Coaching behaviour of human visitors

[flyzipper]

I'm wondering what pep talk or coaching you give to visitors when there's a potential for interaction with your bird(s) -- specifically visitors who have no experience around birds.

My goal is to keep every one safe (birds and humans).

"my birds are flighted, so any of them could fly to you; just hold up your arm, they'll land on it, keep them away from your face, and I'll come retrieve him/her" optionally "don't try to pet them, or remove them yourself" but that's getting wordy.​

​

Is it as simple as that?

• Do you say something similar, or different, or nothing at all?
• Do you have different rules for adults versus children?
• Different rules for small, medium or large birds?
• Different for personal visits versus professional (such as trades people)?
• Do you ensure your birds are securely in their cages to avoid this entirely?

I don't have many visitors, but my closest neighbours have expressed an interest in meeting my little flock, or even bringing their grandkids when Covid restrictions loosen. I'll also be meeting with various trades people, but that will likely happen away from my birds simply to avoid the distraction.

I have very few visitors, and live alone, so my birds are not well socialized with others. I have theories about how each of my guys will behave, but limited experience in this context.

What do you think?

 

[Sparkles99]

I would keep the cage doors closed with visitors unless I knew them well enough to accurately predict how they might react. Large birds would be more likely to intimidate someone accidentally while small birds would be more likely to not be seen & both could wind up hurt. You could observe the humans on the first visit & see how comfortable they seemed with the birds out of reach.

 

[Destiny]

When I have visitors to my parakeet aviary, I explain that they are not very tame and don't want to be touched or petted. But they love millet, so I will ask if the visitor wants to feed the budgies. Most people are interested in interacting with my birds. However, some visitors are scared of birds. I let them know that they can come inside without any food and the birds are unlikely to be interested in them. If they are not comfortable going inside, I will encourage them to stay in the safety porch and just watch from outside, if they like.

I have had children, adults, and even one elf visit my budgies. The kids are always fascinated by the birds and love feeding them. I watch them closely to be sure they do not try touch or grab. I haven't had any problems with misbehaving kids, but they do need extra instructions, just in case. In my experience, adults are more likely to be afraid of being bitten. I don't think some kids even realize that is a possibility.

For visitors that come inside the aviary, I let them know how the safety porch works and make sure they understand that the outer door must be completely closed before opening the inner door. And to close the inner door slowly, while watching for flying birds. I also caution guests to watch where they step. My finches and parakeets are fully flighted and spend most of their time up high, but I also have button quail who hang out on the ground. And the budgies come down to the floor to eat fallen seeds, so there is a risk of stepping on birds, if you are not aware of your surroundings.

Next, I give them a honey stick or spray of millet and instruct them to hold it out and let the birds come to them. I let them know to remain still and to not try to pet or touch the birds directly. No sudden movements or loud noises. Then we wait ....

It usually doesn't take very long.




I will usually tell them about the birds and answer questions, while the birds chow down on millet and oat groats. I'll let them know who just landed on them and a little about their personality or coloring. Random budgie facts, what I feed the birds, stories about my aviary, that kind of thing. When the seed is gone, the birds lose interest and fly off.

It is a neat experience for people who have limited exposure to birds. And it is a lot of fun for me to have an excuse to talk about my birds.



....

However, my situation is a little different from most people, since I have a dedicated bird space. When we are done interacting, we can simply leave the aviary and let the birds get back to doing their own thing.

If you have birds free-flying in your home, you would need to talk to visitors about a few other things for the safety of both bird and visitor. Or have the bird in a specific room to meet your guests, so you can leave afterwards.

 

[Zara]

visitors

What are... visitors?

For work people, gas inspector and (I can´t think of anyone else) I wouldn´t have the birds out of their cages.

We usually only get fly by visits off of my partners uncle (who also has a large lovebird flock), but I don´t let the birds out because he never stays more than 10 mins. We had a friend doing some work on a large project with us, and he´d sit by my partners side at the table on his laptop and I´d let the birds out and he´s just work on. Occasionally the birds would inspect him but they wouldn´t hassle him too much which was nice. He hasn´t been around here in a few years though at this point.

At Christmas, I host the dinners here and I wheel all the birds into my bedroom for the night after their bedtime before any guests arrive.

My nephew visits, he´s our most common visitor, he´s now 4, lives in another country and I haven´t seen him in over a year. Now he was the hardest person, but the one who enjoyed the birds the most. But he learned how to open the doors so I would have to hawk eye him and remind him that I have to open the doors ¨so he doesn´t get his fingers trapped¨ (he has no concept of birds flying away, but he knows what ouchies are when getting fingers trapped). And he would be told to sit still on the sofa. Then he´d drink a yoghurt and watch them fly. He prefers watching them to interacting with them.

Aldora joined our flock while I had my partners young teen sister living with us. But she was really good with the birds, in that she left them alone to fly and play and not hassle them. They would land on her and she would interact nicely with them.

 

[flyzipper]

What are... visitors?

Exactly

 

[Mizzely]

My bird is caged when company visits until they are settled (to reduce risk of escape). For new people, I first ask if they are afraid of birds. I've had many people in my home that are terrified of birds, and for everyone's safety I keep them locked up. If they are not and they are okay with him being out, I do let them know he might fly, and he might land on them, but to just ask if they want him removed.

 

[mak]

I always keep Tooky in his cage when people are over since many people are not used to / uncomfortable with a flying bird in a closed space. If the guest/s (usually kids) show interest, I will let them give him a treat through the bars. If they ask to hold him I explain that I can let him out but that doesn't mean he will want to sit on them. I always make sure they know not to put their fingers by him since that makes him nervous and could easily end with a bite.
Recently I had a few family members over, one of which wanted Tooky to come out and one who was nervous of having a bird fly by him. I convinced the nervous relative that there was nothing to worry about as Tooky doesn't really like new people and would probably just fly straight to my shoulder. Of course as soon as I opened the cage Tooky made a beeline for the aforementioned nervous relative. Had to put him right back in the cage..... oh well.

 

[Shezbug]

I very rarely allow my bird out of the cage when people visit and never when tradies are here. If I know them really well and I know they’re calm animal people who won’t freak out if Burt flies to them and they want to meet him closer then I give them some basic guidelines similar to your listed rules about no patting/grabbing and staying perfectly still like a perch till I come get him off them. I’ve unfortunately had to be quite firm and a little rude with a few of mums visitors who have wanted to see Burt out of his cage, mum kinda thinks he’s great for entertainment and pushes for me to let him out, she thinks Burt will be exactly the same with everyone and tells people he won’t bite, she can’t read body language at all so it’s darn scary stuff really depending on the person. I sometimes have to look like a control freak or nasty person because I can usually see from Burt’s initial reactions to them if it’s going to be a non eventful pleasant interaction or if they are going to be a danger to Burt or themselves.
I would never ever allow him out with a younger child I had just met- I’d need to be absolutely certain that the child can follow exact instructions, is not highly impulsive or likely to get excited if landed on- I’d also make the child stay within my reach at all times. I know what that beak can do and I also know what people can react like… I don’t gamble with anything lol.

 

[Kassiani]

I have very few visitors, and live alone, so my birds are not well socialized with others.

Same.

In the past, I have not had the birds out while I had visitors. Some people are afraid of birds, and I respect that. I have a friend who came over because she just needed a little adult conversation after a hard week with the kiddos. I had Opie out on top of his cage because she had not seen him yet, but I asked him to go into his cage after she arrived.

My littles wouldn't hurt a fly and would never land on a stranger, so no worries there. Would your beauties land on someone they don't know?

My grands I've had to coach. I want them to know that you can't play with a bird like you can their dog. And for children, it's mostly things like no shouting, don't poke fingers inside the cage, etc.

 

[flyzipper]

Would your beauties land on someone they don't know?

Marvin is very curious and will fly to people if they stay long enough.

Jericho has flown at people (including the grandkids at his last home, which is how he landed with me). Jealousy appears to be his trigger if he perceives somebody is getting too much attention from his person. So he needs to stay close to me and that's generally been fine.

Oscar has only been with me since October, and I've had no visitors since he arrived (coincident, not due to). I've observed that he gets very animated when he sees women walking by the window, or even hears a woman's voice on video. This makes me think he might fly to a female visitor. The concern would him scaring a non bird person, and if he really digs women, perhaps retrieving him might be a challenge. That's entirely speculation. He and I have a good 1 on 1 relationship, but this scenario feels like an unknown wildcard.

In short, I trust Marvin, but the bigger beaks on Jericho and Oscar warrant some caution.

Thanks for the question. Writing this response shows I've got a mix of things going on, so perhaps it would be best to have them in their cages when somebody is expected (they're rarely in their cages, so that doesn't sit well, even without the interaction dynamic).

I'm actually not keen on this when I think of it. My close neighbours are very nice people, but I get uncomfortable at the thought of my guys being thought of as a petting zoo and gawked at -- when they're my family.

 

[Kassiani]

Well, do you have a female relative or good friend who you could ask to stop over and see what happens with Oscar? Someone you know who is bird-friendly and willing to participate in this little experiment?

 

[Pat H]

@flyzipper -- I love it when our Umbrella Cockatoo flies to me--- HOWEVER, one of the first times she did-- I was wearing a long-sleeved LOOSE FITTING shirt-- when she landed, it moved and so did she-- UNTIL her beak ATTACHED ONTO MY ARM to stop her falling! So now I anchor the sleeve end in my fist, and she can land safely. Also, if her claws need to be trimmed [rough cement perch not working]... then I don't either to prevent me getting scratched!

Good comments on this!

 

[sunnysmom]

I make my decision based on the bird and the people. Elvis loves people. They don't always love him. LOL. If it's someone that is really interested in him, I will let him out but warn them that he will probably jump on the shoulder. I tell them he won't hurt them (he won't) but just to be prepared for the jump. Elvis is really too busy to hang out with people for long but likes to say "hi" to them. I keep the interaction short and then put him back in his cage. I don't let him out with kids. My tiels don't like other people to handle them. So, I don't let them out. But Rosie, especially, loves to be talked to. So when we have kids over- which is seldom, I encourage them to sit and talk to Rosie, which he loves. When I had Sunny, he was out with everyone. He usually preferred though to sit with me but would let people sit beside me and pet him. I would let older children hold him if he was interested. People from the bird rescue have talked about coming over and working with me to socialize Elvis more. Now that things are getting better with Covid, I hope to do that. It would be nice to have people who are familiar with birds to help me make him better behaved around new people. I think he would really enjoy being more sociable but needs to learn better manners. LOL.

 

[MC_Hahn's]

If your visitors are younger (children), remind them not to rattle/shake the cages or try to feed the birds anything other than their designated food.

Growing up, I recall my mother inviting her cousin and his family over. The kids went straight to see the parakeets that I then owned. I explained how the birds got scared easily. I remember leaving to do something or other, and coming back to the room to check on the birds, and finding a horrible sight. Not only was one kid trying to feed a budgie candy through the cage bars, but the other kid was hitting the cages in an attempt to make the birds "shut up"! They had only been chirping--Not squawking, screaming, or anything obnoxious.

Even though that happened many years ago, I now always supervise kids around my birds. You have to remember that while there is a risk that the kid could be hurt by the bird, there is usually a greater risk for the bird to be hurt by the kid. This is especially true with smaller birdies.

 

[redindiaink]

but I get uncomfortable at the thought of my guys being thought of as a petting zoo and gawked at -- when they're my family.

My partner loves to show people the birds, but I started to feel like this, so now he takes the well socialized birds into the workshop when he wants to show them off.

(they're rarely in their cages, so that doesn't sit well, even without the interaction dynamic)

You, or the birds? If it's the birds maybe offer a treat, or foot toy to distract and make the visit short? If it doesn't sit well with you, feel free to not do it. At the old house my neighbour started to treat me like the local free attraction when her grand kids showed up during the holidays ... I didn't mind because it gives me a chance to get up on my soap box about the plight of parrots in captivity etc, but during one visit I met her daughter in law who was such a peach. Bless her little heart. :rolls eyes:

Our approach is pretty much summed up as "you can look but no touch" Keep your fingers to yourself, and don't get too close to the cages because birds like Rosie will grab you through the bars. She likes to reach out with a chubby leg and grab fingers to bite them. I don't offer treats because overstimulated bird + inexperienced treat giver = accident begging to happen. There's some flex, but we play it by ear depending on who is visiting and how the birds are behaving at the time.

For trades people the birds are in part of the house where they haven't needed to be so far, but they'd get the same "look but don't touch"

 

[FiatLux]

unfriendly as this may sound, I don’t think I would let the neighbors come over unless and until it was clear to you that your birds and you would benefit from the experience. Your home is your sanctuary and your birds are your family; if your neighbors are vested in getting to know you and, as a corollary of that, your winged family then that’s worth considering. If they are just curious about the birds or want an educational experience for their grandkids then I think it is not worth it. I have had my favorite neighborhood kids meet Pitchounette and they were in awe. I was loving but quite stern about how they were to approach him and when to back off but they’re used to that from me lol! But I must say that I consider who can meet him and Francois with some thought to who will appreciate how much they are a part of my family because if they fail to do so I may not like them (the people, not the birds) as much. In that case, best to just meet them for coffee elsewhere lol!

 

[flyzipper]

You, or the birds?

My ambiguous statement initially meant that it doesn't sit well with my birds, because that's not how they choose to spend their day. It doesn't sit well with me either though.

I really appreciate everyone's comments in this.

On one hand, it's quite appealing to share the marvel of these guys with others. On the other, I can't be bothered make them or myself jump through hoops if it won't be truly appreciated. Perhaps that summarizes where I've landed on this -- attempting to gauge the degree of interest before agreeing to a visit. The coaching logistics are secondary to that.

As an aside, I have a neighbour who asked, "do they do anything but squawk?", so she's not invited.

 

[redindiaink]

As an aside, I have a neighbour who asked, "do they do anything but squawk?", so she's not invited.

I know exactly what you mean. Otoh ... you never know! /devils advocate

WPR happened and I filled out a form. I didn't tell my partner what I had done until I was interviewed over the phone and invited to visit the birds. They were insistent that everyone in the house come to make sure everyone was keen on the idea. If my partner had his way he would have sat in the car while I went in, "why would anyone want a living dinosaur?" I practically had to drag him inside. So, we're upstairs and he keeps peeking into the two rooms where the 'toos are kept when he comes back and just stands in this room filled with amazons and says, "they have personalities!" with this sense awe and wonder.

The whole time I'm thinking after being exposed to screaming 'toos he's never in a million years going to agree to this.

But, on the way home he says, "I won't mind if you want to get another." He went from barely interested to a bird huffer in an afternoon.

 

[flyzipper]

"they have personalities!"

Definitely a turning point