Has anyone bought the Bird Tricks Natural Feeding Program?

[KimKim]

I know there are a lot of mixed reviews about this company, and I have never bought from them before, but I do enjoy reading their blog and Facebook posts. Anyway, their feeding cookbooks look like an excellent product, just wondering if anyone here has seen and/or tried it? I am really thinking about buying it....

[JeffNOK]

I can't help, but have you read any online reviews?

[KimKim]

From what I have seen (which is not to much), everyone says its good.

[SRSeedBurners]

The biggest issue is it's put out by 'Bird Tricks'. Pretty well known scumbags. I confirmed that when I read something by Barbara Heindrich (sp?) about them. I can't stand their predatory advertising practices. I won't have anything to do with them but that's just me.

[judygram]

The biggest issue is it's put out by 'Bird Tricks'. Pretty well known scumbags. I confirmed that when I read something by Barbara Heindrich (sp?) about them. I can't stand their predatory advertising practices. I won't have anything to do with them but that's just me.

 

That's pretty much my thoughts on it too.

[VStar Mama]

I understand about the predatory advertising techniques and I read Barbara Heidenrich's scathing article about what she termed "inforprenuers" and the blatant use and repackaging for profit of other people's techniques and ideas without due credit (or renumeration) to the original ideas. One of the things I took away from Heidenrich's article is that most of what the BirdTricks people provide is already available for free on the internet from other people. I understand the dislike but apart from the emotional aspect, the relevant question that should be asked is do the techniques that the Womach brothers employ actually work? If I purchased the training techniques program for abused and rehomed birds in a parrot rescue situation, would I be successful at rehabilitating those birds so they could find forever homes?

 

They utilized applied behavioral analysis, operant conditioning, and classical conditioning in their training regimens. There are plenty of books and internet websites that go in-depth on explaining behavioral analysis and behavior conditioning. It would just take some time to translate the knowledge for use with parrots. But the third person product reviews that the website don't control visibility or content of do tell you a lot, and a common theme complaint was there seems to be a lot of telling you how great the "system" works but markedly less time explaining the system itself. I think that one of the things that goes unsaid is that parrots are individuals and the basic techniques they sell are meant build understanding between the bird and its owner instead of parrots (in general) and people. I enjoyed reading the stories about Dave's wife and the Amazon Stormy that they worked with and it was telling that in several of her blogs she says that she "didn't feel comfortable" interpreting Stormy's body language to permit Stormy the same level of physical intimacy she uses with her own birds.

 

 

I think that part of the allure to companion parrot owners is that the Womach brothers have a way of translating their expertise into novice terminology that is less intimidating. For a quick synopsis on the difference between novices and experts read this article http://duke.edu/arc/faculty_staff/student_learning/experts_vs_novices.php. When listening to professionals like Barbara Heidenrich and Dr. Pepperberg, it can be intimidating because we subconsciously recognize that these people are true experts. They process and intuit at a level we have not achieved and it can be incredibly difficult for experts to explain things in a way for novices to grasp. Which is part of the reason people seek a step-by-step system to problem solve a situation they have little or no experience with.

 

 

As far as the value of the bird feeding system; it is kind of analogous to a regular cookbook.....you can get the same recipes from any cookbook somewhere on the internet, but when you buy the cookbook you are paying to get them all in one place. And like the cookbook-internet analogy, somewhere someone has created a variation that is going to be better than the cookbook. I am confident that all of the information you can get from the Birdtricks system (any of them) is located somewhere on the internet for free.

[lovethatgrey]

Anytime I see anything by that company, my mind mentally files it all in GARBAGE and JUNK. I will never spend any of my hard earned dollars or waste any precious time on that establishment.

[KimKim]

Thanks for everyones feed back, thoughts and opinions. I went ahead and bought it still... So far so good. I made the Sep-Dec chop today.

Edited September 19, 2013 by KimKim

[Greywings]

Their food may be ok I have not looked into that part. Their behavior techniques are awful-they use flooding which will never ever build trust and develop a safe healthy relationship with your bird.

[Muse]

I bought one of their online 'courses' at one point, and as soon as I saw they advocated food rationing, I sent for a refund. They did cheerfully refund my purchase, no questions asked. I refuse to hold back food in order to starve my children into submission, and in the refund request, I told them as much. Yes, it makes that 'positive reinforcement' even stronger when the animal is so hungry they will do anything for the 'treat' but I don't feel that is fostering good relationships. But then again, I don't want a flock of circus performers. My babies behave well enough for me, and that is all I ask for them. As a parent, I see it as my duty to provide their basic needs, including keeping their bellies full and their lives as happy as I can. This doesn't include being stingy with anything - food or my love.

[Rhubarb Pie]

I know this is a really old thread but I'm glad I was scouring the web and the forums on information about the Bird Tricks people. My husband and I were about to buy the seasonal feeding system cookbook that they have before realizing that a lot of the information in that book is most likely available online for FREE from other people (such as Shanlung, great Tinkerbell Mash recipe which we will try to tackle at a later point!). We were also going to try the pellets that they had on their website but found out they are repackaged TOPS pellets that are much more expensive. 

 

Again, super grateful that I came across this forum that has great and free information for parronts. Been going through all the posts under Bird Food and so many of you have such great ideas that we're excited to try out!

 

[neoow]

I discovered birdtricks quite recently and I don't know if they've changed/improved their methods...? However, I have watched a lot of their free content on youtube and it has helped me with Alfie. I've never done any structured training with him before but their videos helped me learn how to start some structured training with him and honestly, it's really turned things around for me and Alfie. He went from lunging to my hands (even when I had to treat) to flying to me and accepting a treat within weeks.

I appreciate these are tips and tricks that many other trainers offer, but I've only used their free resources on youtube and that was good enough to get me going. The masterclasses and in home visitations they do have been really interesting to watch.

I don't think I've ever seen them recommending to starve your bird (but I haven't watched ALL of their videos) and a lot of the complaints I've seen seem to be quite dated and seem to involve a Chet Womach (who I think might be the brother of Dave Womach?). I've not seen any videos with him involved so I wonder if he dropped out of the birdtricks scene or hides in the background these days?

Like anything on the internet, it definitely pays to do your research and double check your sources of information. There are lots of recipes and guides available about feeding birds and similarly lots of resources for training etc. I have read lots of different books, watched loads of different videos and read lots of guides/information on the internet- I'm always learning, even after 17 years of living with Alfie.