Voluntary Restraint

Most of my birds have been taught to accept restraint, either in a towel, my hand, or both. Having fear free restraint can be so important. Need to trim nails or beaks? It will be far less stressful in restraint and your birds won’t wiggle around as much. Going to the vet? Vets can be an extremely stressful event, so being comfortable in restraint can significantly decrease the stress. No more chasing your birds around to get them. No more towel biting. No more wiggle worms. Just calm birds that trust you and the process.

Why is it important to teach this? The main reason is decrease in stress. Stress can easily and quickly become deadly to birds. Not to mention if they’re frantically moving around their environment (cage or out of the cage) they can easily injure themselves. What is commonly seen is broken wings, legs, toes, beak injuries, head trauma, and sometimes death from just trying to catch them in a towel.

No matter your birds age and history, it is a behavior that can be worked on through training! I would love to help you train your bird using humane, force-free methods deprived from science. You can feel free to contact me to learn more about our online and in-person behavior consultation. We offer online consultations, even for our international friends!