Avian Behaviourist, Mel Vincent is one of the most experienced bird trainers in Australia. Her passion for birds and her ability to understand the animals that she works with are unsurpassed.
Mel is highly experienced working with birds across a wide spectrum of often difficult to manage behaviours. Whether it is a bird with psychological conditions that are so serious that they display self harming tendencies, or just a relatively common fear of hands... she has seen and worked with it all.
If you have a bird in your family that is screaming excessively, biting, is overly hormonal or is in any way difficult to train - try a consult with Mel.
If your bird displays feather destructive behaviour (plucking), or other psychological conditions such as separation anxiety - give Mel a call.
A behavioural consult with Mel can also help with general types of training such as:
- harness training
- teaching basic manners
- practicing or improving flight
- learning some fun basic tricks
Mel can even teach your chickens to play the drums and her favourite sport is parrot soccer.
With clients across the globe, Mel has a reputation for being able to answer the most difficult training questions. She has led and conducted seminars and classes across Australia, both in-person and online, and speaks regularly at public events (often accompanied by professionally trained birds).
Mel's articles have been featured in numerous magazines and forums. She is also a well-known blogger and social media administrator for Birdtricks (arguably the most well-known bird training organisation across the globe).
Mel is the Practice Manager of Bird Vet Melbourne, where she now conducts most of her behavioural consultations. The clinic is located in Burwood, Victoria, Australia. She also sees clients by appointment at Melbourne Bird Veterinary Clinic in Scoresby.
Interstate and International clients can book online consultations. Mel does travel across Australia for various events and engagements, so keep an eye on the upcoming events page for where you might see her next.
You may have seen Mel on TV being interviewed for various news articles about birds and their behaviour. Additionally, she is often called as an expert witness in animal cruelty court cases. Her own pet birds are also well known for performing in television and print commercials.
Mel is featured in YouTube videos on multiple channels and is in the process of developing her own channel.
Established channels you can visit to see Mel and get some of her expert advice include:
- Bird Vet Melbourne Channel
- Burwood Vet Channel
- Birdtricks Channel
- Kiwi's New Life Bird Rescue's Channel
Mel is closely tied to both wildlife rescues and multiple domestic bird rescues. Her ability to handraise birds and handle the medically challenged birds can be invaluable in a rescue situation. She doesn't remember when she started rescuing animals, but there are photos of her handrearing baby birds when she was tiny. (Her parents don't know where it came from either.)
It was actually working with wildlife during the Black Saturday bushfires that motivated Mel to return to university to study Animal and Veterinary Biosciences. Her education background is varied. She studied Psychology and Professional Writing at Melbourne University when she first left school. She holds numerous certificates in mutliple disciplines from Business Management to Horticulture. (She can tell you what most plants are and if they're toxic.)
Mel is a self-professed nerd and believes you should never stop learning. She is constantly adding to her education, attending seminars and is always enrolled in some sort of course. Her favourite course so far was LLA for Veterinary and Animal Professionals, run by the world-leading behaviorist Dr. Susan Friedman. Mel is an active member of the IAABC and ATA, you can rest assured that Mel isn't one of those "animal trainers" that simply bought a bird, found they could handle it as a baby and suddenly called themselves a professional trainer. She has been professionally training animals for more than 15 years.
