Have You Been Unknowingly Reinforcing Your Bird’s Negative Behavior?

By Lara Joseph

 

Reinforcement, it’s a loaded term and a fascinating procedure to watch. It is easily over looked, often misunderstood, and not one to be taken lightly. It happens on a daily basis in all of our households and with all of our birds. Reinforcement of behaviors happens knowingly, unknowingly, accidentally, and naturally. Let me explain.

If your bird is exhibiting a behavior and that behavior increases or maintains, it is being reinforced. By this I mean, something exists in the bird’s living situation which keeps this behavior occurring. This behavior has value to the bird and serves a purpose. Behaviors exhibited by our birds that serve a purpose could be a scream, a kiss, a bite, or a wave hello. These behaviors have value. Once you have figured out what value this behavior has for this bird, you will find its reinforcer. Once you find the reinforcer, you have the main tool to use for changing the behavior.

I recently had a conversation with a woman who owns a Moluccan Cockatoo. She began her conversation with me by asking, “Don’t you find the cockatoos to be such needy birds?” I live with two cockatoos and yes, they are both full of energy but I don’t find them to be needy birds. I observe them throwing out behaviors to see which ones we may respond to, to get our attention if they are looking for our attention. If it is our attention they want, and we give it to them when they behave in certain ways, then I would consider them to be pretty good at manipulating their environment to get what they want and that is a sign of intelligence. Does this sound familiar in your household? What I have noticed is that cockatoo owners, along with many other parrot owners, reinforce this behavior we call ‘needy’. They scream, we tell them to ‘hush’ or ‘shhh’. If they want interaction from us and they get it by screaming, then we have just reinforced that scream. My response to the woman that asked me if I found all cockatoos to be ‘needy’ birds was, “Well, that depends on how that neediness has been reinforced in their lives.” I then received the gaze I often get before I begin explaining. Let me go a little more in detail and give a few examples.
If I walk in the house from being gone for a few hours and Peaches the cockatoo begins screaming, what I do after that scream will have a big impact on the value of that scream to Peaches. If I set down my belongings and say “Now, now Peaches. I’m moving as fast as I can.” and then walk over and get Peaches out of his cage, I may have just reinforced Peaches’ screaming. How will I know? I will know if the rate of Peaches’ screaming maintains or increases the next day and the next. If I walk in the door tomorrow and Peaches’ begins screaming, it’s a pretty sure bet that my talking to him and walking over and getting him out of the cage has put value to Peaches’ screaming. The likelihood of Peaches screaming yet again tomorrow when I get home, is pretty high. What could I have done to prevent reinforcing this screaming? Many things and each household, along with each bird is different. One instance could be when I walk in the door, Peaches begins to scream. First I need to determine for what exactly is Peaches screaming? Once I have that determined, the ball is now in my court. If it is my attention, then when I deliver my attention is going to be key in encouraging or changing this behavior. If I ignore Peaches’ screaming while I put away the groceries and wait for Peaches to deliver another more appropriate sound such as a whistle, then that is when I would deliver my attention to Peaches. What this teaches Peaches is that it is the whistle that gets the attention, not the scream. If I stop delivering the reinforcer (the attention) while Peaches is exhibiting the undesirable behavior (the scream), then likely Peaches is going to go through a series of behaviors until he finds the one that works, which could very easily be the whistle as long as we deliver the attention when he whistles. This same procedure is often how the scream is reinforced. Peaches may be sitting there whistling for our attention, but it may not get our attention. Peaches then tries an ear piercing scream and look what just happened. You turned around and looked at him and said “What’s the matter?” It is the scream that Peaches now learns what to use that gets him what he wants.

Another popular behavior birds exhibit is lunging at the not so preferred people as they walk by the cage. If Gonzo the eclectus lunges at me every time I walk by the cage, then with each pass by his cage, I am reinforcing this lunge. With each pass by the cage, Gonzo is learning. He is learning to continue lunging and may learn to lunge faster and harder. It may very well be the speed at which I walk by the cage that reinforces this lunge. I may begin to change this behavior by walking by at a slow enough speed at which Gonzo doesn’t lunge. Then and only then would I reinforce Gonzo staying still and/or not showing any signs of unwanted behavior such as lunging, growling, or standing with an open beak. I would find an alternate reinforcer for an alternate behavior. The alternate behavior I would look for is the desired behavior, which would be Gonzo perching with no lunging, growling or open beak. The alternate reinforcer I would look for would be one that Gonzo really enjoys, such as an almond sliver. If Gonzo really enjoys almond slivers, then I would begin changing the undesired behavior of lunging to the desired behavior of perching without lunging. While training this new behavior, each time Gonzo stays perched without lunging, I would deliver an almond sliver. I would walk by Gonzo’s cage at a slow pace that did not cause him to lunge. If he doesn’t lunge, then ‘Bingo!’ Gonzo gets an almond sliver dropped in his food dish. The next time I walk by, I better be prepared with the almond sliver and pay attention to the pace in which I walk by his cage. If I walk by again and he doesn’t lunge, then ‘Bingo!’ I drop the almond sliver in his food dish again.

When working with undesirable behaviors that have been knowing or unknowingly reinforced for long periods of time in the past, it is very important to remain consistent in reinforcing an alternate behavior such as the behavior with Gonzo. One quick move by Gonzo’s cage could bring about another lunge or growl even after a day’s worth of working with him. Once Gonzo becomes consistent in waiting for you to drop the nut in his dish after you walk by, then and only then would I try experimenting with walking by his cage just a little faster. If he doesn’t lunge, then ‘Bingo!’ drop the almond sliver in his cage. It won’t be long and instead of Gonzo waiting to lunge at you with your passing of his cage, he will soon wait with patience and in anticipation of being rewarded for the behavior of patiently perching as you walk by his cage. Delivering something of value to the bird after he performs a behavior is called positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is the technique we use when we deliver the almond sliver to Gonzo for staying still on his perch when we walk by the cage. Positive reinforcement is the technique we use when we give Peaches our attention for whistling. It works the same way with undesired behaviors. If it is our attention that Peaches wants when he screams and we give him the attention by telling him to ‘shhh’, then we have just positively reinforced that undesired behavior and Peaches will most likely continue to scream because it works for him.

The reinforcer is always determined by the bird. What is of value to the bird is determined by the bird, not by us. If it is the almond sliver that Gonzo desires, that can be delivered as a reward to Gonzo after he shows a desirable behavior. If Peaches the cockatoo does not like almond slivers, then I don’t think giving peaches this almond sliver will be very valuable to him when trying to reinforce an alternate behavior. Many people will ask their bird to step up and then don’t understand why the bird won’t step up when asked. Well, why should the bird step up? What’s in it for him? If he knows that when he steps up, it is very likely you are going to put him in the cage when he wants to be out with you, why would he want to step up? If you push your hand further into his chest to get him to step up and instead he lunges at your hand and you quickly withdraw your hand, you may have just helped him identify a reinforcer for you taking your hand away......the lunge. Our birds learn very quickly what works to get them what they want and what doesn’t.

If I know Peaches values the neck scratches I give, I will keep this in the back of my mind to use as a positive reinforcer throughout the day when I need Peaches to do certain behaviors such as stepping up, stepping off, and maybe for playing independently for periods of time. This neck scratch may only be one of many reinforcers I can use throughout the day. Other reinforcers may be the walnuts that Peaches shows he enjoys on a daily basis. Another may be the verbal interaction of us whistling back and forth. Yet another may be for him to hear what a good bird he is. The more reinforcers I have to use, the easier it will be to make requests and receive the behavior in which I am looking for from my bird. When I build histories of positive reinforcement into my relationship with my bird, the quicker I will soon see my bird responding to my requests. This type of interaction also builds strong, and lasting relationships.

As I head to the kitchen in the morning to prepare the bird’s breakfast, I may think one step ahead in my plans with Peaches for the day. If I know I want to bring Peaches out of his cage to spend time on his play gym, I know I need to keep value on some known reinforcers of his. By this I mean, if I know he enjoys me scratching the back of his neck, I’m going to save that to use as positive reinforcement or reward for stepping off of me and onto his play stand when I need him to.

So off to the play stand we go. I will want to be very careful and pay attention to the amount of neck scratching I do on the way to the play stand if the neck scratches are what I want to use as a reinforcer for him stepping off of me and onto the play stand. If he really enjoys and wants physical interaction with me and if I give him that interaction during our whole walk to the play stand, what am I going to use as a positive reinforcer or reward for asking him to step off of me? If Peaches is getting all of that desired interaction when on me, why would he want to step off of me? This is a small sample of the pre planning in which I use when I know I need a bird to do something in the near, or the distant future. I then reserve these positive reinforcers or rewards and bring them out and use as I need them.

On our walk to the play stand, I may tell him what a good boy he is and whistle with him. This is another valuable reinforcer of his that I am using to reward him for another desired behavior I am wanting from him during the walk.....him staying on my hand and not flying off of it.

Once we get to the play stand I will ask him to step up onto it. When he does, I make sure I always positively reinforce that behavior. Once he steps up, that is when Peaches receives his much desired neck scratches. I find that many people don’t want to withhold and ration their use of cuddling with their birds. Ah, so this is where the reinforcement holds value for the ‘needy bird’. If it works for the bird, why wouldn’t he use it? This was the eye-opening moment for the woman I was having the conversation with about her ‘needy cockatoo’.

I often hear, “Yea, but when I need my bird to step up, I need him to step up now.” I often respond with “So do I and my bird is used to getting positively reinforced or rewarded for most or many behaviors he will do when I ask. This makes the future rate of all or most behaviors I request of him very high because he knows he will be positively reinforced or rewarded for doing them.” When effectively using and interacting with birds with positive reinforcement, I find how much easier and quicker it is to get the behaviors I need, not to mention how much more mentally and physically happy and healthy it is for the bird. Actually, I find struggling with the bird and forcing him to do something he doesn’t want to do, taking a lot more time than using positive reinforcement once the bird is used to being positively reinforced for all or most behaviors.
Biography

Lara has had a lifelong interest in communications and animal welfare which lead her to study biology in college and graduating with a degree in film with the intentions of aiding in the production of wildlife documentaries. Her passion has always been in the natural behaviors and observations of what reinforces behaviors in the animal’s native habitat. Through time and experience her focus has evolved to birds and in particular the reinforcers behind behaviors of our companion parrots. She has a focus for observing and working with animals that exhibit signs of aggression and abnormal repetitive behaviors, which she thinks is in abundance in the companion parrot society. Lara truly enjoys working with all birds, focusing on behavior and training of parrots and bird’s of prey. She dedicates her time and studies to bird behavior and behavior modification techniques using positive reinforcement interaction and what she has learned and continues to learn from applied behavior analysis.

Lara lives in Ohio where she shares her home with two cockatoos, a large macaw, an eclectus hen, and a program Screech Owl. She travels, lectures, consults, and presents workshops on behavior, positive reinforcement training, and enrichment. She is also the Director of Training and Enrichment for the bird of prey division at Nature’s Nursery, a wildlife rehabilitation center in Whitehouse, Ohio. She completed Dr. Friedman’s LLP and LLP TELE for Veterinarians and Professionals and Natural Encounters Foundation Skills and Refining Skills Workshops. Lara is professional member of the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators, an active member of the Animal Behavior Management Alliance, and is currently continuing her education in behavior and applied behavior analysis. She is the founder of The Parrot Society of NW Ohio promoting positive reinforcement interaction and education for better welfare of companion parrots. Lara’s lectures have taken her many places including the Parrot Palooza, The Philadelphia Zoo, The Parrot Lover’s Cruise, Ara Ptero Training Workshops, and the Association for Avian Veterinarians. Her writings can be found on her blog at larajoseph.wordpress.com and she can be reached at aviansanta@gmail.com.


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