Photo by Dave
Location: Waynesboro, VA
With me: Camelot macaw “Comet”, Blue throated macaw “Jinx”

So many sad parrot stories go something like this, “My bird used to love me and be so nice, we were pals… no he’s mean and wants nothing to do with me. I can’t even get him to step up onto my hand, he just bites or runs away.”

This story always has the same outcome… either the bird gets given to a parrot rescue or the bird remains cage bound and the owner helpless with their efforts to make friends again with their bird.

I always dread hearing someone say, “Oh, I had a bird like that one.” because we all know how long birds live, and usually the person saying it isn’t 90 whom had their bird their whole life and lost the bird due to old age. You just never hear about those stories, if they exist.

Photo by Dave
Location: Waynesboro, VA
Joining me: Amazon parrot “Storm”, Blue throated macaw “Jinx”

Something ‘owners’ need to understand is IT’S NOT THE BIRD’S FAULT. As much as we all want to play victim and pretend we’re doing everything in our power and that there’s nothing NOT to like about us, that’s just not the case. It is not your bird’s fault. Your bird is merely reacting to its situation or environment which you’re creating.

Nothing has to change for a bird to go from nice, to mean. What I mean by that is if you first get your bird and don’t really spend much time with it and never have, it may get sick of that. It may see you spending time elsewhere and think, why doesn’t it receive some of that?

Parrots don’t scream just to annoy the living crap out of you – even though it may seem like they do. They’re merely screaming to get whatever it is that comes after the screaming or whatever makes the screaming stop. Did you know some birds learn to bite so that they can go back to their cages? The owner thinks, “Oh you bit me so I’m going to punish you by putting you back in your cage!” meanwhile, the parrot is thinking, “I’m tired of hanging out, I want to go back to my cage for alone time, food, sleep, to look out the window… how can I tell my owner to put me back? Biting always works… CHOMP. Home sweet home.”

Photo by Dave
Location: Waynesboro, VA
Shown: Blue throated macaw “Jinx”

People tend to look at parrots like their human. They aren’t. They don’t look at things like us, they aren’t thinking about it from a point of hurting your feelings, from being nice or mean… they’re just reacting to their environment.

My first answer to a bird that’s “mean” is training. Training because, well, here’s the breakdown…

Training = Communication.

Training just bridges that gap of communication you and your parrot have. You don’t understand each other, you don’t speak the same language, you don’t get it and he doesn’t get you. Training is a way to form a language you both can understand.

So stop complaining and start training.

Photo by Dave
Location: Waynesboro, VA
Shown: Blue throated macaws “Jinx” & “Bonnie”

On our facebook this month someone posted about trying to train their two birds that share a cage. One is more dominant and aggressive over the other, even though they’re both males. The birds like each other, but when it comes around to training time one tends to beat up the other and demand a treat for throwing a fit instead of training. One does everything right and earns the reward, the other throws a tizzy fit until it gets the treat too.

Is this type of environment benefiting anyone?

I mean, really? I feel awful for the bird who is actually interested training and earning the reward but how frustrating it must be for him to see his buddy get rewarded for bad behavior of beating him up, yelling, biting and just all around fit-throwing to get a reward for himself as well.

Think about this, really think about this.

If you had two kids and they both wanted ice cream and you said, “If you do the dishes you can have ice cream.” so one does the dishes and you give it ice cream while the other throws himself on the ground kicking and screaming, trying to pull away the other kid’s ice cream until you then decide to give him an ice cream too thinking he’s right – this just isn’t fair – so they both get ice cream. Is anyone benefitting from this situation? Who is training who I’d like to know?

The ONLY times I have trained more than one bird at a time have been:

1. When I can use observational learning to teach the second bird (ie: touch training, flight training – both of which were done OUTSIDE a cage with fully flighted birds)
2. To demonstrate how it is distracting and frustrating to trainer and trainee in a video.

In a situation like this, these birds have to be worked with one on one in their training environments. You need to be focused on what you’re asking of the bird, and the bird needs to be focused on the training session otherwise it’s a waste of time.

The last thing you want to do is provoke two birds to fight, or one bird to pick on another.

In our house we designate an entire room to training and will take one bird up there at a time to work with it so it’s far away from distraction. This needs to be highly considered. If your current environment for training isn’t working – change it!

Congo african grey

We recently received this email from a customer and just had to share it:

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!  In just a few short hours your training tips have made me love my bird again.
My African Grey had become a screamer, I think mostly from being left alone too much.  The kids are grown and I work two jobs, so she spent a lot of time alone.  When I came home she screamed constantly.  I was on the verge of finding her a new home, but hesitated because I thought someone who did not know birds would end up with her and not treat her well.  The clicker training has pretty much stopped the screaming in just two evenings and in about 15 minutes she mastered the “no” head shake on signal.  I’m amazed and cannot wait to teach her more tricks.  The purchase of your cd’s & dvd is the best money I have ever spent.

Sincerely,

Nancy Bendon

To Nancy: Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your success. We appreciate how difficult it can be to live with a bird that screams to make itself understood. Many people choose to rid themselves of their “defective” bird rather than manage a fixable problem. Thanks for going the extra mile for your bird and congratlations on a job well done!

Screaming course

Screaming is one of the most perplexing of all the behavioral issues our birds have. They scream because they want your attention. They scream because they are bored. They scream because they feel insecure about you or their environment. I suspect that many have no idea why they are screaming at all beyond the notion things are just generally not to their liking. For whatever the reason, all screaming has one thing in common – it manipulates the owner into action of some sort.

The most typical reaction to a screaming bird is over-reaction: anger, pleading, and forced affection. All of these responses add fuel to the fire and reinforce the likelihood that the sceaming will continue. From a bird’s perspective, he has gotten what he wants. He definitely has your attention and is no longer bored. He is feeling less insecure about his world because he has discovered a way of gaining control over it, and you.

It only makes sense that you don’t respond with over-reaction, and in fact, should show no response to the screaming at all. This will make it clear that he can’t manipulate your behavior with his own. However, and this is very important to remember, it does not solve the problem that initiated the screaming to begin with.

Nancy’s first step toward success came when she recognized that there had been a change in her bird’s environment.  Her african grey was not getting the same level of attention she was accustomed to and chose to state her objection through screaming. Nancy amped up her interaction with her bird through training.

cockatiel

One area where we bird owners often fall short is in the type of interaction we share with our birds. We may come home from work and let the bird out of its cage to sit on a nearby perch while we make dinner or on our shoulder as we watch TV or read the paper. No doubt our birds appreciate being with us, but this level of engagement is shallow. Our attention is on our dinner, the TV or the paper – not the bird.

If we can truly call it interaction, it must be…interactive. We should have our focus solely on our bird, engaging in a mutual activity. This is where training works its real magic. The opportunity for bonding through training is unique. It is all about you and your bird, and nothing else.

Training gives your bird the opportunity to earn treats, but it also opens the doors to a new world of learning. You will see how important training becomes to your bird in the focus it has on each task, but you will also notice how much more directly and intnently your bird now looks into your eyes. You reach a new height in your communication and it is a deeply rewarding experience for you both.

rosebreasted cockatoo

Imagine if our birds could say to us: “Look I know you mean well, but this isn’t working out. I’m bored to tears. Either you give me something to do or I’ll have to scream all afternoon…” in language just that clear. There wouldn’t be any behavioral problems and this site wouldn’t exist. The fact is, there’s a lot of guess work and it is hard to find and correct the exact problem. When you begin training your bird, you inadvertantly address a number of issues. Boredom is alleviated, mental stimulation is increased, your level of interaction becomes meaningful. These are the three most common causes of problem behaviors and all can be managed through simple training.

If you have problems with your birds, whether it be biting or screaming, or if you simply want to take your relationship with your bird to the next level,Birdtricks courses are designed to help you get where you want to be with your bird. Visit Birdtricks.com/store  to get started.

Congo african grey

No bird is perfect – not yours, not mine. Throughout your bird’s lifetime you will encounter many occasions where you will find it necessary to help your bird make behavior modifications that will ultimately make life more satisfying for you both.

Changing a bird’s behavior is never as simple as moving from point A to point B. It requires intricate steps, thoughtfulness and lots of patience. Outlining the procedure ahead of time will help to move through these steps, but without acknowledging the following tips, your job will be much harder.

Blue and gold macaws

1) Understand the nature of the problem

The fact is, you can’t fix something without knowing how it works.You would never open up your computer and start fiddling around with parts without having an understanding of their purpose. It’s much the same when addressing problem behaviors.

Ask yourself these two questions: why would a bird do this? AND, why does MY bird do this? You might think that the answer to those questions would be the same, but they are actually very different questions.

Using property and house destruction as an example of a behavior that needs to be altered, something we all have endured, you will first need to understand why birds do this. Wild birds are hard-wired to chew because of their innate nesting instincts. Likewise with our captive birds. They are compelled to chew, and will find a way to satisfy that need.

When you ask yourself why YOUR bird does this, it requires that you take a look into your bird’s environment. Your bird may destroy your furniture because you aren’t providing enough wood and shreddable materials in his cage and play areas. He may also be suffering from boredom during his out of cage time and find himself headed for the nearest chair leg when left unsupervised.

You will want to take these facts and your observations into account. This knowledge is essential in getting to the root of any problem. The deeper you probe, the more you will be able to fine tune the solution.

Umbrella cockatoo

2) Offer alternative interests

Think for a minute what it would feel like to have a favorite form of entertainment suddenly denied you. If it were something that occupied a lot of your idle time, you would feel a sense of loss.You would feel restless and miserable until you found something to fill that void.

When trying to effect changes in your bird, you will find it necessary to divert their attentions away from the problem behaviors. Always replace the old activities with new alternatives.You will find it unproductive to simply take away object of your bird’s desire or remove the bird from the area.

Stripping something from your bird’s environment does not lead to a change in behavior. You might temporarily stop the activity, but the inclination will remain, and given the first opportunity, the bird will be back at it. It’s up to you to direct your bird towards something new that substitutes for, or minimizes, the loss of the former activity.

Military macaw

3) The Do-Over

Modifying behaviors is challenging, and there will be occasional set backs. It takes time to break habits  Birds, like children, will continually test you to see what they can get away with. Even after you have guided them to new opportunities, it may still occur to them from time to time that the old ones are still available.

If your bird regresses back to his former unwanted behaviors, you will have to correct him accordingly, but be sure to allow him the opportunity to right his wrong. Take your bird away from the situation for a few moments and return him to the scene of the crime without assuming he will repeat the same behavior.This do-over gives him the opportunity to change his OWN behavior and affords him a measure of control in his environment. This is very empowering to a bird, and a very positive experience. You’ll be surprised how many birds CHOOSE to get it right the second time around.

1 cc syringe photo by innovetpet.com

In a perfect world, our birds would remain healthy and avoid injury throughout their entire lifetimes  However, it’s more realistic to assume that at some point we will have to medicate our birds for one reason or another. Without preparation, this can be a trying and stressful event for both bird and owner.

Here’s a scenario to consider: your 10 year old amazon has had watery poops for the past three days.You, being the conscientious bird owner, take him to the vet where it is determined that he has a bacterial infection. The doctor gives you antibiotics with instructions that the bird receive the medication two times a day for two weeks. Later that day, you draw the medication into the syringe, and attempt to administer the first dosage. You bird turns his head and refuses to open his mouth. When you persist, the bird struggles free and evades every attempt you make to capture him.What will you do now?

White bellied caique photo by Siroj12 at avianavenue.com

The medication you bring home with you is meant to be taken in its entirety, at the exact dosage, and at the intervals prescribed in order for it to be effective. When medicating a bird, it isn’t uncommon for parts of one or two dosages to be lost as the bird jerks his head away as you’re depressing the plunger, or when he shakes his head in protest spraying the walls with that morning’s dosage. You can expect this to happen. Still, it can’t be a hit or miss procedure. Your bird needs the his medication, as prescribed, to get well.

Without having your bird syringe trained, that is, trained to accept a syringe that delivers fluids orally, your only recourse is to towel or restrain your bird when he gets rebellious. Remember that your bird is sick, and probably feeling less than cooperative. And now, he must endure physical restraint, which may be considered by him to be frightening, annoying or as a down-right breech of trust.This is followed by his human forcing liquid down his throat. All of this trauma is unnecessary.

The following video was taken by a member of the Austin Parrot Society, my former bird club. Guest speaker Barbara Heidenreich was present to teach the club how to syringe train their birds using a member’s blue and gold macaw, Joey,  as the model. This video only shows the beginning of the session, but will make the technique clear. Please take careful note of Barbara’s assessment of the bird’s body language throughout the session, her slow introduction of the syringe, and her observance that motivation is lost when the bird is no longer hungry.

Video from Austin Parrot Society

The first fluid Barbara introduces is water. I think this is a great idea because it is an innocuous fluid that no bird is going to object to and that makes it an easy introduction to the notion that the syringe holds something inside. The bird will be rewarded for accepting the liquid.

Once you have accomplished this, you can move onto juices, which can can also serve as the reward if your bird enjoys it enough. If your bird likes tea (decaffeinated only!), you can use that in the syringe as well. In fact, once you have taught your bird to drink liquids other than water through a syringe, you might want to ONLY serve them that way so that the behavior is continually strengthened.

Because of a bird’s anatomy, fluids should be delivered into the left side of the bird’s beak (your right, when facing the bird) and aimed towards the back of the mouth. Don’t disperse it directly down the throat to avoid the danger of aspiration (choking) but position the syringe so that the liquid stays inside the mouth and doesn’t shoot out the other side of the open beak.

Photo of quaker parrot by Siroj12 at avianavenue.com

All of the photos in this post show the correct way to deliver juices to your bird using a 1 cc syringe typically used when administering medications. As with the photo of the quaker, and with other small birds, it is advisable to offer medications holding the bird against your chest. This position is comforting to them and allows you some measure of restraint without it actually feeling confining to the bird. Consider that the syringe is a much larger object coming at them in comparison to their small bodies than it is to a larger bird.

When giving medications to my larger birds, I usually place my hand lightly on the back of their head and neck in a way that says affection rather than restraint. Medications are not always eagerly accepted, if only because they taste different. If the bird pulls out of position while I am administering the medication, I can gently reposition their head. I never do this when giving juices, however. It is merely a precaution because of the need for receiving the full dosage.

If your bird is syringe trained, it takes his fear of the unknown and your need to exert force out of the equation when there is an illness. He may not care for his medication, but he will be familiar with the process and therefore more cooperative. It is a simple procedure to teach and I promise it will make a difficult time much easier for everyone.

Photo of african grey by Siroj12 at avianavenue.com

If you want to obtain one of the syringe’s pictured above you can do so by visiting InnovetPet.com

I posted this on the blog a long time ago, but it is relevant, funny and oh so true:

HOW TO MEDICATE A BIRD: (author unknown)

Occasionally, we find it necessary to medicate our feathered friends.
Here are some pointers to help you with this task.

FIRST APPLICATION:

Retrieve the bird from the cage.
Set the bird on a table and hold its head by carefully grasping the neck where it joins the lower jaw, or mandible.

With your other hand, grasp the medicine syringe and place the tip into the left side of the bird’s mouth.

Depress the plunger and squirt the medicine toward the back of the bird’s throat.

Wipe excess medicine from the bird’s beak.
Place the bird back in the cage.

SUBSEQUENT APPLICATIONS:

Attempt to retrieve the bird from the cage.

Apply bandages as necessary to wounds on your hands and arms.

Retrieve the bird from its new hiding place under the coffee table.

Carefully immobilize the bird’s head to prevent further tissue damage to your body.

Attempt to break the “Vulcan Death Grip” and remove the bird’s feet from your hand.

Apply more bandages and a strong analgesic cream to the new wounds on your hands and arms.

Immobilize the bird by carefully wrapping it in a bath towel.

Watch in amazement as the bird “morphs.” Its head and tail will probably swap position,
putting your tender flesh in mortal danger again.

Hold the bird snugly in its terrycloth prison.

Grasp the medicine syringe.

Try to stop trembling in fear and pain.

Place the tip of the syringe into the left side of the bird’s mouth.
Ignore the crushed tip.

Depress the plunger and squirt the medicine toward the back of the bird’s throat.

Wipe excess medicine out of your eyes.

Release the bird and squirt medicine in the general vicinity of its face.
Some medicine may actually go into the mouth.

The rest will be absorbed by osmosis.

Shoo the bird back to the cage.

Spend the rest of the day attempting to regain the bird’s affection with yummy snacks and new toys.

Canary photo by petswelcome.com

Before the Womachs left for their tour with Ringling, Dave handed me a small booklet that he thought I would find interesting. It is a 15 page pamphlet, about 5″X7″ in size, titled: “The Art Of Training Birds” by Signor Giovannis. It was originally published in 1883 and was recently reprinted in 1991. It divulges information as to the “care and treatment” of the canary specifically, but is meant to apply to all birds.

Budgie

The first couple of “chapters” deal with taming and training. It begins: “Although birds are naturally of a timid disposition, very easily alarmed, and from their delicate structure unable to endure any but the most gentle handling, they may be made very tame, and become quite attached to their trainer. We propose to tell our readers how to tame thier birds, but to make these instructions successful, they must be carried out with the greatest gentleness and patience. The utmost pains should be observed not to frighten the bird, as a slight fright may render him so shy as to defeat all your efforts to gain his confidence.”
As I continued to read, I was amazed at his recommendation of using respectful encouragement, treats and praise in his training methodology to gain the best results. We currently term this as positive reinforcement. He talks about what is known today as target training, using a feather as the target in the taming process. This is a guy who gets it.  I was expecting his procedures to be harsh and heartless – perhaps because I have always felt that animals were kept during that age for service to humans, as workers or as food, for purpose instead of pleasure. He has earned some BIG points with me.

Budgies

I got to the general care and diet part of the booklet where the ignorance of the times shone painfully through. Some of the booklet’s more notable faux pas include his recommendation that you seriously limit your bird’s intake of “green foods” because it will cause “diarrhea, generally a fatal disease”. (He has lost a lot of his points with this statement.) He does redeem himself somewhat by alerting us to the fact that birds enjoy sweets but that we should refrain from allowing them any because we are ultimately “killing them with kindness”.
While he recommends that water be clean and plentiful for both drinking and bathing (points go up again), he also suggests putting a RUSTY NAIL(!!) into the drinking water to alleviate the stresses of molting season, which he says is “a very trying time for birds, and some die from it.” (losing nearly all points he gained in the area of compassionate training.) Am I alone in thinking that, just maybe, it’s the rusty nail water and not the molting process that is the cause of death? He earns back a few points with his recommendation of adding hard boiled eggs to the diet during this time.
He states that the best remedy for a bird with a “cold” is to offer stale bread soaked in milk, as well as cutting a red pepper in half and placing it at the bottom of the cage. More points lost, and game over.

Canaries photo by lowcountrygirl.wordpress.com

The random final chapter in the book is titled: “The art of making music from glasses”. You know, where you fill water glasses to different levels and rub your finger around the edge to create different musical notes. I don’t know what to say about the inclusion of this chapter. His second job, I guess. Dave was right. This was an interesting read.
I am assuming that the life expectancy of Senior Giovannis’ canaries was rather short, although they were respectfully treated prior to their untimely deaths. In fairness, though, the life expectancy of humans was much shorter not so long ago. As we have learned more about the body, nutrition and with medical advancement, the duration and quality of life has increased both in humans and our pets. So, the next time I start going on about how little knowledge we have acquired on companion birds, please shake me and remind me of this post. Obviously we have come a long way. And it only took us just over a century to get here.