Freeflight: 3 Year Old Properly Fledged Cockatoo May 7, 2008

Bondi is a rose breasted cockatoo also commonly known as a galah in Australia. She is three years old and was bought from her breeder fully flighted and was properly fledged by Dave Womach and I using target training. She is not only an avid flyer but a very skilled flyer. Dave used her in his illusion show for years while headlining on world tours, top of the line cruise ships, and his own dinner theater in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. All the parts in the show that she performed in, involved flying. It is her favorite thing to do next to trick training and a way to let out all that energy of hers.

Galahs are known for getting “fatty tumors” and their diets have to be strictly watched to where they do not receive seed or other fatty foods as part of their normal diet or as their entire diet. Seeds should only be given as rewards and treats so not to “over do it” with these birds. The fact that we keep Bondi full flighted also helps her obtain the proper exercise she needs to also diminish the effect of getting any fatty tumors.

When we first picked Bondi up in Oregon, she was only a few months old and she was still being hand fed. We fledged her while on the road in various hotels, theaters, etc. She naturally began to dart and dash around during flight (like all birds) and did what is referred to as “jinking” which are predator-avoidence manuevers.

She loved skimming the heads of the audience just to get a reaction and easily learned to do more than one “boomerang” flight in the shows. We were constantly having to change up her flight patterns in the show so she would still have fun with it - she had a need (and still does) to want to be challenged.

When I first learned about outdoor freeflight I was amazed and blown away at the very thought of it. It never occurred to me that you could take your pet bird outside without a restraint of any kind. And you can’t - without the proper training.

I was so intrigued and saddened at the same time. I felt like a horrible pet owner for never considering it before. Dave learned with Cressi, a Congo African Grey, exactly how to train a new baby bird to freefly outdoors. I was there through the process, picking up on everything he did and discovered. When I saw how happy Cressi was and how attached she was to Dave, it made me want the same thing for Bondi. But she was already 3 years old and I thought… “it’s too late for her, right?”

Well, it isn’t too late for her or any bird, I learned. The process just becomes different. I was desperate to take Bondi outside. She’s the type of bird that is very social but gets depressed being on a harness and it just broke my heart. However, I wanted her to be outside more than anything so I put the harness on her anyway and made do - thinking it was the best I could offer her.

Not knowing it, I had trained Bondi everything Cressi learned as a baby. And really, Bondi is even more talented at flying than Cressi as of right now. Bondi already knows jinking manuevers and can fly well in small, enclosed areas. Her turns are sharp and controlled and her landings are skilled to perfection. She even knew how to work and fly well in the natural wind outside which took me by surprise.

One day while on a drive looking for new places to freefly Cressi, we found a batting cage on the property of a church. Dave immediately knew it was a great idea and a perfect way to introduce real life elements to Bondi without the fear of losing her outside due to rushing into outdoor freeflight with her. We began bringing Bondi on all the trips with Cressi so she could watch and learn from Cressi. We even flew Bondi on her harness making sure she had enough slack in case wind picked up or something spooked her. She did amazingly well with A to B flights between Dave and me. I was so excited with how it didn’t feel any different from flying her inside that I immediately wanted to take the leash off. I’m always overwhelmed by how much I know the bird will love it that sometimes the dangers and precautions get swept away by the emotional part that comes into play.

Of course, Dave knew better and always keeps me in check, keeping the dangers real and the logic in the forefront. We worked Bondi on a harness for a few days before moving into the batting cage with no harness at all. It was exactly the same except Bondi had more freedom in the batting cage. She could do boomerang flights as well as simple A to B and she had the ability to jink as well. It was so fun to watch her zoom by. It’s like watching a child pick up a toy for the first time - their eyes get wide with amazement and they start having the time of their life. That’s what it was like for Bondi and experiencing that moment with her was breathtaking. The more we took her out and worked with her, the more I wanted it for her. And it’s so hard not to be over-confident in your bird and just want to toss her outside with you. It was essential for me to be learning from Dave and watching his every move. Even to be there to witness how his mind works was beneficial for me.

You don’t really think of the difference it can make for your bird until you watch your bird experience it first-hand. You think, “My bird is happy enough… it loves its toys, me, and it eats well and gets lots of interaction.” but is your bird really being a bird? I have to admit, I thought Bondi was as happy as could be. She is well socialized and entertained, she flys in the house and learns something new all the time. She doesn’t have any issues so I know there’s nothing “wrong” with the way I am raising her… but then this happened and my entire perspective changed. I’ve never seen her so happy! I mean, I thought her life was good… but now… it’s fantastic. And the bond it creates between you and your bird is like none other. It’s not comparable to any other type of training in my mind. And really, there is no other way to make your bird happier than outdoor freeflight. I don’t say that from a trainer perspective of “I’ve seen all, I know all” I say this from an owner, a “parront” perspective of actually witnessing the happiness first hand.

You think your bird is happy, wait until you meet a freeflighted outdoor bird. Then you be the judge.

Are Toucans Cuddly? May 4, 2008

The question I get asked the most about toucans are, “Are they cuddly?” well, I think this picture says it all. This is my Swainson Toucan about a year and a half old at the time. She was always gentle and cuddly and would rub her head against you kind of like a cat for attention.

Of course, all birds are different just like animals in general. Some animals could cuddle all day while others only want it on their own time. Our toucans fit these molds perfectly as Meaka was the cuddler and Fiji (same age and gender) only prefers to cuddle on her own time.

 

Taking Your Bird on Walks May 1, 2008

Almost every night around 5-6pm, Dave and I have been taking our military macaw, Cash, on walks. There is a gas station about a half mile or more down the road and a sidewalk leading all the way to it. We walk to the gas station and back; stopping in between to just take a break and sit with Cash as he examines his surroundings. We do this using a harness and leash and Cash stays on Dave’s hand or mine the entire time. He’s become aggressive since leaving Saipan as he isn’t handled by tons of different people every night anymore which I think he came to like.

Also, the boarding facility we use has personnel that are pretty afraid of him so I have a feeling he doesn’t get as good of treatment as say, Bondi, our rosie who loves everyone and is super easy to manage.

The walks have been stimulating his senses and his eyes practically pin the entire time. He becomes more talkative (unless a stranger stops to say hello, then of course he is silent!) and happier. We perform short flights every time we stop which he does on his own will. He loves flying from me to Dave. In fact, in some cases (or most I should say) he wants me to just put my hand there so he can jump off of it to Dave because that is how we first flight trained him - it was from me to Dave, always. If Dave is out of town, Cash is likely to fly to me but if he has a choice between us - Dave is always the winner! And that’s okay, I really don’t mind. We play different roles with the birds and there are times when they prefer to be with one of us over the other and I get my share of cuddles!

The point of taking Cash on walks so much recently is that it is making him more social slowly. He sees people riding bikes or jogging by. He isn’t spooked by joggers with their dogs or people across the stress, or cars going by. He is doing really well getting used to the outside environment (the only thing he needs to get over is the fear of squirrels!) and he is becoming more and more relaxed around people. I’ve been bringing peanuts with us on our walks and he hasn’t been willing to take them from strangers yet but I think he will soon and I am so excited to see his progress with becoming more and more social.

Of course, there is a serious danger in taking your birds on walks. Especially if you have a shoulder bird. Predators tend to go after prey that are easier to catch meaning they need to be on the ground or just stationary which is perching shoulder bird is. It’s much easier to snatch than a healthy, flying bird is. So be careful, cautious and always be checking the skies and listening for the calls of predators.

Naming Your Bird April 24, 2008

I wanted to share how I came up with names for my birds - as well as use it as a way to come up with a name for yours. One of my husband’s serious pet peeves is animals whose name is “Blackie” or “Fluffy”. I also had a doctor who hated this, too! I remember literally laying in a hospital bed after having my appendix removed and a friend bought me this giant stuffed animal dog that was all black like a black lab. My doctor immediately walked in and said, “Don’t you dare name it Blackie!”

His wish was my command as long as he kept me refilled on the pain killers! To this day, I don’t even remember what I ended up naming the dog, I just remember telling people it wasn’t named Blackie.

The newest member of my flock is a 5-month old Congo African Grey named Cressi. I wanted to post the above picture because it’s picture-perfect for this post. Cressi was named after a brand name called Cressi. It’s a brand for scuba gear and diving gear (free diving, etc). While living in Saipan, Cressi gear is what we began to use and accumulate. It seemed like the perfect name for our new female grey. We have a serious love of scuba diving and just diving in general.

Bondi is our rose breasted cockatoo, also known as a galah, and her kind come from Australia.  When my husband was around 19 years old, he took a vacation just for himself. He went alone to Australia with no plans in mind. He came across Bondi Beach and decided to lay out and try to surf. His mind was so much elsewhere, that he neglected to release that Bondi Beach is in fact, a topless beach!

Thus it being perfect for a bird that goes by “rose breasted” cockatoo! So there is a little more humor to Bondi’s name… which is actually pronounced bond-eye.

Some names aren’t as impressive. Our military macaw, Cash, is named because well, he’s green. Definitely not as original as the others, and I even found it as a name suggestion on a naming your bird website.

One of our parakeets was born in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. There, we looked at adopting some parrots from a resort called the Nikko Hotel. We didn’t end up being able to get any of the birds, but we decided to name our “island born and raised” keet after that hotel. His name is Nikko (pronounced knee-co).

Other names we have used have been born from places we have been (such as Nikko). We were on a road trip to LA from Vegas and combined two cities together to come up with the name Chayko for one of our blue and gold macaws.

My main point of all this, is to put thought into your name for your bird. Make it symbolic if possible (and I don’t mean name it after your boyfriend or girlfriend!) nor do I mean to lead you on to re-name an adopted older bird who already knows their name, either.

We actually had a toucan named Meaka for a while and learned that the name Meaka was used in the orgin from where she comes from which is Nicaragua. So use important symbols in your life in order to choose a good and meaningful name for your bird. People are going to ask how you came up with your name and wouldn’t it be great to share a cool and interesting story with them?

If all else fails, check out various websites for name ideas!

Night Frights April 22, 2008

Cockatiels are probably the most commonly known for having the worst cases of night frights among parrots. Usually, night frights occur for mainly the smaller birds but I have heard of a few cases of it happening for larger birds as well; including my own.

I’ve had one bird fall off a perch during the night or begin having their own night terrors and spooking all the other birds (mine are all housed in one room). This type of situation usually would end with every single bird at the bottom of its cage looking up and around at me very confused and spooked.

My brother in law’s cockatiel, Magoo, is the one known for serious night frights. Magoo used to have such horrible night terrors that he would wake everyone up from the trashing noise and end up bloody from breaking blood feather after blood feather.

Parrots do not see well at night so if something spooks them and in turn, they cannot see a thing, it leads them to panic and thrashing. A bird’s natural instinct in the wild would be to fly away but since the bird is in a cage - it normally ends up trying to do this and hits everything within the cage.

Magoo’s night frights were cured by my brother in law leaving a night light on for him at night. He did this for a while until eventually Magoo did not need it anymore. I highly recommend leaving on a dim light for the bird to be able to see at night if he or she begins to suffer from night frights. You should also not cover your bird’s cage at night if it becomes scared of the dark, for lack of a better term. As this will definitely provoke panic in a bird who is easily spooked at night by darkness.

Stressed birds tend to not sleep as well so make sure your bird doesn’t have anything to be stressed out about. It needs to be getting a good amount of sleep at night (10 hours is a safe amount of sleep for your bird). Certain things like people getting up for a midnight snack or a glass of water in the middle of the night and passing by your bird’s cage could be a cause for sending it into night terrors. Try to limit how much this happens in your home and keep other animals from doing the same.

It’s thought that birds need absolute silence in order to sleep but in the wild, they are accustomed to a certain amount of noise from their natural environment. Complete silence actually means danger to them in the wild and they get a certain amount of light from the moon and stars at night. We can learn a lot by looking at where our birds come from.

I’ve never tried it before or met anyone that has but I have read that you can try playing soft music for your bird which will act as the little noise that stays in the forest as your bird sleeps. Soft rain forest sounds of some sort may be soothing to your bird.

It’s important to stop night frights when your bird is experiencing them. Quickly turn on the light and let them calm down. Once they have calmed back down, leave a dim light on and let them go back to sleep. Providing your bird some light is the most important thing you can do and offer your bird in order for it to get past its night frights. Eventually, it may be able to sleep in pure darkness again or for once, or maybe you bird will always prefer a dimly lit light to sleep with.

Negative Reinforcement: Leaving Your Bird Alone April 21, 2008

Back in January 2006, we bought three macaws; two blue and gold macaws and one military macaw. They were all around the age of 6 months old and were shipped to us while in Henderson, Nevada. We were preparing for the show we would perform for 13 months straight on the island of Saipan with them entitled Magical Flight.

Jersey and Chayko, the two blue and golds that were brother and sister, were quickly willing to spend every moment with us and wanted nothing more than to be close. Cash, the military macaw, on the other hand, was fast to be aggressive and wanted nothing to do with us. You would never be able to tell from the photo above.

The shipping process proved hard on him and especially on his plummage. He seemed like he was handled roughly through the process as his tail came broken and his feathers ruffled. He had just been clipped by the breeder so the ends of his wings didn’t look so pretty either. I remember my family thinking he wasn’t a very handsome looking bird but boy are they taking that back now!

Because of my experience with Cash, it really bothers me when people say how they want to buy a “nice bird”. Birds don’t come as nice or mean - it’s their owners who make them who they are. If you teach or reinforce aggressive behavior, you’re going to raise an aggressive bird.

Dave was the first person to ever put any time into working with Cash. We easily figured out that Cash did not care about food rewards and the only thing that acted as a reward to him at all was us leaving him alone. Because of this, we used negative reinforcement to tame him. His “reward” was Dave backing up and giving him his space.

After 15 minutes of clicker conditioning Cash and working what is also called “the power pause” shown here among other birds, Cash was in Dave’s arms loving being showed affection and attention. He has been Dave’s baby ever since and we have since trained him with his reward being Dave’s love and attention. We have socialized him this way and flight trained him this way - with his reward being going to Dave. Amazing how much a bird’s perspective, as well as ours, can change through some basic training.

Earning Trust for Behaviors: Bird on Back April 18, 2008

Earning your bird’s trust can be hard depending on your bird’s situation. One of my favorite behaviors to train is based on trust and that is getting your parrot to lay on its back; whether it’s on a hard surface or in your arms.

It’s important to get your bird used to being touched all over when you first get it. Handling it in all sorts of different ways and touching all over its body is a great way to get your bird used to being handled and touched. Some birds don’t like their tails being touched, or their backs, but if you get your bird accustomed to being touched everywhere, they will think nothing of it and it will become easier to handle your bird yourself as well as allow others to handle your bird, too.

The first steps to getting your bird to lay on its back comfortably and willingly is to create a bond with your bird to where he enjoys being loved and showed affection from you. Once you have this relationship and your bird is comfortable with being touched all over, you start by getting it used to your hand being placed on its back. I hold the bird close to my chest and slowly tilt forward with one hand holding his feet and acting like a perch and the other supporting his back.

It’s important not to just fling yourself forward with your bird as this will startle him and most likely result in you getting bit. You want to make sure to ease into it very slowly and at the pace of your bird. I always use the reward of being cuddled and held, but a food reward can also be given if that is what your bird responds best to.

Eventually, you get to the point where you are completely parallel with the floor and your bird is comfortable as he is close to your body. When your bird is comfortable with this stage, this is when you begin slowly moving your body away the same way you eased down to become parallel.

Slowly but surely your bird will become comfortable laying on its back in your arms without your chest having to be there for support.

This process needs to be worked over days and days. I did little by little with my blue and gold macaw, Chayko. I worked it every day until it morphed into the behavior I was looking for.

It’s also a process of finding out which position is most relaxing for your bird. Some want to be facing you straight forward, others want to be to the side, others need to be cradled like a baby.

The last step is removing your hands which are playing the role of your bird’s perch. This can be difficult as sometimes hanging onto your hand is the only reason your bird is comfortable on his back in the first place. This must be done very slow! I’ve found that taking away one finger at a time works best with getting the bird use to holding onto less and less. The last finger will be the hardest but if you can get him down a finger every training session, you’re doing amazingly well. Remember to always go at the pace of your bird and do not force him into moving too fast. This needs to be a positive experience and turn into a behavior he enjoys doing. Praise and affection are great rewards for this type of behavior.

Eventually, your bird will easily ease into this. When I went to visit Chayko at David’s place, I handled him and talked to him. It had been months upon months since I had seen Chayko last and I was nervous he wouldn’t remember me. Sure enough, after about 5 minutes of reuniting with him, he went on his back for me and laid in my arms. It meant the world to me to know he still loved and trusted me as he always did.

Socializing Birds of the Same Size April 17, 2008

 

I recently joined a really great parrot related forum called HappyBirdy.com. A user named Cheryl asked for advice on how to properly socialize her six birds and I ended up writing to her about how I socialized my Congo African Grey, Cressi, with my Rose Breasted Cockatoo, Bondi. They are of the same size and are now living happily in a cage together. 

Here is how I accomplished this, taken from my post at HB. 

Anytime you bring a new bird into your flock, it must go through a 30 day quarentine. This is essential to maintain the current health of your flock. Cressi was kept in a separate air source from our other birds. Our other birds were kept in our Florida room. So for a period of 30 days, Bondi and Cressi merely saw one another through glass doors. 

After that period, we introduced Cressi to the florida room to join the flock. She was in a separate cage of her own and we began to take her and Bondi out together and into our entry way of our house. It is a wide, open area with plenty of room for them to fly and play. 

When introducing new birds to one another, I always make sure to do so in a non-territorial area that is wide open. Birds tend to take onto the “Fight or Flight” moto. I have found that birds that are clipped are less likely to socialize as fast than a bird who is fully flighted. This is because the clipped bird feels like it only has the option to fight if something goes wrong. In my situation with Bondi and Cressi, they are both fully flighted as were they at this time of introduction. I have done this with clipped birds and will save that talk for a later entry… 

I believe for the bird to know that it can get away if it feels too threatened is a huge benefit for the bird to feel comfortable in getting closer during the socializing process (at least from what I have realized in my own personal experience doing so).

 First, I find the right place to introduce the two birds. I would not try to introduce all your birds to one another at once. There’s no way you will catch everything that happens and it will just be a personality overload!

 With Cressi (CAG) and Bondi (Galah) they were competent fliers and of the came general size. We have a very open entry way in our home and chose to use it for the socialization process. Neither bird was dominant in this area and it had enough room in it for either one to fly away to safety.

 All birds will be comfortable at some point - it is finding that point. Some birds will prefer to be merely 2 feet away from one another, while others will need a good 20 feet just barely within sight. Work from your birds comfort zones, always gently pushing but not forcing. A breakout will happen if your bird is made to be too uncomfortable so it’s important not to force the friendship.

 We kept Cressi and Bondi in separate cages at first. They saw one another and began to mimick each other’s sounds. We would have them out together and they would fly. We have various railings in our house (it’s two story) and they would always fly to opposite railings in the beginning. Eventually, they began to get closer and closer and enjoy one another’s company more and more thus bringing them closer together. We made sure neither had the chance to strike the other and never rewarded or comforted when aggression was present.

 I also found it worked to love on one and let the other walk up and love that one too. I got Cressi and Bondi to stand so close they were touching feathers doing this and they didn’t care about the other bird’s presence because they were both receiving equal love and affection.

 This didn’t happen within a couple days I may point out - this is a process that can take months depending on your birds.

 Once Bondi and Cressi were comfortable outside of their cages and flying around, we introduced them at the same time to a brand new cage. And when I say at the same time I really mean at the exact same time. Dave handed Cressi onto a long perch that stretched across the cage which is what I did with Bondi at the same moment. The environment was new to both birds and neither felt comfortable or “at home” so there were no territorial, dominance or aggression issues whatsoever.

 Also, when I say these two birds were comfortable together outside of their cages, I really mean that too. Check out the following image to see how comfy I mean these two got! This is where the birds need to be if you’re going to plan on housing them together. Also, the housing needs to be big enough for them to be able to get away from the other bird - always. I’ve raised related birds who love one another but even siblings get sick of each other sometimes and it’s bound to happen. 

 Dave and I each stood holding one bird and placed them in the cage on a level perch at the exact same time. The environment was new to both of them so there was no territorial or dominance issues at all to deal with. There are 4 food dishes, 2 on each side and we felt that if they had a bickering, the less dominant bird could still get to food since it was all around available.

 However, it’s funny… Bondi and Cressi have their “sides”. Bondi chose the left side, Cressi took the right. They share the entire cage but when you go in there at any given time and they aren’t eating - they are on their sides!

 Bondi has this habit of pacing when she is eager to come out and she only paces half way! It’s like there is this invisible wall in the cage which can be pretty comical. I need to get it on video because words do it no justice…

 Here is a video of Bondi and Cressi recalling to me together…

I hope this helps at least begin your journey to socialize your birds together. I think the most important aspect is for neither bird to feel dominant during the process.

 The whole idea with socializing is to reward your bird (whether with a treat or attention - depending on what is a reward to your bird) for getting close and showing a calm demeanor with the other bird. If they both get rewarded for the same behavior, they will catch on that the other bird is okay to be around and may eventually begin to enjoy its company. The clipped birds I socialized were 3 macaws (two blue and golds and a military) and once they were socialized, they still preferred to be on their own, doing their own thing. Each bird will be different. 

Above is a photo of Bondi and Cressi sharing a cage together as they are now properly socialized.

 

Telling Secrets April 16, 2008

I don’t know about your feathered friends, but mine tell me their deepest darkest secrets.

When Birds Preen You April 15, 2008

I’ve always liked it when other people would play with my hair or do it for me. But it’s really something else when your bird starts preening your hair for you!

My parrots will do it every so often. Cressi dislikes hair, it just bothers and irritates her. Bondi, however, will make sure to fix it if she sees it and my toucan, Fiji, loves preening my hair when it’s long.

While performing nightly in Saipan, she would sit on the back of my chair as I applied my make up before the show and preen my long locks. It’s the funniest feeling from a toucan, as they click and snap and seem to have a harder time with it than parrots. Or perhaps they just aren’t as graceful!

When we were traveling upon cruiselines we had bunk beds in our room and I got the top bunk. We would lay a towel down below and Fiji would get to sleep on the safety rail attached to my bunk. She loved it there, as it was her favorite spot to be all the time! Before bed each night, she would hop onto the bed and up my back and begin to preen my hair before we went to sleep. I’d be laying on my stomach reading a book as she would accomplish all this and it always put her in a very playful and loving mood.

Then, when she decided it was time for bed, she would pull the covers off me until I turned out the light. Within seconds, her tail was flipped up and she was fast asleep.

It always amazes me how gentle they are when preening me; it makes me feel so cared for and loved by my birds. Like a true part of the flock!