Warm Potato, Proper Voice -

Once your bird is comfortable with its private training sessions, begin doing them in areas where there may be some distractions. After all, the bird must behave in many different situations. However, if at some point the bird becomes uneasy or difficult, go back to doing the training in a private area. When your bird gets to the point that the training sessions become boring for both you and your bird, then you can attempt trick training. However, trick training is just for fun and should never become serious or work for either of you.

Warm Potato: 'Warm potato' will keep birds comfortable and friendly with many people. This is an activity I strongly recommend with babies or when birds are new to a home. Everyone that may be expected to handle the bird should get together and sit in a circle. One person gets the bird and brings it to the circle. The bird is petted, sweet-talked and then passed to the next person, who repeats the petting and sweet-talk. This warm show of affection continues with each person until the bird goes full circle. The person who took the bird out of the cage returns the bird to the cage or to its gym to play. With new birds, play 'warm potato' every day for 2 weeks and then 6 days out of the following week. Do this 5 days the next week. Continue reducing the sessions, getting down to once a week. The weekly session is done for the bird's entire life. Every family should sit down together like this once a week anyway!

Communicating "no" and praise: Teaching a bird to understand the meaning of "no" is often difficult for many people. The consistent use of language. tone of voice and facial expression is paramount when teaching a bird the meaning of "no". This is important in all aspects of bird training. When language, voice and expression are consistent and proper in other aspects of training, "no" becomes easier for a bird to understand.

This means that you always use the same word for a particular command. "No", for instance, would always be used whenever you want your bird to stop whatever it is doing. You should not say, "Stop that," or "Don't do that". You must consistently use the word "no" during the learning phase. Once a bird understands a particular word (command) very well, it can be taught other words that have the same or similar meaning. However, it will always understand and respond to the first word it was taught more efficiently. It is much like learning two languages. The first language will always come easier.

When praising a bird, it is important to know that birds enjoy high-pitched sounds and baby talk. So, use a high pitched and excited voice when encouraging or praising a bird. If you have trouble understanding the proper voice for praise or encouragement, watch a children's show on television. Shows such as Sesame Street have characters with voices and body language that maintain the attention and admiration of children and birds.

The proper voice for "no" is serious and deep. The word "no" should never be screamed. Screaming at your bird teaches your bird to scream back at you. Screaming is drama reward. When people scream, their voices become high pitched, their body language is exaggerated, and frankly, they look very comical. This is enjoyable and rewarding to birds. If you are having trouble with the proper voice for "no," study Darth Vader's voice in the movie Star Wars. His voice is calm, serious and deep.

Facial expressions are often the most difficult to control. However, once you are accustomed to praising your bird for good behavior that just happens to follow bad behavior, your facial expressions will improve. Being able to say, "Good bird" right after your bird threw a screaming fit, paused and then said, "Peekaboo" takes great self control. "Good bird" is likely the last thing you feel like saying. Yet, the good behavior must be rewarded or the bad behavior will continue. Once you have developed this self-control of the facial expression, it will become easier. You will not grimace so much when trying to praise your bird.

I have often seen people smile when saying, "no". This sends mixed messages and the command is not taken seriously. There are two reasons that a person will smile when they say ìnoî to their bird. One, they are not giving the bird their full attention and their mind is on some other subject. If you do not give your bird your full attention it will not give you its full attention. Two, the person is worried that the bird will not love them if they tell it "no". Nothing could be further from the truth. If people are unable to set boundaries for their birds, the birds will lose respect for them, not necessarily stop loving them. However, they will treat people that they love and respect with much more affection than people they do not respect. If you feel that you are telling your bird "no" too frequently, then you must reevaluate your expectations of your bird.

If at any time you feel compelled to punish your bird, you should remember that the best punishment is to withhold reward. Physical punishment instills fear, not respect. It teaches the birds that you are out of control. Birds do not respect people who are out of control. Punishment also fosters resentment and resentment leads to aggression or phobic behavior.

The Terrible Twos - The Myth: I believe that the terrible twos is a myth. Young birds are full of life and energy. They are exuberant. Once they have the coordination to do so, they will play hard and challenge everything. This is how they teach themselves about life and their own limitations.

To create a structured environment, a bird's human companion must:

1. Set limits.
2. Show the bird that they are in control of themselves.
3. Show the bird that they have control of their environment.powerful

If all these things are done, then the bird will become better behaved when it reaches two or three years of age. Most species are very malleable till they are two and half to three years of age. For Hyacinths and other slower growing species, this baby stage will last till they are three or four years old. If a structured environment (lifetime training) was not created in the early years, then at two or three years of age, a bird will try to take control of its life and the lives of the people in the bird's homeÖhence, the twos become the terrible twos and the bird owners must now work harder at creating the structured environment that would have been much simpler to create when the bird was younger and more impressionable.powerful