The Avian Behavior Podcast

A discussion about bird training and operant conditioning, raising owls, and our zoo free flight program ethos, this is from our raptor workshop that goes beyond just raptor training and behavior. It's a wonderfully deep dive and powerful conversation for animal trainers and caregivers.

Aggressive behavior in parrots looks like different things to each of us. While different terms like dominant, bold, or territorial are often used as explanatory variables, none of these describe in precise terms what the behavior actually is or under what conditions it occurs. Understanding this foundation is an important step to working through small and large challenges with our birds.

This Q&A tackles sensitive and challenging subjects: progressive weight management principles and working with birds with problem histories. It is part of larger conversation and is by no means all inclusive. The information in this podcast may not be suitable for all situations and is meant to be used in conjunction with tailored, individual help. Please understand that when working with your birds' weight and diets, you out always know the health and welfare of your bird. Avian Behavior International believes strongly in the practice of healthy flying, training, and relationships with food and the limited use of weight management, and only when needed. We have many other resources to be used in conjunction with this podcast.

Bonus Content! We discuss many variables that go into a serious decision about whether or not to add another parrot to your flock and how we can know whether the birds will get along. There are many things that we can take into account as to how the decision will impact our household long term.

This episode is inspired by a profound discussion from our Raptor Workshop earlier this year. We discuss some of the benefits and challenges of the different species with respect to hand raising versus parent raising, what it means to imprint and what it means to let grow up, how to ask the right questions, and what you can do if you aren't sure if acquiring an conservation ambassador owl is right for your organization

In this episode, we uncover three habits common in the companion parrot world that lead to continued parrot biting. Sometimes, the tactics we think are solving parrot biting are actually putting a temporary stop to it, rather than ending biting for good and providing an appropriate replacement solution.

In this powerful interview with animal training and beahvior expert Barbara Heidenreich, we talk about the qualities that make for animal training expertise, how animal keepers and companion parrot people can seek out and evaluate the best advice for animals in their care, and how to keep growing and evolving in one's quester animal behavior enlightenment.

Parrot screaming is an incredibly disruptive behavior for everyone. By looking at just one aspect of this couple problem, we can relieve some of the stress around this challenge and provide important skills for our companions to succeed.

Check out the show notes for our free download and more resources.

In the second episode of our podcasts on motivation, we look at how different factors in the environment and the way we train our birds of prey in education programs and falconry can impact motivation before we ever consider factors like managing diet.

What is motivation and how does it impact our relationships with our companion parrots? Do we want our birds to be robots, bending to our whims and wills in order to keep from getting bitten or yelled at all ay? We can have it all, and it takes understanding how to effectively communicate and harness the power of motivation to help our birds engage in mutually beneficial behaviors at the right part of the day to avoid destructive habits and vices for a happier healthier life for everyone!