Our Winged Friends

Bird Guidance

Ideas I've collected from books and the internet but especially Sally Blanchard's The Beak Book, The Companion Parrot Handbook and her quarterly publication The Companion Parrot Quarterly.  
*Please do your own research and take what you like and leave the rest.

Go to Potty Training

• Answer contact calls [screeches] NOT BY GOING TO HER CAGE, just say uh huh, BeBe, good bird, whatcha doing, sing or whistle back to her.

• ALWAYS Be sure her immediate needs are taken care of -- like food, water, the very important required friendly greeting upon coming home and as you walk to and for by her cage you MUST greet her and say you'll be right back.

• Answer contact calls with "hi BeBe, it's just us, Yes, BeBe, We love you." and after the initial response then answer additional calls [screeches] with soft and low tones in voice or even hum a soft response. She should respond in kind.  She wants to be connected with his human flock, know who's making a noise, and be a part of conversations.

• Consistent use of verbal commands including

1. Greetings as entering and exiting a room "aloha, hi BeBe, who's my good bird, etc..." and "be right back"

2. "Up" for stepping onto finger perch

3. "Down" for stepping onto perch other than human

4. "Ok" for shoulder perching but BeBe should be placed there preferably not using the arm as a run way

5. "Kisses" for face rubbing and tonguing

6. "Yum, yum" for tasty food treats

7. "Night night" for bed time covering

8. "Bye Bye" saying good bye for leaving house

9. "Bath time" for misting showers [I spray her and her leafy greens lightly daily]

10. Various greetings "Good morning, hello, and aloha"

11. Additional words "who's your momma" and "good bird"

• No rewards including verbal, drama, or especially not being returned to her favored humans for biting

• No rewards including verbal, physical, eye contact, and definitely not coming out of the cage for making loud noises

• End play sessions on positive note [not on a bite which would teach her to bite to go back to her cage]

• If actively biting, do either distraction or "ow" and quick dirty look then give something she can chew and praise

Distraction is doing something with one hand while picking her up with the other hand to put her in her cage or pick her up off the top of her cage and place in her cage. Distraction can be done by taking her into a room that's not the living room [which she thinks is her room because her cage lives there.] Distraction can be done by wielding something sort of at her to distract her while scooping her up with the other hand. Something as simple as a feather, piece of string, toy, coffee mug, whatever is handy. She becomes alert and interested in the thing and doesn't mind the other hand picking her up as much.

• Plan ahead and try to have something interesting for BeBe to eat or chew on whenever taking her out of the cage

• We are also trying to teach her to perch on a variety of other items like stands and back of chairs and on our knee

• We introduce her to new things on a regular basis like a variety of toys and items like wooden ladder, travel cage, rearrange her perches and cages, towel handling, and make things interesting for her.  Ultimately I think we should get her more used to being in her travel cage and car rides to ease the weirdness for her of going to the vet.

• We haven't been very successful at stick training her to perch on sticks. This is important for larger parrots however especially during their hormonal times it allows you to get them out of their cage and do stuff or even take them to a neutral room [one where their cage doesn't live] and work with them and hang out with them.

• We have taught her to perch on knees and other body parts and learn that our bodies are one not just a head on a moving tree

• When she was a baby and still clipped we had her flap wings with gradual yet quick enough down drop of arm or stick.  Now she's fully flighted.  But before that happened, we repeatedly and repeatedly and repeatedly [you get the idea] introduced her to all the windows and mirrors and hazards in each room every time we brought her into that room.  Introductions looked like me taking her into the kitchen for example, taking her to the sliding glass door she's on my hand with my other hand I'd repeatedly tap on the glass and bring her towards it and say how it was solid and tap, tap on it.  I did that with the mirrors and other things in the house.  She's never run into anything and is a very good strong flier.  She has been taught to only perch on us or on the top of her cage. So, if startled she goes back to her cage.

• We share food with her and NOT OFF the PLATE, it's off our fingers, fork or placed on the back of our hand. She sits on our hand or wrist and we offer her food after we have some. Sometimes I give her bites of food as she's on my shoulder as well. But remember food in food out. See potty training

• Snuggle time on bed or futon with BeBe, we have a papertowel for handy for dealing with poo, and toys or things for BeBe to safely chew on & play with. We just lie there and talk to her and let her run around.

• I have also taught her to shower with us which we checked with our avian vet to be sure it was ok/safe.

First step,  patience and getting her used to each thing before adding a change to it.
Next it was taking her the bathroom repeatedly.
Next it was bringing in the bathroom and turning the faucet on.
Then bringing her in the bathroom turning the faucet on and sprinkling her lightly with water by getting my hand wet and dripping water on her.
Then it was bringing her in the shower.
Then it was bringing her in the bathroom when the shower was on.
Then it was bringing her in the bathroom when the shower was on and into the shower.
Then it was all fun and games. She loves it. We usually do it just once a week and make sure the heat is cranked so afterwards she doesn't get a chill. She immediately after showering wants to be in her cage to preen. She's adorable in the shower rubbing on our hands, fluffing, bathing in a pool of water that we cup with our hands, and relaxing in the hot steam almost sleepy like at a bird spa.

• Potty training  "Bombs Away" is the verbal command or cue to poo [She often seems to ask by a loud call and then quickly place her over appropriate surface or remove her from the shoulder she's perched on.] I did some research on line and in within Sally Blanchard's books about potty training. It's drawbacks are if you're too strict in potty training your bird it won't go without the command not even in it's cage and that will be VERY BAD for it's health.  So, you need to encourage them to poo in their cage and it other appropriate places.  I decided that pooing on our hands was ok versus on our shoulder which is a no-no.  But as with all bird training everything emphasized has to be the POSITIVE.! Absolutely no negative enforcement or punishment!  So, what did potty training look like you might ask.... Well, we approach the cage singing and talking to her and give her a minute to poo before we even take her out of the cage. As we see that first poo, we say "bombs away" and praise her. Then we take her out of the cage.  We play with her, feed her, teach her things, hang out with her, whatever... for about 5-10 minutes and then we either return her to her cage for a couple minutes til she poo's again and we exclaim happily "bombs away" or we remove her from our shoulder to our hand until she poos and again with the "bombs away" and praise.  After she has pooed on either her cage or a hand, we return her to our shoulder [which is what she wants and is really sort of a reward.]  At this point, she pretty much tries to not poo on us and we're pretty good about remembering to remove her occasionally from our shoulder so she can go poo.   If we forget, she often asks with a loud call in our ear.  It's not a perfect science but it certainly cuts down on us being covered in poo and increases our enjoyment of time with her.  The reason I decided hands were ok for her to poo is that budgie poo is so small and tight and not very liquidy, you can easily flick it off and wash your hands with very little fuss.  Good luck!  Please don't forget these are only my opinions and research!  Please do your own and make up your own mind.