BREAKTHROUGH!!

okay, so it may not normally be a breakthrough when someone is able to scratch the top of a parrot's head, but this is Herkimer we are talking about here! my husband told me that he asked Herki if he wanted a head-scritch by motioning to him with his finger. and herki bent his head down and allowed my husband a few strokes! that is just incredibly awesome.

we've had Herki for about 7 - 8 months now and we've had a lot of difficulty getting close to him from the very beginning. it started with touching toes, then on to when he allowed us to stroke his wing (on and under it) and now scritching his head! that is just wonderful.

i have been working with him in targetting and waving on command. he also knows that if he wants a pumpkin seed (which we use as his treat) and i am not looking in his direction, he says "okay" and i reward him. (im also trying this with other words he knows like "hi, hi"). he has been doing really well. and he takes the pumpkin seeds sooooo gently out of my fingers.

whenever we get all of the birds out of his room and in the living room, i let Herkimer out and have full range of the bird room. he usually stays on the tops of the cages or even hangs out in his own cage, but the best part is that he can make that choice.

Herkimer talking to me