I had to have certain confidence and trust in my bird that if I had to pick her up or put her away that she would let me do that without a fight. Heck, there wouldn’t be a chance for any treats, targeting, coaxing, or second tries. But having trained 12 tricks, numerous taming behaviors, and gotten close with my bird, I felt comfortable and confident that I would not have a problem with her behavior.

As you may have seen in a previous post, I have taken my parrot out on car outings before. This helped her get used to new people, places, and car rides. The airplane ride was not that much different from a car drive and birds aren’t afraid of heights.

My friend, who suggested that I get a bird, told me that he never takes his bird places. In fact he said that since its first wing clipping, he never took it out of the house because it would be too stressful. It is no wonder that he was shocked when I met him at the airport having flown in with my parrot on my shoulder.

There is no doubt that vet visits and grooming visits can be stressful to a bird. But this does not mean that travel has to be. If the only reason you ever take your bird out is for unpleasant things, it is no wonder it doesn’t want to go in a carrier. I try to make my birds outings as pleasant to the bird as possible. I give her lots of attention (more than at home), lots of opportunities to earn treats easily, and new things to try. Furthermore, I try to balance every vet/trimming visit with at least (but usually more) double the number of fun outings. Thus my bird really doesn’t know in advance what kind of outing it will be but odds favor a pleasant one.

The reason why trick training was important and had such a tremendous impact on my bird is because it makes the bird used to doing what I ask it to do. Trick training builds trust and respect between bird owner and bird in both directions. The owner teaches the bird behaviors but the bird also reflects what it wants to and doesn’t want to do. Trick training helps develop a positive relationship and that relationship develops into a real loving bond.