Show off your Peas!

[nate1the1great1]

I dont want a bird that flys on my hand i just want them to stop being so skittish around people

 

[DylansMom]

I dont want a bird that flys on my hand i just want them to stop being so skittish around people

Good for you, most of us do not want our birds to fly onto our hands. Tether training can be quite dangerous for the birds involved and has resulted in the death of at least one young Pea that we know of. To get them less skittish they need to think that people are a wonderful source of delicious food treats, that should do the trick.

 

[Garden Peas]

I dont want a bird that flys on my hand i just want them to stop being so skittish around people

Good for you, most of us do not want our birds to fly onto our hands. Tether training can be quite dangerous for the birds involved and has resulted in the death of at least one young Pea that we know of. To get them less skittish they need to think that people are a wonderful source of delicious food treats, that should do the trick.

So Nate, you make a good point... a bird that flies to your hand can be a lot to deal with. And the danger of tethers is probably significant, although the falconry people seem to have it figured out.

The point that I was trying to make, and the reason that I brought up the target stick and clicker, is that the more thoroughly trained an animal is, and the more care that is taken in teaching it to recognize situations and cope with them, the less likely that the bird will get hurt and the less likely that humans around with the bird will get hurt. So training is important. But not just any training... training needs to specifically teach the bird how to cope with the situations the bird is going to be in.

Zaz writes a lot about the time she spends with her peas, teaching them the boundaries of her property and gentling them. Her peas learn to trust her and know where they are. They are very aware when something out of the ordinary happens, like a strange piece of equipment turns up on the farm and makes loud noises.

Peas in nature are adapted to living in their own territory. They are not migratory birds. Territorial birds expect to stay in the same place every day.

It is very confusing to a territorial animal to take it out of the surroundings that it knows, and put it in a different territory, with different people, different sounds, different scenery, different birds. It's overwhelming to the bird.

If you are planning to show your peas, ever, then it is going to have to go to shows and deal with the strangeness and confusion and scary stuff everywhere. That's an extremely difficult situation for a bird, especially a bird that is so aware of its surroundings as a pea. It could easily end in disaster.

If you have trained horses, you probably know that it's pretty common to haul them to some shows and let them stand around, not to compete, but just to get accustomed to all the hustle and bustle and strangeness. That desensitizing of the horse to the chaos is training, even though it doesn't look like much is going on actively aimed at the horse.

One thing that helps animals get through stressful situations is predictability and training. If the bird knows you, and you are there, and the bird understands what you are asking it to do, that helps the bird cope with the situation. So for example, if the bird thoroughly knows "follow the yellow tip of the pointer" -- then even if you are standing in the middle of Times Square in New York with an escaped, terrified bird, cueing the bird to "follow the yellow tip of the pointer" may get a response because that is what the bird knows it is supposed to do... it represents, in some way, security and safety to the bird. It may be the only thing that bird knows in a confusing, dangerous situation.

The good side to the tether training is that the bird comes to associate safety and reward with being perched on the arm. That plays a role in the bird being safe and secure away from its home territory -- it is a behavior the bird can rely on when it is confused and in unfamiliar surroundings.

The down side is that if a bird as big as a pea tries to perch on the arm of someone it doesn't know, and who doesn't know the bird is trying to do that, ugly things could happen.

If you have the time to do it, and you can train your bird to do some simple behaviors, then you can expand into having the bird do those behaviors other places, like at the show. That bird is likely to be much more calm and less stressed when it goes to a show, and if there is an accident with its cage, or it somehow gets loose, you are much more likely to safely recover the bird.

If the bird isn't trained, and just is kinda used to you being around, and you take it into a totally unfamiliar environment, it will be much more stressed and if there is an accident with its enclosure, you could have a real disaster.

The point of the training isn't for the bird to do tricks... it's that an animal that has spent time learning behaviors becomes calmer and develops more confidence and security and is more able to adapt to strange surroundings. That makes for a safer outing to shows and reduces the stress on both of you. So to the extent that you are able to spend time working with your bird and teaching it a few behaviors, you are helping it be safe and calm in the future. A very large part of safety and security is the element of predictability... if the bird knows what to expect, it is less likely to panic and get hurt or lost.

If I were inclined to try to train a pea to a tether, I think I would spend a lot of time communing with falconry folks... they've been doing it for millenia. But I would recognize that it isn't an easy thing, and I would keep in my that in very many animal training situations, the absolute hardest part of the training is training the HANDLER, rather than part spent actually training the critter. One needs ample helpings of knowledge and patience, sprinkled with empathy and understanding.

 

[Birdrain92]

Spend time getting the bird used to you petting them perching them on your arm and then introduce the tether. Thora let people feed her, I could have people pet her, I could put her on others without freaking her out, and I even let others show her. Specifically my dad got to show her at the fair part of the Parent Poultry Show. He almost would've won but he said she was an IB instead of a Spalding Split to White. She was very well behaved for the shows I've shown her at. some Zoos have tethered peafowl for lectures on peafowl. I saw a video that someone on BYC shared but I can't remember which thread it was.

 

[Garden Peas]

Spend time getting the bird used to you petting them perching them on your arm and then introduce the tether. Thora let people feed her, I could have people pet her, I could put her on others without freaking her out, and I even let others show her. Specifically my dad got to show her at the fair part of the Parent Poultry Show. He almost would've won but he said she was an IB instead of a Spalding Split to White. She was very well behaved for the shows I've shown her at. some Zoos have tethered peafowl for lectures on peafowl. I saw a video that someone on BYC shared but I can't remember which thread it was.

@Birdrain92 , you are right about getting the bird used to perching on your arm. But "then introduce the tether" covers a lot of ground, not necessarily safely. Zoos that have tethered peafowl also (I am willing to bet) have trained and experienced animal behaviorists on staff to help keep things safe and on the right track.

Introducing tethers is not, in my opinion, something that a responsible pea owner attempts through trial and error. Get educated FIRST. Talk to falconry people. Talk to zoo behaviorists and animal trainers, especially bird trainers. Get real (not just written in a book or online) in person assistance. This is not an area for experimentation -- the results are permanent and as we have sadly seen, can be fatal.

 

[AnimalsRmyLife]

Spend time getting the bird used to you petting them perching them on your arm and then introduce the tether. Thora let people feed her, I could have people pet her, I could put her on others without freaking her out, and I even let others show her. Specifically my dad got to show her at the fair part of the Parent Poultry Show. He almost would've won but he said she was an IB instead of a Spalding Split to White. She was very well behaved for the shows I've shown her at. some Zoos have tethered peafowl for lectures on peafowl. I saw a video that someone on BYC shared but I can't remember which thread it was.

I believe that was you. And it was here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...uld-never-be-used-on-peafowl/60#post_13832758

MinxFox also linked us to a few vids. One of which I believe involved tethers. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...uld-never-be-used-on-peafowl/60#post_13780792

 

[Garden Peas]

Here's a link to falcon people.

http://www.falconry.us/

They are very clear... this is an endeavor which requires lots of training, lots of patience, lots of skill, and huge investments of time. The bird's safety depends on it. Nobody says anything as simplistic as "then introduce the tether."

 

[Trefoil]

Many have tried pumpkin, garlic, AVC, etc, and many have lost their birds from doing it instead of using the proper amounts of a proper chemical wormer.

-Kathy

Pumpkin and AVC have their uses, its just that being primary wormer isn't one of them. You want to be careful using both AVC and garlic. AVC if overdosed interrupts with the absorbion of Ca, and garlic is in the onion family, which may make it a blood thinner, again probably not a problem unless overdosed. But how much is an overdose?

Sounds like a great greenhouse. I found some videos on youtube of a guy in Canada that built a tropical greenhouse for his parrots. When the plants finally filled in it was like a mini jungle. He mentioned using polygal for the clear plastic. I am really interested in landscaping and zoo exhibit designs and zoo landscaping. On another bird website this guy who designs zoo exhibits for a living made his own kaliji pheasant aviary. He made it on the side of his house and made these very realistic fake rocks that hid the indoor shelter for the birds. My Papa was always out in the barn building stuff, but he got alzheimer's when I was young then he died and so I never got to really learn much from him. I would have liked to learn a lot from him. My Dad never got to learn much from him either.

We missed you Destinduck! Did you go to farm day?

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My boys haven't exactly fought yet, but Alto is wanting to chase Peep and today Peep had that bump on the back of his neck. I am wondering if I will see eggs earlier this year...

2nd on Destinduck. Those of us from the midwest & N are freezing our kesters and YOU PEOPLE are talking about breeding? I need to move.

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Probably also a good time to get a baseline weight on them.

-Kathy

Good Thinking

I still don't understand why you have to catch the birds, heck ain't all but one of your birds handled anyhow?
Long ago i posted how i wormed my peas either using scrambled eggs with 5 minute oats or just mixing a batch of meds in a water container and putting feed in the reservoir threw the day till all the water was gone.
i also figured that just 3 cc of safeguard in a gallon of water was not going to properly worm 15 peas in a pen if it takes 1cc pr 10 pounds of body weight so i adjusted the amount of wormer to the amount of peas i had to worm.

I start all my babies on wet feed now, they love it and i know they are getting enough liquids plus i can add meds and vitamins if i feel the need

What is that black stuff?

When I said he was lucky, I was under the assumption he had never lost any.

Hey when holding a bird I always use a large towel or small blanket throw to wrap around them and also cover their headand to contain those feet!. After I pin them. That way you don't have to worry about those deadly claws. I think it was deerman that once said he had one claw his belly so bad he required sixteen stitches or more. We all know how experienced he was was.

Another great idea. I always get the scratched and gouged end of the stick when I have to catch and medicate my peacock, and that's even if I net him. By the way, cutlers sells nets big enough for peas.

I have two peafowl that are tether trained. Marshmallow and Thora. I'm not the only person that uses tethers on peafowl either. Zoos use them as well. If you get them at a young age it's easy training while older peafowl are not as easy.

She's attached to my arm.

Doesn't the fact that 2 are so tame help the rest of your peas overcome their timidity in coming to you for treats?

 

[nate1the1great1]

Ok I have no idea about tethering or about that click thing but im going to start off simple the way ive trained my birds for 3 years i have them used to come to HEY CHICK all my animals do and they know its treat time and all that they are getting real better i spend atleadt 2 hours a day with my birds. And with the calling if they are at the neighbors and im wanting them to come back i jsut call HEY CHICK and they normally come back to me but my point is there my friends not pets and im treating them like friends my geese i got the same day fromt the same guy and they were terribly skittish and I got them used to seeing me and a few months ago i got them to hand feed and now they will bite me if they don't get there fair share of scratch so im getting them closer to me with treats and as soon as I can come up to them without them freakin ill get them hand feeding then petting

 

[Birdrain92]

Pumpkin and AVC have their uses, its just that being primary wormer isn't one of them. You want to be careful using both AVC and garlic. AVC if overdosed interrupts with the absorbion of Ca, and garlic is in the onion family, which may make it a blood thinner, again probably not a problem unless overdosed. But how much is an overdose?

2nd on Destinduck. Those of us from the midwest & N are freezing our kesters and YOU PEOPLE are talking about breeding? I need to move.

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Good Thinking

What is that black stuff?

Another great idea. I always get the scratched and gouged end of the stick when I have to catch and medicate my peacock, and that's even if I net him. By the way, cutlers sells nets big enough for peas.

Doesn't the fact that 2 are so tame help the rest of your peas overcome their timidity in coming to you for treats?

Sadly no. I wish it did but not as well as I thought it would've been. I would sometimes work with Thora and Marshmallow in front of the two adults but it seemed to make them cautious. They kept low to the ground and tails raised in a flight ready position. They get interested in what I might have in the egg basket like bread or lettuce or tomatoes but they if I just hold it in my hand or put the treats near me they turn their heads and walk away.