I had two days off in a row this week!!  I know that doesn’t sound like a big deal, but when you work in retail, believe me, it’s rare.  It feels like spring break.  I intended to tackle some projects that needed tackling.  I actually tackled two.  And they were, of course, bird projects.

New cage covers were desperately needed for Linus, my umbrella cockatoo, and the cockatiels, so I moved this to the top of the to-do list.  I went to the quilting section at the fabric store and bought about 2 miles of dark broadcloth.  Linus has a really big cage.  He also has a really big beak and had shredded his cover beyond usefulness.  He has a favorite side to his cage for sleeping, and there was so little fabric remaining on that side that he recently decided to move to the other side for a good night’s sleep.  I know this because his back-end has been positioned over his water bowl all night for about a week now.  I don’t think I need to say more.  I constructed the cover and attached it to the cage using grommets and quick links.

The cockatiels.  My sweet little darlings.  The only thing worse that waking up to the horrors in Linus’s water dish is waking up to the cockatiel’s belting out a tune at 6:30am when I worked late and got to bed at 1 the night before.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love hearing their joyous little voices.  Just not then.  I made them a darker cover to encourage them to sleep a little later.

I was so excited when I went to bed last night, new cage covers in place, knowing I could sleep until I woke up rested.  Well, that was the plan, until I woke up to my alarm clock buzzing at 6:45.  Apparently, I had set it the night before out of habit.  The good news is that I did not hear a peep from the cockatiels at 6:30…if that can be construed as good news.  Oh, and by the way, I came down stairs to find that Linus had torn a hole in his new cover, right at his eye level, and every movement I made was being monitored by a blue eye ring surrounded by black cloth.  Creepy.

Today’s project was toy making for the cockatoos.  Linus was pouting this morning as if to say:  “Mom, I have nothing to do with my beak.”  I was thinking how he found something to do with it earlier that involved his new cage cover, but kept quiet.  I went to the lumber store for a pile of 2X4s and cut enough 1″ pieces to fill a 10 gallon bin.  I drilled holes into each piece so they could be strung onto chains.  I made HUGE toys for both Linus and Theo, my goffins cockatoo, who didn’t even notice the wooden behemoth in her cage.

Linus was thrilled, though, and spent most of the day transporting bitten off chunks of wood to his stainless steel pail for further processing.  I noticed about an hour ago that he has managed to give himself a black eye, something he does several times a year in the course of going to battle with his toys.  Sometimes they hit back.  He has already gone through about 7″ of wood, or the equivalent of 15 boxes of toothpicks (if I were counting, or thinking about going into that business).  I guess we both had a productive day.  Next project on the list:  Easter baskets for the cockatoos, and Easter…boxes for the little guys.

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Parrots are instinctively highly attuned to everything around them.  It is this awareness of their environment that keeps them safe from predators.  So it’s easy to understand why parrots are so quick to pick up on the energy levels of their owners and the home they live in. This is something we can use to our advantage and is just one more example of how having an understanding of a wild bird’s nature will help us with the birds we keep in our homes.

Have you ever noticed that when you stand in front of your bird and act silly and animated that he will start bouncing up and down on his perch and become vocal?  Have you observed that when you stand quietly and speak to him in quiet tones that he will turn his head to the side and listen intently to your words?

The energy level present in the home is often responsible for the behavior, or misbehavior, of our parrots.  If things have become too chaotic or noisy, sometimes all it takes to restore peace is a quiet chat.

When Linus, my umbrella cockatoo, decides the time is right for his afternoon vocalizations, I can nearly always quiet him by speaking softly to him.  Even when he is in  full-on scream mode, I can generally stop it by standing in front of him and continuing to speak quietly.  He may not be able to hear me over his own loud voice, but he can see me, and I figure he has to come up for air at some point.  My low energy gradually rubs off on him.

On the other side of that coin is instigating play.  For the parrot that tends to be a perch potato, some music and lively dancing and singing on your part might be just the things to get him moving, and exercising.  Sometimes birds are afraid of, or disinterested in, new things.  Since your bird trusts you, your enthusiasm with new things will make him feel comfortable with, and an excitement about, the things you introduce him to.  Once you tell him something is okay, it will be.

Talking to your parrot serves a number of purposes.  For the new parrot in the home, it is trust building.  Your new parrot can learn to feel relaxed with you as you continue to show him that you are a safe playmate.  As his comfort increases, you can begin to show him that you are fun as well.

Talking to your parrot can prepare him for events coming up in the future as well, such as your trip to Europe and his subsequent trip to the boarding facility, or any other big change that is approaching. Tell your parrot that a change is coming, but that it is a temporary arrangement and that everything will be fine.  Assure him that he is loved, and throw in how beautiful and good he is.  The more time you spend talking to him, explaining and reassuring him, the better prepared he will be for your absence.  I realize this sounds silly, and I can already see some eyes rolling, but this really does help, and I don’t know of a single parrot expert who doesn’t agree.  While they don’t understand your words, they will certainly take your tone to heart.  Somehow, this reaffirms your relationship with them and carries them through what might otherwise be a traumatic event.

In every case where a parrot that has the benefit of an owner that takes the time to talk to him, he will  feel included as a member of the household.  This improves your relationship with him, betters his life and will make him more family friendly.

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Watch a LIVE video demo of me taming our wild, biting Macaw, “Tiko.” (See how I handle “Tiko” as he lunges at me, screaming and biting — how I lovingly calm him down… and mesmerize him so much that he BEGS me to pet him with my BARE HANDS 5 minutes later!) Click for more »

A while back, a friend and I were talking about some of the behavioral oddities of my umbrella cockatoo, Linus.  I call them Linuisms.  I was explaining to her that he has this thing about me sitting on the floor.  He doesn’t like it.  If he is out of his cage when I’m on the floor, he will always make his way over to me, usually thinking evil thoughts.  She asked me how I handled this and I told her that I don’t sit on the floor.  She thought it was pretty funny that I do what my bird tells me to.  We laughed about it because my solution to the problem certainly did make it look like that, but  it really has nothing to do with a battle of wills or who won.

Many cockatoos are aggressive when they are on the ground, it’s a character trait.  This doesn’t explain, however, his objection to me being on the ground while he is in his cage.  I have no idea what his problem is, I just know that it bugs the heck out of him, so I don’t do it.  And I see no reason to bother trying to change this idea he has, because, frankly, I don’t care.  There has been only one time when I found it necessary to be on the floor, and that was when I was going through a box of family photos with my daughter one day.  I simply moved him to another room.

It isn’t important to me to wage war against trivial things.  I am a firm believer in that our birds have a right to their opinions, likes and dislikes, and need to feel they have some control over their lives.  And I don’t believe it’s right to subdue the expression of their wants or needs, so long as it’s done in a reasonable manner.

Birds have idiosyncrasies just like people do, it’s part of what makes them interesting.  I suspect our birds have long lists of things we do that drive them crazy, but they seem to look beyond our faults to the good things (unless you’re me and your sitting on the floor.)  Do you see where I’m going with this?  Our birds have so many confinements and restrictions already that I see no reason to impose another just so I can sit on the floor.  That’s why I carefully pick my battles with them.

If my bird is doing something that is interfering with daily life, or is a danger to itself or others, then I recognize the need to make changes. A bird that doesn’t work well with the lifestyle of his family will find himself without a home.  But do we sometimes expect too much? Life with parrots is always changing.  We might be settling into a nice routine that seems to fit everyone’s needs, and BAM! -along comes spring.

I think the key to forming a successful alliance with a bird is to just go with the flow and let their personalities shine through.  Never mind your ideas for the perfect pet, never mind the occasional hiccup in your daily routine, and never mind that you might never get it just right.  By no means is life a free-for-all  with my parrots – there are rules that I expect to be followed.  I just don’t sweat the small stuff.  I prefer to save my energy for the big problems.  I don’t need perfection from my birds, just cooperation, and I give the same in return.

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