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The Twelve Secrets to Raising an Emotionally Stable Cockatoo, Paraphrased From Sally Blanchard

suncoast

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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.





 

Cynthia & Percy

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thanks for sharing great points she made and you
 

ortegah

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Great info! I'd like to get a too someday so I'll be bookmarking this info :)
 

Birdlover

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Excellent Ginger!! Glad to see its a sticky! :D
 

Hendryx

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Awsome!!!:)
 

Thugluvgrl187

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Great info. Will be valuable when I get my goffin too one day.
 

Kristy

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Thank you for the contribution.:laughing12:

It is an excellent resource.
 

suncoast

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I would like to thank a special friend who went and got this for us from you-know-where.

Ginger
 

Bokkapooh

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When I read the original from Sally Blanchard from bird talk, I just have to say, again, that your rewrite of it Ginger, is phenomenal, and I printed it out.:D
 

farmgirl63

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I'm bringing my rehomed U2 home in a couple of weeks. These are great points to remember. We are doing the meet and greet a few times before the big move and he is currently getting used to his travel cage. Apparently the last road trip was a disaster. I will keep these twelve points in an easily accessible place as I know I'll need some constant reminders. Thanks!
 

suncoast

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Welcome Anne,

Please forgive me if I missed you in the "Introduce Yourself" section. If you haven't done it already will you please stop by and let all of us welcome you properly.

We are here ready to help you with your new family member.

Ginger
 

hotfoot jackson

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This woman is brilliant (Sally Blanchard) when it comes to cockies...she is experienced but also she has "heart" and listens compassionately to cockatoos...well worth reading.
 

Joey

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these guidelines are quite impressive. very handy for new too owners!
 

Nundy's Momma

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I am the Momma of a baby BE2 and I am trying to raise him right because I know that he will outlive me and I want his future Momma to love him just as much. This information was absolutely wonderful!!
 

Kristy

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Debbie congrats on your new baby BE2!

I have two of those darlings, they are handfuls.....and manipulators and they are also the funniest roomates you could ever ask for. :hehe:

Have you posted photos yet?
 

HeatherS

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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.


Clearly, this means all birds are geniuses. Not that we didn't all already know that, right?

Excellent job, Ginger. I've always wanted a Too :).
 

iluvsunconure

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I have a question.....how do you start a screamfest? Like with music? Or with the toos' owner dancing or swaying? Thanks! :)
 

Saemma

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:highfive: Awesome info!! Thanks for sharing.
 

suncoast

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I have a question.....how do you start a screamfest? Like with music? Or with the toos' owner dancing or swaying? Thanks! :)
I usually wait until Truely initiates its. We normally have two "scream" fests during the day, one in the morning when we play hide and seek and one in the evening when were out on the lanai and she's got a wild feather up her butt.

You will be able to tell, because the vocallizations will not just be screams but also a running commentary on the whole day in Too language.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4wSUGRNTVc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GKmBLfJOFo

You can experiment though. Put on some happy fun music and start dancing around and see what happens.

Ginger
 
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