Red got his first taste of the outdoor aviary last Friday on a very warm spring day!
He was a bit timid at first and wasn't quite sure of what to make of this big outdoor space. He spent about 10 minutes warming up before he got brave and started to explore. He really seemed to enjoy being outside and watching what was going on. It was the first good weekend an I don't have many toys or tiki ropes, or foraging things out in the aviary yet and it was still a bit chilly to get the misters going but I think he will like it even more once I get that all set up.
This weekend we also started with target training. He is getting the idea pretty quickly. Jen is working with him to just touch the stick with his beak to earn a treat.
He bites the stick a bit to much but he will learn the correct way quickly. The next step is getting him to move a bit to touch the stick.
There he had to move a little more in order to touch the stick. We want to condition him to go where ever we hold the stick. Now we are working on getting him to turn around and move even more.
He has to turn all the way around to get the treat. We will continue to work on those skills until he has them completely and then start to introduce other behaviors like spinning in a circle. Target training is a great way to bond with your bird!