Bird Behavior & Training
Building a Relationship with your Bird: |
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Enriching your Bird's Environment: |
Behavioral Problems:
Living with Other Pets: Training your cats to live with your birds |
Training your Parrot:
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The following information has been provided by Dr. Jill M. Patt, DVM practicing in Mesa, Arizona. Dr. Patt has been keeping and raising exotic birds for years, providing her a unique knowledge and understanding that goes beyond that of a regular vet who does not have the benefit of daily interaction with birds / parrots.
Parrots as Pets:
Birds are fascinating, beautiful, incredible creatures that I have chosen to share my life with. I've enjoyed keeping and raising birds for as long as I can remember and they are greatly responsible for my becoming a veterinarian.
While I love these critters, I also understand how difficult they can be to live with. Before anyone acquires a pet bird they need to understand what they are getting into. Never acquire any type of pet on an impulse and especially a bird.
Studies have proven that birds are much more intelligent than our other commonly kept pets and they also are very long lived. These two factors often contribute to some of the problems we see in avian veterinary medicine. Because birds are so intelligent, they become board easily and this commonly leads to behavioral disorders such as feather picking and skin mutilation. (Please note that feather plucking/chewing can have physical causes.)
Their intelligence can also get them into trouble. As an example, it is not uncommon for a bird to learn that when they scream the owner comes to the cage and they quickly become attention yellers.
Also, because they often live for decades on very poor diets, we regularly see diseases associated with severe malnutrition. Therefore, I encourage anyone considering acquiring a bird to become thoroughly educated in the needs of the bird prior to bringing your feathered friend home.
Keep your bird busy or otherwise he or she will keep themselves engaged, and you MAY not like what they choose to do!
Toys are an essential part of stimulating birds and keeping them occupied. They need not be expensive. For most birds, but the most destructive ones, small children toys are safe to use. They are usually made from safe / non-toxic materials and are easily obtainable from garage sales or thrift stores.
With a little creativity you can make interesting toys yourself. An empty pen hull makes a great toy for most parrots. Empty bottle caps (non-toxic ones, like plastic). Make sure your bird doesn't ingest any of it though. Most birds won't, but others will. For the latter ones, safe tree branches would be a great alternative ...
The following resources will be helpful: Environmental Changes .... Bird Proofing Your Home .... Foraging stops destructive behaviors ... Also refer to: Redirecting Negative Behaviors in your Petbird for some excellent tips and tricks.
Sexual Behavior in Companion Birds
Training your cat / dog to live with your pet bird: I have always had cats – and for the better part of my life also had birds. I have taken in stray cats that were used to killing birds and mice for food; and yet it took me only a couple of weeks to a month to train the cats to leave my indoor birds alone. I am not a very patient person and training anything is not one of my strong points. If I can do it, anybody can.
The biggest mistake people make is to try to keep birds and cats apart (in different rooms or relying on a cage to keep the bird safe). Eventually someone is going to forget to close the door properly, the bird gets out of his cage somehow, and the cat is going to take advantage of that.
The most important step: Buy a sturdy cage – you do not want your cat to throw over your cage. Buying a heavy / strong cage is most important for mixed (bird / cat / dog) household. Cats or dogs who could topple flimsy cages over, which would give untrained pets access to your birds or cause injury as the cage falls over. The heavier the cage, the better. Stainless steel (if anybody can ever afford those ;-), wrought iron / powder-coated cages would be best. Get a cage with 1/2 inch spacing; not wider than that. You don't want your cat to be able to put her paws through the bars.
Cats are naturally curious and want to explore the new bird. I used to train my cats by allowing my birds to walk all over them. Supervising very carefully, every one of my bird's and cat's move. Young birds are usually not scared to do so. With older birds, simply holding him or her on your finger and allowing your cat to smell it (as long as the bird is comfortable -- if not, do it in small steps). Watch your cat very carefully when close to your bird. If your cat starts playing with your bird (reaching for your bird), say in a loud voice: “NO!” … Whenever the cat is doing anything to put the bird at risk or scare him / her, let your cat know that this is unacceptable (loud NO is sufficient). DO NOT allow your cat to lick your bird. This could cause serious infections. Do allow your cat to approach your bird in a non-threatening manner.
At first your cat will be very curious about the new family member. Eventually he will most likely ignore him. This all being said, I would only allow supervised interaction between the bird and your cat. I have one handicapped cockatiel who lives on a customized tray: Cuddles.htm ... Cuddles flies off the tray at least once a day and many times the cat is alone at home when this happens. She has never hurt Cuddles. Still, this particular cat is very sweet and mellow.
This same training method also worked with my dogs. However, some dog species are bred for hunting and I don't know if one can "turn off" this instinct. I had German shephards and various mixes live happily side-by-side with my birds. I followed the same procedure. Caution and supervision is always important.
Good luck now!
General Training Methods: BirdCLICK - Taking the Mystery out of Bird Training ... Roller Skating -Training & Success - Pet Cockatoo Parrot ... Teaching your Bird to Talk ... Pet Bird Taming & Training
If you would like to add to or correct any of the above information, or would like to share with web visitors your own experiences, please e-mail the webmaster.
Photo contributions are welcome!
