Eliminate Unwanted Parrot Behaviors

This article covers two methods to eliminate behaviors;"Extinction" and "Substitution". One is based on untraining and the other is based on training. But first let's look at exactly what an unwanted behavior is and where it comes from. The removal of an unwanted behavior must be a reasonable goal. For example, removing the behavior of "eating" is not a reasonable behavior to attempt to remove. Likewise, removing the behavior of "vocalizing" is also not a reasonable behavior to attempt to remove. Communicating is very important to birds. It is perfectly normal for birds to be vocal at dawn, dusk, and sometimes when isolated. These behaviors (eating and vocalizing) are hard-wired behaviors. Loud, screaming, squawking, and yelling behaviors can be modified and it is reasonable to want to modify these behaviors. This section will focus on excessive noise from birds but the principles in this section can also be used on other unwanted behaviors.