Hyacinth macaw

There was a video on Youtube some years ago featuring an african grey with the nastiest vocabulary I have ever heard. It said not only the worst of the worst words known to English slang, but it used them to descriptively detail human anatomy.

It was obvious that these words had not been simply overheard and repeated – they had been taught. The video had a gazillion hits on it. I am by no means prudish, but hearing these words said with an african grey’s perfect clarity, my jaw bounced off the floor.

congo african grey

There are those who might find this kind of thing funny. Let me tell you why it is not:

Often, unforeseen thing happen in life. People lose their jobs and their houses – eventually we all die. Circumstances may dictate that your bird be rehomed. We need to prepare our parrots in many ways for that possibility. They should be well socialized and able to adapt to change. They should NOT be able to vividly describe activities that take place in a bedroom.

A bird that has an offensive vocabulary will be difficult to rehome. It would not be suitable for a family with children or for those who are sensitive to vulgarity. It might be hard to find a willing bird sitter when you want to go on vacation, and it might cause people to not want to visit your home.

Blue throated macaws

Our birds pick up enough colorful language just by overhearing what we say in their presence. Abu, my first umbrella cockatoo, learned the term “shut up” in an innocent way. A friend came by to show me a guitar he had bought for next to nothing from a person who was unaware of its value. When he told me what he had paid, I excitedly said: “Shut. Up.” (in the same way you would say “no way”). That’s all it took. From that point on, whenever the conversation in the house would get lively, Abu would tell us to “shut up”.

One day my daughter’s teacher came by to drop something off and she asked to see the parrot my daughter talked about all day long. She greeted Abu with a cheerful hello and was told to “shut up” in an equally cheerful tone. It was a bit embarrassing.

Umbrella cockatoo

Wild parrots learn about appropriate behavior from their flockmates. For a captive parrot, that responsibility falls to us. Just as is the case with children, we have to demonstrate with our own behavior that which is acceptible, since it will likely be imitated. Ultimately, our bird will pay the price for our lapses in judgement.

Camelot macaw

As I was driving the other day, I was thinking about the huge contribution that Irene Pepperberg and the amazing Alex made to our knowledge of avian cognition. Without she and Alex, and our acceptance of her findings, I wonder if the avian community would be using terms like “enrichment” today.
Life was uncertain for Dr. Pepperberg. She became outcast among her peers. Grants to fund her work were hard to come by and it must have seemed to her that her career was always on the verge of collapse. We owe her a debt of gratitude for her perseverence.
We, who spend our lives with birds, were amazed with Alex’s feats, but I doubt that many of us were very surprised. We routinely watch our birds doing things that defied the scientific world’s former claims. Birds are now ranked alongside small primates in their demonstration of intelligence – a position they have earned. HA!

Blue throated macaw

I wonder where humans went wrong that we saw fit to coin terms like “bird brain” or “dumb animal”. Somewhere we lost sight of the fact that WE are classified first as “mammalian” and as “human” second. We have gotten the idea into our head that because we evolved to develop “big brains” that we are better than the rest of the creatures that inhabit this world.
The fact is, our big brains have made us vulnerable in many ways. Our brain, only 2% of our body weight, uses 20% of our total energy intake, increasing need in that area. Our infants are unusually helpless and remain dependent for a very long time.
If WE are taken out of our “natural” environment and forced to live in the extreme conditions faced by most of our wildlife; foraging for food and determining what is safe and most nutritious to eat, building shelter from the elements, etc., most of us would be dead within a week. When a animal is placed in our environment, they adapt to survive.

Rosebreasted cockatoo

Yes, our big brains have invented some amazing technlogy (some of which we are now dependent on). And the human life expectancy has increased through the advancement of the sciences. But to say that we have evolved as “superior” is just wrong.
Evoution means “change”, not “improvement”. Each species on this planet has adapted over millions of years to become exactly what it needs to be to survive in a changing world environment. All life is perfect, just as it is. And as to the intelligence of these “lower” species, we are not smart enough to judge it with any certainty and are continually surprised to find how little we know.

Storm, blue fronted amazon

In my early days of bird ownership, pre-internet, doing right by my birds was a lot of guess work. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I came upon learning that an all seed diet, then the norm, was inadequate. I discovered this in two ways: 1) by going to the library and studying the diet of my species wild counterparts, and 2) observing them descending on the vegetables on my plate at dinnertime. That was a hard to miss clue.

I didn’t exactly struggle with bird care – I intuitively knew that my birds needed more than what was recommended by the “experts”. I made do with the few bird toys that were available in pet stores and constructed many from household items made of paper, cardboard and wood – I observed what they “got into”. I have very few books that don’t have chewed-on pages – so, obviously, paper is a cockatiel delicasy. Observation is the most effective learning tool we have.

Linus, umbrella cockatoo, snoozing next to a toy I made myself.

Years later, a friend turned me on to the bird forums. I was SO excited. I found a place where I could share stories with fellow bird owners who wouldn’t cringe when I went on about my life with the birds and would laugh when I posted pictures of the sweet potato stuck to my living room wall. I learned untold amounts about different, sometimes easier, ways to acheive what I was trying to accomplish. There were products, toys, gizmos out there that I was completely unaware of.

But after a while, I started to feel inadequate. I felt like my birds were missing out because I didn’t have all the fancy bird things that my new friends had. I started spending money, lots of it. I wanted my birds to have the best of everything. I spent hours filling my shopping cart at online bird stores. I dropped a fortune on a playstand that took up half the living room.

You know what I disovered? My bird were no happier or healthier than they were before having all the bells and whistles. I had been doing things just right all along and I soon returned to my former ways even if they were a bit old-school. They worked, and my birds were thriving. Bub-bye Poop Off, hello again vinegar and water, my old friend. The rarely used Cadillac of a playstand found a new home with a lady with several macaws.

This is where your money is best spent!

In the end, it isn’t about what you don’t have, it’s about how well you make use of what you DO have. I would rather spend my money on excellent food and great toys than on some device that trains me to be lazy. Yes, for years, I had many chair backs fall victim to my birds’ beaks in lieu of a playstand, but isn’t that part of the charm of life with parrots? Okay, maybe not, The point is that we don’t have to go broke because we have birds.

If your bird has a great diet, is fulfilled and enriched, and you have training abilities that ensure a happy co-existance with its human flock, I say you have everything that you need. If someone invents a self-cleaning cage, however, I will surely sell my car to get one.

Cockatiel

There are so many aspects to the training experience for both the trainer and the parrot. It’s about bond building and mutual trust. It’s wonderful enrichment for a caged bird. It’s about cooperation. Mostly, though, it’s about communication. It provides a common language through which a human and a parrot can begin to converse and understand one another. It is exciting and deeply rewarding for everyone.

That I would suggest that someone NOT train their bird is troubling to me, especially when it is such a positive thing. But there are circumstances when the time is not right – more troubling is the idea of someone failing so miserably at training that they will hesitate to ever pick up the target training stick again, or that a bird would be so put off by the experience that is unreceptive to the experience in future attempts. When all the proper elements are in place, it is difficult to fail.

Sulphur crested cockatoo

The following are four scenarios that will tell you that you are not in the right place to consider training. Instead of attempting a start knowing that there are hurdles blocking your path to success, place your efforts today on correcting those problems for when you DO begin:

YOUR BIRD IS ON A SEEDED DIET: The reward your bird receives for performing a requested task is crucial to successful training. Most birds are motivated by a food reward. The bird performs to your approval, you click, and it receives a favorite treat.
It just so happens that seed is a preferred food for most birds. If your bird receives seed regularly and that is its expectaion, the motivation to “earn” treats is greatly diminished and the training process falls apart. Please read this article on how to convert from a seeded diet.

YOUR BIRD IS NOT IN GOOD HEALTH: This is particularly true of birds on a seeded diet. They often suffer from serious vitamin deficiencies without their owner’s awareness that can affect their general mood and willingness to train. Birds with known illnesses might be difficult to train as they are sometimes unable to complete tasks because of ill health.

Additionally, a bird whose mood is altered by surges of seasonal hormones is not a good candidate for training. They can be temperamental and aggressive during this time and it serves everyone to wait until the breeding season passes.
The plan is to always set your bird up for success and an ill or moody bird might not succeed. It would be a frustrating experince for you both.

NOTE: This does not apply to birds that are handicapped but are in otherwise good health. You would simply tailor your training expectations so that they don’t exceed physical limitations.

YOU ARE UNWILLING TO USE FOOD MANAGEMENT: As stated above, birds are food motivated. Food management is simply an adaptation of your feeding schedule that ensures your bird is hungry enough to to be willing to work for food during a training session. When done properly, hunger is not excessive (overly hungry birds do not train well) and there is the perfect window of opportunity for you to train your bird and for your bird to get a full tummy. Win/win.

YOU ARE NOT MOTIVATED OR IN THE RIGHT FRAME OF MIND: Sometimes we are our own biggest obstacle in training. There are times when we are not at our best, perhaps grouchy and impatient. Our birds are highly receptive to our emotions and will surely recognize that you are feeling aggitated or pressed for time. Their reaction to this will be skittishness and it will interfere with their ability to focus on the task at hand.

If you are in the midst of a stressful time in your life and are unable to decompress before a training session, it is better not to train at all. (That said, some people find that disconnecting from life and concentrating on their bird is the ideal release from daily pressures.)

Rosebreasted cockatoo

Each of these scenarios have one thing in common: they all lead to potential failure in training. I have included links in each section to offer further explanation and guidance on how to move past these road blocks. Please take the time to read them so that you can begin training with all the tools you need to succeed.

Budgie

One of the things that most fascinates me about parrots is the differences in their personalities. Even within the same species, each bird is unique with its own demeanor and preferences.
We should fully research the species we keep, looking into both their captive and wild settings, so we are aware of traits that are typical for that species. But in the end, each bird is its own man, so to speak, and those intricacies will stand out.

Hyacinth macaw

I have owned two umbrella cockatoos at different times in my life – they couldn’t have been less alike. Abu, my first, was laid back and amicable. She was quiet and reserved and she would stay perched for hours, as long as she had something interesting to do and her favorite people were nearby – things unheard of with the vast majority of this species.

Linus, on the other hand, is temperamental and high strung. Nothing, but nothing, keeps him in one spot for more than a couple of minutes, and he will always pause to look over his shoulder as he wanders away to be sure that I notice that he’s doing things his own way. It’s as if the two birds came from alternate universes.

Congo african grey

One thing I have learned over the years is that despite the differences in temperament, most birds are very compliant and patient. Most will accept change and adapt well as long as we don’t let things become too uncomfortable for them too many times. Even Linus, by far and away the more challenging of the two cockatoos, would patiently wait for me to get things right before he showed the signs of reaching his threshold of tolerance with my human ineptness.

The problem is that being human, we have a hard time recognizing when we are pushing the limits at all. One day we will be going about our regular routine and everything will be fine, and then the following day the same routine is met with anger and mistrust. Everything we do is wrong. We stand there scratching our heads wondering if this is even the same bird because there’s no way your bird could have changed so much overnight.

Your bird has changed, but it didn’t happen overnight. It has taken a long time to get to this point. It is fed up and has put its little foot down and said: “That’s it!! I’m over this!” It refuses to cooperate with the same activities that were seemingly acceptable yesterday. It’s effort to communicate its unhappiness to you has ended in failure as we missed all the warning signs and persisted in doing things the same way – over and over again. Now the relationship is in jeopardy.

Rosebreasted cockatoo

As with every behavioral problem you face with your bird, there ARE warnings that preceed it. Here are three easy to spot signs that trouble is brewing. YOUR bird may display additional signs (back to each bird being an individual), but these signs are evident in all species when limits of tolerance are being reached:

1. The stink eye: Most people who have had birds for a while see this right away – it is quite simply a dirty look. When birds are feeling happy, respected and safe, the shape of their eyes is perfectly round. When your bird is uneasy with what is going on around it, the eye shape changes to varying degrees of “squinty” Go to the mirror and give yourself an overly dramatized angry/warning look. That’s the look. Watch how your bird reacts to different things throughout the day and notice how the eye shape changes. It is a useful tool in reading body language – especially in cockatoos.
2. The hesitation: Whenever your bird even slightly hesitates in doing the things it normally does without pause, it is something you should pay attention to. This is a clear sign that your bird is giving second thoughts to interacting with you. A good example of this is in the step up. When you reach to retrieve your bird and your bird thinks twice, even though it eventually does step up, it is a warning that something is going wrong in your relationship. It might be the result of you being too pushy and demanding in your expectations that the bird comply with your wishes.
3. The “dis”: In the wild, when a bird does not wish to interact with another from it’s flock, it will simply turn its back on that bird as if to say “Go away. I don’t like you.” They do the same to us when they wish to relay that same message. It’s pretty rude by human standards, but a signal doesn’t get any clearer than that. However, I think it is also an effort on their part to avoid confrontation with us when they feel we have the tendency to be too pushy. Imagine how disrespected they might feel when we disregard that effort.

Quaker parakeet

We sometimes ask too much of our birds. They need to be respected and they need to be given choices. It can’t always be us telling them what to do and expecting them to cooperate. They have minds and ideas of their own and should be given the right to have things their way sometimes.  It’s only fair.

There are times where we need our bird’s immediate cooperation, such as when danger is present. I have learned over the years that when you show your bird respect, it will CHOOSE to show you respect by complying with your wishes on these occassions. If you observe and respond to the three warning signs above, you should be able to sidestep pushing your bird, and your relationship, over the edge.

Blue and gold macaw

Are you noticing lately that your sweet, happy cockatiel is a little nippy? Has your quiet-as-a-mouse African grey become loud and opinionated? Is your cockatoo cuddling in ways that make you blush?
It’s the onset of the spring season here in the northern hemisphere of the world. Although in most places it is still very cold, our birds are able to perceive the subtle signs of spring, even when all we see is the harshness of winter.
Parrots see things we do not. Their amped up eyesight allows them the see light patterns that are the telltale signs of spring. They are able to recognize that the days are getting longer and that warmer weather – and breeding season – are around the corner.

Umbrella cockatoo

These signs trigger hormonal changes in our birds and cause behaviors that may lay dormant the rest of the year. Nestiness, excess vocalizing and territorial aggression are common this time of year. And as unreasonable as it sounds, many times when behaviors turn aggressive it is our fault for being  unprepared or unaware of the triggers.

If your bird makes his way under the couch and bites you when you try to retrieve him, you are paying the painful price for making not one, but two mistakes: 1) you allowed your bird to follow its nesting insticts and head for a dark space, and 2) the intrusion of your hand triggered the instict to protect the nest (territorial aggression).
While you could never call this behavior acceptable, it is understandable and even provoked. It isn’t the onset of a behavioral problem (unless you reinforce it with your reaction to it). You chock it up to experience and you don’t make the same mistake next year.

Blue throated macaw

However, we must be careful not to use hormones as an excuse or an explanation for ALL unwanted behaviors – ones that might be present all year long and simply escalated because of hormones.

The perfect example of this was a woman I knew a few years back who had a yellow sided conure. Throughout the year, whenever she would try to pick the bird up from its play stand, it would lunge at her hand, sometimes nipping, before it would finally relent and step up. She always played down the event saying that she must have frightened the bird or would try to defend the action by saying it was crabby because it hadn’t slept enough the night before.

The following spring, her bird, then four years old, actually bit her hard and drew blood, she called me for help with her “hormonal” bird. No doubt her bird was hormonal and conures are territorial at any time of the year, but this was a problem that had begun a long time back.

The point of this post is this: I have always encouraged you to be understanding and forgiving of behaviors that are relative to breeding. It is a difficult time not just for humans but is stressful for our birds as well. Since birds are guests in our homes, it is our job to do what we can to eliminate from the environment the things that cause the behaviors. Unfortunately, we are humans and we understand only a portion of what is happening to our birds.

While we are busy being kind and compassionate, we have to be careful not to excuse behaviors that are not seasonal, or blame new unwanted behaviors on hormones. When we see a problem, at any time of the year, we should address it before it become ingrained in the bird’s behavior and becomes a challenge to deal with. Sometimes the behaviors we see in full bloom in spring are the results of seeds planted earlier in the year.