Mel Vincent

Practice Manager/Bird Behaviourist & Trainer

Bird Trainer, Avian Behaviourist & Practice Manager

Mel chose to behaviourally focus on birds more than 15 years ago. With clients across the globe, she is easily one of the most experienced and knowledgeable bird trainers out there. Mel runs her own bird behavioural company Works For Birds and is well-known for her blogs and collaborative work with the international bird training company Birdtricks.com.

Having studied psychology at Melbourne University, she has always had an interest in behaviour.  Her animal behaviour journey started many years ago when she took skateboarding classes with her dog (the dog was more coordinated than Mel).

Having been very active in wildlife rescue work since a very young age, Mel changed her career direction after the Black Saturday Bush Fires.  It was while studying Animal Veterinary Biosciences at La Trobe that Mel realised she had a real passion and talent for animal behavioural work.

If you ask Mel what the most worthwhile qualification she has ever undertaken (and there a lot of them) she says hands down Susan Friedman's Professional LLA course tied the science of psychology together with animal training better than any other course she has seen.

An active member of the IAABC, ASZK and ATA communities, Mel is well-connected in the behavioural industry.

She is frequently sought after for public speaking and group training sessions.  A published writer, she has written regular columns for numerous magazines and newspapers.  She has written blogs for multiple websites, particularly focusing on her specialty of birds.  You may have seen her being interviewed in news articles on tv and has been called as an expert in multiple court cases.

Putting all that aside, Mel doesn't just stick to the behavioural side of things.  Competent with avian medicine, you will find her supervising anaesthetics and performing all normal veterinary nursing duties.

Mel hasn't always focused on the veterinary industry.  She has held managment positions in many large companies and has qualifications in both retail and general management.

As a practice manager, she has been instrumental in building the current clinical team.  She jokes that Dr Phil should never have left her alone with his credit card because she has a terrible habit of buying an infinite number of bird toys and has effectively converted reception into a high turnover pet store.  So much so that the clinic now runs an online pet store that specialises in bird safe bird toys!  It turns out that the rest of our staff are also obsessed with spoiling pets.

Mel maintains a close relationship with multiiple animal rescue organisations.  She serves on the board of Kiwi's New Life Bird Rescue and you will find her at most of their events.  Privately, she fosters an ever-changing collection of animals (usually the ones with high medical needs) until they are ready for adoption.  Mel is always heavily involved in organising or supporting numerous animal charity events.

At the clinic, when she's not performing management or nursing duties she's seeing clients.  Mel has a very large behavioural client base and sees clients both in person and virtually.  You can book to see her by calling the clinic or through our online booking system.

Mel's specialty includes working with some of the most difficult behavioural clients.  She has an unrivaled success rate when it comes to turning around plucking and self-mutilating behaviours.  If your bird is biting, screaming, overly hormonal or just needs general training - Mel Vincent is the expert you need.  She runs parrot school, chicken school, harness training and recall flight classes at the clinic.

If you want to keep up with what Mel is currently up to, or read some of her most recent blogposts, check out her business website worksforbirds.com.au you can also follow her business page on facebook or instagram.

Mel Vincent in Action...

Mel is active on our youtube channel and others. Some extracts and photos of her at work are shown below:
Chicken training
Chicken Surgery Dr Shereni Joshi
Mel Vincent
Chicken training
Harness Training
Bird Anaesthetic

WHAT DO MEL'S CLIENTS SAY?

"Thanku Mel for all your help with training my flock.
Eclectus hens are a very interesting bird to train.
The best money I spent was to fly to Melbourne from Brisbane to work face to face with my beautiful Paris and Mel.
I still continue with work for birds online now and nothing is to much trouble for Mel. Thanku for helping me get the best flock of now 6 ekkies.
"

— LOUISE ANDREWS
5 Star Google Review

"Mel Vincent is an Amazing, Caring, Intuitive and Professional Animal and Bird Behaviourist for all her Patients and Clents. The Experiences and Knowledge that Mel has gained with her Patients over the years is remarkable and she passes her Wisdom, Practicality and Honesty to all concerned for the best outcome/s for the Welfare of the Animal and Birds in her immediate care"

— ROSE MAIMONIS
5 Star Google Review

"Mel is highly skilled in behavioural therapy for not only birds but most animals that have been very challenging. She's target trained many species including a snail! Highly recommend her."

— HELEN STOLFO
5 Star Google Review

Check Out Some Of Mel's Articles Published On This Site...

BEWARE OF PLANT GIFTS – A Little Pot of Poison

By Mel Vincent | May 2, 2025

Mother’s Day is here again! For many, a lush indoor plant is the go-to-gift. Living, beautiful and thoughtful. These gifts…

Keeping Your Parrot Warm: Essential Winter Care Tips For Indoor Birds

By Mel Vincent | April 30, 2025

As temperatures drop, it’s easy to forget that our feathered companions feel the chill too. Many of our pet birds…

Bird Vet, Avian Vet or Small Animal Vet?

By Mel Vincent | February 13, 2025

Bird Vets/Avian Vets Are Special One of the most common things that we hear is that people struggle to find…

Avian Influenza – Protect Pet Birds NOW

By Mel Vincent | December 7, 2024

Another Avian Inflenza Outbreak IS COMING Current advice is: We need to be ready for the arrival of highly pathogenic…

Bird CT scan

By Mel Vincent | August 14, 2024

Why Do A CT Scan On A Bird? CT scans can assist with the diagnosis of many different conditions.  The…

Avian Influenza

By Mel Vincent | June 16, 2024

What is Avian Influenza? Avian Influenza (commonly known as “Bird Flu”) is a highly contagious viral infection in birds that…

Help! My bird laid an egg!!!!

By Mel Vincent | August 26, 2023

My bird laid an egg! Am I going to have babies? Female birds lay eggs and they don’t need a…

Mel is a somewhat prolific writer.  If you like these articles, make sure you check out her articles on the Works For Birds Website.

Need help? Book now online or call us!

For all urgent veterinary needs please contact the clinic on: (03) 9808 9011.
Otherwise click the link below to book online.

CALL US ON: (03) 9808 9011