Here's my contribution to Google Spider.
Ginger
1. Keep Learning - Nothing in life is ever black and white, so dont take any information about your bird for gospel until YOU'VE thought it through to see if applies to your particular situation.
2. Trust Building, not Trust Destroying is the Key - No matter how frustrated you are, keep calm and cool because your bird will pick up on your emotions, epecially Toos. Dial down your energy and keep your words and body language soft and non threatening. Birds thrive on positive attention and reinforcement, punishment increases negative behaviors.
3. Not All Birds Are Alike - A BE2 is very different from a G2 or an M2 or a U2. A Toos behavior is combination of species hardwiring and the interaction they've experienced with humans.
4. Young Birds Need to Be Socialized - If you are buying a baby, it can't be stressed enough that they need early socialization just like they would receive in the wild.
Babies that are shown love and abundantly fed develop a sense of security vital to their development. Change introduced in safe ways produces an independent and adventurous adult.
5. Find Out All You Can About Rehomes - Some birds will adjust faster than others and patience and understanding are required. The most important rule is that birds are usually more comfortable with people who are comfortable with them. Again dial down your energy.
Aggression begets aggression. Birds bite from fear but if you are submissive by lowering your head and avoiding eye contact, if you move slowly and speak sweetly, even the most aggressive bird will calm down.
6. Toos are Not Lovesponges - "THE OLD CONCEPT THAT A YOUNG COCKATOO SHOULD NEVER BE GIVEN ANY MORE ATTENTION THAN IT WILL GET THE REST OF IT'S LIFE IS ABSOLUTE NONSENSE" Sally Blanchard from the March 2009 edition of Bird Talk magazine.
It's not the amount of attention, it's the kind of attention. If you spend all day cuddling your baby and not teaching him how to play or explore or think or be around other people you are setting him up for failure. Patterning and positive reinforcement are essential for raising a well adjusted Too.
Some great things to teach your baby is Eagle Girl or Boy, waving, recall training, or anything else to show off how smart they are. Which brings us to number 7
7. Dont Ever Forget How Smart Toos Are - One of the ways you can judge an animal's intelligence is by it's ability to decieve another animal. Toos can learn to be very manipulative and run their owners lives.
Do not respond to negative behaviors with the Drama reward. You need to ignore or redirect those behaviors with the all the things you taught them from number 6.
8. Don't Be Anthromorphic - Toos are birds not humans. They do not have human motives. Your bird does not bite you because it's "mad" or for "revenge". There is always a bird reason for bird behavior.
9. Learn to Read Body Language - Beak grinding means happy contentment and low energy. Raised Crest, hopping, wings flaired means happy enthusiam, high energy and possibly misplaced aggression if you get too wild with your bird. Reguritation, wing quivering, shredding everything in site means that your bird is hormonal. Fluffed and lethargic, no preening, no perching means your bird is sick.
10. Just Because Your Bird Bites You Once Doesn't Mean it Will Become a Pattern - You need to think about what happened before, during and after the bite and don't do that again. Were you distracted? Was there another person or animal that scared him? A loud noise?
11. Have A Scheduled Screamfest - Toos love to scream for joy!! Pick a time of day that seems most appropriate and let loose.
12. Spend Lots of Time Playing with Your Too - They love to play. They need it to be emotionally and physically healthy. They love balls, bells, chase, and tag. Just think of how you were when you were 5.
Ginger
1. Keep Learning - Nothing in life is ever black and white, so dont take any information about your bird for gospel until YOU'VE thought it through to see if applies to your particular situation.
2. Trust Building, not Trust Destroying is the Key - No matter how frustrated you are, keep calm and cool because your bird will pick up on your emotions, epecially Toos. Dial down your energy and keep your words and body language soft and non threatening. Birds thrive on positive attention and reinforcement, punishment increases negative behaviors.
3. Not All Birds Are Alike - A BE2 is very different from a G2 or an M2 or a U2. A Toos behavior is combination of species hardwiring and the interaction they've experienced with humans.
4. Young Birds Need to Be Socialized - If you are buying a baby, it can't be stressed enough that they need early socialization just like they would receive in the wild.
Babies that are shown love and abundantly fed develop a sense of security vital to their development. Change introduced in safe ways produces an independent and adventurous adult.
5. Find Out All You Can About Rehomes - Some birds will adjust faster than others and patience and understanding are required. The most important rule is that birds are usually more comfortable with people who are comfortable with them. Again dial down your energy.
Aggression begets aggression. Birds bite from fear but if you are submissive by lowering your head and avoiding eye contact, if you move slowly and speak sweetly, even the most aggressive bird will calm down.
6. Toos are Not Lovesponges - "THE OLD CONCEPT THAT A YOUNG COCKATOO SHOULD NEVER BE GIVEN ANY MORE ATTENTION THAN IT WILL GET THE REST OF IT'S LIFE IS ABSOLUTE NONSENSE" Sally Blanchard from the March 2009 edition of Bird Talk magazine.
It's not the amount of attention, it's the kind of attention. If you spend all day cuddling your baby and not teaching him how to play or explore or think or be around other people you are setting him up for failure. Patterning and positive reinforcement are essential for raising a well adjusted Too.
Some great things to teach your baby is Eagle Girl or Boy, waving, recall training, or anything else to show off how smart they are. Which brings us to number 7
7. Dont Ever Forget How Smart Toos Are - One of the ways you can judge an animal's intelligence is by it's ability to decieve another animal. Toos can learn to be very manipulative and run their owners lives.
Do not respond to negative behaviors with the Drama reward. You need to ignore or redirect those behaviors with the all the things you taught them from number 6.
8. Don't Be Anthromorphic - Toos are birds not humans. They do not have human motives. Your bird does not bite you because it's "mad" or for "revenge". There is always a bird reason for bird behavior.
9. Learn to Read Body Language - Beak grinding means happy contentment and low energy. Raised Crest, hopping, wings flaired means happy enthusiam, high energy and possibly misplaced aggression if you get too wild with your bird. Reguritation, wing quivering, shredding everything in site means that your bird is hormonal. Fluffed and lethargic, no preening, no perching means your bird is sick.
10. Just Because Your Bird Bites You Once Doesn't Mean it Will Become a Pattern - You need to think about what happened before, during and after the bite and don't do that again. Were you distracted? Was there another person or animal that scared him? A loud noise?
11. Have A Scheduled Screamfest - Toos love to scream for joy!! Pick a time of day that seems most appropriate and let loose.
12. Spend Lots of Time Playing with Your Too - They love to play. They need it to be emotionally and physically healthy. They love balls, bells, chase, and tag. Just think of how you were when you were 5.