Naming Your Bird April 24, 2008

Photo by Dave
Location: Moab, Utah
Hiking with: Congo African Grey “Cressi”

 

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.

 

Photo by Dave
Location: Orlando, Florida
Featuring: Rose Breasted Cockatoo, Galah “Bondi”

 

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 realize 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

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Henderson, Nevada
Shown: Military Macaw “Cash”

 

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!

 

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands
Pictured: Military Macaw “Cash”

 

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

Photo by Dave
Location: Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands
Hugging: Blue and Gold Macaw “Chayko”

 

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.

 

Photo by Dave
Location: Saipan, Mariana Islands
On back: Blue and Gold Macaw “Chayko”

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.

 

Photo by Dave
Location: Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands
On back: Blue and Gold Macaw “Chayko”

 

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

 

Photo by Dave
Location: Orlando, Florida
On back: Congo African Grey “Cressi” and Galah “Bondi”

 

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. 

 

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Orlando, Florida
Cuddling: Galah “Bondi” and CAG “Cressi”

 

 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. 

 

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Orlando, Florida
Shown: Galah “Bondi” and CAG “Cressi”

 

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.

 

Photo by Dave
Location: Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands
Preener: Swainson Toucan “Fiji”

 

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!

Behavior Shaping April 3, 2008

 

My favorite type of training is behavior shaping. It can also be the hardest because it requires finding a natural behavior your bird already does and having a clicker on hand to let the bird know it’s a good thing to continue to do for a reward.

 

I trained my galah, Bondi, (featured in the video above with Dave Womach) to do what is called “The Rock Out”. I call it the rock out because she spins her head in circles like a rockstar. The story to how I ended up training this behavior is kind of funny as you hear it come together. Bondi use to become very aggressive when put in front of a mirror. She’d nod her head every which way quickly and end up biting my hand if I kept her there long enough. She was constantly challenging “the other bird in the mirror”. In my parents’ house, my old bedroom has a huge closet and the doors are mirrors. It was really hard for me to have Bondi in there and I became frustrated with it (and being bit in the process). So I decided to shape her natural aggressive behavior into a trick.

 

I began by holding her in front of the mirror and waiting for her to spin her head around. When she did, I clicked and gave her a reward. This really sparked Bondi’s attention as she is well clicker conditioned and gets into “training mode” when she hears it. Immediately, the aggressive behavior turned fun and challenging for her. Everytime she spun her head, I would reward her with a click and sunflower seed. Being the complete ham she is (as most cockatoos are) she began offering me more exaggerated movements of her head by really throwing it around. Once she got rewarded for this exaggerated movement, I stopped rewarding for the simple spinning of the head and only for the exaggerated movement.

 

Not only did I reward her with a sunflower seed, but I spoke excitedly to her in a high pitched voice, too. This paired the behavior with a verbal acknowledgment and eventually a verbal cue of “Rock Out”. It only took the one training session to shape this previously aggressive behavior. When I showed it off to my friends and family, everyone loved it! Bondi became happily excited by the response it was getting her and easily did it on cue anytime someone asked it of her. The catch was that they had to say it in a really high pitched voice which was hilarious when a man tried to cue her!

 

The next trick I tried to train Bondi was the “stick em up” which is when they put their wings in the air. I taught her this in a hotel room directly after teaching her the Rock Out. Well, she combined the two tricks together because I did not space them well enough apart! So the Rock Out got extended to a huge movement of her head going in circles plus her wings being out in the air. I loved it so I let it stay that way instead of separating the two tricks.

 

Bondi gets such a positive reaction to this behavior that it is no longer on a verbal cue. She now does the rock out whenever she becomes excited. This meant a lot to me because I had turned a naturally aggressive behavior into what now appears to be her new natural response to excitment.

Flight Suits, Birdie Harnesses, Feather Tethers… April 2, 2008

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Featured: Solid White Parakeet “Lexi”

 

There is some what of a misconception about flight suits. I’ve noticed a lot of people think they will keep your bird from flying off – but isn’t saying that all relative? It feels like they forget they have to actually hold the leash. And, it doesn’t restrict your bird from actually flying… they could still fly off, if you weren’t holding onto the leash. 

 

We flight train all of our birds starting indoors. And since I believe a bird is happiest when it can go outdoors, we like to introduce that element too. A harness is a popular way to do it if your bird is not free flight trained. I was constantly taking my birds with me on small trips to the park or the beach while on a harness before I knew about freeflight.

 

It’s nice to be able to walk around with our birds and show our birds off. I also love how much more friendly people can be when you’ve got a cute pink parrot on your shoulder! I love hearing about what types of birds other owners have and how they wish now they would have brought theirs out with them, too. Not to mention how great it can be for the bird when properly executed. This means taking every precaution possible to ensure your bird is as safe as can be.

 

We bought a long extending leash (for dogs) for our military macaw so that we could fly him outside on his harness. He’s a very skilled flier indoors in a theater environment but the outdoor elements throw him off every once in a while. I would not recommend doing this with your bird unless your bird is already pre-flight trained to perform successful A to B flights. This can prove to be very dangerous if your bird easily spooks and tries to fly at full speed away. More than likely, you will end up either losing the leash or tugging on it so hard that it may seriously injur your bird. Some birds can be held back so hard it tightens around their crop and forces them to puke up their food. It’s important you enable lee-way for your bird if he does do this and guide him down rather than just pull the leash tight.

 

 

Anytime our macaw comes out, he is either set to perch on something or kept on our hand. Our cockatoo is a bit more manageable and desensitized and she will stay on our hand or shoulder. She’s also more social and enjoys being out longer than our macaw. Every bird is different; it’s just about adjusting to your bird and its needs. Some birds can stay out all day while others are good with a solid ten minutes outside with you before they start getting antsy.

 

It’s best to introduce your parrot to a flight suit early on so they get used to being in one. Every bird will react differently. For example, my macaw will merely sit there while I put his harness on him and he’s very comfortable wearing it. My cockatoo, however, hates the harness process and is uncomfortable flying in it so she’s less enthusiastic. My toucan is a complete nightmare with harnesses – last time I put her in a harness she got so scared she broke all her tail feathers. That’s when we resulted to anklets/jesses for her. You cannot use these on parrots! Parrots’ legs are not as strong as the birds these are actually meant for. If you were to treat them so, you would break your parrot’s legs. Do not try to use these on any type of parrot. 

 

There are different types of harnesses for your bird. And harnesses are only made for birds larger than your common English parakeet or budgie.

 

• Feather Tether: This is a harness that goes around your bird’s body and wings that attaches to a leash. This is what Cash has on in the video above except we have attached a much longer leash as explained.
• Birdie Harness: The exact same thing as a Feather Tether.
• Flight suit: These are bird diapers to catch the droppings from your bird so it doesn’t get on you while you have your bird out. These are made for even small birds like the English parakeet. You can buy accessories for these flight suits in order to be able to take your bird outside with you and not have it dispose on you.  
• Kaylor Collar Bird Harness: Many owners find this harness easier to put on their birds.

If you’re having a hard time getting your bird to go into his harness, you can start by targeting your bird around the harness to let him know it’s okay and safe. This is also the process you would use for any type of glove training. Once you have your bird walking on and around the harness, begin letting them lift it up or play with it, gently pick it up and target around it, lay it in your hand, etc. Slowly work your way to actually putting it on your bird at your birds own pace. Don’t ever become overconfident in your bird and step way ahead in training – it doesn’t work that way and you can end up reworking your entire training process from the beginning if you do this.

 

Flight suits can also be very dangerous for your pet birds. If you have an accident and aren’t holding onto the leash and your bird flies away, it can easily get caught in a tree or other harmful area. This can prove fatal when a leash is still connected and can cause them to get tied up and caught up within it. If your parrot spooks easily, it could have a tendency to fly higher and higher and therefore land in a very high tree top that you simply cannot climb up to, to retrieve your bird.

 

So with everything, there are risks that need to be taken into account and assessed. A lot of people are against flight suits for this reason alone and I don’t blame them. It’s not guaranteed that you will always be on your game and always alert enough for your bird’s needs when wearing a harness outside.

 

It’s important to realize that we do strictly only A to B flights this way (as demonstrated with Cash in the above video). And since experiementing with freeflight, we no longer perform these flights with our birds. We still continue to take our non-freeflighted birds out via harness for day trips to the park or to the beach.

 

One of the tricks we do is to put a weight of some sort on the other end of the leash in case we were to let go of it at anytime. This helps limit how far your bird would be able to go if it got away.

 

I’m not advocating the use of harnesses and I’m not against them. Obviously, I have used them safely and effectively in the past. I believe they’re a great idea but can be so dangerous for your bird based off of the risk of losing control of the leash. Really, it’s up to the owner to determine if the risk is worth the adventure. To each his own on this one!