Looking for ALL current/past brown headed parrot owners! INFO NEEDED

[Navibird]

Hi all! I am new to the forum and am calling on all current or past brown headed parrot owners, preferably who have had theirs from that of a hand fed, hand tame baby. My husband and I will be bringing home one of these guys in 3 weeks and what started out an excitement, has turned slightly into nervousness. All of the accounts I've read are of people who have adopted their brown heads once they've pasted maturity and may have already developed trust issues/aggression issues etc. My question is: for those who have started with a hand fed, hand tame baby, how did they turn out, or how have they turned out? I've read a lot of accounts of people stating aggression and biting as main issues, and I don't know that I'm experienced enough to be able to properly work through that. I'm worried we may be making a bad decision, but on the other hand we hear that they are sweet, independant, affectionate birds.

Can anyone chime in on what it's like to own one from that of a baby? What do we need to know to get them through any rough stages? Also, is there any difference in bringing home a male verses a female? I'm almost certain ours is a male (we're currently waiting on DNA results), and we've heard males are harder to handle when they go through their hormonal stages and their adolescence stage. Is this true?

We appreciate ANY advice on what it's like owning these guys. Thank you all

 

[Shezbug]

First of all...... Welcome to the Avenue


I have no experience with this particular species of bird, but, I can tell you that all babies go through fazes and changes and will push and test just like a child.
If you are at all stressed or concerned of what you will have to deal with, learn and shape, then it may be a better idea to purchase an adult who chooses you- this way you know the bird does like you and is less likely to change its mind.... this will not guarantee that aggression or biting will not occur- some birds go through a real rough time with hormones.
Birds are kinda like a feather bag of uncertainty and that can be great if you are up for the challenge and the personal rewards and connections that come with all the things many feel are negatives- I honestly can not mention a true negative about my baby boy even if I am honest and say he has cost me a fortune, broken lots of my stuff including my skin, put holes in everything I own, OMG this list goes forever but I honestly do not feel like any of it is negative as he gives me more joy than anything else in my life ever has since my human children were born - I would not change a single thing I have gone through or had to learn and deal with and accept!!
All babies need to be taught manners, rules, behaviors and what is and is not acceptable and as baby owners we must be prepared to do this patiently and consistently without letting our feelings and emotions get in the way- some people find this very stressful and others find it impossible and are really hurt and personally upset by their birds behavior towards them. Some do not take the responsibility seriously and then end up with a maturing bird who is a terror and needs serious corrections and help from behaviorists. Birds are very intelligent and wonders at picking patterns and also the slightest of body language- they will give you a run for your money lol...... but, like I said before- you will never find a more rewarding and honest relationship than that of a great closeness with a bird.
Babies of all species have to mature and with this comes changes to general behavior, what and who they like, who they wish to have as a partner (this is not usually the human parent figure), how they feel about their surroundings etc- In a nut shell, I guess you can say that what you have in a bird as a baby is not a guarantee of what you will end up with once it has matured.


This stuff is general for all birds and baby birds- Hopefully someone with experience of the species you are getting will chime in. I can not tag anyone for you as I can not for the life of me think of a member with one off the top of my head.

 

[Navibird]

Hi Shezbug, and thanks for your reply! I am totally willing to work through all of the various stages a bird may go through, I guess I'm just not sure how. I totally understand that the baby I get may not be the adult I end up with. So my question I guess is how do I work through these various stages? I understand they can go through a nippy stage as they reach adolescence for example, so how might one work through that type of situation? Or when he/she reaches sexual maturity - how might someone handle that type of situation? I'm a research nerd and want to learn everything I can so I'm prepared. Maybe my initial message didn't convey that I was willing to work through all of these things, and I apologze if that was the case. I'm totally on board with going through it all

Thanks!

 

[Shezbug]

You keep being a member here and chat, share and learn.
You’ll get lots of advice, tonnes of support and even more understanding and compassion for the days that are tough.
@Monica gives great training advice.
Going by how you come across I don’t feel you’ll have too many issues- you sound very invested and committed to doing the best.

Have you had a real good look through this site? There are lots of personal experiences, advice, opinions and even some great articles by professionals on all areas of bird health, care, behaviour and training.

I think I’m really going to enjoy following your journey with your baby if you do stick around and share.

 

[Navibird]

I will absolute continue to be a member. This place is a treasure trove of information haha For a research nerd like me, I love these types of places. I will absoltely continue to search the forums and read others accounts, and I appreciate the tips about Monica offering great training advice! I'm very excited to be bringing home our little brown head and can't wait to work with him or her. We will be finding out the sex by the end of next week Once he/she comes home, I can't wait to share photos of our new little baby

 

[Monica]

IMO, a lot of issues people have with their birds stem from lack of training, mental stimulation and perhaps even exercise. (many people clip... clipped birds can't as easily get rid of pent up energy like flighted birds can)

There's also a lot of bad advice on the internet. Birds who bite may often be trying to tell you something. By "allowing" the behavior to occur, we are only reinforcing their need to bite. Therefore, it's better to avoid, prevent, redirect and replace undesired behavior with desired behavior. This is often easier said than done for many.

Now babies are very curious creatures by nature - regardless of species! So they may use their mouths a lot to explore their world. This includes checking out our skin! It would be healthier to encourage them to chew on toys instead of us or to forage for food. Likewise, you could add in some training exercises.


There's tons of free access training information in the following thread.

Free Training Resources

Someone recently told me that there was only one trainer on the internet that had free training advice. This is, quite simply, false. This “trainer” they spoke of is an amateur that has taken advice from salesmen who market themselves as bird trainers. Not to say that they don't enjoy helping...

forums.avianavenue.com

 

[Navibird]

Hi Monica, thank you so much for your response! I understand babies will want to use their mouths more, but how do you think I should react to this behaviour? We have dogs, and when our puppies were mouthy, we redirected with a toy, or removed ourselves from the situation for a brief time out. Now I know dogs and birds are two very different species, but would the same principal apply, or would birds not respond to this type of training? We have purchased literally close to 600$ in toys, different type of natural wood and rope perches, foraging toys etc. We also plan to clicker train when our new little one comes home. We've even ordered training perches and a training kit from The Parrot Wizard (if you're familiar with his work). We're really looking forward to our new bird and plan to work through all challenges that come our way. We just want to ensure we know how to work through the various challenges. I guess our first challenge being that of having a baby who likes to use their beak. How might we go about setting the right foundation from the beginning?

 

[Monica]

Same principle would apply!

Like I said, when it comes to training, if you do it right, it's not all that different! Sure, they are vastly different species, one predator, one prey, one avian the other canine... but a lot of the training is still quite similar!


Yes, I am familiar with PW... and no, I do not recommend him. He learned from sales people. (not to say the sales people don't enjoy helping people out.... but they are sales people first and foremost - they still have a lot to learn when it comes to the science of behavior and training!)

I recommend the people here.

Free Training Resources

Someone recently told me that there was only one trainer on the internet that had free training advice. This is, quite simply, false. This “trainer” they spoke of is an amateur that has taken advice from salesmen who market themselves as bird trainers. Not to say that they don't enjoy helping...

forums.avianavenue.com

 

[Navibird]

@Monica glad to hear a lot of the training is similar as i really understand it from the dogs perspective. I love clicker training and am pretty excited at the possibilities I can train to my bird.
I can definitely see what you say about PW. I don't necessarily agree with his practices either. I just purchased some items off of his store, mainly different perches and training stands.

I will definitely check out the link you attached, thank you!

 

[Shezbug]

@Navibird we have some brilliant vendors here on this site that sell perches and other bird toys and accessories. Have you checked them out?

 

[Navibird]

@Shezbug I would love for some suggestions if you have any! Particularly if there are any Canadian ones

 

[Shezbug]

There are a few Canadian vendors. Lucky for you huh. Lol.

Here is the link to the list of site vendors.

List of Vendors and AA Store Profiles

Bird Stores ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Bird Toy AA Member: abirdtoy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Avian Organics AA Member: Danita ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Birdfolk AA Member: Birdfolk...

forums.avianavenue.com

 

[tka]

Off the top of my head, Oliver's Garden is based in Canada: Welcome to Oliver's Garden Bird Toys -

 

[Shezbug]

We have a few vendors from Canada but for perches and stands there are some pretty cool ones from @JLcribber

 

[Navibird]

@Shezbug and @tka thank you so much for the links and suggestions, I will check them all out! I absolutely LOVE ordering stuff for our little girl/boy to come. We've probably spent over $800 already LOL We have plans to build a small outdoor aviary in our new place when we move this June, and we will be creating a whole bird room out of our second bedroom once we move. Can't wait!

 

[tka]

Haha, you're in for a treat then - if I was in Canada I'd find it very hard not to buy everything that @Susan and Oliver make! All birds have different preferences when it comes to toy size and material so I'd recommend getting a range to try out. You could try emailing and asking them to put together an assortment of toys within a budget.

These look like a nice way to try out some different materials and textures: Grab Bag

 

[Navibird]

@tka i was taking a look at the site and there is SO much we want to order! Definitely the next time we can order stuff, it'll be coming from there haha We're currently waiting for the last half of our stuff before our baby comes home in 2 weeks

 

[Shezbug]

I think @Danita stores are in Canada too?

 

[iamwhoiam]

Congrats on getting your brown headed parrot. I have red-bellied parrots and a Senegal and I've read that the brown heads are generally mellow Pois compared to my rbs and Senegal.

 

[Navibird]

@Shezbug yes we currently have an order in from Danita actually, we're just waiting on shipping

@iamwhoiam thank you so much! We're very excited! We just found out today that our little one is a GIRL That was what I was personally hoping for, so I'm extremely excited haha We've got 2 more weeks of waiting to go and I swear it feels like an eternity haha