• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

New to bird owning.

Cynthia & Percy

cockatoo mania
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avian Angel
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
1,000,000
Location
USA bound
Real Name
cynthia
You do not discipline birds you ignore bad and please reward the good behavior
 

tka

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
4/4/17
Messages
4,433
Location
London, UK
You do your best to avoid the bite. This means really learning your bird's behaviour and body language, working on how to communicate with them, and respecting their autonomy.

Many birds will signal when they're getting stressed or unhappy about something. You'll see them puff up or slick down their feathers, change their posture, pin their eyes, hiss, open their beak, feint a strike and so on. Most birds will give you a warning UNLESS that warning has been consistently disregarded. Then they'll learn that being nice and giving a warning doesn't work, so just go straight for the bite. Why bother giving a series of clear warnings if they're going to be ignored?

If a parrot is giving you a warning, stop whatever you're doing and back off. Disregard anything you read about "bluffing" - birds don't bluff, they do their absolute best to communicate. What's interpreted as bluffing is a bird who's exhausted most other warning signs but is still reluctant to actually bite you. That should be listened to and respected, not ignored. Pushing something that your bird is warning you about isn't going to teach them "discipline" or who's boss - parrots simply don't have hierarchies like that. If a parrot is saying "don't touch me" or "I don't want to step up" or "I don't want to go to that person", respect it. It's more like a human friend telling you to stop doing something that bothers them - continuing to do it just shows them that you're a crappy friend, not that you're in charge.

Some birds are described as "nippy"; however, they're often curious and don't realise that what they're doing is painful. Try not to put them in a position where they're likely to nip. For example, shiny piercings and dangly earrings are pretty much irresistible to a curious parrot, so unless you know your parrot very, very well, don't allow them on your shoulder if you wear these things. Some parrots are protective of their favoured person and see other people as rivals, so will nip their favoured person to drive them away from a potential suitor as they would do with a mate in the wild. If your bird has a tendency to be nippy, keep them where you can see them. Having a parrot on your shoulder means that you can't see if their body language suddenly changes; some parrots will never be "safe" enough to have on your shoulder.

I've honestly never been bitten by Leia. I've had a couple of hard pinches off her (generally when towelling her to give medication) but I can read her very well, and she knows that she merely has to lean away from me to show me that she doesn't want to be touched. If I pushed her to do something she was unhappy with then yes, I absolutely would get bitten. She's totally capable of it. We've just learnt together how to avoid getting into that situation in the first place.

Parrots can be a lot of fun (and a lot of stress, and a lot of work, and a lot of heartache) and can make wonderful companions. However, most species of captive parrot are only a couple of generations removed from the wild. It's not like having a domestic pet species that has been selectively bred for generations to get along with people. From the tiniest parrotlet to the biggest macaw, we're essentially keeping a wild animal in our homes. We have to be part zookeeper and part animal behaviourist to get on with our birds :)
 

MarshyTiel

Moving in
Joined
4/6/20
Messages
7
Real Name
Annie
I personally love IRN, but they are little trouble makers. Very active and getting into things. Not really a I'll hang out on your shoulder type of bird. They can talk well but not all of them do talk. They can become un-tame/wild if they aren't constantly handled. They aren't cuddly like a GCC or cockatiel. Have you considered a Quaker? They can talk well and might be a bit better to bond with.
 
Top