Send your stories to Robirda

Medical questions should always be taken to an avian vet. Birds try to hide being sick, so there's no time to lose!

Behavioral, housing, feeding and care questions can be discussed with Robirda, you can consult with her for only $15. Click here to learn more.

Young chicks or birds who have been stressed, suffer from decreased imune response, and are wide open to a variety of lethal infections.

'Bio-Plus' is a multi-strain probiotic which includes garlic extract, vitamins, minerals, electrolytes and glucose polymers. Used twice a week, it acts to restore and refresh beneficial gut bacteria, and establish a more favourable environment in which friendly bacteria will thrive. This in turn helps improve the bird's resistance to infections, especially those of the digestive system.

For more information visit birds2grow.com

Free wholesale and retail catalogs are available from:

- Home
- Products
- Articles
- Basic Care
- Breeding
- Great Greens
- Photographs
- Flock Talk
- Canary Cam
- Wings-Up Seal
- Canary Song CD
- Canary Video
- Cam Slideshow
- Books & eBooks
- Questions?
- Contact
- Links Pages
- Privacy Policy
- Personal
- Testimonials
- Site Map

Well, I guess that's it for this time - hope everybody has a safe and happy time over the next couple of weeks! The next issue is due out April 15th - until then, may you and your birds enjoy all the best of everything!

R C 'Robirda' McDonald
April 1, 2001
Vancouver, BC, Canada

Welcome to the Companion Birds ezine

For bird people who care.

Hello! Welcome to Flock Talk!   This issue features an article by Willhelm Kiesselbach about dealing with what is often termed 'Inappropriate Behaviour' on the part of our beloved pets. What causes this kind of problem, and how to go about dealing with it, is the focus of this special issue.

Feature Article

The term 'Inappropriate behavior' is defined in this article as any behavior that disrupts the relationship or makes it difficult to positively interact with the bird. Some examples are: general biting, biting selected family members, refusing to do as told, screaming, or plucking.

This article, by virtue of the sheer variety of instances, situations, personal perceptions, environments, bird species and severity of behavior patterns, has to be written in very general terms. Each approach to specific behavioral problems must be tailored to the individuals involved, both human caregivers and birds.

Much has been written about correcting inappropriate pet bird behavior. It is one of the misconceptions of numerous bird people that anything written on this subject deserves our consideration. That is not the case. Some of the material still currently available was written years ago, and since more detail about species behavior is learned every day, some of the old 'wisdoms' are now known to be counter productive - they simply don't apply anymore.

Recent books and articles authored by such experts as Sally Blanchard, Pam Clark, Sam Foster, Jane Hallander, Bonnie Munro-Doane, and Bobbi Brinker provide thoughtful insight and excellent advice. It is very strongly suggested that the serious bird-keeper avail him or herself of this information, through the internet, the library or the nearest bookstore.

After all, when you keep one or more pet birds, there is alway more to learn about...

by Wilhelm Kiesselbach
http://www.nd.edu./~kkiessel/

"My bird's behavior is inappropriate, what do I do?"

An important, often desperate question. What we humans consider the definition of 'inappropriate behavior' to actually be is of great importance. Even more important is understanding 'why'. Keep in mind that inappropriate behavior is never the bird's fault. It is equally important to remember that frequently pet bird behavior patterns have established themselves because they were taught by the caregiver, sometimes inadvertently.

There are two different types of inappropriate behavior patterns which can manifest themselves: The 'evolved' pattern, and the 'sudden' pattern.

Some more commonly heard questions are "My parrot has always been so sweet, all of a sudden it is biting or frantic or panicky. It won't come out of the cage, it doesn't want to go into the cage, it's plucking it's feathers... help!".

These are only a few examples. There can be many different reasons for sudden behavior changes, but most often they have to do with radical changes in the environment.

Sometimes there are medical or hormonal reasons. In all cases we must determine the underlying causes, and we must remember that corrective action requires immense patience, respect and understanding. The old adage of 'showing him who is boss' has been largely proven to be wrong.

World renowned parrot psychologist Sally Blanchard advocates the establishment of a benevolent teacher/student relationship, for the most positive, rewarding long-term results. She has proven time and again that kindness, patience and gentle coaching will accomplish infinitely more than confrontations or punishment in any form.

Please note that the single most important and only tool proven to be effective in the long term in modifying our birds' behaviors, is positive reinforcement. 'Positive reinforcement' is defined as 'rewards which are given for desired behavior only'. These rewards can consist of favored treats or exuberant praise.

I personally prefer to use praise, as I feel it reinforces communication skills between my birds and myself - it tells the bird WHY it is a good idea to do what I am asking of him or her. A treat, in my opinion, may accomplish the same goal but sends the wrong message. There are, however, exceptions to this 'rule'.

For instance: You have a bird who has a problem stepping onto your hand. You may want to get it used to taking a treat out of your hand first. After that 'trick' has been accomplished, you begin to offer him the treat, but make him step over one hand to get to the hand holding the treat. After awhile, he'll step on your hand without the help of a treat.

It is VERY important that in all cases, lavish praise is given every time the bird performs as expected. It is also important that the entire exercise is accompanied by soft and gentle 'step up' commands. (see Flock Talk 11)

Most important of all, is that you feel comfortable and relaxed when dealing with your bird. This allows the bird to feel comfortable and relaxed with you.

Negative reinforcements are 'rewards' given to a bird for undesirable behavior. The word 'reward' carries a certain meaning for us humans, but our birds have another point of view - a fact we need to keep in mind.

Actions our birds see as a 'reward' can be completely unintentional on our parts, and include such actions as raised voices, banishment to the cage, loudly delivered "NO!" or other instructions, use of the 'earthquake' reaction when bitten, or any other action intended to demonstrate our displeasure, anger, or disagreement. It is very easy to forget that avian species do not always express these ideas as we do, and may not perceive our communications as we intend.

Negative reinforcement will actually encourage inappropriate behavior, not eliminate it. It will also damage the trust which must be established between bird and care giver. Without trust, there is no behavior modification possible. The only reaction to unwanted behavior should be that of ignoring it.

A cardinal rule in successful bird-keeping is: never punish a misbehaving bird! You will find more on this subject in Sally Blanchard's outstanding article "Why You Can't Punish A Pet Parrot".

In summary permit me to emphasize that educating wild creatures like our pets is the responsibility we assume when we decide to add him or her to our family. This requires an ability to learn to understand his or her nature. It also requires patience, love and, most of all, respect. Respect for a creature so unique and so special that we humans, who tend to think that we are at the top of the evolutionary 'pyramid', very often have problems imagining the intellectual abilities and perceptiveness of these wild spirits we find so desireable to keep as pets.

EXAMPLE:
Dixie is a sulphur-crested DNA-sexed male cockatoo. He is an absolute sweetheart and his family adores him. He enjoys being held and allopreened, and adores being caressed under his wings. All of a sudden he starts attacking and biting his beloved 'mom'. What has happened?

Dixie was overcome by hormonal impulses - he was acting out of instinct. His mom soon realized there was nothing she could do. She stopped caressing him under the wings because that arouses him and she did not give him the chance to attack or bite her - she left him largely alone to come off his hormonal 'high' on his own. He did. It took about 3 weeks and now Dixie is an absolute sweetheart again.

It is relatively easy to diagnose hormonal biting if we know our birds and learn to recognize their body language. Hormonal biting is quite common and can be expected from Cockatoos, Amazons, Greys, Conures, and more when their hormones tell them to begin thinking of breeding.

The 'cure' is easy, but requires the ability to not take the biting personally, and to give the bird space and time.

• Lesson 1:   Learn the 'body language' of your bird.
• Lesson 2:   Don't give a biting bird the opportunity.
• Lesson 3:   DON'T take a bite personally.
• Lesson 4:   Have Patience!!

For those who would like more advice specifically on Cockatoo behavioral modification, Sam Foster offers instructive articles as well as a private counseling service at http://www.tooinfo.com/

There are many reasons for behavioral changes when something in the immediate environment of the bird radically changes. This is especially true with African Greys.

EXAMPLE:
Rosie, a female DNA-sexed Congo African Grey is about 3 years old. She seems to be a well adjusted bird and although she is rather poorly socialized, she loves her mom, steps up like a good girl and tolerates the rest of the household. Her cage is in the living room against a wall with a view towards the rest of the house.

One evening, everything changes. Mom comes home, her heart filled with love, and finds Rosie wants nothing to do with her or anyone else. She absolutely refuses to leave the cage, cowers on the topmost perch and when approached displays behavior that one could charitably call panicky. Mom is heartbroken and wonders what happened to her Rosie?

What happened was a change in Rosie's environment. Small changes seem negligible to us but can be very serious for our birds. Mom had bought a new life sized marble statue of Hermes. It had been delivered, and Hermes was now standing next to the couch, in Rosie's field of vision. To her, this intruder into her known, familiar environment was seen as terrifying threat. Her world had changed. She was not used to sudden changes, nor did she have any idea how to cope with them.

Once Hermes was removed and put in a place where Rosie could not see him, it was possible, through use of loving conversations and much patience, to convince Rosie that the threatening apparition was history.

In order to return Hermes to his place next to the couch, Rosie's mom introduced him in stages, gradually moving him closer to his eventual position over a period of weeks. Now Rosie can't wait to go visit him and poop on his head.

There are some lessons to be learned here:

• Lesson 1:   Never, never consider inappropriate behavior to be the parrot's fault, because it is not.
• Lesson 2:   Never take any unpleasant behavior patterns personally even if your bird has a fit because you bought a strange hat and insist on wearing it indoors. It's not you, it's the hat, (and probably your bird's objection to your lousy flock manners)
• Lesson 3:   Try to find the reasons for this behavior and then deal with them first.
• Lesson 4:   Never punish the bird, don't lock him in the cage until he 'cools off', don't get 'in his face'.
• Lesson 5:   Be patient. Behavior modification takes time, lots of time.

While Rosie's story is a common problem, finding the answer to why your bird is doing what it does is not always that easy.

EXAMPLE:
Ulysses is a 4 year old Congo African Grey, gender unknown. He is a valued member of the family and has the run of the house. He is fully flighted. He has a wonderful 6 foot tall play gym in the living room and another one on top of the cage. His family loves him and believes that they give him the best life possible.

There is just this little problem: Ulysses does not want to go into his cage when he is supposed to and he won't come out when Mom or Dad ask him to. As a matter of fact, he rarely does what he is asked to do and pretty much makes his own decisions. He bites his 'flock members' with no warning, and has even had a very firm beak hold on Dad's ear. Dad was deeply hurt, in more ways than one, and now is convinced that Ulysses doesn't love him anymore.

This is a prime example of a bird who was inadvertently taught inappropriate behavior. A lot of training has not taken place, on all sides. Mom and Dad did not prepare themselves for the new arrival, and consequently had absolutely no idea how to guide him and help him grow to be the affectionate and wonderful family member he can be.

Commendably they did not give up on Ulysses, but instead asked for help. It was determined that Ulysses needed to be 'reined in' a little.

His wings were clipped to limit his mobility. The gym on his cage was taken down to reduce his 'perching' height, and the 6 foot tall gym in the living room was replaced by one only 4 feet tall. Ulysses was also taught the limits of his 'theatre of operations' - he was allowed on the cage, on the gym in the living room and was not permitted on the shoulders of Mom and Dad, the furniture, or to roam around the house on his own.

Ulysses is very smart and although he did not like the new rules, with lots of gentle positive reinforcement, plenty of praise and the occasional nutriberry he learned what was expected of him. He is much happier and more secure now.

To complete the behavior modification effort, Ulysses also learned the step-up command. He and Mom and Dad had lots of fun with it and he has become a new birdie with the whole family being happier and wiser. At this point it is rather important to note that the entire endeavor took the better part of six months. All agree it was well worth the time and effort. There are a number of lessons learned in this example:

• Lesson 1:   Our love for our birds is not necessarily expressed in 'human' ways.
• Lesson 2:   Our birds need to be given firm territorial perimeters. Contrary to some perceptions, the 'run of the house' syndrome can very well lead to confusion and frustration.
• Lesson 3:   Our birds with their instinctive flock behavior need a sense of security regarding their place in our life. A loving and gently firm nurturing environment which provides limits gives them the feeling of security they need.
• Lesson 4:   Use positive reinforcement to teach your bird. Positive reinforcement works!

EXAMPLE:
Bud is a 8 year old Blue and Gold Macaw. His 'parents' are desperate. He is plucking his feathers and mutilating himself. Having no idea what to do, they asked for help. They were advised to take the bird to a good avian vet for a comprehensive examination to include checks for heavy metal poisoning, nutritional deficiencies and known bird diseases immediately.

After checking the bird's physical condition, attention must be turned to other aspects of the bird's life. In Bud's case, it turned out that 'Mom' had Bud prior to her marriage - in those days, they spent a lot of time together. Her new hubby took some of that time and Bud was admittedly neglected.

His present diet consisted of a parrot mix with a very heavy sunflower content. Here the follow-up advice, after the visit to the vet, was to adjust Bud's diet to include a healthy pellet, fresh fruit and veggie mix, and to provide Bud with an 'emotional support structure' of regular attention, consisting of plenty of the interaction to which he had formerly been used.

This is not to say that Bud should have exclusive family attention. It is meant to say that he deserves and requires interaction with his flock. He requires to be treated as a part of the family, needing his family to satisfy his needs, whether emotional or physical.

• Lesson 1:   Our birds are almost exclusively flock birds. As such, they have the emotional and instinctive need to be a part of the flock. They are entitled to it.
• Lesson 2:   If they are deprived of the feeling of 'flock cohesiveness' they will become insecure, frustrated and unhappy. We are their flock!
• Lesson 3:   A plucking or self mutilating bird should see a qualified avian vet immediately.
• Lesson 4:   There are no short cuts where the bird's dietary requirements are concerned.

Plucking is one of the most serious concerns for care givers of parrots. It is presently assumed that at least seventy-five percent of all plucking incidents are based on medical or dietary causes.

In order to aid those with plucking birds, a comprehensive and well written web site with Pam Clark as one of the primary contributors has been established. Anyone with a plucking bird is encouraged to visit there, and read and adopt the recommended practices. You will find it at: http://www.featherpicking.com/

It is one of my fondest hopes that one day, we humans and our birds may all learn how best to live long, and prosper together!

by Wilhelm Kiesselbach
http://www.nd.edu./~kkiessel/
Copyright © Wilhelm Kiesselbach, March, 2001