Interview: Pamela Clark, CVT

Pamela Clark, in addition to being a certified veterinary technician (CVT), is an author, speaker, and parrot behavior consultant with a special interest in feather destructive behavior, training, flight and nutrition. As a parrot behavior consultant, Pam focuses on coupling improvements in husbandry and nutrition with the most positive and most effective behavior modification strategies. Pam writes about parrots and behavior for publications such as Companion Parrot Quarterly, Bird Talk magazine, Birds USA, Parrots magazine, Good Bird magazine and the Holistic Bird Newsletter and her articles have been translated into several foreign languages.

She’s spoken at events for Phoenix Landing and took time out of her busy schedule to join Best in Flock for a quick interview.

Best in Flock: Please tell our readers about your background as a parrot behavior consultant and how you got into this line of work.

Pam Clark: I have a diverse background of experience with parrots. I have lived with companion parrots, ranging in size from parrotlets to the largest macaws and cockatoos, for over 40 years. For several years I bred African Greys and some of the smaller parrot species. As a breeder, I learned first-hand about the rearing practices that produce the most successful parrot companions and to understand how inadequate rearing methods can contribute to behavior problems later on.

For many years, I worked to rehabilitate previously-owned parrots. I converted them to a better diet, resolved their behavior problems, and finally adopted them into good homes. This allowed me to develop my effectiveness as a consultant by getting hands-on experience with a very wide range of species. I also train parrots in a variety of different behaviors, including free flight outdoors. Lastly, I am a licensed veterinary technician with 10 years’ experience working for an avian veterinarian.

More Foraging Toys: Introducing the Puzzler

Inspired by a request from Saemma and Coco, Kris Porter has released a modified design of her Fantastic Foraging Blocks.

The new design, called The Puzzler, has an additional cut along each long side, which gives small beaks more nooks and crannies to explore and exploit. It also comes in smaller sizes.

This small modification was a huge hit with both Stewie and Mika. I unpacked the new blocks and put them on a table for a quick photo shoot, and Mika came right over and started chipping away at all the delicious corners right away. I put a small one in a dish on Stewie’s bottlebrush gym and he spent about 2 hours (nearly uninterrupted) breaking off piece after piece (and then flinging the bits that collected in the bowl across the room).

Here’s what the new blocks look like:

Mika came right over to get started:

…and made quick work of that corner:

Everything I (and the birds) liked about the original Foraging Blocks are included in this new design, but that extra cut for some reason ratchets up the appeal to my birds even more.

These fir blocks with super appealing texture, slats and peek-a-boo holes — perfectly sized for a Nutriberry or almond treat (or a variety of veggies) — can be strung up with the reusable stainless steel hook that Kris offers with this toy. The Puzzler also comes in a smaller “foot toy” size that doesn’t have a hook.

You can find the “Puzzler” as well as the original Fantastic Foraging Block design on Kris Porter’s website.

Is This Crow Sledding?!

Sure looks like he’s sledding to me!

In any case, it’s clear that even wild animals like to do things that serve no other purpose than to have fun. Smart animals will come up with games for themselves even when it doesn’t serve any immediate needs like shelter, food or reproduction. Since most of us can’t really send our pet birds outside to play in the snow (“and don’t come back until I call you in for dinner, but stay out of the street!”), we should try to offer them as much opportunity for fun and games (e.g. “enrichment”) indoors as we can.

Introducing Shy and Scared Birds to Strangers

What a fantastic positive reinforcement training video. I really like everything about this training and the instructions the narrator/trainer gives:

Note how (aside from the initial couple of seconds in the opening that establish that the macaw is uncomfortable), the woman doesn’t push into the bird’s space. She holds her arm or hand steady and allows the bird to come to her, rather than the other way around.

When the bird is encouraged to get closer, but walks away instead, the trainer narrates: “It’s really important to realize that he’s not being stubborn. He just doesn’t have the confidence [to step up.]“

The majority of animal training is really about training the humans. So many people would just keep moving closer to “encourage” him. But once you realize the bird is scared or uncomfortable, instead of obstinate, you’re going to have a lot more sympathy and you’ll realize you need to slow down –  that means not getting any closer and allowing the bird to be the one to decide when and how to close the distance.

This video does a wonderful job showing you how to use food rewards and positive reinforcement to work with a shy or fearful bird to get them to come closer and interact with you or a stranger. Notice how the trainer emphasizes being predictable, giving the bird choices, and allowing the bird to associate the visitor with only good things (great foundations for good training, and the opposite of the truly terrible training advice you might come across on some other sites).

These precise steps won’t work, however, with a bird who is aggressive and who attacks strangers. In that case, offering your hand will likely get you bitten. (It’s also worth mentioning that this video doesn’t show an example of clicker training because there isn’t a behavior-bridge-reward pattern. The treat is being used as a lure or bribe. But that’s fine. Nothing wrong with a well-used bribe every now and then, IMHO.)

 

Review: “Fantastic Foraging Blocks”

In our last post, we just had some fun posting pictures of us opening a box of Kris Porter’s “Fantastic Foraging Blocks.” But what do the birds actually think of their new wooden toys?

It turns out that they love ‘em!

Mika likes the little wicker accents. She’s big into textures and accents. I appreciate that the blocks offer nice flexibility to customize and add details your bird might like, and I’ll experiment with stuffing the peek-a-boo holes with paper and cardboard for her to shred. As a pionus, she has a softer, more delicate beak, so she tends not to be much of a wood chewer, although she’s taken some bites out of the foraging block to try to get at an almond.

Stewie, on the other hand, really loves pine and other soft woods. There’s something about the design of the cuts that really appeals to him. Pine slats have always been a favorite of his, so the cuts offer the same sort of appealing shapes and textures that entice him to start trying to break them off.

And this is the one I left in Stewie’s cage after 24 hours:

Two big talons up for these wooden blocks. There’s a lot of visual and texture-based interest in the design that I think will keep both my birds’ attention for a long time (or until they are destroyed, whichever comes first).

Updated: Here is a before and after shot (one week later):

Kris plans on making these available for purchase on her website sometime before the end of the year, These wonderful toys are now available for purchase on the ParrotEnrichment.com website and they’re available to purchase at Phoenix Landing events as well.

Kris Porter’s Fantastic Foraging Blocks Are Here!

Last week, Kris Porter of ParrotEnrichment.com asked if we’d give some feedback on a new foraging toy she has developed. Of course we jumped at the chance! (Are you kidding? A foraging toy developed by the guru of parrot enrichment? Yes, please!)

The box arrived Thursday night and we couldn’t wait to open it. Check out the “unboxing”.

Look, ma! A new box. Let me help you open it!

Yay! It’s full of paper! Paper is my favorite!

Ooh! A wooden toy?

It’s a 2″x 2″ column of untreated pine with peek-a-boo holes drilled through, as well as cuts in different directions creating little ledges to interest busy beaks and wedge treats into. 

Another one!

And more!

Some of the blocks came “plain” and some were decorated with vine stars and colored buttons (that hid pre-inserted treats behind them).

Let me dig through that box. I think there may be more!

Wow! Look at these toys. It’s like an early Christmas!

The toys came in two sizes. The small blocks were 2″x 2″. The medium blocks were 2″x 4″.

Let’s check it out!

Ahem, ma, I’m out of focus!

I think I spot something!

Bingo! It’s an almond! My favorite!

Nom nom nom…

So that was our unboxing event. For more about these “Fantastic Foraging Blocks”, and what Stewie thought of them, check out our review.

Update: The Fantastic Foraging blocks, in three sizes, are now available for purchase on Kris Porter’s site.

Clicker Training for Parrots – Workshop Slides

In case you missed it, here are the slides for the Clicker Training for Birds workshop presented at Phoenix Landing in September.

This class focused on the principles of operant conditioning and, specifically, how it applies to our interactions with our birds — and how to use those principles in conjunction with a clicker to mark behavior.

In addition to explaining how clicker training works, ideas for getting started, and strategies for overcoming training challenges, the class included interactive learning with hands-on exercises designed to let participants work on clicker timing and shaping behaviors.

Below are the slides from the workshop.

View more presentations from Phoenix Landing Foundation

Clicker training is a fun way to interact with your bird, but it’s also a useful tool for addressing behavioral issues.

Learn more about clicker training birds, common clicker training mistakes, and misconceptions about clicker training.

Warning: Pine Nuts Recalled for Salmonella

The Wegmans grocery store chain, according to the AP (and the FDA), is recalling pine nuts sold in bulk due to a salmonella outbreak. The pine nuts were imported from Turkey by Sunrise Commodities of Englewood Cliffs, N.J. If you bought pine nuts from Wegmans, return them to the store for a full refund.  If you purchased bulk pine nuts from store, or purchased a feed mix that contains pine nuts, you should find out if they were  sourced from Sunrise Commodities or Turkey. Please don’t risk feeding infected nuts to your birds!

So far two people have been hospitalized and the CDC linked 42 salmonella cases to the infected pine nuts sold by Sunrise Commodities (who, at this time, have no information on their website about the outbreak).

Elizabeth Opperman reports that distributor Nuts Online and bird food maker Goldenfeast assure customers their pine nuts are not affected by the recall. (If you have worries about your own vendors/suppliers, you should call them!) She also explains symptoms of salmonella poisoning in parrots. Read more here.

Photo by ScribbleTaylor

Interview: Kris Porter, Author, Parrot Enrichment Activity Books

It’s time for another in our interview series and this time we’re talking to Kris Porter, author of the Parrot Enrichment Activity Books, which are available for free as PDFs from her website. She came to Phoenix Landing last year to give a parrot enrichment seminar, which gave us all tons of ideas for integrating foraging and stimulus into our birds’ lives.

Kris is a graduate of the online class in behavior analysis called Living and Learning with Parrots. She is an enrichment specialist on the World Parrot Trusts expert panel of parrot specialists,  has written enrichment articles for Good Bird Magazine, and her ideas with photos of parrot enrichment activities have been featured in articles in Parrots Magazine and Australian BirdKeeper Magazine.  Kris is well-known in the avian community for her  talent for coming up with ideas and using photos and video clips to enlighten, motivate and inspire all of us who are looking for ways to enrich the captive parrot environment.

She was kind enough to spend some time to give us an interview. Read on to learn more.

Q: What is parrot enrichment and why is it important?

Kris Porter: Enrichment is an integral part of responsible parrot care. It has everything to do with how we keep our parrots happy, healthy and active as well as intellectually and instinctually challenged. For me that includes providing them with foraging opportunities; different play areas set up in more than one room in the house; toys and positive reinforcement training sessions.

We recently moved from Alaska to Minnesota. Before the move we renovated the Alaska home and then completely remodeled the new home in Minnesota. I believe the enrichment practices in place in our home helped our own parrots deal with the challenges and stress associated with the move and the ongoing construction work in a more normal less fearful way. In Alaska we had many different perching and play areas throughout the house as well as an outdoor aviary where the parrots experienced new sights and sounds like lawn mowers and children playing next door. During construction and remodeling of the new home we made use of the playtops on their cages, made a play area out of the upstairs banister and offered foraging opportunities inside and outside the cage. I’m convinced being exposed to a broader range of experiences helped them cope more successfully with the stress of the move and construction.

Budgie Balancing Act

This is more than a simple mating dance; this budgie is showing off some impressive balancing moves as he “woos” his tennis ball.