rosebreasted cockatoos

Positive reinforcement: the addition of something in a bird’s environment that increases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated.

Negative reinforcement: the deletion of something in the environment that increases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated.

That’s all – there are no implications of good or bad, right or wrong. One does not mean reward and the other punishment.

Your bird performs a trick or task. Upon completion, you immediately click, and then deliver a favorite treat. Positive reinforcement. You have added food to the bird’s environment. Your ...

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I pretty much live in a zoo. Multiple birds, dogs and cats permanently own me, there are also a few goldfish and the odd passing rescue waiting for re-home. Most of the time, we all get along beautifully but it has taken work to get to that point.

My mother recently added to the zoo, by adopting a shelter cat. It wasn’t an easy decision whether or not to take on ...

It can be extraordinarily frustrating watching others successfully train their birds while you can’t even get your bird to look at the obvious types of treats available.  Not all of us have a bird that is happy to take a sunflower seed or something similar as a reward for training. I’ve seen many people give up on training for this reason.

Most birds will happily work for some sort of nut (favourites ...

My male Eclectus Pepi, has been a flying nightmare lately. He has gone from being sweet, affectionate and talkative to being moody, unpredictable and often downright nasty. It happened overnight and hasn’t been accompanied by any of the usual signs of sickness.

Of all of my birds, it’s Pepi who seems to have the nastiest bite. He has this knack for getting a tiny bit of skin pinched in his beak. When something ...

Moluccan cockatoo

Q: I see the word “genus” used with parrots a lot. What does it mean?

Lydia B., Chandler, AZ

A: Genus is part of the way we categorize the different bird species. It explains how your bird fits into the grand scheme of life on our planet.

If you were to google species information on your bird, you might see the word “taxonomy” come up. Taxonomy is a system of classification that defines your bird’s place as a member of the animal kingdom. It branches off much like a family tree ...

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One of the main problems that I have had with my Blue and Gold Macaw Fid, is getting him to settle at night. He cries when I put him to bed, he cries again when I turn off the light, he screams in fear if anything disturbs him and he often wakes up and starts making a heart wrenching, hiccupping sob noise for no obvious reason.

In my last post on Fid, I ...