Sometimes the measure of success is not in what you achieve but in the challanges you overcome. 😁 Such a small act but his greatest success. When he came to me his aversion to hands was long-standing and his reaction was hyperaggressive and habitual. It seemed impossible to achieve anything. Through war of attrition he reluctantly tolerated enough hand contact to complete necessary tasks for training. Using his beak in this way seemed like an unattainable goal. I can't say I wasn't nervous 😂 All those big achievements pale in comparison.
Im posting this without the music audio on the last upload. 🙉 It's better with context anyway. Echo wants me to preen the pin feathers around his head but he is determined to preen his body as the same time. I can't keep up so I quit. He is so funny when I wont do it anymore. He eventually starts rage preening on his own. He is such a quirky little bird. 🤪 I find him so intriguing. He always screams like this when i accidentally hurt a pin feather. It jump scares me every time. I dont know why he insists I do things we both know Im not qualified for. 😂
Finding places to station with Miss Topaz 💎
This is a few clips showing Clancys progress. When I was asked to consider taking Clancy in two years ago I was very hesitant. Cockatoos of all types are among the most frequently rehomed parrot species. If placed in homes where they are not well understood, which is most average homes, they will often developed an array of behaviours that are very hard to correct and often too challanging for their family to manage as they mature. It doesnt matter how well intentioned the family is. Male cockatoos especially, do not typically make good pets in my opinion.Taking in an aggressive cockatoo who is entering a new environment is a big challange so I definitely had my reservations and questioned my ability. We were of the understanding Clancy was a DNA sexed female so we didn't come to the realisation that he was in fact a male until later when he moulted into adult male plumage which is why I refer to him as she in some of the video. When he arrived I thought that I might have met my match. He was uncooperative in every way. He would allow me to take him out of his cage and he would take treats from me but every other attempt to interact was met with aggression. He had a labyrinth of behaviours to navigate that were deeply ingrained through repetition which reinforces nueral pathways in the brain making it so difficult to redirect them. Especially since the specific behaviours created a road block on every method of training that's ever worked with any cockatoo previously. No matter how fast I moved I couldn't create a positive interaction that I was able to reinforce before he became reactive. The hardest hurdle to overcome with a new bird is having them understand the practice of learning and Clancys aggression was a huge obstacle. All the information I was giving him was convoluted by the chaos he created. I could keep his attention with treats which was my only saving grace but he was hyper focused on getting it which heightened his frustration when it wasn't made
The original video kept glitching so I edited much shorter in the hope of a proper upload.
This is Echo doing his trick compared to Echo pretending to do his trick. 🤷♀️
Never bring feathers to a gun fight 🤣 We need some white chalk and a sheet to cover the underfluffies.
This is the full video of me ignoring Clancy and leaving my hand in place. I didnt ask him to bring me anything so it was a good opportunity. Previously I've not attempted this because I was concerned he might bite. I didnt do it again after this either 🤣 He is so condescending 😒 but also very cute 😍
Life isn't perfect but your hair can be 😁 🪶
She will be the only girl in the aviary wearing this. ☺️
#trendsetter
The mission so far is to fly to the stool and return with the coin and cup. Griffin has nailed the assignment. We need better equipment I think. The possibilities are endless with these tricks. Adding extra steps makes things so much more interesting.
Side note - How handsome is Master Griffin looking at the moment? 😊
At the park with Echo. Evading the local crows 😁
Parrot Trainer / Behaviourist
