Blue throated macaws

This question seems to be coming up a lot recently on the birdtricks facebook page and other places I visit regularly. I appreciate that people have the good sense to ask, but it’s a very difficult question to answer without knowing the person asking it, without getting a sense of the person or what their lifestyle is. I normally spend more effort trying to talk people out of getting birds than recommending a species to them.

Owning a bird takes a lot of time and work:
Are you up to it? Those of us with birds understand the higher level of care they require compared to our cats and dogs.  Aside from daily cleaning chores that come with having a bird, there are dietary requirements that take more time and thought than just opening a can.  With their great level of intelligence, they need constant mental stimulation.  And being social creatures, they require out of cage time with their flock and family member. Without attention to these details, a bird can easily become aggressive, loud and/or feather destructive. No one will be happy with this outcome, not you, not your bird.

Harlequin Macaw

Since no one can answer this question for you, it’s time to take a good look in the mirror and decide what kind of person you are, and how much of yourself you are willing to give to a parrot.  If you are a good, attentive owner, plan on getting up a little earlier for work and making some changes to your social calendar.  This might be tough on a younger new owner.

And a lot of money:
Birds are very long lived pets. They require lots of toys to keep them mentally and physically active.  Store bought toys are expensive, and if they are good toys and you have chosen them well for your parrot, they are promptly destroyed.  This is the point of toys.  Birds require fresh foods everyday, a good brand of pelleted food, some species require seed and nuts, others have specialized diets. You will be spending some time in the kitchen if you are feeding your bird correctly.  A good quality and appropriately sized powder coated cage for a large bird will cost $1000 or more.  This is tough on an owner of any age.

Rose Breasted Cockatoo

But mostly, a lot of patience and good sense:
It takes a lot of thought to raise a bird to be happy and independent and a welcomed part of the family. Parrots have the knack for throwing curve balls at their owners. Just when you think you’ve got them figured out, they will begin a behavior you’ve never seen before. Or decide they now hate their favorite food, toy or person.  You will learn to explore why your bird does something before you even try to understand how to go about finding a solution to a problem. You will have to know your species of bird well, in both captive and wild settings. After a while, creative thinking will be second nature.  You will learn that it truly takes a village to raise a parrot. You will find the advice and wisdom of those experienced with the type of bird you have selected to be helpful and comforting, and you will seek these people out.
Does this sound like nonsense to you?  Get a fish.

Still want one?
Which bird? To begin with, I don’t believe that there is any species of parrot that should be considered a “beginner bird”. Smaller birds are just as in need of enrichment, good food and love as are the big birds. The only difference is the volume with which they can state a complaint, or the severity of the bite they may issue when you make the mistakes we all did as beginners. If the beak intimidates you, you already know you want a smaller bird.
The very best way to determine which bird is right for you is to talk to someone who has the species you have in mind.  There are sites pertaining to EVERY species on the internet. Google conure, for instance, and you will find more info on the many species of conure than you can process in one sitting.  Go onto the bird forums and ask if anyone has a green cheeked conure because you are thinking about getting one. They will be happy to share info with you about the good, bad and ugly of that species. As your research continues, you might stumble across a bird species you hadn’t considered that would fit nicely into your life.
Know that the traits listed are what is typical of the species.  It doesn’t mean that every bird reads the manual. Some african greys don’t talk, some scarlet macaws aren’t nippy, not all cockatoos need to run the world.
If you decide to rehome your first bird, you should be aware that you are taking on the product of any mistakes or wrong-doings made by previous owners.  Often these birds come baggage, some bags are heavier than others. These birds sometimes need special considerations in terms of patience, and may need a push in the right direction in the areas of diet and socialization.
A lot, if not most, of how your bird turns out has to do with your technique of raising the bird and your willingness to put the time and effort into him. You will have your bird with you for a very long time. Take all the time you need now to choose carefully.

Cockatoos are weird. I’m sorry, but they are. It is this fact that makes them such a challenge and so interesting, and my favorite species of bird.  I understand what mine like and dislike. I know to avoid what makes them nervous or over-excited. I get it that they are high strung sometimes.  But their moods can turn on a dime. One minute I can be a valued flock member, the next I’m at the top of their ten most wanted list.
Over the years I have tried to compile a mental list of strategies to employ during times when the mood shifts in the blink of an eye from happy playtime to defcon 1.  I have found that the most effective responses are usually the spontaneous ones.
One example comes to mind:  I was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher one night, and Linus, my umbrella cockatoo, was preening peacefully on the back of a kitchen chair about 10 feet away. He climbed off the chair and walked up behind me wanting to be lifted to the counter, as he often does. I was rinsing a dish and couldn’t reach down to him right away so he left the room and wandered towards the living room and out of sight. I knew his destination was a particular doorway that he liked to visit, and remodel, so I dried my hands and was prepared to head out to stop him. Just as I turned around, I saw him coming towards me, wings out, beak open, eyes focused on my ankles. I had to think quickly before there was bloodshed. I grabbed the silverware out of the dish drainer tray and dropped it all on the floor in front of my feet. In an instant the mood was broken. It was hilarious because the change happened so quickly: “I’m gonna kick your…SPOONS!!”

There was one day when Theo, my goffins cockatoo, was on her playstand when a red-tailed hawk decided to pay a visit.  It landed on the patio railing about 6 feet from where she was. She was in the house, and the slider doors were shut, but the poor little thing had a total meltdown. I shut the blinds and she managed to step up onto my arm, but I don’t think she was even aware that she did it. She was running up and down my arm, spinning in circles looking all around her. I could come up with nothing that would calm her, so I put her in the refrigerator. Yes I did. Of course, I kept the door wide open, but the minute her little feet hit that cold shelf in that weird little room with all those strange things, she completely forgot about her bad experience and went about exploring instead. Diversion.
There have been many times that I have had to come up with something in a pinch to change the course of a bird’s mood.  Exploring the closet is a favorite.  The utensil drawer in the kitchen is the ultimate, second only to my underwear drawer. Just a chat about the weather while standing at the window will get the job done on most days.
Once, when I was unable to get Linus to quiet down with my usual methods, I grabbed a newspaper, stood by his cage and began shredding it into strips that I let fall to the floor. He kept screaming, I kept ripping, until I had a nice, big pile. Eventually, he stopped screaming, but probably because it was just so strange to him that I was making a mess all over the floor, a job usually reserved for him.  I opened his cage and left the room. He spent the next hour playing in the paper pile, quietly.

Yes, I had to wash all the dropped wooden spoons and spatulas, clean up the newspaper that covered the entire floor, and Theo did poop in the fridge, but that’s no big deal when you consider what got accomplished. There is no end to the ideas you can come up with to stop your bird mid-hissy or turn an angry bird into a playful one if you use your imagination..

Umbrella Cockatoo, Goffin Cockatoo

We wear many hats as bird owners: we’re cooks, toy makers, housekeepers and behavioral analysts.  I once read: “Yur day job iz how ya ern muney, yur reel job iz to spend it on yur handsum burd”  by author Mango McCaw. If your parrot had to go out and find work (oh, the indignity!), what would he do?
I think this is what best suits my birds:

Goffin Cockatoo

Theo, goffins cockatoo, 24
I used to think of Theo as a philosopher, quietly contemplating the things around her.  Lately, though, I have thought of her as more of a novelist.  Her active imagination has more than once created a scary monster out of an inanimate object, the latest being the bath brush in the shower. Yesterday it was a scaly, howling beast intent on savaging the world (or at least the bathroom), today it was just a personal hygiene tool.  I also think that her remarkable measures of patience and tolerance would make her a valued school teacher, although story-time might cause the children to have nightmares.

Umbrella Cockatoo

Linus, umbrella cockatoo, 18
Linus, would be a fine woodworker,  but I think engineering is his true calling.  This bird can do things with his cage cover while I’m at work that defy the laws of physics. Cockatoos are known for their skills in this area, and for their flare for the dramatic, but that he is able to weave the fabric through a dozen cage bars, around his perch and meticulously through the eye-screw hole just baffles me. Then there was the knot I found tied at the end. He is very talented.

Quaker Parrot

Libby, quaker parrot, 4
Quakers are uniquely qualified in the field of architecture, with a little interior designer thrown in.  If you’ve ever seen one of the huge, multi-roomed, condo-like structures that quakers build on city transformers, you’d know what I’m talking about. Libby apparently didn’t get that contractor’s gene but is still an interesting and well rounded little bird.  I think she would do any job well.  As long as she was the boss.  And the food availability was non-stop.  A girl’s gotta keep up her strength.

White Budgies

Nikko and Visa, budgies, 2
Jamie and Dave’s budgies are hard to figure out.  I have always seen them in the roles of the drowning swimmer (Nikko) and the lifeguard (Visa).  When I first came to Orlando, Nikko had contracted a infection which required months of medication.  After the Womachs left for their tour, I was the evil stranger who reached into the cage with a huge hand to capture and torture her. Visa took up the role as bodyguard and positioned himself between my hand and Nikko, threatening to bite if I proceeded.  Recently, I found Nikko in the cage with a toe injury. Visa was standing guard over her.  It was days later that I discovered that Visa also inflicted the injury. So, who knows?  Nikko has had hard life health-wise and might find it satisfying and rewarding to help the less fortunate.  Visa would make an excellent prison inmate.

Cockatiel

Tinky and DeeDee, cockatiels, 16
The cockatiels are not suited to work outside the home.  Instead, they would prefer to be kept in the manner to which they are accustomed.  The pampered life as the wives of an insanely rich man would work well for them.
It’s career day. What line of work is your parrot best suited to?

Congo African Grey Parrot

Q:  Why does my bird act crazy when it rains?

Laura G.,  Oakland, CA

A:  Rain can mean many things to a parrot.  The warm rains of spring mean that the plants are being nourished and food will soon be plentiful.  It is a precursor to breeding season and can signal the onset of hormonal behaviors.  Parrots are able to detect a change in barometric pressure and may be aware of a coming rainstorm well before we are.

At other times of the year, a rain shower will inspire my birds to take a swim in their water bowls.  In this case, the rain is reminiscent of a nice bath.  Wild birds bathe both out of necessity and as a social activity.  Just as we must frequently bathe our birds at a home, wild birds rely on the rains to keep their feathers in top condition and to wash away dander and debris.  Bathing is also a fun activity for any bird and is a time when they get a lot of exercise and expend a lot of energy.

During the dry season, rain is not only a nice change of pace, but it usually brings with it cooler temperatures.  Your birds will take advantage of this for some some exuberant play, or a comfortable nap.  As hormones kick in, you might see some nesty activity.   All of these behaviors are normal for your bird.

Blue throated macaw

Think, for a moment, about all of the life-stages a human being goes through from birth to old age, and the way each stage effects and changes the person that you are:  from the complete dependence of infancy to the confident and very mobile 6 year old; from the hormonal teen years to early adulthood, the child bearing years; from adulthood to middle age; from middle to old age, where health might start to decline.  Then consider the long life span of our companion parrots.  Parrots go through life-stages just as people do.  In 10 years, your parrot will likely be a different bird than the one you have now.

Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot

We all know to expect behavior changes as a parrot reaches sexual maturity.  A young bird might start getting nippy and territorial.  You can equate this to the 11-14 year old child that has begun rolling her eyes at everything you say.  Yesterday you were a hero, today you are an idiot that knows nothing about the world.  You will remain an idiot until she reaches 21 and realizes that your claims about “how hard it is out there” were not fabrications and scare tactics designed to gain cooperation and control.  The respectful behavior returns, but you will never again be the hero.  Changes are part of life and we do best when we learn to roll with them.

A parrot’s demeanor, attitude and level of tolerance changes as it ages.   While some changes in your parrot might be a reflection of a changing home environment, this is not always the case.  Any intelligent being has the capacity to change.  Some changes might be welcomed, others frustrating, and you might find it necessary to put new strategies into play as your bird goes through its life.

As I get older, I find I have less patience for things that were once very important to me, things that I now find to be trivial and unworthy of my efforts.  It makes me laugh to think how much time I have spent fussing over my hair, applying make-up, dressing up to go to the supermarket.  Events I once thought were the end of the world are now met with a simple sigh.  I have changed, but the essence of who I am, my morals and ethics, have remained the same.  I’m still me, just different.

Cockatiel

Tinky, my 16 year old cockatiel, has gone through several attitude changes in his years.  I have had him since he was a baby.  When he was young, he took everything in stride.  If he wanted to come out and play, he would kick up a fuss and let me know.  After a few minutes, when he realized he wasn’t going to get his way, he would quietly move on to something else to do.  No big deal.

When he was older, about 8, he became much more serious about life.  Things that would normally instigate rowdy play were suddenly annoying to him.  For a while, he preferred to play outside his cage independently, always within sight of me, but less physically interactive. Then, he went through a period where he couldn’t bear to be away from me.

Now, in his golden years, I find he has very little patience for nonsense.  Nonsense being defined as anything that doesn’t suit him that day, anything that doesn’t go his way, and everything else.  He can be quite stubborn, and has no trouble voicing his opinions.  But he is still, and has always been, fun and lovable Tinky at his core, although there have been many versions of him along the way.  I have enjoyed every second of our journey together, whoever he happens to be at any given moment.  I even love the crotchety, old man he has become.

Blue and Gold Macaw

The cutest things on the planet may very well be (and not necessarily in this order): a baby cracking up laughing, kittens doing just about anything, and birds playing.  Some of the very best memories I have of my birds are of them playing, especially when it involves me.  There’s something so precious about watching the determination of a 100 gram bird tug on something twice its size, and the lengths they will go to to accomplish an nearly impossible task.  I am always on the lookout for things that will peak the curiosity of a nosy bird to inspire play.

Here are some things you can make quickly and inexpensively that can change and grow with your imagination, all of which work best with your involvement:

1.  Birdie tunnel (budgies/finches):
You can make this simple toy from a cardboard paper towel roll and two shoeboxes.  Remove the lids from the shoeboxes and place them open side up.  Cut a hole in one short side of each box just large enough for an end of the paper towel roll to fit through.  Connect all the pieces together with the paper towel roll in the center.  It will look like a dumbbell when you’re through.
I have a friend with 3 little budgies that spent hours with this bird toy.  Eventually she raised the height of the tube to the top of the box and created ramps and steps and climbing ropes for her budgies to reach it.  They went to great lengths to get to that tunnel,  they’d race through and start again from the other side.

White Budgies

2.  Birdie Maze:
Thesecan be both fun and interesting for your bird.  If you have smaller birds, budgies to conures, the  walls to the maze are easily constructed from Legos.  At first make the maze more of a winding tunnel and coax him through it with treats.  As he gets better at finding his way, make dead ends and false passageways that cause him to have to evaluate his moves.  If your bird is a cheater, and flies to the top of the wall to find his way, you can cover the top with a towel if he feels comfortable with that.
For the larger bird, you will need taller, more sturdy walls.  You’d have to have A LOT of Legos.  My daughter’s umbrella cockatoo, Abu, actually taught me this game while I was packing for a move.  She created her own maze from the cartons that were slowly overtaking the living room.  She had a ball.  I told a friend about Abu’s game.  This guy had the largest record collection I had ever seen and he used the milk crates he stored his albums in to create a maze for his amazon.  Last I had heard from him, he had still not returned his record collection to it’s original spot.  This game might not work well for some macaws because their tail is always dawdling two feet behind them.
3.  Play Mat:
What bird doesn’t have the time of his life trying to remove the buttons from your clothing?  Or trying to disassemble your jewelry?  The play mat offers all of those opportunities and more…
Take an old blanket and sew beads, buttons, bows and bells to it.  Or you could be a rebel, and use things that don’t start with a “B”.  You could use a towel and sew on plastic rings, keys, leather strips with beads, wooden cutouts and pretty much anything else you can think of that your bird would enjoy.  The fun for the birds seems to be in tugging on the items, just like the buttons on your shirt.  When you are done playing it folds right up for storage.  If  it becomes soiled, you can put it in a lingerie bag and machine wash it, depending on the durability of the items you have sewn on.
I had made one of these for the cockatiels years ago and this post inspired me to make another. I did make one for Linus, my umbrella cockatoo, a short time after he arrived to live with me.  His efforts were spent trying to fold it back up or dragging it around behind him by one of the plastic rings. I wasn’t yet aware of what a tyrant Linus was with toys, always trying to bend them to his will and make them do things they weren’t designed to do.  He had a good time, though, and that’s the point.

Congo African Grey Parrot, Galah

4.  “Greyzilla”:
I read about this guy somewhere who made a little city out of appropriately sized Legos for his African grey and made up this game called Greyzilla.  It was the grey’s role to come along to destroy and terrorize the city and all it’s tiny, little people.  It was the human’s job to portray the little Lego people running from Greyzilla and begging for their lives.  As Greyzilla crashed his way through town, he showed little mercy for the Lego-ites.  If I remember correctly, though, this compassionate monster tried to reassemble the city when he was through, although probably not to Legoville building code standards.  I can only imagine how much fun they must have had.