From Avian Behavior Conservancy
A big part of our birds’ jobs is going to programs confidently and being able to handle unpredictable conditions. Training for this starts at home, helping them work through different puzzles and challenges that aren’t straightforward, like crating voluntarily.
Aldo is demonstrating how “motivation” to get into the crate works. I use the same sized bit of food and change the conditions for entry. So it’s not that he wasn’t hungry or motivated enough, he just didn’t have the skills for what I was asking him to do.
Crating him and working through simple behaviors in programs won’t always be straightforward. It will have unforeseen distractions. Teaching him to handle imperfect conditions builds up his confidence!
Certainly!
I’ve been thinking about this scenario myself recently. I got asked to come up with a shelter idea for our educational birds to stay warm in the winter, but I’ve been trying to think of how wide to design the openings and the shelters themselves to keep in the most heat but still allow them easy access.