Ken -- I just HAVE to tell you how much I enjoyed and appreciate your visit with us here in Tally Town!  Even though I knew what sort of "miracles" to expect, I was still literally amazed at what happens with a most difficult bird in your hands.  What you do sometimes almost defies description, and seeing the changes in both birds and their humans is SO gratifying.

I think I was the only one who saw that little "dance of joy" you did behind everybody else on Sunday.  Your obvious pleasure at seeing a breakthrough spoke volumes about who you are, what you do, why you do it and how a successful breakthrough affects YOU! 

My admiration for you is fairly obvious, Ken.  I'm so glad you are out there, bringing the gospel to the folks.  I just hope we here in Tallahassee can expand on the successes we enjoyed with you and bring even more birds back to their owners and companions.

Ken: Thank you for an amazing experience! I sat in awe of you. All I wanted to do was to take Oscar home and have him step up without biting. I got so much more! Now I can pet him and kiss on him. Before, I pet him on his terms. His prior owner told me he will let you pet him at a certain time of day, but that is it. Oh, he walked over to my son without biting.  Not only that, my Nanday (14 years/Kermit) never let me do her pin feathers. She sat there and let me do them. ALSO, the 60 year old Double Yellow Headed Amazon, let me pet him and kiss him. He loves it. Ken, this is a bird that was not touched for 15 years by his prior owner. She told me he is mean. It took me almost four months to pet him, on HIS terms. Now I can pet him any time. Thank you! 

I told a member of a bird club south of us about the wonderful experience we shared with you. She heard of you and like most, heard mixed reviews. No one knows until they see. She was pleased to hear about our POSITIVE experience.

I appreciate all I learned. I gained a lot of confidence , after losing some as a result of A LOT of bites from Oscar. I hope we will see you again. Count me in, next time around.  Be well!  Dee Dorsty, Tri State Avian Society, Tallahassee, FL

....and a follow up:

"Thank you, Ken. Your work shop was not only a rewarding experience, but a huge pay off. Oscar and I formed an incredible bond. You are the bird man! I look forward to your next visit."  Dee, Tri State Avian Society, Tallahassee, FL

 Hi all!  I just returned home after going to Tallahassee to see Ken Globus, and attend one of his workshops.  I listened to everyone's warnings and opinions, borrowed and first hand, and as I promised, I have come back with my OWN opinion, which I will share with you. 

First of all, I saw no bird mistreated, nor were their spirits broken.  Ken worked with people who were having problems interacting with their own birds, and taught them things about behavior, and how to read their birds.  He also taught a few things that I have also seen recommended on this list, and recommended in parrot books, such as "My Parrot, My Friend". 

There were a few things mentioned here that were concerns for some of you all, and I would like to address them now:

 1) the fist in the face  The fist (which I already employed when I had a bird that I think might bite my arm or hand) is NOT a threat to the bird, it is a way to distract the bird from another hand that might be trying to touch the bird, OR, it’s there to discourage the bird from biting. They cannot grip and bite a fist as easily as a finger or a hand.  He recommended approaching the bird SLOWLY and allowing the bird to assess you as no threat, the fist is not balled up to threaten to hit the bird, but merely to allow closer contact without (hopefully) injury to the hand.

 2) I didn't see anything that remotely resembled flooding.  He did desensitize a couple of birds (briefly, this is in no way a permanent cure, nor did he imply that it was) to his hands, so he could pet them or have them step up, and not be afraid.  He said (which makes perfect sense) that if a bird is shown that the hand doesn't hurt them, after a while they lose the fear of the hand, which is what he is working on with the fist, and the "bubble". 

 3) Someone mentioned that they heard that the birds got "slung around".  I found that also not to be the case.  He had a cockatoo that was trying to show aggression, and when it tried to fly down or away, Ken followed it with his hand, by gently holding to its feet until the bird righted itself and began upward flight again, and settled in on his hand again.  No blood, no roughness.  It was slow and gentle.

 4) There was no mention of an instant cure.  He emphasized over and over again, that we were modifying the birds’ behavior through repetitive maneuvers, which, duh… aren't we doing that anyway? 

 As for me, he taught me a few ways to help interact with our own birds, including Corky, connoisseur of fine fingers.  He had some nifty ways to get birds off your back, to get them off your shoulder without being bitten or argued with.  A lot of things he showed us we were already doing, but we learned from him too. 

I only saw him use gloves ONCE, and they were the gloves of the bird’s owner, and Ken recommended to the owner not to use them. 

Ken got bitten, but he never put on the gloves.  I have heard this same thing preached here:  Don't let the bite keep you away, once they find out the bite doesn't work, they stop.  Sound familiar? 

Now, you can all flame me if you want, but I didn't see him do anything to warrant all this negativity that ensued by the mere mention of his name.  I agree with Wally... his methods might not work on all birds, but nobody has a method that does.  Ken was educating owners today, more than birds, believe it or not.

The whole deal was to gain the bird’s trust, be persistent, and refuse to be bossed around, not to break its spirit, and browbeat it into submission.  I challenge anyone on this list to go see Ken, and then continue to believe the gossip that’s being passed around about him.   I don't have a PHD, nor do I claim to be an expert, but I promised you my opinion, and here it is.  If you are going to form one, I suggest you do the same thing I did... go see for yourself.  I am very glad I did.  Remember, just because someone doesn't have a PHD, doesn't mean they don't know what they are talking about.  Experience is a wonderful teacher. 

Ok, I've shared what I saw, and my thoughts on the subject… go get your flame throwers.  Barbara (fire department on speed dial)

Oh... and by the way, my husband learned a lot about why he was having problems handling our macaw. 

Ken provides an incredibly rewarding, intense, and powerful educational opportunity... yet laughter, compassion, and commitment to "the cause" of helping birds are also strengths of his work. As a person who is regularly up "in front" imparting information to others, I thoroughly appreciated Ken and his methods of working with feathered and non-feathered ones while teaching and sharing tips with the audience participants at the same time!  

Talk about "value added!"  So many birds (and humans, too!) are already benefiting from Ken's assistance. His patience, knowledge, expertise, ability to transfer information, skills, and a HUGE dose of insight into the complex minds and psyches of our feathered companions are impressive.  At the same time, he was MOST understanding, supportive, compassionate, ever respectful and loving towards the birds. 

I too have already been working with some of our "fosters" and both I and the birds experienced progress.  Example:  Sponge Bob the Cranky (a naggy 'tiel we're fostering that fusses at your hands non-stop, but doesn't really bite) stopped "fussing" and opened to touching and my preening without complaint within literally minutes as I focused on gently removing his fear (or bossy) responses and handled him as Ken taught us this past weekend.  THAT is powerful for both of us!

So - again - Becky, Chip, Renee, Tom and all the other TSAS volunteers - I'll close with heartfelt "thank yous" for being wonderful active reflections of our mission..... FOR THE BIRDS....ALWAYS! 

And KEN - well, he is just going to have to become a "Circuit Whisperer" and put Tallahassee in the schedule about once every 12 -18 months (or less!)!  What a gift.  With much appreciation,  Susan Howel, TSAS Vice President
 

This was just a fabulous couple of days for me. My mother could not get me off the
phone this morning, with all the details.  Absolutely, next year for Ken, Jan Sangoree