Training is a great way to bond with your bird. You can teach your pet new skills while developing a healthy relationship. Training can make your next veterinarian visit less stressful and will help your bird have a thorough physical examination or grooming appointment. Below are a few suggested activities to do with your bird. We recommend dedicating ten minutes per day to training time. You can pick a favorite treat to reward your bird for training time for added motivation!
Syringe Feeding
At some point in your bird’s life they may need medication. Giving medication can be very stressful. We suggest picking a sweet treat to help fill the syringe to get your bird used to feedings. You can use no sugar-added apple juice, no sugar-added pineapple juice, no sugar-added baby food such as sweet potato, squash, apple, and banana. Go slow with introducing the syringe to the bird, otherwise your bird may back up, fly away or lunge. Be patient and move slowly to allow your bird time to adjust to this new object. If your bird bites the syringe to see what it is, that is ok!
If the bird appears afraid of the syringe, you may try filling it with treats suggested above and leave it in the food dish. Some birds will break the syringe in half and steal the food inside. Once your bird gets used to seeing the syringe in his/her bowl and appears interested in it, you may try giving bird the treat yourself. With some time and patience, you can teach your friend to take things from a syringe without the need for toweling.
Towel Training
When your bird comes in for physical exams or grooming, we need to place a towel around them for safe restraint. This can be stressful for birds at times. If your bird can be taught to accept the towel in a non-stressful way, the appointment will go more smoothly. Below are two techniques that we recommend.
Example 1: Place your bird on your lap while a towel is resting on you or an object
nearby. It may take time for your bird to get used to being near a towel. Once your bird is comfortable being around the towel, try calmly placing the towel over your bird. It may fly away or attempt to bite you out of fear. If your bird reacts negatively, take a break and give your bird time to calm down. It may take weeks to get your bird used to having the towel placed over them.
Example 2: If your bird likes stepping up on your hand, you may try hanging a towel
over your arm and then have them sit on your hand. Once the bird becomes comfortable, you may try to slowly place the towel over your bird. If your bird flies away or bites you, take a break and try again later. Practice makes perfect!
Example 3: Another example is wrapping your bird while on the perch. If your bird is comfortable on a perch, you can leave a towel near it. Start with just a few sessions of having the bird on the perch next to the towel. Once your bird is comfortable with that, you can try moving the towel to wrap them. Your bird may resist by flying away or backing up. When that happens, take a break and give them time to settle down. You can continue these steps until you are able to wrap the towel around your bird.
Example 4: Some birds prefer to be close to owners when being toweled. You can practice toweling the bird close to your chest. You can have towel draped over your shoulder or arm and practice having bird near the towel. If your bird becomes comfortable you may try draping the towel over the bird. Do not over stress the bird and push the bird into the towel. Be patient and give the bird space if its uncomfortable.
Note: These are all suggestions for how to make the visits to the hospital a better experience. Some of these techniques may work better for your bird than others. With multiple birds in the home, each bird may have a different style that they prefer. Once a style has been chosen, please share this with us during your next visit. We want your appointment to be as stress-free as possible. Make sure to have plenty of treats ready to reward your bird for each milestone. Using the same type of treat for training will teach your friend to know that he or she will be rewarded for good behavior during training.