5 Things You Should Know About Parrots

You may be new to sharing your life with parrots or you may be an old pro. Or perhaps you have never even considered a parrot. Either way you may be surprised to learn a few facts about parrot behavior that make them a bit different from your average companion animal. Here are a few of my favorites.

1.    Parrots prefer to have their head feathers stroked towards their beak. While your dog, cat or rabbit may appreciate being stroked from head to tail, this is often merely tolerated or it can be sexually stimulating to companion parrots.  Look at your bird’s body language to clue you in as to whether your parrot is just taking it or can’t get enough. If your parrot is squatting, trembling or panting it is a good idea to reconsider this practice. A bird that is tolerating it isn’t really the goal either. I prefer to see a parrot who fluffs his head feathers up in a big ball in anticipation of a few head scritches. Touch on the head is definitely a great way to foster your relationship. Allopreening (grooming each other’s feathers) is an important part of parrot social relationships. Parrots can’t reach those pin feathers (new feathers growing in) on their head, having their human companion remove the keratin casing on newly grown feathers is usually quite welcomed. Check out this video clip on how to pet a parrot to see what touch should look like.

2.    Parrots show love by puking for us. Isn’t that a fun one? Yes it is a true. A parrot who has decided you are its chosen mate will express its love by regurgitating for you. The beak will be brought to the chest and the head will arc in a repetitive motion as food is brought back up into the mouth. The bird may try to dribble this usually smelly gooey mush into your hand if you make it available. This courtship behavior is also one that caregivers will want to avoid reinforcing. This means removing your attention the moment the behavior is exhibited. Wait for the bird to present any other acceptable behavior and reinforce that instead. Reinforcing courtship and sexual behavior can contribute to a number of behavior problems such as aggressive behavior towards other members of the household, excessive vocalizations for attention and more. Learn more on how to address these problems from the webinar recording Solutions for Parrot Behavior Problems Related to Hormones.

3.    Just because a parrot has feathers doesn’t mean it can fly well. In some countries it is common to clip the flight feathers on parrots right about the time the bird would first attempt flight. If this happens (or the parrot is kept in an enclosure that is too small to allow flight) during that time in development when flight should be happening, it can lead to a loss in flight for the rest of that bird’s life. This is especially true for heavy bodied birds such as Amazons, macaws and African grey parrots. Some people may have an older parrot that now has full flight feathers but never flies unless startled. These typically are the birds that were clipped during this critical stage of development in which their genetics would have been urging their body to attempt flight. Instead of flight, each launch off of the perch would have been met with a crash landing. This quickly teaches the bird to stop attempting flight. Unfortunately it has an impact that can have a lifetime effect on flying. Lighter bodied birds such as budgerigars, cockatiels, conures, some cockatoo species and a few other smaller species of parrots can regain flight. But unfortunately for many of the larger species, even with excellent training, a confident flying bird in most cases is very unlikely. It is often best to provide as an enriched a life as possible without flight for such individuals. If your bird was never clipped or has sufficiently recovered flight, training with positive reinforcement does offer solutions for managing the behavior of flighted parrots those who are interested in keeping parrots flighted. Behaviors such as recall, station training and developing flight skills make living with flighted parrots a pleasure.

4.    Parrots are super-duper visual. Your dog has a super sniffer. Your cat hears the slightest rustle of a cockroach in debris. Your parrot can see the tiniest speck of a spider on the ceiling or teeny tiny airplane in the sky. This means he is also carefully watching you. Especially if he is interested in your attention and companionship. If you have a parrot that has the problem of vocalizing for attention this is important to know. This is because one of your goals is not to reinforce the undesired vocalizations. Often we think we are ignoring the calls, but many times things like our moving shadow on the wall, or the body language of the dog responding to us (even though we are out of line of sight) is enough to clue our parrots in that we are just there around the corner. This can be enough to keep a parrot screaming for attention. This is often a reason why people have a hard time being successful at resolving this behavior problem. Learn more about how to address this common parrot behavior from the webinar recording Addressing Screaming for Attention in Companion Parrots.

5.    Parrot friendships can take time, but can be extremely rewarding. Most of us are accustomed to meeting a dog or cat and within minutes being able to interact with our new furry friend. Certainly there are exceptions, but in general most dogs and cats friendships seem easily earned compared to parrots. Many parrot species are not as social as we might think. In the wild they live with only one partner or small family groups. Flocking may only happen under certain circumstances such as foraging or roosting.  Therefore automatically accepting new individuals may not be the norm for those species. Some parrots species also show a tendency towards neophobia (fear of new things). This can also inhibit a parrot’s inclination to warm up to new people. Learning history also plays a role in how quickly a parrot may be inclined to respond to a new potential friend. That is where training can help. Teaching your parrot some simple behaviors (like waving, saying hello, or turning around on cue) to present with strangers can help give your parrot an activity to focus on that has past reinforcement history that can be paired with new people. This can go a long way in helping build trust with new people and experiences. It may take a little more effort than some of our more gregarious companion animals, but what an honor when a parrot decides your company is delightful.

Whatever species you share your life with; it is about getting to know them. Parrots have characteristics that are unique to them, but like any animal they are also influenced by learning history. This means behavior also has flexibility to some extent. Unfortunately we can really miss the boat on flight if we don’t allow birds to fledge properly when nature is telling their bodies to do so. However we can definitely still influence things like building trust, addressing vocalizing for attention, preventing behavior problems associated with reproductive behavior and more by getting a good understanding of learning theory and how it applies to the behavior of animals in our home. Even though your parrot’s behavior may present challenges that might be a bit different from your dog or cat, don’t give up! They are often eager students and ready to learn. Check out more resources on parrot behavior at www.GoodBirdInc.com.

Barbara Heidenreich
www.BarbarasFFAT.com
www.GoodBirdInc.com
Copyright 2015

Barbara Heidenreich has been a professional animal trainer since 1990. Her company Barbara’s Force Free Animal Training (www.BarbarasFFAT.com) provide animal training DVDs, books, webinars and workshops. She has been a featured speaker in over twenty countries and has been published in nine languages. Barbara also consults on animal training in zoos.

5 Myths about Parrot Behavior

When you are learning about parrots, it is often quite natural to turn to the internet for information. Chat groups in particular often have people who are very happy to talk about parrots and offer advice.  Sometimes the advice can be based on old information or even old wives tales. Try to be a critical thinker when obtaining advice from the internet. Check with experts you trust to make sure what you are reading is accurate. Here are a few myths that I often see pop up on the internet frequently.

Myth #1: Your parrot needs to obey you.

This concept has been around for a long time. While it is understandable we would all like a well behaved parrot that does what we ask, the word “obey” seems to imply something a bit more forceful. Most people tend to interpret this to mean that they must make the bird comply, especially when he or she is refusing to cooperate. This often leads to people doing things like forcing birds to step up onto hands or go back into cages. Over time what can happen is the bird learns to be afraid of people or may start to show aggressive behavior. The good news is you can train your parrot using positive reinforcement to do whatever you ask when you want. This approach leads to a bird that eagerly cooperates and is very well-behaved. You don’t have to be his boss, you can be his buddy.

Myth #2: Your parrot thinks he is dominant if he is higher than your shoulder.

This idea probably started because someone could not get a bird to step up or cooperate when the parrot was sitting up on a high perch. Believe or not Myth #1 probably helped cause Myth #2. Parrots like sitting on high perches. If you try to force them down, they often move away or try to bite. This may seem like the bird thinks he is dominant, but in reality he just likes his high perch much better than he likes the hand that is coming at him in a forceful way. If your bird is trained to voluntarily come to your hand for a treat or reward he will step up or fly right down to your hand even when he is on a high perch. That is because he learned many wonderful things happen, like treats, toys and attention when he gets on a hand.

Myth #3: Parrots are competing with you when you talk on the phone or have company over.

Many people know that parrots tend to scream for attention when left alone. But what about the bird that screams when you are on the phone or have friends over? I have heard many people say the bird is seeking attention or competing with the owner when this happens. What happens next? People talk louder….and the bird gets louder! What is actually going on is that the bird is being a good flock mate. The loud talking humans means it is time for the flock to make some noise and the parrot is just joining in on the fun. That is why when people get louder, the bird gets louder. Once everyone gets quiet the bird will too.  If you need your parrot to be quiet when people are talking you can offer him a super fun toy right before you intend to have a conversation or spend time training him that quiet activities will get reinforced when people are talking.

Myth #4: A parrot behavior problem is just a phase.

Many people have young parrots that are cuddly and easy to handle. Then around 1 to 2 years old the birds starts to show aggressive behavior. People often label this time as the terrible twos and hope the bird will just grow out of it. Unfortunately that is not the case. Young birds are easy to handle because they are in a phase of development that makes them open and receptive to new experiences. We can often get away with being forceful with young birds. But as they mature and that window of openness goes away and they start objecting to the same type of handling they would allow as youngsters. The best strategy is to never use force to begin with. Even if a parrot will allow it, it doesn’t mean you should. Always let your bird choose to participate and reward with desired goodies when he does. This should be carried on throughout the lifetime of the bird. Do this and you will have good behavior from your parrot for his entire life.

Myth #5: You just have to accept that parrots will be “hormonal” certain times of the year.

Hormonal typically means the parrot is in the mood to breed and have babies. This state means the bird has extra reproductive hormones in its body. Besides wanting to make babies this can cause other problems like aggressive behavior, or egg binding. Unless your want your bird to breed, your parrot does not need to be “hormonal.” Most parrots are not ready to breed all year long. Certain environmental triggers cause them to produce more reproductive hormones. These include extra daylight hours, an over abundant diet rich in fats, sugars and carbohydrates, having  a mate like bond with another bird or human, and having access to a nest like cavity. So to avoid an increase in reproductive hormones we can make sure the amount of daylight the bird experiences stays the same throughout the year. We can also monitor the diet and make sure the content and amount is appropriate. We can avoid reinforcing courtship behaviors like regurgitation. Instead we can interact with our parrots in healthier ways, like training fun tricks. And we can take out any toys that look like nest boxes and also block off access to any similar hiding places in the house. These tips will help prevent your bird from going “hormonal.”

These are just a few myths about parrots. If you ever read something about parrots that sounds a bit strange to you, do a little extra research and you’ll discover the truth about our feathered friends.

Barbara Heidenreich has been a professional animal trainer since 1990. Her company Good Bird Inc (www.GoodBirdInc.com) provides parrot training DVDs, books and workshops. She has been a featured speaker in eighteen countries and has been published in nine languages. Barbara also consults on animal training in zoos.