature and nurture, or ethology and learning history, inform the behavior we see in front of us, and incorporating these insights have transformed my approach to avian behavior, training, and education. The Rat Run: A Closer Look In free flight programs, rats often become a humorous yet essential part of the show. We train them to run across a stage, moving from one crate to another to receive food ..read more

Have you ever found a large molted feather, wondered who it came from, picked it up and took it home? Did you know that all feathers from native birds are federally protected, dating back to the time when birds like egrets, herons and songbirds were almost hunted to extinction for the plumes prized for hats and fishing lures? As early as 1773 there were museums such as the Museum of Charleston that began to study natural history. Campaigns were forged to prevent the virtual slaughter of birds for their feathers by plume hunters who benefited greatly by the interest in the women’s apparel marke ..read more

  “If you are looking for guarantees with free flight training in birds, you are in the wrong place.” In this episode, Avian Behavior International founder Hillary Hankey and ABI Animal Training Lead Katie Pnewski talk about how developing skills for birds and training staff around fly offs has been instrumental in their practice as team leaders. A practice of safety and growth doesn’t come from expecting mistakes not to happen, it comes from preparing for them to happen and getting the most out of the experience when you are working through a solution. In free flight, you learn that tru ..read more

If you’ve ever wondered why your parrot screams or how to train them to be well-behaved, this guide is for you! Let’s start by thinking about screaming. Imagine your bird starts screaming because crows flew over. The crows leave, and your bird stops screaming. Seems simple, right? Here’s the breakdown: Occasion: Time of day or specific events (e.g., crows flying over). Behavior: The bird screams at the crows. Outcome: The crows leave, and the bird stops screaming. While this might seem like a simple analysis, understanding what we really want to understand is how we can help our birds throug ..read more

  Owls make remarkable ambassadors to highlight conservation work, but they can also make for challenging training subjects and divisive ideas in the training community. We have remade our entire Owl Ambassador Masterclass to reflect the nuances among species differences and address some of the challenging conversations around parent raised owls, rehab vs captive bred ambassadors and even falconry equipment. To access the Raising an Owl Masterclass, check it out here: https://avianbehaviorlab.com/masterclass-owl-sales/ For a 14 day free trial of the Avian Behavior Lab, use the code AVIAN ..read more

When I entered the home of a lovely family with their new young African grey parrot, I was shocked to see the parrot in a cage that I would have found a bit small for my cockatiels. The wire width was thin enough the parrot could have easily popped it, he was sitting on thin wooden dowels, and the family was upset that their new bird was no where near as cuddly as it had been at the bird store. While I was quick to point out that their problems weren’t completely due to the inappropriate cage, there was plenty to blame on it. The parrot couldn’t move around comfortably, and the cage then could ..read more

At our recent ​AvOCET conference​, attendees were treated to an enlightening presentation by Sean Will and Maasa Nishimuta, founders of the Constructional Approach to Animal Training. Their talk focused on incorporating function-based training and degrees of freedom into modern animal training practices. What is function-based training and degrees of freedom, and how can you use it to transform your training? Understanding Behavior Through Function-Based Training Function-based training delves into the “why” behind animal behavior. Rather than merely addressing the behavior itself, this approa ..read more

Are you tired of seeing animals struggle with outdated training methods? Are ear tags causing more harm than good? Today, I want to talk about the challenges we face when we encounter outdated information about caring for our birds and how we can progress beyond it. Sometimes it’s really easy and obvious to see when something needs to change. But then sometimes we come across a new concept that doesn’t fit within our paradigm. How do we make these decisions? Is it based on what sounds good, where it comes from, or does it align with our values and intuition? What it comes down to is evidence-b ..read more