well, we are coming up on the 6-week mark of Herk being in our home, which means he will technically be out of quarantine. yay! what we won't do, however, is move him into the living room. i think that he will become really close to my amazon and attack both my husband and i (i've had this happen with another amazon that i fostered).

from what i have learned from Herk, he is VERY intelligent (heck, what bird isn't?!). I am training him to do things, stuff that he normally does, on command. for example, he LOVES ringing his bell. i give him the command "ring your bell". when he does it, i reward him with a piece of walnut (loves walnuts, doesn't like almonds). i am also training to wave (say "hi" with a raised foot) on command. and i am continuing my training with a target. he seems to learn really quickly. he knows what "bell" means. the wave thing...not sure if its just coincidence, but i think with enough repetition of using the command, him doing the motion and me giving him a treat, will help fuse the whole process together.

i may teach him to tell the difference between colors. on one playstand he has a green wiffle ball and a yellow one. that may be once i feel he has the first few tricks down. :-) Herk really offers a lot of great behaviors that you can try to put on cue. i am trying to work on each one. he has a cute stretch-wings gesture that i may be able to get with a command. he also has a weird head flip that he does some times.

i don't think he and i are on touching basis just yet. i havent even tried...well, i have touched his feet, but even then he kinda looks at me with a wish to bite me. but sometimes he just stands there and takes it. i have not asked him to step up on my hand nor do i usually offer treats to him by hand (not unless he is in his cage). when i do offer treats, i do it in a cup. once he sees the cup and hears the rattling of a piece of nut inside, he gets really excited and wants to start training. our training usually goes on for a few minutes (mainly because i don't want to give him too many nuts), twice a day. i enjoy seeing that he is excited to start. its a great step in the right direction. the power of positive reinforcement!

Herkimer has something against my husband. I don't think it is what he has done, but more like what he hasn't done. My husband doesn't really interact with Herk. Ever since Herk realized that there was a bond forming between his buddy (Ellis) and my husband, Herk has tried to attack my husband. Right now, its not too bad (mostly because my husband greets Herk from afar).

Well, the following movies show his behavior after my husband comes into sight. (I am in the room with Herk). I was talking to Herk atop is cage, but once he saw my husband, he raced down his cage and came rushing towards the entrance of his room. We have put up a barricade which Herk doesn't try to get over. This is Herk after running down is cage...

Herkimer again talking to his bell...



Herki and I doing some targeting practice...

Herkimer talking and laughing to his bell...