Advanced Indoor Flight Training Parrots (Day 1)

[Michael]

Advanced Indoor Flight Training Parrots (Day 1)

This is a recollection of the first advanced flight training session I did with Kili and Truman in a small gym a couple weeks ago. There is a lengthy video demonstrating all of the things they learned that day and the flights that they were making. I'll have more videos and articles about flight training progress coming soon.

[Mona]

Hi Michael:

I really enjoyed the movie. I have a few thoughts:

1) That venue is great. I really like the size. It is perfect for the training stage that you are at with these two birds. Even though it seems frustrating, (I know, I've been there) it is good to see Truman fly high and up and land....and then come down. This is really GREAT flight training practice. When I see birds fly high, I also see that they do tend to stay where they land. It makes sense because if you think about it, it's probably a lot of fun to be up there and watching every thing below (Wouldn't you sit up there if you could?) The issue is: Do they come down? It looked like Truman did and for a first time flyer that was great. The only way to do this better is going to be conditioning...conditioning..conditioning.....You are moving into the art of training now. Getting this consistent will take a lot of practice and time learning Truman's nuances and finding gentle reinforcement opportunities. It's fun but it is a study. There just isn't a shortcut.

Preparation means that if you know you are going to perform, you practice for consistency. You will lose the consistency when you don't practice. That's okay because when you are just hanging with your birds, it's usually more about exercise than training.

The only problem I would have with the venue would be the mirrors. Birds will fly into mirrors. It looks like both Kili and Truman have it figured out though so it does not seem to be a problem for your birds. Some birds learn windows and mirrors....and some don't. I'm not sure why....If I took my birds to fly in that room, I would first walk them around and have them tap their beaks on the mirrors so they could see they were solid and that they could not fly through them. For a new bird, I would spend a lot of time on that. I do have a friend who has a pionus that is an excellent flyer....flies long, long flyabouts....but can't seem to learn windows. She will fly into a window and we've had at least one heart stopping moment when she was knocked out. Fortunately, she revived and is okay but this is always a safety concern.

2) I enjoy watching both Truman and Kili fly. You can tell that Truman is in much better shape as a flyer than Kili. Kili dips down on her A to B flights. Phinney used to do that too. It is a way to conserve energy. I'm not sure if this is because of Kili's wings or what (since she's missing those feathers)....but she is definitey conserving energy in her flight. There is a word for that and you may know it since you fly planes (I forgot,could look it up but you probably know it)....but there is an effect when they fly up that helps them conserve energy. Truman on the other hand, flies above the perch and lands gracefully.

I really enjoyed the movie and I liked seeing Truman's flyabouts.

3) Modeling.....I see that you are using clicker training and food rewards....which is great...but personally, I believe birds learn how to fly from modelling. They watch other birds. I would guess that Truman is learning a great deal from watching Kili fly back and forth. It is one of the problems we (people) have when we try to refledge older parrots because we can't fly. Birds that fly with other birds tend to learn quicker, especially if they see the other birds as part of their flock. Part of the fun we have when we use a fly building is creating that sense of flock that goes with learning and play.

I gotta go Michael but I really enjoyed the video. I am excited to watch you on this wonderful, new adventure. Keep it up!

[Mona]

I also wanted to share a little anecdote because I know that you like to analyze training and articulate some of the behaviorial "why's".

My flock has a daily routine. I roll their cages into the bird room and I let them out for an hour together and when it's time, I tell them to "go to your perch" to get them to fly into their cages. All four fly to their cage from across the room so fast that they will almost fly into each other to get to their perches. Babylon and Phinney have been flown in many, many different environment but Jack....although flighted....has not had the socialization my hens have had. He was flown briefly at another home before I got him about three years ago and the only other place he has flown is my home.

He is incredibly conditioned to fly back to his cage. It is really funny. He will consistently stop eating, stop socializing, drop every thing he is doing to fly to his cage when I cue "go to your perch". Even if another bird is sitting on the door of his cage, he will dance around them until I remove them and then run onto his perch for his treat.

I was feeling kindof "proud" of my training with him but I was making one big mistake. I was not varying the training. This is more of a management issue with me. It was how I put them away after my work day and after their play session so I wasn't taking the time to do much more than laugh at their antics and put them away on a nightly basis. Once in their cages, I roll them back into our living area so they can hang with us.

This is where it gets interesting. One afternoon, I spaced out and I rolled Babylon's cage where Jack's usually is and I rolled Jack's cage where Babylon's usually is......The cages are similar and I just wasn't paying attention so when the hour was up, I walked in the room and cued all four birds to "go to your perch". Babylon wanted to go in her cage but guess what??....Jack had already flown in it. I called him out and he went back into Babylon's cage. I walked to his cage and lured him (a cue I thought he was fluent in) and he went back into Babylon's cage He balked at the lure about a half dozen times (basically, he just looked at me like: "Hey, I went in a cage. Why am I not getting a treat?) before I walked him onto a stick and brought him close enough to his own cage that he flew right in.

So guess what I figured out? His orientation was SPATIAL. He knew the cue but he associated it with the location, rather than the cage or even a target. My hens who are more socialized can get stuck in this sort of a rut too, but it's a lot easier to get them to change modes and orient to a target (not just a location) than it is to do with Jack. This is because their whole life I have been bringing Babylon and Phinney into unfamiliar environments and practicing some form of training in those environments. I have not put that sort of time into Jack.

This is something to think about when flight training. Two things effect training in unfamiliar environments if you have motivation: 1) Lack of focus. Distractions 2) Overconditioning - The bird gets stuck in a training rut.

Of course, overconditioning can work to your advantage too.....If the bird is overconditioned to one perch and always fly to that perch....you can see the advantage....

You asked how you get the "recall" if you don't use food as a motivator.....I rarely use food as a flight motivator in the fly building because there are so many other things going on in the flight environment that effect focus.....The first thing that helps is the animal's sense of security and orientation to my person....and second, is the conditioning done in many, many, many different environments.

Not sure if this helps....but it is fun and makes me think.

Thanks!

Mona