Originally Posted by
latham
Interesting discussion with some good tips that I will incorporate. What has worked well for my longwings and a couple of gos for over 45 years is "aversion" training. This works best when done with big downies, but has worked with feathered birds as well. When a bird screams, while being raised on a table top type nest/pan, around the house, I tickle the back of its throat with the soft end of a molted primary. There is no food "reward" for the screaming, just the opposite. This can work with older birds but they should be on the fist. Otherwise, they might bate upon approach. I have yet to have this happen, but I do not want to test them or set them up for a bad habit. I also use the feather (or the old chopstick trick) to stroke a bird in order to get it used to hand movements around the head without putting the feather in its mouth. After having its throat "tickled" a few times over several days, the bird will try to scream with its beak closed - the result is a sort of "bird whimper". When you see that, you know you nearly done. Some birds I have not used this method on have talked more than the others but outgrew the talking after being flown regularly. (And don't worry, they will still preen -haha!). Be slow and gentle. Good luck, Bob