Has your bird ever been all beak and no love?
Have they ever screamed non-stop?
How about re-sculpted your valuable wooden antiques, remodeled your window sill or turned your floor molding into toothpicks?
Shredded your curtains?
Biting, screaming, feather picking, home destruction...We love our birds, but we all know that our companion parrots can sometimes be a challenge to live with and care for in our homes. Problems with biting, chewing, screaming, feather picking and aggression are not uncommon, but with the right training they could become a thing of the past.
The Avian Medical Center can help! We are pleased to offer behavior assistance utilizing the art and science of training with an emphasis of positive reinforcement. Teaching you about these techniques to help you create a wonderful relationship with your birds is just one of the many services available.
We offer individualized consultations, at your home, group gathering or here at the clinic, and small sized group classes. We are available to teach at seminars, speak at meetings, or offer classes off-site. Consultations are available via email and phone as well.
We also offer bird training here at the clinic, or in your home. We will use positive reinforcement training to get the behavior fluent, then offer you the tools you need to maintain the behavior long into the future and for the rest of your relationship.
Whatever you may need, we will analyze and assess your situation and offer training tips and ideas. In class, you will learn different techniques to get your desired results. We can also recommend other changes that will improve your bird's behavior, and ultimately their relationship with you and your family. Sometimes, it's the not the bird that needs to behave differently, it's us as their companions!
Work with our behavior team to learn how to:
Use positive reinforcement to teach and train
your bird just about anything, like Target Training, Step-Up, Flight Training and more
Identify and change problem behaviors like biting, screaming and feather picking
Choose the most effective training method
for maximum results
Use enrichment to improve your birds' welfare and reduce problem behaviors
Improve your relationship with your birds for life
Our Philosophy
We believe that the accurate use of Applied Behavior Analysis principles with the emphasis on positive reinforcement offers the best way to teach our companion birds. Changing behavior with these methods is humane, effective and rewarding for both bird and owner.
Science shows us that behavior that is reinforced is more likely to be repeated. Using desirable consequences and changes in the environment, we can increase the rates of behaviors we like (stepping up, talking, playing independently, etc). With an increase in wanted behaviors we typically see a measurable reduction of unwanted behaviors like biting and screaming. The bird will have so many other things to do that work better, they won't need to resort to biting or screaming. We're all about showing you how to make it happen in our behavior classes or individual consultations.
We can show you the science behind different training techniques, why they work, and which may be the most effective choice to try in your situation.
Many people have learned a variety of techniques that utilize aversive or aggressive methods (covering the cage, spraying with water, etc) to get their bird to behave. We all know that yelling, hitting and other aggressive strategies often cause the situation to worsen. You don't have to use "dominance" to get your bird to behave well.
Positive reinforcement is a philosophy that has changed how people interact with their companion animals. Though it has been used for decades among professional animal trainers, the ideas are now sweeping through parrot circles, just as it has in the rest of animal training.
People are really happy to finally find something that is so effective and fun to learn that doesn't hurt their birds! These techniques are not just for professional animal trainers, they can be learned and used by you! It's a very exciting time for companion parrot owners, behaviorists, trainers, aviculturists and veterinarians.
By utilizing the addition of a desirable consequence immediately following a desired behavior, you create a reason for your bird to behave well, as well as fostering a positive experience for both of you. Do you remember how amazing it feels to have a wild animal eat from your hand? The knowledge that they are doing what you want because they WANT to? Imagine having such an experience every day, in your own home, with YOUR bird!
No one has to be bitten by their bird again! Many people are relieved to learn that they do not need to frighten or force their bird to do what they want in order to get the behaviors they desire and have a confident, well-mannered bird. So are we! Let us show you how!
We are very excited to offer these services, and we hope that they will be a compliment to the many outstanding behavioral options already available in the avian community. Kelly Ballance, our primary behavior and training consultant, is a fantastic teacher and entertaining speaker. To learn more about other resources, click here.
Whether you choose to take a small sized group class, or go for individualized care, you will find knowledgeable staff here to help you.
Our Experienced and Committed Behavior Team
It goes almost without saying that Dr. Lintner's 23+ years of experience have proven invaluable in assisting and treating the physiological causes of problem behaviors. She is a priceless asset to the avian community.
Kelly Ballance is our primary bird behavior and training consultant. She has learned from, and worked with, some of the top experts in behavior, avian welfare and training in the country, including Susan Friedman, Ph.D, Shauna and Allen Roberts, Sharon Harmon, Steve Martin, Barbara Heidenreich, Cari Clements, and Julie Weiss Murad, among others.
Her work with "problem" parrots has saved lives. As an employee at The Oregon Humane Society from 1999 to 2005, she helped place over 400 birds into new homes. Many were part of an investigations case involving over 120 birds that had been neglected. Other placements involved birds that showed serious behavior problems like biting and screaming. She continues to work as a volunteer with the Oregon Humane Society, helping the shelter staff with homeless birds and as a foster parent.
"The community of animal lovers in Oregon and Washington is downright amazing. We accomplish what would be very difficult to achieve in some areas of the nation. With the investigations case, people from all over the Pacific Northwest stepped up to help by donating money or cages, and by adopting. The surviving birds had all found their own home within 7 months. All we could say was Wow!"
Learning, Applied Behavior Analysis, and teaching are great passions in Kelly's life. Her library of behavior books is extensive, running the gamut from traditional training, to clicker training to psychology and her dearly held textbooks on Applied Behavior Analysis. Email her directly for reading suggestions at AvMCKelly@yahoo.com
"Everyone should check out A Parrot For Life: Raising and Training the Perfect Parrot Companion by Rebecca K. O'Connor. It's absolutely fantastic! Filled with up-to-date information and wonderful illustrations, it should be on every 'parronts' reading list. In addition to that, I recommend Good Bird! by Barbara Heidenreich."
Kelly Ballance has trained birds in a variety of behaviors; including tricks, flight, targeting, enrichment play, exercise, and more. Her training has reduced problems such as screaming, lunging, biting, and avoidance problems in a range of species from ducks and chickens to macaws, cockatiels, amazons, senegals, red bellies, hawkhead parrots, cockatoos, African greys, quakers, conures, 
budgies, and many, many more. More importantly, the positive reinforcement training has INCREASED behaviors like step-ups, independent play, alternative talking noises, etc. The birds begin having a positive relationship with their human families.
"It sounds weird, but I really enjoy the challenge of working with birds that show aggressive behaviors, as positive reinforcement has such a huge impact in their lives. However, I must confess to a love of flight training. We worked with an amazing English Budgie named "Elvis" in the clinic lobby and it was too much fun. That impressive little fellow would really work for millet!"
Her emphasis when dealing with behavior problems is on accurate analysis, utilization of the least intrusive, most positive methods, and in sharing with others what she has learned about the art of training and the science of learning.
"The human animal bond is a precious thing in this world, and if problematic behaviors are addressed effectively, with compassion, that bond can last a lifetime."
Kelly understands what it is like to live with behavior challenges, having shared her home with many foster parrots that included screaming cockatoos, biting amazons, and destructive conures, just to touch on the tip of the iceberg. All of these birds have found happy homes, mostly due to positive reinforcement training.
One of her strong points is that she communicates training techniques and behavior science in a seriously entertaining manner that makes it fun and easy to learn, as well as convenient to apply in daily life.
"When you're sharing your home with a screaming cockatoo, it's close to impossible to ignore it for the time it would take to extinguish the behavior. You need a solution that won't leave your ears damaged beyond repair and your sanity in the dirt! Further, you're not really in a state of mind to work on something long and drawn out to rectify the problem.
I love how environmental changes and the positive reinforcement of alternative behaviors can create an amazing difference in the screaming behavior a bird will use. Why scream non-stop if something else is more effective? It's very satisfying to know that someone is choosing a humane method of training, rather than just spraying the bird with water!"
Kelly's passion may be birds (from chickens to macaws) but she also enjoys working with a wide variety of companion animals including dogs, cats, rabbits, rats, chinchillas, hamsters, and mice. She has completed some amazing work with behavior problems in many different companion animal species. She currently shares her home with 2 german shepherds, 2 chinchillas, and foster birds. Her Quaker (Monk Parakeet) is currently residing at the clinic with his bestest birdy buddy, Chile (a Slender Bill Conure)
To set up a consultation, or attend one of her classes, give us a call at (503) 635-5672
You can learn more about our staff here
Learn more about Positive Reinforcement here
To set up your consultation or to register for a class
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