Dremeling the Beak

Jack, my Greenwing Macaw, has lost a large part of his upper beak as a baby. Because of this, his lower beak grows “wild” and needs to be trimmed regularly. After a harrowing experience at the vets where Jack collapsed from stress, I decided, “never again”. I used clicker training . . . more

Lilah Love - Greenwing Macaw Hen Succumbs to my Avances

18-03-2012 Little Lailah has been living with me since January fourth and has remained unchangeably shy during this time. She did take treats from my hand and – and somewhat unwillingly – allowed me to briefly touch her beak. But that was it.

With the approaching spring, however, her . . . more

Video: Analysis of Human Parrot Interaction

Here is an interesting video of my friend Tenko interacting with his African Grey. It shows a lot about behavior and human / animal interaction:

If you observe this video closely, you may learn quite a bit about body language and the reaction of the bird to the human’s . . . more

Reading a book with four Greenwing Macaws

10-01-2012 Don’t laugh – I thought, it was worth a try. My greenwing macaws Lizzie and Sam are gradually getting closer. When I pick-up Lizzie in the evening to bring her to bed, she used to want to go onto the other macaw’s stand to plunder their feed bowls. Not . . . more

May I present Lailah - Greenwing Macaw Hen

Adopted handicapped greenwing macaw hen

08-01-2012 I would like to introduce Lilah to you, a female greenwing macaw. With her my mini flock of six greenwings is complete. Lilah is Lizzie’s sister, albeit a few years older (from 2005). Her breeder arranged for me to adopt her. As you can see on the photo, Lilah . . . more

Keas using stick tools & learning by observing each other

Kea tool use

The use of tools by parrots and other birds has been observed for a while. A new study conducted by Dr. Alice Auersperg shows this also in Keas. What is particularly remarkable about this study is that Keas who were not able to retrieve a treat with a stick tool . . . more

The "Come" Command

The bird school | 6. The "up" & "down" commands

In this video, my Greenwing Macaw Lizzie is trained to “come” to me when called. This is another basic obedience lesson that all parrot trainers should teach their students.

For more details please refer to my book: The Bird School. Clicker Training for Parrots and Other Birds.

Enjoy and have . . . more

The "Up" & "Down" Commands

The bird school | 6. The "up" & "down" commands

In this video, my Greenwing Macaw Lizzie trains her first basic obedience exercises: The “Up” and “Down” commands. Any parrot trainer ought to know how to teach his feathered students at least some basic well-behaved-parrot exercises, such as these.

For more details please refer to my book: The Bird School. . . . more

The Obstacle Course

Clicker training | parrot | 5. The training parcours

In this video, my Greenwing Macaw Lizzie is taught to run through an obstacle course. This is an important lesson for parrot trainers who are training with birds that are easily scared. It allows especially the more sensitive parrot types such as Budgerigars and African Greys to lose their fear . . . more

First Obstacle

In this video, my Greenwing Macaw Lizzie is taught to follow the target stick and conquer her first obstacle. This is preparatory training for other exercises a parrot trainer will teach his students.

For more details please refer to my book: The Bird School. Clicker Training for Parrots and Other . . . more