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Barbara Heidenreich


Stick Training Parrots

Barbara Heidenreich explains how stick training works. I recently had the pleasure of watching the results of some great positive reinforcement training with a Cockatoo. The Parrot in question unfortunately had some not so great experiences with stick training in his past. For many Parrots sticks or dowel rods become a problem when they are […]

Preventing The One Person Bird

Barbara Heidenreich explains how to prevent a one person bird. There was a recent discussion on my yahoo group about innate vs. learned behaviours. It seems the two are not so mutually exclusive. There are many behaviours we tend to chalk up to genetics and assume we can never change. But the good news is even these […]

Parrot Training In New Environments

Barbara Heidenreich explains how to train your Parrot in new environments.  If you are a Parrot training fan, you have probably already trained your bird to do a few cute things like maybe wave or turn around on cue. Have you ever tried to ask your Parrot to present those behaviours in a new environment? […]

Training A New Parrot

Barbara Heidenreich has advice on training a new Parrot. I have a new addition to my flock of Parrots. Meet Blu Lu, a Blue-throated Macaw. Blu Lu was hatched at the Bird Endowment. The Bird Endowment is dedicated to Blue Throated Macaw conservation. They support conservation efforts in the field by providing nest boxes and sponsoring […]

Who`s Your Daddy? Parrot Parents

Barbara Heidenreich explains more about Parrot parents. I think I found my favourite quote for 2009 already. Here it is “Maybe if more people had a duck in their life…we wouldn’t be so mad at each other” Ducks I love it! It comes from this great little news piece sent to me from a friend in St […]

Training Baby Parrots

It is a bittersweet week. The baby Parrots, Beni and Wrigley have completed their training with me and are about to make the journey to their new home at the Kaytee Learning Center. I know I will miss them terribly, but at the same time I am excited to see them get started as avian ambassadors, […]

5 Easy Tips For Solving Parrot Behaviour Problems

Barbara Heidenreich explains how to solve Parrot behaviour problems. Solving Behaviour Problems: Help! My bird is driving me crazy! Parrots can provide us with great joy in our lives. However, at times their behaviour seems completely inappropriate for the home. Sometimes these unwanted behaviours can lead to desperate efforts to find a new home for […]

Parrot Excitement That Turns To Aggression

Barbara Heidenreich explains what happens when Parrot excitement turns to aggression. Macaws At a recent Parrot training seminar I was fortunate to work with two amazing Macaws. One was a Buffon’s Macaw. These guys look very much like a Military Macaw but are much larger. In fact this big boy weighed about 1400 grams. That is heavier than some Hyacinth Macaws […]

Raising Criteria Correctly

Barbara Heidenreich explains about raising criteria correctly. This summer I was very actively training a lot of birds every single day in preparation for a new free flight bird show. While this may sound like a dream job for some….and yes it can be, at times it can also be rather repetitive.  That is because […]

Happy Parrot Sounds

Here is what your Parrot’s sounds mean. “Happy” is one of those words that is open to interpretation. However anyone who shares their life with a companion animal knows there are definitely times when our Parrots seem to be happy. One moment for me in which I am pretty sure my Blue-throated Macaw Blu Lu is happy […]