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Answered by Dr. Brian Speer, DVM:

In many psittacines of this size or larger, the juvenile moult is first completed (in my experience) in the 6-10 month age group or so. It is possible that your bird still may get there. One of the spin-off problems that occurs with some of the types of wing trims that are performed in young birds, is that the stage is set for falling, recurring trauma and a secondary inhibition of pinfeather re-growth. If this is a persistent observation in this bird after another few months, I would certainly recommend a physical examination.

Answered by Dr. Brian Speer, DVM:

Sunny - alone, those color changes in the nails to not necessarily concern me too much. This could be secondary to the primary process that is causing the drdy and cracking issues on the feet (I do not really see this in the photos), mechanical trauma issues caused by the bird, or the topical medications you have been applying to the feet and nails. If the skin lesions are progressive, I'd suggest you ask your veterinarian to consider further investigation, but otherwise, would not necessarily recommend a "jump" to treatment or detailed diagnostic investigation (yet)

Answered by Phoebe Green Linden:

Hi Bruce, We are so excited to get in on the flight action with you, Gizmo and Einstein. Bonnet (one of my wonderful avian companions) and I are also amidst flight explorations and we, like you, have had our share of lucky-and-we-don’t-want-to-push-it experiences with parrots in flight in the house. So, we're with you and we'll be ready to fly in a moment.

First, good question on the pans. In order to keep it simple, I stay with stainless and well-seasoned cast iron pieces, then abide by simple reminders: use veggies and olive oil, avoid overcooking, and ventilate for clean cooking and air that's parrot-healthy.

Our first question is for Gizmo, as in what's up with the not flying very much, buddy? We've seen your cousins zoom around like gleaming banners crossing paths in mid-air and landing fast in order to turn tummy to sky for Sun Conuring. Bruce, as the human, you probably need to check in with Giz to see what kind of physical activities he’d like to check out to further his psittacine-physicality. Maybe Gizmo likes stretching – what is his full range of motion? – or big flapping hops from this cool place to a new cool parrot place. Bonnet says, think flock habitat expansion, Bruce – parrots love habitat. Set up a great place for Gizmo to do his wing-beats and let’s see what happens.

Einstein is indeed a genius and you must be super excited to be sharing space and consciousness with such an amazing parrot. Do you know that “Hanh's” stands for “His Honor”? I just made that up, but it seems right, doesn't it? Anyway, an Ibis flying across one's fields of vision is a flap-worthy event, so Einstein was acting like a parrot when he took off in response. The wall is the problem, not Einstein's wings. Bonnet wants to know, will you knock out the wall when you build the aviary?

In the meantime, survey the habitat as if from Einstein's point of view, taking in to consideration the picture window and its often still-except-when-moving, sometimes surprising, views. As you see what he sees, wait a while, fit into that habitat, relax and try it on for size, Hahn's size. Some changes to Einstein and Gizmo’s environments will be obvious, and those you should make right away. Others will reveal themselves over time and yet others will be inspired by their increasing athleticism.

Bonnet and I also enjoy quiet moments together in front of windows especially when she gets to show me something humans might otherwise miss. You and Einstein can together experience lots of different interesting views, so put some time into looking.

Additionally, create more and more suitable parrot-specific landing places for your budding athletes. Table-top perches, a weighted basket on top of the refrigerator, a trusty chair back – all are great. Bolt-worthy events will happen. When you and your parrots are all comfortable that there’s a variety of safe landing spaces that all competently access, flight is no longer twisted with fright.
Bruce, have you watched PollyVision with your parrots? If not, we recommend it!! Here we see parrots really flying and acting like parrots and here we get our best decorating tips, too.

All best, Phoebe and Bonnet

Answered by E.B. Cravens:

Dear Bill,

I am probably not the best person to be answering this question, and I would welcome comments from Jamie or Dr. Speer, Sam Williams or Eva Sargent or others. We have encountered hybrid cockatoos in the past; and have hard about Greys being interbred.

There are, of course ethical questions involved--as there are in most areas of the live animal trade. I do not personally approve of hybridization between species of psittacine, nor of subspecies interbreeding when the types are known to be different, though the latter happened all to often in the past between races of parrots that were thought to be identical or mistaken for the same subspecies.

An interesting quote from Catherine A. Toft, Department of Zoology, University of California-Davis:

"Hybridization is the fastest and surest way to destroy the genetic make-up of a species. It breaks up complexes of genes that allow species to be adapted to their natural environment and to be recognized as potential mates."

Many rationale have been used over the years as justification by those breeders who produce hybrids--from "we are combining the best traits of both species" which of course is absurd, to "they are only being produced for the pet trade," which is a fallacy as we shall see here.

It is easy for us to see a hybrid Ara macaw, for example, because of the distorted coloration. But in aviaries of breeding birds, I have encountered macaws with faint "ruby" (Greenwing/Scarlet) or mili-gold bloodlines in their past. Such birds may only show only one quarter of the original hybridization because they have descended from lines that were bred back to nominate species. This is where the real hidden long term damage of hybrid production "for the pet trade" enters the scene.

Amateurish breeders with few ethical considerations and even less patience will procure at low price a hybrid former pet, then pair it up for commercial breeding with the first candidate to come along.

"We are trying for new and different colors, I have been told." I find such reasoning shallow, and such odd colored parrots lacking in the symmetry and beauty that the gods initially gave them.

Of course, money is usually the bottom line when it comes to such ethical decisions as producing hybrids at a facility.

But , when one tries to disassociate captive and pet industry psittacines from those living in the wilds, merely because there is little likelihood that the former will ever be released to help repopulate dwindling numbers, I think one does conservation of these birds a real disservice.

Is it the role of the bird breeder to assume this disassociation and accordingly condemn all captive parrots, with their valuable gene characteristics, to a second rate role in world psittacine conservation?

I think not, and as an aviculturist who tries to propose conservation logic first--I would beg to differ with such a reasoning.

My role as I see it is to protect for the future; to save and guard and conserve all that is possible in my tiny little piece of captive parrotdom. And when it comes to hybrids, this means I will refuse to dilute any of my pure natural species for any minimalist reason--nor will I ever condone it amongst other true aviculturists.

We either face the fact that we are stewards of a precious god-given gift for the generations ahead, or we play at bird breeding and pay lip service to conservation in order to stave off the animal activists who might just see through our ethical ruse.

I hope this sheds some light on your inquiry. As I said, I am not the most capable person to answer this question.
Best, EB

[Editor's note: As Cathy Toft was noted in the above, we asked her to comment on this issue. Here is her reply.]

Dear Bill:

E.B. has taken a quote from me from one of the articles that I wrote explaining population genetics to aviculturists precisely for the reason of persuading them not to hybridize parrots in captivity. (A comprehensive summary is in Toft, C.A. 1994. The genetics of captive propagation: A manual for aviculturists. Special Publications of Psittacine Research Project, Number 1. Ann Brice, Ed. Department of Avian Sciences, University of California, Davis.) I also wrote several articles for bird publications and proceedings asking whether hybridization has a place in aviculture.

In many ways, I hold E.B.'s position. As a conservation biologist, ecologist and evolutionary biologist, I prefer parrots in captivity to stay as they are in the wild.

Originally, I took (and still take) the position that private aviculture holds a treasure in the form of established breeding populations of species that are threatened or endangered in the wild. I imagined what would have happened had the aviculturists in Europe had the foresight to maintain a population of Carolina Parakeets Conuropsis carolinensis for long enough, so that their offspring could restore this species to its original range in the United States. To do so would require a sufficiently large population and sound breeding practices. Importantly, the genetic architecture would still be in place to allow those individuals to survive and reproduce in the environments in which their ancestral populations originally evolved. Hybridization was not the only threat to achieving this goal, but it was certainly the gravest.

Since the early 1990's, my position has softened somewhat, or should I say, diversified. My colleague, Jamie Gilardi, has pointed out to me that as many parrot individuals live in captivity as in the wild. As E.B. says, by far most of those individuals would not be released to the wild and moreover could not survive there. Also, other threats to the feasibility of using captive-bred individuals to augment or re-establish wild populations have become clearer. One of those is the inevitable transfer of viruses from their original host populations to those of species that the viruses would never encounter in the wild. And, once established, these viruses will never be eradicated. This spectre of epidemic makes re-introductions all the more problematic.

For these and other reasons, I have changed my position on the domestication of parrots. Now, I say "Why not?"

For one, captive life is nothing like life in the wild. If aviculture develops lines of parrots more suited to lives with humans, then those individuals will lead higher quality lives. Perhaps parrots that are less jealous of their mates will be happier as pets—in their wild state, by far most parrots are life-long monogamous. This trait often results in their misery as pets, as well-meaning pet owners keep parrots each in solitary confinement or at least without a same-species companion so that the parrot will bond more to the human. Unfortunately, the human does not keep his or her end of the bargain and worse, objects to the parrot’s natural behaviors related to monogamous bonding with the human. Parrot with lower metabolic rates or different physiologies might fare better on captive foods, for example, not gain as much weight or need as much protein. Changing these traits is possible with "artificial selection" which humans have practiced for thousands of years to domesticate many species of plants and animals. And if humans practice this sort of captive selective breeding, then why not make the parrots look really different than their wild counterparts? As Rick Jordan once challenged me, why not breed a black macaw? Or a purple, pink polka dot macaw? Their appearance would hardly matter if domesticated parrots had other genetic traits suited for captivity but not for the wild.

Another reason is that espoused by my colleague, Nate Flesness, Science Director of I.S.I.S. Long ago Nate introduced me to the idea that connection with nature through animals in captivity was a good thing, even if there were tradeoffs involved, such as the domestication of parrots might create. After all, how many of us can travel at will to a rainforest in Peru to see parrots? Having parrots living in harmony with us in our homes is a powerful conservation tool that I am sure is appreciated also by the staff and members of WPT.

Yet, my bias would still be E.B.'s viewpoint. Why lose optimism that captive parrots can be released to re-establish populations in their native ranges? Jamie has told me about many, very successful ventures, quite a few supported by the WPT, to introduce captive-bred and confiscated parrots back to free-living existences. I am thrilled and heartened by these efforts. Although pristine, primary rainforest and other non-disturbed habitats are vanishing, parrot populations can nevertheless thrive in the presence of humans. Parrots are intelligent, social, and usually generalist in their habits. Released individuals can easily establish healthy populations in the presence of humans, provided that their chicks are not relentlessly poached for the pet trade. The increasing populations of feral parrots around the world attest to this fact. Poaching in the native range should decrease with a combination of legal bans (I co-authored a paper with Tim Wright and others that spoke to the efficacy of legal bans) and thriving captive populations of those species maintained to preserve their wild characteristics.

In the end, I encourage aviculturists to maintain their interest in and support of conservation. One important way that they may do so is to continue to breed parrots with practices aimed to maintain the genetic architecture of wild populations, just in case descendents from their lines may be needed in restoration projects. While I no longer denounce domestication of parrots, and I even encourage it, I see no reason why we should abandon conservation breeding. It is my hope that many parrot enthusiasts of all stripes will continue to support the conservation of wild parrots in any way that they can.

Cathy Toft
Professor Emerita
Department of Evolution & Ecology
Center for Population Biology
University of California Davis.

Answered by Dr. Brian Speer, DVM:

Cindi - it is probably a bit unethical for me to be making specific medical recommendations for your bird in this type of a forum, with the amount and number of veterinarians that have had specific hand's-on evaluation of him, whereas I have not. Always remember, however, that it is fair to ask your attending veterinarian to consult with another colleague, or to provide radiographs and medical records so that you can have them independently reviewed. This is something that we do at our practice on a daily basis for many bird owners and colleagues around the globe. But, we still are limited in that we cannot see, hear and actually handle the bird, and as such, can only consult from the side about what may or may not be present, what may or may not be significant, and what may or may not be appropriate to consider and/or do. The laboratory "abnormalities" you have mentioned are actually within acceptable normal limits, in my eyes, and those changes are likely insignificant. What I do not see, however is the recorded physical examination and the remainder of what WAS evaluated and deemed to be normal. Remember that choanal culture isolates do not necessarily have to equivocate to actual infectants in many ill birds, and it may be unfair to assume that these isolates are responsible for what you are assuming to be a granuloma in the area of your bird's syrinx. Many actual syringeal infections require specific endoscopic visualization for diagnosis and confirmation of their etiology - a procedure that I suspect may have been discussed with you. Overall, however, most syringeal granulomas that we see in parrots here typically are minimally evident on radiography, and one would have to wonder if this noted soft tissue density is actually outside the syrinx and pressing on that location, causing similar clinical signs too. There are, unfortunately, a number of tumors that are described in parrots in this location, producing significant vocal changes and clinical disease - but not necessarily a "granuloma" per-se. I would forward that many granulomatous disease processes can be treated successfully, depending on what their identified cause turns up to be, the manner of treatment, and their specific location in the patient at hand. At the risk of being inappropriate in this forum, you can find our practice website and contact phone numbers if you search Medical Center for Birds, should you be interested in a more detailed consultation here. The striking things here in my mind here remains: 1) the need for a bit more accurate diagnosis, 2) hopefully resulting in more accurate treatment options, 3) and a need to investigate the most optimal means with which to address the comfort of your bird, regardless of what the nature of the diagnosis turns up to be.(as well as along the path of obtaining this information)

Answered by Kris Porter:

Hello and thank you for sending your question to WPT. I'm delighted for the chance to respond to this question as I had experienced similar challenges when our cockatiels and budgerigar came into our home. Personally, I have not found much success with parrot toys purchased from local pet stores. My cockatiels like chewing on natural branches, grass mats and small pieces of vegetable tanned leather. Recently I discovered I can peak their interest if I string some whole grain pasta pieces on a toy along with leather and plastic beads. They like crunching the dried pasta.

A mirror is a popular item for the budgerigars and cockatiels. I take a mirror purchased at the local pet store and attach a string of beads, small leather pieces and one or two small stainless steel bells to the mirror. This creates something for them to do when they are looking in the mirror, as they can spend time beaking the beads, chewing on the leather and they seem to like moving the bells to make noise.

For rope to use as a base to make toys or add beads and other items of interest to a toy, I prefer to use small natural hemp rope (found at most craft stores), or the 1/8 inch vegetable tanned leather strips. I have also used paulie rope that is sold at online parrot toy sites, however you do need to check that frequently as that product can fray and catch toes. The same is true for some cotton ropes. No parrot toy or parrot toy part is 100 percent safe, but I have not had the fraying problem with the hemp rope or leather that I have had with paulie rope and cotton ropes.

For added enrichment you may find success with placing a shallow plastic container in the bottom of the cage to create a foraging experience. I explain how I taught my cockatiel to forage and show a video of how to create this foraging experience at http://www.parrotenrichment.com/foraging.html.

Leaf bathing is another activity that my small parrots enjoy. Hang wet greens (mustard, collard or turnip) from the top of the cage. There is a video demonstrating this activity at ParrotEnrichment.com. You can also weave greens in between the cage bars for them to chew on.

Many people have had great success with clicker training the smaller parrots. Most parrots enjoy clicker training and it is a wonderful means of providing enrichment to your bird. I think training is often overlooked when we consider forms of enrichment, perhaps because some of us think of training as a discipline and overlook the fun side of training. At ParrotEnrichment.com I have devoted a few web pages to training. There are lists of resources as well as videos to help you get started with clicker training.

Both Version 1 and 2 of The Parrot Enrichment Activity Books are available for you to download free of charge at ParrotEnrichment.com. In The Parrot Enrichment Activity Book, Version 2, you will find several ideas for toys and how to create foraging opportunities for smaller parrots such as cockatiels, budgerigars and lovebirds along with photos of the parrots foraging and playing with the toys. Both books lists sources for you to find products and parts to make many of the toys you will see there and on the website.

Thank you again for your question and for providing me the opportunity to offer suggestions.

Kris Porter

Answered by Dr. Brian Speer, DVM:

Dear Cindi - Your bird is certainly ill and in need of an accurate medical diagnosis and treatment regime.

First up, I would suggest that you ask your current attending veterinarian if they would be willing to refer you to a qualified colleague, hopefully a certified specialist, for further evaluation, diagnosis and treatment. At 28 years of age, there are a vary very large number of problems that could be potentially of concern here. In general, regurgitation of mucus and weight loss would be suggestive of an upper gastrointestinal issue that may require far more than simple blood tests and aerobic cultures in order to diagnose. It is not uncommon to need radiographic imaging, and even dynamic fluoroscopic imaging, plus or minus endoscopy in order to establish a diagnosis. Possibilities of some chronic infectious disease issues, some forms of cancer, gastric foreign bodies or combinations of these all remain distinct possibilities here. The presence of an elevated blood level of Aspergillus galactomannan, alone is far from a clear diagnosis of the disease, Aspergillosis, and the described clinical signs here tend to make me suspicious that at-best, Aspergillosis if present is far from the only disease process present.

Answered by Phoebe Green Linden:

Hi Arlene, Thanks for writing WPT and welcome to our “Ask the Expert” feature. I’m delighted to read about your loving concern for Pickle, a mature highly interactive female dusky-headed conure, Aratinga weddellii, and glad that she went to the vet. I presume that she is healthy in every regard. Also, some eggs are palpable only right before they are laid, so Pickle could still have one or more eggs in process.

All of Pickle's time inside "precious" is, indeed, precious to her because it gives her the chance to behave like a biologically real parrot. Now that the days are getting longer, her efforts will undoubtedly increase. It’s not too weird that she changed her preference from one drawer to another. Based on observations of the wild Amazon parrots of Santa Barbara (http://www.santabarbarabirdfarm.com), we see parrots religiously work a particular nest site only to abandon it for another. Perhaps a disturbance encouraged Pickle to move – perhaps you "cleaned out" the first drawer –- or perhaps Pickle was ready for something new.

Either way, it’s not unusual for a fixed-up site to be abandoned and sometimes that ends the laying right then. Other times, a new site is selected and a new remodel begins. We use this abandon-one-site and select-another-site propensity to divert companions from laying or to slow down excessive laying.

At 17, Pickle is definitely biologically mature, but like many mature psittacines, she has not yet laid eggs. However, with time and access to a viable nest, it’s not surprising that she’s exhibiting what we humans call “nesting behaviors.” Parrots might call these "shredding fun stuff in a cozy places" behaviors because not all parrots who build nests end up laying eggs. They just like making places.

For instance, our flock comprises two proven pair of African Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus). They are retired, so they no longer produce or incubate eggs or raise chicks, processes that formerly took up most of their time. In retirement, they’ve discovered new hobbies and because they have ground in which to dig, and neighbors who do the same, the two pairs dig and dig and dig every day. They also shred pine, deforest millet, destroy banana bark and pulverize cotton rope toys. Every day, they make elaborate soups, and every evening they practice solos, duets and quartets. They make big messes, talk about everything a lot, have sex whenever they feel like it, feed each other and, after a full day, snuggle on perches that afford them ease and privacy. The removal of their nest boxes disallowed eggs and parenting behaviors, but alternate behaviors are greatly increased.

A great way to focus Pickle’s attention towards non-reproductive place-making would be to offer her a variety of places to explore and various substrates to pulverize. If you don’t want her to go all the way through laying, you might be able to non-stressfully change the environment in ways that she values so that egg-laying becomes ho-hum compared with what’s new. However, it might also be too late in her cycle this time around for this level of diversion, so we’ll discuss what to do if she lays, below. In the meantime, think about making some future places for Pickle that are conducive to shredding and privacy, but not necessarily laying.

Additionally, not all parrots who lay eggs incubate them. Pickle might lay a nice little clutch only to be done with it. In all cases, your companionship with her need not change except to deepen.
Parrots like Cella, (Eclectus roratus vosmaeri) seek a nest, make it nice, lay eggs and incubate them but give up the eggs when don’t hatch. Pickle could do the same. Therefore, an element of "wait and see" accompanies this new phase of Pickle’s behaviors and your reactions to them.

Generally, psittacine hens lay eggs at 24 hour intervals until their clutch is complete. Conures lay between 2 – 5 eggs per clutch, sometimes more. Incubation begins when the last egg is laid and for conures occurs over 21-23 days.(Clinical Avian Medicine and Surgery, Harrison and Harrison, Appendix 5 by K. Flammer, pg 663.)

Another consideration is Pickle’s overall athleticism. Please be sure Pickle regularly exercises because we know that parrots who are in good shape are better equipped to lay eggs than over-weight, under-nourished or sedentary birds. Therefore, when she’s not nesting, encourage Pickle to fly if she’s flighted. Or to flap, climb, run and walk if she’s not flighted. I bet she’s happy to run to precious, for instance.

Regardless of whether or not Pickle lays, your relationship with her can and should continue to grow and deepen. In fact, now that she’s shown you her new talent for place-making, you can get creative. That’s what Cella and I have discovered.

Cella, mentioned above, is 24 and incubates 2-3 clutches a year. When she’s incubating her eggs, I ask her to fly or run back to her nest because other than digging and shredding, she doesn’t get much
exercise during egg time. When she’s not nesting, she exercises more which we both enjoy. Her privacy box is a cardboard box fashioned to her liking and suspended in her large macaw-sized cage; she incubates each clutch, during which she thoroughly attends the eggs, cooing and clucking with absorptive attention. After about 32 days, she leaves the box and ignores the eggs, so I remove all in order to give Cella a break from nesting, which lasts a few months, and all is well.

During the break, Cella exercises, takes lots showers, chews up stalks and stalks of millet and is in every way a delight. Until it’s time to do the place-making again. When the break is over and she wants another box, Cella starts pacing inside her cage. Outside it, she intently seeks out any dark place in which to scratch and hide. She’s been known to scurry and freeze deep inside the pantry, run out of reach behind cabinets and hide silently underneath the dishwasher.

As soon as Cella gets a new parrot-appropriate box – even if she cannot immediately get inside it – she stops pacing and hiding and becomes intent on place-making. When I say the box is fashioned to Cella’s liking, that’s partly true because some of the box is fashioned to ensure her health and safety. Because Pickle and Cella do not get to experience feeding and caring for chicks, which takes 10 - 12 weeks, they might cycle before their calcium and other supplies adequately replenish. Too many eggs can deplete them. So, if Cella starts signaling that she wants a box too soon after finishing the last clutch, or by the year’s third clutch, I make a box that challenges her. It might have a really teensy entry hole (1/2”) through which she’ll peer before she chews it large enough for entry. Plus once she makes the hole, she finds the box stuffed with materials that need to be shredded and excavated. Then again, just as in the wild, some disturbance might occur with that site (think big storm, high winds) that necessitates Cella starting again with another – imagine this – even better site.

If you want Pickle to continue in the dresser, you can make that site more challenging for her to access and more creative once she gets there. For instance, will she climb a ladder to get to precious or go through a parrot-friendly agility course? The more action-packed, the more Pickle-appropriate materials that surround this series of events, the more creative your shared flock environment becomes. Of course, if she lays and incubates, the flock will ensure she has a serene and stable environment with plenty of flock attention. Until, that is, she’s ready for something new.

All best,
Phoebe Greene Linden

Answered by Dr. Brian Speer, DVM:

Dear Eb - In short, it should be doubted if there is a nutritional need that is driving this feather damaging behavior of this pair. Other "purposes" for this behavior should be considered, including but not limited to a displacement activity to perceived stressors. Sometimes, such a behavior may be related to the perceived "stress" of an unhatched clutch and the removal of those eggs, and limited other activities with which to let it off with. One consideration, presuming this to be at least in part involved here, would be to enrich the nesting and flight site with materials that can be chewed, frayed and functionally mulched that may have equal if not greater value to the birds over chewing their own moulted feathers.

Answered by Glenn Reynolds:

Hello Pat, It would be very helpful to have a little more information. First off are you using a vegetable juicer and juicing vegetables, or are you using a fruit juicer and juicing fruit? We should always feed our parrots high quality foods, and I am not sure that eating the mulch left in a juicer after the the meat has been reduced to juice complies.

I recommend using whole fresh vegetables, wash them carefully, cut them into different sizes, and offer them to your bird. You may find they will like only certain vegetables cut into certain sizes, so a variety in the beginning is very helpful. For example, when feeding fresh corn I leave the corn on the cob and cut it into wheels of varing widths until I find what the bird likes.

When feeding fruits clean the outside well and apply the same rules - cut them into a variety of sizes until you find what your bird likes. I leave the skin or rind on when I cut them up. Birds seem to like to eat the meat out of a wedge of orange and drop the peel to the bottom. I think it makes eating more interesting. I also use clothespins to hold pieces of vegetables or fruit to the bars of the cage, so they are more like a toy.

In summary I would recommend using whole vegetables and fruits and leave the mulch for exactly that - mulch.

Answered by E.B. Cravens:

Dear Jade, That is a very difficult question to answer, especially from afar. As rose-breasted cockatoos can be quite aggressive to mates or perceived mates in a captivity situation, it follows that you must proceed very carefully.

First analyse whether your pet in fact WANTS another bird in the house or a companion. Many parrots are so attached to their owners that they resent a newcomer.

To choose another rose-breasted cockatoo would be a challenge. Again, dominance and jealousy and abuse can enter the scene and make matters problematic if not outright dangerous.

Under no circumstances would I choose a young female rose-breasted as your male will know it is a hen right away, and will try to get sexual with it long before she is ever ready to accept him as a partner. This means he will more than likely get aggressive and put fear into her at some point--leading to little chance she will be his preen partner for many many months if at all.

You could try another cockatoo species such as Goffin's, even try a male bird in hopes that the two would become buddies without copulation or breeding needs being a serious issue. But the challenge here would be to find a trial basis for a companion before purchase (perhaps an understanding adoption agency) since if you purchase on speculation and the two birds do not get along, you will not be stuck with a second dilemma.

I have know lorikeets to befriend rose-breasteds, also amazons and greys have been know to befriend these pink cockatoos--Rosies by and large are touchy feely psittacines and take well to any affectionate bird as long as they are not jealous of you or intimidated by being pushed too quickly towards acceptance.

If you do decide on a parrot from another geographical continent--amazon or grey, then it would normally be okay to get a baby bird, either gender, and allow the two to interact slowly and gradually--sexual issues are usually minimal between parrot friends of totally unrelated genera.

Good luck, and keep the list posted.
You did not give your cockatoo's name!

Aloha, EB

Answered by Jim McKendry:

G’day Zali,
All Australian wildlife is protected under our various Nature Conservation and Environmental Protection Acts at State, Territory and National levels. Wild Galahs are protected by these laws and as such, when found injured in the wild need to be taken to a registered wildlife carer where they can be assessed for re-release potential and provided with any necessary health care. I would encourage you to seek the advice and support of such a carer in your local area rather than to try and tame such a bird to keep as a pet. A `wild’ Galah is exactly that – it needs to be released back into the wild if healthy.

If your local wildlife carer or veterinarian assesses the bird and considers that its injuries or condition make it unsuitable for re-release then you can apply for a permit to keep the bird from the relevant State wildlife management authority. If that’s the situation and you intend to work with the bird to hopefully have some level of interactivity with it then you will find the articles available via the WPT Reference Library the best place to start learning how. Try the following link to get you on that learning journey...
http://www.parrots.org/index.php/referencelibrary/beginnerguidetoparrots/

Kind Regards, Jim McKendry
Parrot Behaviour & Enrichment Consultations
http://www.pbec.com.au

Answered by E.B. Cravens:

Dear Gina, Sorry it has taken so long to get back. We have been away on and off for November. It is hard to say what effects the spraying would have on the tree system, but I could find no information on that. I would probably use the newer growth branches with my flock after hosing them off or washing in the shower in the house.

Good luck.
EB

Answered by Steve Martin & Staff:

Hello Alex! My name is Chris Jenkins, and I am one of the Supervisors with Natural Encounters, Inc. I received your question about your screaming macaw, Thor, and I’d be happy to offer you some advice that should be helpful in dealing with it.

Screaming is a natural behavior for parrots, and is therefore a behavior that can never be eliminated completely. That being said, it is well within your ability to use positive reinforcement to train your bird to reduce the frequency and duration of these screams, and to replace them with other vocalizations that you find more acceptable.

From what you’ve detailed, it sounds like you’ve gotten some good training information that can give you a head start on working to reduce the incidence of Thor’s screaming. The basic plan that we try to follow when dealing with a screaming parrot is two-fold. First, we try to make sure that we don’t do anything to reinforce the screaming as it occurs. Second, we work to train the bird to perform behaviors that are incompatible with screaming in order to get what it wants. We’ll tackle these two aspects one at a time.

First, it is important to not reinforce the behavior that you want to see eliminated. Parrots have the ability to call very loudly, as you have heard. What we want to make sure is that we don’t inadvertently train our birds to scream in order to get what they want. Some companion owners will give their birds treats or toys when they are screaming in hopes that it will shift their focus and keep them occupied. Others will ignore their birds when they scream until it reaches an intensity that they can’t tolerate, and then go to their birds to either console or scold them. Both of these scenarios send the message that screaming will earn the bird a desirable consequence. In the first case, the bird learns that it can earn a variety of treats or toys by screaming. The second case is basically the same, as the bird learns not only that it can get attention (even if it is negative attention) by screaming, but that in order for it to work they have to scream very, very loudly!

It is important, then, for the bird to learn that screaming will not earn it something that it wants. If the bird learns that there is no positive consequence to screaming, then over time the bird will spend less time and energy performing this behavior in order to achieve that outcome. Be aware, though, that a behavior that was previously reinforced and is now ignored will usually go through what is know in the training world as an “extinction burst.” This means that, before giving up, the animal will likely perform the previously reinforced behavior with a higher intensity or duration than they ever have before in a last ditch effort to earn reinforcement. In Thor’s case, this means that the screaming will likely get worse before it gets better. Think of it as when you are trying to call someone to get his or her attention. If a soft “Hey there” doesn’t work, you say “Hey” a little louder. If that doesn’t work, you say it even louder than that. If that doesn’t work, you may yell “HEEEEEYYYYYY!!!” before giving up and realizing that the person isn’t going to pay attention to you. Thor’s screaming will likely follow the same progression, and it is vitally important that you resist the temptation to respond in any way during this “burst”, as doing so sends the message to him that he can only get your attention by screaming really, really, REALLY loudly. We know of one companion parrot owner who has taken up the habit of freezing in place wherever she is in her home when her cockatoo screams, for fear that she might in some way make a movement or sound that could inadvertently reinforce the bird. That might be a bit of an extreme example, but it definitely takes to heart the importance of not reinforcing an unwanted behavior.

So must you sit idly by while your bird screams louder and louder? Not at all. At the same time that you are ignoring the unwanted behavior, you can work to train your bird to perform behaviors that you like in order for it to earn desirable consequences. From what you’ve said you’ve already been reinforcing Thor for vocalizations that you like, “Hello” and “Never more”. By pairing these vocalizations with the reinforcers that you mentioned, you’ve strengthened them to a point that they are now offered more and more frequently. This is to be expected, as he has learned that there are desirable consequences to these particular behaviors. In order to avoid the screaming that occurs when he doesn’t get these reinforcers, there are a few different strategies that you might find helpful to try. If you want to maintain the two vocalizations above, I would suggest working to slowly increase the length of time between when the vocalization occurs and when he gets reinforced for it. We’ve worked with a number of people who’ve had this exact same issue, and what seems to work well is to introduce a secondary reinforcer – perhaps verbal praise like the word “Good” – that happens after he vocalizes but before you give him the treat or attention. This praise, if presented consistently, will tell the bird that what it’s just done was good, and that a treat or attention will follow. In the training world this is known as a “bridge” because it bridges the length of time between when the behavior occurred and when the treat is delivered. In the early stages of training you can bridge and reinforce the bird right after the behavior occurs, but the goal will be to slowly lengthen the time between the behavior and it’s consequences. This is not a quick fix, and will take some time, but it is a very reliable method that has been successful for a number of companion parrot owners over the years. At first this may involve making fairly frequent trips from your chair to his cage, but with time and consistency you should be able to stretch the time between these trips out to whatever length of time you think is appropriate. Also, your response of “Good” can be a reinforcer in and of itself. If the bird vocalizes in a way you like and you answer back, this “call and response” can become an additional form of attention that Thor can learn that he will get for performing this desirable vocalizations, thus giving you another way to reinforce him without always having to get up to do so.

In addition to lengthening the amount of time between when these vocalizations occur and when reinforcement arrives, you should also train him to perform other behaviors that are incompatible with screaming. The behaviors that we suggest for this particular case would be any soft call, whistle, or vocalization that you find acceptable. The more these sounds are reinforced, the more likely your bird will be to perform them, and because you will be making sure to not reinforce unwanted vocalizations like screaming, Thor will learn that it is much more worth his while to spend his time performing the behaviors that have consequences that he likes instead of those that are ignored. At the same time, I would think about how else you might set up your environment to give Thor the best chance to be successful in the training that you’ll be doing. If you find that he’s most likely to scream during dinner, you might consider giving him lots of attention just prior to dinnertime, and then leaving him with some treats or a favorite toy during dinnertime. You may also consider making this his dinnertime as well, as he will likely be more occupied with what he’s been given to eat at that time than with what’s going on at the dinner table. If you feel that the screaming is a function of his being out of the sight of you during dinner, you can do a test and see if moving his cage so that he can see you while you eat makes a difference, as he may just be calling because he can hear people but can’t see what’s going on.

In summary, the best way to teach Thor that he can’t always get what he wants is by making sure you provide clear, consistent communication about what the consequences of his various behaviors will be. Making sure that he gets lots of attention and reinforcement when he is performing behaviors that you like, ignoring and not reinforcing behaviors that you don’t like, and actively working to replace unwanted behaviors with more desirable, incompatible ones will give Thor a new vocabulary for how he should interact with the humans that he shares him home with, and will hopefully give your ears a much needed rest.

With patience, determination, and consistency, I have no doubt that the above methods can begin to lead to a significant decline in Thor’s screaming. If you haven’t done so already, I’d also suggest checking out the articles we have posted at http://www.naturalencounters.com, as they contain information about bird training, behavior, and enrichment that you may find interesting and useful.

Best of luck to you both!

Sincerely,

Chris Jenkins
Supervisor
Natural Encounters, Inc.

Answered by Dr. Brian Speer, DVM:

Unfortunately, there is nothing specific that I can recommend beyond allowing your bird to rest in a warm environment, and to continue to offer free-choice food and water. You are right - a good physical examination and diagnosis is important to obtain, sooner than later. Aspergillosis, of course, is one of many, many, many potential problems that could be present. Although I would not necessarily fix my mindset on one disease such as this; I certainly would strongly recommend getting that examination performed!