Answered by Steve Martin & Staff:

Hello Crystal,
My name is Miranda DeVries and I am an avian trainer with Steve Martin's Natural Encounters, Inc. First, I would like to commend you for seeking help so quickly for Joey and your husband, Evan. It says a lot about your compassion for Joey that you want him to have a positive and reinforcing relationship with everyone in your household.
My first thoughts when reading your question was that any man who enters Joey’s life after the abuse and mistreatment he may have suffered by his previous male owner may have to start his relationship with Joey basically from scratch. The past does not equal the present, however, and despite what may have occurred in the past you and your husband have the power to shape and modify the behavior you’re seeing now. This may sound a little daunting at first but with lots of positive reinforcements and interactions I believe Joey and Evan can have a relationship that they both are happy with.

You are well on your way to helping Evan and Joey build a positive relationship by not forcing Evan on Joey. Forcing a bird to be around someone or do something that makes the bird fearful can lead to more aggressive behaviors, even biting. Any interactions Evan and Joey have right now should be when Joey is in his cage because from your question you say that is the only place Joey will take treats from Evan. I do not recommend that Evan read to Joey because from your question it would seem that the simple presence of Evan is a negative experience for Joey right now since he may not trust Evan. I love your idea of having Evan feed Joey his favorite treats. The treat Evan gives Joey is something positive that he will begin to associate with your husband. You want to make sure, though, that when Evan does this the body language that Joey is presenting is positive and calm, and that he is not displaying possible signs of fear or aggression such as quick, jerking body movements, feathers slicked tightly against his body, or alarm calling. If Joey does present Evan with negative body language Evan should simply walk away from his cage. Walking away from the cage allows Joey to have power over his environment. Evan can simply return later and give Joey a treat when he is presenting positive body language. By giving Joey the power to make Evan leave if he is feeling uncomfortable, and limiting their time together to those instances when Joey’s behavior suggests that he is feeling comfortable about Evan’s presence, this will only help both Evan and your bird decrease the amount of negative interactions they have, therefore making their overall history together a more positive one in total. After the positive interactions of Evan giving Joey his treat have occurred for awhile you and your husband might notice that Joey looks at Evan when he enters the room or moves toward his food bowl before he even gets the treat.

After Evan can give Joey a treat in his bowl (that is both positive and reinforcing to both) he can start to give him treats from his hand while Joey sits nicely on his perch. At first Evan can bait Joey away from his bowl by showing him a treat in his hand over by Joey’s perch. Evan can eventually fade out the bait and just use a hand motion to send Joey to his perch and feed him through the cage. Just remember if Joey shows Evan any negative body language (behavior) Evan should simply walk away and return when Joey’s behavior is more positive – the basic rule that we follow in all our training is to reward behaviors that we like and to ignore the ones that we don’t. We always strive to give our birds the power to choose whether or not to participate in our training sessions. If our birds choose not to participate, by displaying body language such as the examples mentioned above, we simply leave with the treats and try again later when they offer body language that is calm and inviting, such as still body posture with loose feathering, or walking towards the side of the cage where we are standing.

Once Joey is comfortable with Evan coming up to his cage and feeding him, Evan may even try getting some of Joey’s behaviors on cue while still in his cage. The behavior could be simply a pleasing sound that Joey makes or targeting a toy with his beak. When training these behaviors, if Evan finds he cannot give Joey his treat quickly after the correct behavior is performed, he can use a bridge. A bridge is a signal to the animal that what it has just done at that exact moment was good, and that reinforcement is on its way – it gets its name because it “bridges” the gap in time between when the animal has performed the desired behavior and when the rewards is presented to the animal for performing the behavior. We at Natural Encounters, Inc., normally use a quick verbal ‘good’ as a bridge. As was suggested in your question, you can also give a click with a clicker. Evan should keep a handful of treats on him and whenever he hears Joey make the noise or do whatever behavior he decides, he can bridge Joey and give him the treat. When Joey is making the noise (or performing the behavior) consistently Evan can start to cue him for it. A cue can be anything at all (verbal or hand signal) that lets the bird know that you want him to make that noise or perform that behavior. Birds are extremely visual and tend to pick up on hand cues easier than verbal cues. Evan may notice that every time Joey performs the desired noise/behavior, he first flaps his wings or does some sort of behavior just before the noise/behavior is about to occur. When Evan sees that, he can cue Joey for the desired behavior, bridge after it is presented, and then walk over and provide the reinforcement. The behavior itself can be something very simple at first, such as training Joey to touch or hold a toy that is in his cage, and if both Joey and Evan enjoy the interactions it entails then you can move on to more complicated behaviors from there.

Once Evan and Joey have a comfortable relationship within the cage they can start working on their relationship outside of the cage. Depending on their comfort level with one another and Evan’s criteria of what he wants his relationship with Joey to be, he may even choose to work on stepping Joey up out of his cage using either his hand or a more stable tool like a stick or T-perch. While this may seem like a simple behavior at first glance, the process of teaching a bird to do this using positive training methods can actually be quite a detailed and lengthy process that should never be rushed. If you are interested in learning more about the steps involved in training a bird to step up using positive reinforcement, please let us know and we’d be happy to provide you with further details. The key to all this is that Evan should continue to reinforce the behavior that he likes, allow Joey’s body language to shape his own, and in doing so diligently I think you will be amazed at the progress both your bird and your husband will be able to make. In your email you say that Joey is currently fleeing from Evan when he approaches. If Evan can learn to read Joey’s subtle signs of discomfort, Evan can take steps now to make sure it doesn’t get to that point with the two of them again. If Evan slowly approaches Joey with a treat and Joey’s feathers become tight or his posture changes suggesting that he wants to move away, Evan should freeze and take a small step back. If Joey’s feathers soften and his weight shifts to a comfortable low position, Evan can then slowly proceed forward, repeating this process and truly allowing Joey to tell Evan how quickly or slowly (or even whether or not) he can approach. This process gives Joey power by allowing him to make Evan retreat with just the slightest change in body language, and will make Joey much more comfortable with Evan’s presence overall.

Crystal, I hope the above helps Evan and Joey and even yourself build a more positive relationship. If you have any further questions I recommend our website http://www.naturalencounters.com, which features our responses to companion parrot questions such as yours that we have received over the years, articles on bird behavior, training, and enrichment, and information on the companion parrot owner workshops that we offer several times a year at our training facility in Winter Haven, FL. Best of luck to you all!


Sincerely,


Miranda DeVries
Avian Trainer
Natural Encounters, Inc.

Answered by Phoebe Green Linden:

Hi Kathleen, I’m so sorry for your little guy. He’s been through a lot for being young. Please tell us exactly how old he is and his name, OK?

Even though you have both been through a certain amount of trauma, the good point is that you probably have a solid relationship with an avian vet who can continue to help your parrot maintain good health. Perhaps a person at the vet hospital took a particular interest in him and can now become his babysitter and part of your local support network. All in all, robust health is the key to good relationship and increased activity and will contribute to his desire to explore more territory. Recovery from aspiration depends upon how much air sac tissue was affected so be sure to have him re-checked by your avian vet. The moment he seems down and inactive is the time to have him checked, not later.

Whether or not you confront the breeder with the past events depends on the relationship you have with that person. If you are confident that the result will yield desired results then sure, give a call. However, if you think there will be acrimony and that nothing will come of it, my advice is to concentrate on the here and now with your eclectus and stay in the moment.

Also, aspiration can happen at any time. It could have happened when he was a teeny baby, or in the carrier during transport to your home, or while he was at your house.

Parrots form bonds throughout their lives so its not like you’ve missed one critical bonding period that will never happen again. You did the right thing by getting him healthy when he was sick. When he’s confirmed healthy and active once again, put food bowls at the front of the cage, put some half perches on the cage door and keep the door open as much as possible. Fix it so that he can eat both at the front of the cage or while perching on the open cage door. My eclectus love mega millet and will go for it wherever it hangs—try it to see if it entices him, too.

It’s most important for you to discover what he finds reinforcing, what he does that comforts him, what behaviors he conducts to soothe himself and then acknowledge these. Try to set up the physical and emotional environments to encourage more of these behaviors. Watch him and catch him doing something cute like puffing his feathers, scratching his head with his foot, turning around on his perch, or cocking his head and give those behaviors verbal reinforcement. Key in to what he’s doing by giving him your undivided attention and praise when you see him moving to soothe himself and/or moving towards you. Also, establish a contact whistle or call that you use when you enter the house, his room, his area and use this consistently.

Please check out the following articles which will really help you:
http://www.parrots.org/pdfs/all_about_parrots/reference_library/behaviour_and_environmental_enrichment/Shaping%20New%20Behaviors.pdf

http://www.parrots.org/pdfs/all_about_parrots/reference_library/behaviour_and_environmental_enrichment/Success%20Files.pdf

Remember, we are trying to increase his physical skills and we do this by creating environments where it’s easy for him to do physical behaviors. We want him to gain physical acuity and increase the numbers of observable behaviors he conducts. When he walks or climbs from perch to perch, touches toys, destroys a stalk of mega millet, scratches his head with one foot, then with the other, turns around and fans his tail, rings a bell or whistles when you enter the room, you and he will have fully bonded.

Also, seriously consider purchasing Barbara Heidenreich’s books because they will help you establish an excellent and active relationship with your parrot. Therein, you’ll learn about desensitizing him to towels through the creation of non-threatening learning situations.

Keep us posted, Kathleen.

All best,
Phoebe

Answered by Jim McKendry:

G’day Onette,
Thankyou for sharing. There are certainly some challenging issues that can be discussed from your questions. Your situation really does expose and highlight a lack of preparedness that is unfortunately all too common when people take on the significant role of caring for a companion African Grey Parrot, or any parrot species. You’ve taken an important step in seeking help and assistance, and for that you should be commended. It is important to realise that there now needs to be a major evaluation on your part concerning how you will need to create a safe and suitable captive environment for an African Grey from here on. Hopefully the resources available here at WPT will be of great assistance to you and your African Grey.

Managing the reluctance to return to his cage...
It’s difficult to offer specific advice, as I have no idea what the environment in the room looks like, the degree of aversion your parrot has towards the cage, how you have set your cage up and the history that has been established in association with the cage. All of these considerations would feed into the approach one would need to take to achieve the goal of developing a more positive relationship between the parrot and his cage environment. Regardless of this, some generalised training principles should apply and there are a number of strategies that you can try. Any strategy should incorporate an approximation schedule that provides your African Grey with opportunities to gradually increase his exposure to the cage whilst ensuring that such opportunities are combined with highly motivating rewards. Your main indicator of success in this situation is derived from his body language. Observe him and make note of the visual indicators that convey a sense of comfort and confidence and this will help guide you in knowing when you can increase his exposure and/or proximity to the cage. He is already comfortable on the basket you are using so there’s a great, familiar resource that you can start placing in closer proximity to the cage. Working towards the cage, your goal may be having him perch on the basket in front of the cage with the cage door open. Depending on his level of comfort around the cage, you may be able to also incorporate play and handling interactions using the cage as a stand, or utilising the top of the cage as an area where enrichment items and food can be delivered. Set up opportunities for him to explore the cage whilst the door is open and he is freely able to enter and exit. To achieve this, there needs to be a motivator within or on the cage that he is keen to move towards. The creative delivery of his supplementary hand feeding sessions on, or preferably in, the cage may also help to strengthen his association with the cage as a positively reinforcing and non-threatening part of his environment. Free feed opportunities during the day also need to be offered in gradually closer proximity to the cage until eventually you can feed him within the cage. To fully develop a plan for working on desensitisation towards the cage, and establishing approximations for getting him to use the cage willingly, you will definitely need to have a thorough read through the articles that WPT has provided in the Reference Library. Try starting with...

• The ABC’s of Behaviour: Dr. Susan Friedman
• Shaping New Behaviours: Dr. Susan Friedman
• Step Up – Command or Request?: Barbara Heidenreich

Managing rest and exposure to stimuli late at night...
Opinions differ as to the effect on behavioural health of companion parrots that are exposed to various environmental stimuli, such as televisions, late into the night. The obvious answer to most situations where this is a concern is to simply remove the parrot from the room and establish an environment where the bird can achieve some rest without visual or aural distraction. You have noted that you do not consider this possible due to the other rooms in your house being too cold. This is another situation that is very difficult to give you a definite green light on in terms of a specific approach to take. Essentially – how cold is `too cold’? If you purchased your African Grey in Romania, I assume there are other Grey owners there. It’s time to start networking and finding out how other local parrot enthusiasts are catering for their parrots – something that really should have been done prior to bringing such an animal into your home. Provided that we are not talking about temperatures below freezing, your Grey should adapt to low temperatures if it is allowed time to acclimatise. My own African Grey is kept outdoors year round, and has done in his previous homes for more than 25 years. Whilst our environment does not experience the extreme cold you are exposed to in Romania, overnight winter temperatures here still regularly drop to 0 to 3 degrees Celsius. We have never observed any ill effects of this with any of our birds. Provided he is not exposed to constant cold draughts and he is dry, in an indoor environment, even without heating, he should be fine. Monitor the temperature in the most suitable alternative room and make a judgement from there as to whether it is acceptable to house him there overnight. Also, consider the perching substrate you are using and ensure it is not composed of a material that becomes excessively cold, as this can potentially lead to health problems with his toes and feet in severely cold climates.

Some need for reflection...
In reading through your set of questions and the description of your situation, I personally feel there is a need for some considered reflection on your part as to the suitability of the environment you have for a pet African Grey parrot and what you may need to challenge yourself to do to improve it. I noticed that Dr. Brian Speer has responded to another question you submitted concerning an appropriate diet for an unweaned African Grey. It is important that we continue to reinforce to the parrot owning community just how completely inappropriate it is to purchase a parrot as young as this. This is perhaps the most critical stage of development in a parrot’s life. A time where it needs to be socialised with other parrots, provided opportunities to forage, explore its environment, develop its flight skills, muscle tone and coordination, and given time to properly develop its independence. Breeders need to be challenged to ensure that each of these absolutely essential experiences have been catered for prior to being sold. We also need to properly educate ourselves on exactly what our responsibilities are when we make the commitment to keep a parrot in captivity, and what we need to have in place to cater for them in terms of adequate housing, areas for additional enrichment, dietary needs and an understanding of training fundamentals. They deserve no less than that.

Kind Regards from `Down Under’
Jim McKendry
Parrot Behaviour & Enrichment Consultations
http://www.pbec.com.au

Answered by Jim McKendry:

G’day Cindi,

Thankyou for sharing your efforts with your collection and your experiences with Sammy. Your approach towards creating a flock environment and your insight into how this has contributed to the success of your birds is inspiring. As someone whose own flock of parrots has steadily increased over the years with the addition of birds with behavioural challenges, I can empathise with the frustration of not feeling like you are able to achieve your training goals as successfully or as quickly as you would like to. There are some really key considerations that your question brings to light, perhaps not only for yourself, but also for anyone involved with the daily management of a large group of parrots. I’d like to share some of these with you and hopefully you will be able to take some of these thoughts away and set some new and achievable goals.

Positive Reinforcement – Any time, any place...
We tend to only consider, or consciously take notice of, positive reinforcement in the context of specific, pre-planned training sessions. I can remember being in a very similar mind set to you at one stage with some of my aviary birds. How could I engage in positive reinforcement based training with birds that I really only had time to interact with for short periods around feeding and enclosure cleaning on most days? These birds were parent-raised birds with little interest in human interactions so I was challenged to visualise how I could develop a relationship with them. When I reflected on this I realised that we have the opportunity to deliver positively reinforcing consequences with every interaction we have with our birds, regardless of the context and regardless of our perceived lack of relationship with the birds. Managing the day-to-day husbandry of your parrots actually provides a wonderful scope for establishing some important and practical positive reinforcement based training applications. This is something that I learnt well when working with Zoo animals and I apply this awareness when interacting with my own birds. When I worked as a bird keeper and trainer, every time I entered an enclosure to clean it, weigh a bird, place a raptor back on a perch, or change a food bowl, I had the opportunity to make that interaction a positively reinforcing one for the animal – and without breaking from a tight time schedule! Positive reinforcement can occur at any time, in any place, if we choose to arrange the environment for that reinforcement to occur. When you think about the set of interactions that can occur simply by delivering a bowl of food to a cage each day, or cleaning the cage, or offering a shower, or changing perches, or introducing a new enrichment toy, you realise that you do indeed have the power to make each of these experiences positively reinforcing for Sammy. In doing so, you can build the all-important ‘trust account’ with Sammy and establish an ever-developing association between the receipt of positively reinforcing consequences and you as the person who delivers those. Training, teaching, learning – they occur in just about everything we do with our parrots, even if we’re not consciously aware ☺.

Setting Goals – Make them achievable, make them realistic...
Often, the greatest barrier to our success in working with challenging parrots is not setting goals that are either achievable, or realistic, given the current stage of our relationship with them. When faced with an overwhelming sense of not achieving what you really want to with your birds, it is critically important to take a step back, look at the big picture of what you already can do with your birds and work from there, one step at a time. This is where an understanding of `approximations’ and how we use these to shape behaviour is such a valuable tool for every parrot owner. `Approximations’ can be simply defined as the observable and measurable steps that your parrot needs to progressively take to achieve a behavioural goal. When we think of learning we need to see it as occurring along a continuum. Each step along the continuum is an `approximation’ leading towards the final goal. Training using small approximations is the most effective method of establishing solid and consistent performance of behaviours. It is also highly effective when trained behaviours diminish, as we need only to go back to the nearest approximation to the behaviour goal that is still being demonstrated successfully and work from there. Perhaps the first mistake that companion parrot owners make is failing to reinforce small approximations and instead, withhold reinforcement for too long in the hope that their parrot will achieve a behavioural goal from A to Z in one go. Essentially what happens for many pet parrot owners is that they inadvertently make the criteria for success too difficult for the young parrot to achieve. Taking an approach to your training and interactions with Sammy that carefully reinforces small approximations towards your goal behaviour will hopefully help you to avoid the pitfalls of a reinforcement schedule that may be unrealistic or ineffective with your pet parrot.


I would suggest In Sammy’s case, you might simply be starting off with small goals leading towards the development of the use of a `target’ to start shaping some of those all important moving around the cage behaviours that can be beneficial to you in avoiding aggressive encounters with him when you need to clean his cage, change his perches, remove an old toy or simply feed him. Developing some target training will take a small investment of time initially to your existing routine but may end up making daily husbandry tasks quicker, easier and with less opportunity for conflict. Barbara Heidenreich explains the process of target training better than anyone. I checked through the catalogue of her `Good Bird’ magazine to find a specific article that you could apply and you know what, just about every issue has an article of relevance to you in your work with Sammy. I would really suggest delving into this magazine for some very cool, practical and well-explained examples of applying basic positive reinforcement training techniques for pet parrots. You can access all of Barbara’s magazines via her website at www.goodbirdinc.com and the WPT store stocks Barbara’s books and DVDs, so if you haven’t got those, visit http://www.parrots.org/index.php/shoptosave/

Arrange the Environment – Set yourself and your parrot up to succeed...
Once you have worked out a goal that you would like to achieve with Sammy, take the next step and ensure that you set the environment up for both you and Sammy to succeed in achieving that goal. When we talk about the `environment’ we consider all the elements involved that can have a variable influence on the achievement of our behavioural goal. Minimising those variables helps us achieve clear contiguity and consistency in our reinforcement delivery. As an example, simple rearrangement of the cage environment in the form of perch and treat bowl placement can help to set up a huge change in not only your ability to avoid a bite occurring, but also to deliver reinforcing food treats without potentially being an invasive presence in his enclosure. Empower yourself with the knowledge that it is you who can make these changes and you can start making progress today. All parrot owners need to reflect on the fact that they are a critical component of the `environment’ and ultimately is `you’ as the keeper of your birds who has the ability to arrange that environment for success and make the decision to deliver positively reinforcing consequences for desirable behaviour.

Be inspired - Access existing resources...
The World Parrot Trust website provides access to perhaps the most brilliant collection of support resources on the internet in the form of articles written by some of the giants in parrot behaviour and training. For your goal of achieving an improved relationship with Sammy, I would recommend downloading and reading the following...
• `Does your parrot have a trust account?’ – Steve Martin
• `Empowering Parrots’ – Susan Friedman PhD
• `Step-up – Command or Request?’ – Barbara Heidenreich
• `Shaping new behaviours’ – Susan Friedman PhD
• `The Success Files’ – Lee McGuire and Susan Friedman PhD

These articles can inspire you to achieve more than you imagined with your parrot. The first four articles will really establish a wonderful foundation of theory and practical application for you. Then make sure you check out Lee McGuire and Susan Friedman’s brilliant example of bringing this knowledge together to develop a plan for applying this theory to a situation that I am sure you will find relevance in.
These downloadable articles are all available from http://www.parrots.org/index.php/referencelibrary/behaviourandenviroenrich/

Hopefully the above suggestions for `where to go from here’ will help you develop some ideas and strategies for working with Sammy and indeed, engaging in positive reinforcement training, without even knowing it ☺

Kind Regards from `Down Under’
Jim McKendry
Parrot Behaviour & Enrichment Consultations
http://www.pbec.com.au

Answered by Lee McGuire:

Hello there Joanne

It would appear that this response didn’t post last year so we are going to try again.

A vocalization that hurts our ears is surely one of the most annoying situations that we, as parrot caregivers, have to deal with.  Add in the fact that each of is us different when it comes to what we can tolerate before we decide we just can’t take it any more and it can make for an interesting behavioral puzzle for the caregiver to overcome.  Once we’ve decided to take action, we enter into the foggy realm of which advice to take.  Do we, as you did, speak softly? Cover up the bird? Ignore the behavior? Spray the bird with water every time opens it’s beak?  Run to the cage when the birds whistles? Or, re-home it?

We’ve all read each of those suggestions many times espoused as general wisdom for altering parrot behavior. Which way should we turn and what would be the best strategy to use that would reduce the irritating whistle?  That’s what the rest of this response will be about.

Let’s think about this for a moment. With our cars, would we change the battery when we have a flat tire?  Not likely since we deduce that the reason for the car’s “thumping and bumping along” behavior is due to the flat tire not the battery. In other words, the car is still running so we almost immediately rule out battery problems.  In the blink of an eye, we’ve rapidly collected some data based on the way the car is behaving, at that period of time, that tells us the reason for the rough ride is related to the tires not the battery.  If we approach a bird’s behavior in the same systematic way, collecting data, it’s more likely that we can come up with a strategy that will impact the particular bird’s behavior.

None of us vocalize without some reason - parrots included. Finding out the reason for the behavior will provide us with a clue as to the function that behavior serves for the individual bird. Once we understand what function any behavior serves, then we have a better chance of customizing an intervention that will work specifically for that bird.

The first thing to do is look at the surrounding environment with a critical eye. You will soon see that there are times when Bobby whistles loudly and repetitively and times when he doesn’t.  For instance, does he whistle when you’ve been gone for a period of time?  If you have other birds, does he whistle when they are vocalizing? Does he whistle when he hears a specific sound?  Does he whistle if you have ignored him for some period of time?  Does he whistle when he is engaged in other activities?

Answering those types of questions will provide a clue as to the purpose that the whistling behavior serves for Bobby.  It could be a contact whistle to greet you after absence; a reply to another bird; a response to a specific sound or a tactic to get your attention. With that information in hand, we can design a strategy that will reduce the whistling behavior in favor of those vocalizations you find more acceptable while still meeting the same function for Bobby.

As an example, we might say that when Joanne ignores Bobby, IF Bobby whistles, THEN eventually Joanne provides some social interaction time.  From that data we could predict that Bobby will continue to, or increase, the amount he whistles to gain social interaction time with Joanne. In other words, he’s whistling to get your attention.  It doesn’t matter if you only tell him to be quiet, speak softly, yell at him, spray him with water, etc. The function of his behavior served the purpose of getting your attention for however brief a period of time that might be.

Does that mean we have to live with any form of excessive vocalization? NO! There are any number of approaches to reducing excessive vocalizations but the intent of all of them is the make the excessive whistling irrelevant, inefficient and immaterial. Once you have a clear idea of the purpose Bobby’s whistling serves, you can still fulfill the function the whistling behaviour serves, just in a different way, thereby reducing the behavior you find problematic and increasing acceptable behaviors.

More often than not, in the home situation excessive vocalizations serve the purpose of getting the caregivers attention. Should it happen to be that Bobby’s whistling serves that purpose, there are several things you can do.  One of the easiest strategies to implement is training the ear to listen to the acceptable pleasant sounds Bobbie makes and immediately reinforcing those. You could also teach Bobby to ring a bell, bang a certain toy, make a specific noise, go to a given area, or any other creative solution you can come up with any time he wants your attention.  Speaking from experience, a caregiver can reduce annoying vocalizations quite rapidly provided we rapidly reinforce alternative behaviors consistently.

I look forward to hearing about your success.

Best

lee

Answered by Steve Martin & Staff:

Hello Neka,
Thank you for your question about Charlie. I suspect the tail feather you found on the bottom of his cage is the result of a normal molt pattern.

Most birds loose and replace their feathers once a year. This process usually takes three or four months, and sometimes even longer depending on the species of bird. The feathers are molted, or replaced, a few at a time so the bird does not loose its flight ability, and each feather takes a few weeks to grow back in. You might notice that Charlie has some new feathers growing in at this time, and that there are several small body feathers around the cage as they are replaced with new feathers. You might also notice an increase in small pieces of feather shafts that are discarded as Charlie preens the excess material off the new feathers.

It is important to know that if Charlie’s wing feathers were clipped he will replace those clipped feathers with new complete feathers. Soon, he will have all his flight feathers grown in and he will be capable of flight. Whether or not he has good control of that flight skill or not is partially determined by the amount of flight experience he had when he was young. If Charlie did not learn to fly when he was very young then it is likely that he will have poor control of his flight when the new feathers grow in. This may result in Charlie crashing into things when he is frightened and tries to fly. However, with time, Charlie can learn to control his flight once the new feathers have grown in. It is up to you to decide if you want to have Charlie’s wings clipped again after his molt or not. But, it is important to be aware that once Charlie’s wing feathers have started to grow back his flight abilities will improve to the point he can fly long distances. This is especially important for people who take their parrots outside without any confinement such as a cage or carrier.

Steve

Answered by Jim McKendry:

G’day Jo,

Without a doubt, trying to manage feather picking behaviour is the most challenging of the behavioural issues we unfortunately encounter in captive parrots. It is very difficult for me to cover all bases within the constraints of a Q&A format for an issue as potentially complex as feather picking. As a consultant with extensive first hand experience with this particular issue, not being able to actually see the environment, and being unable to observe Peaches, really will limit my response to generalisations. Nevertheless, we can certainly cover some food for thought from the insights you have shared. Hopefully, from what I can offer, you might be able to develop some strategies that will help to minimise the potential for the feather picking to occur.

Firstly, you’ve done the right thing by consulting a veterinarian first. My advice to clients managing any problems involving poor feathering or feather damage in their parrots is to seek veterinary advice first. All the behavioural intervention in the world won’t help a parrot that is physically ill. As you have sought veterinary advice and have been advised that the problem is behavioural, let’s focus on the key general areas that you can start considering.

Diet Management & Foraging Opportunity:
Scientific studies have demonstrated a significant disparity in the time spent actively engaging in foraging and feeding behaviours of wild parrots compared to captive parrots. Reduced active foraging can be considered a precursor to `boredom’ or lack of activity. This `activity deficit’ has been linked to excessive amounts of time spent preening by captive parrots, which of course has been linked to improper care of feathers over time. The more dynamic, variable and creative the captive parrot owner can be in terms of food allocation, presentation, and access, the longer the time period the parrot will need to spend engaging in feeding activity. This strategy has been used for decades in the zoo industry to reduce stereotypical behaviours, in a range of animal species, and the relevance for our companion parrots should be obvious.

Diet management involves more that just withholding favoured foods for training treats. Creative diet management for parrots is concerned with a range of goals. Initially, it is beneficial to establish a formulated diet as the daily `base’ for food consumption, and then supplementing this with a range of other food types, including fruit, vegetables, seeds, natural foliages and even livefoods such as mealworms. The composition ratio of each of these supplements should be considered at a species-specific level. Not only will a diet based on a formulated food offer a sound level of nutrition, whilst minimising fat intake, it will also enhance the motivation level of the parrot to engage in foraging activity for items of higher palatability value, such as nuts and seeds. You have described a good diet for your African Greys. However, we often stop at ensuring all nutritional bases are covered, without taking the next step and considering the `when’ and `how’ of delivering the food so that time spent feeding, and essentially engaging in behaviour that is incompatible with sitting around picking at feathers, is maximised. This may be particularly important at times when we are not in the environment to provide the alternative stimuli needed to redirect feather picking behaviour.

Diet management therefore extends to catering for food allocation at various times of the day. Most parrot species do not feed for only an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon as some articles claim. Feeding durations of up to 8 hours have been observed in the wild, and at all times of the day, so therefore we sometimes need to consider catering for the natural tendency to forage outside of an established captive feeding regime. From your description, you may have the luxury of being able to manage the delivery of food for Peaches and Vincent around those times when you leave the house. By doing this you are rearranging the environment by introducing a stimulus that is likely to offer a highly motivating alternative to feather picking when you are absent.

In my experience, creative food delivery still has limitations in the remediation of feather picking. Best results for providing alternatives to chewing on feathers are usually derived from the provision of natural foraging `browse’. This is where a species-specific understanding of parrots is required and an appreciation of the huge variability in foraging behaviours and foraging preferences of wild parrots. What works as a foraging motivator for one species, or even one individual, may not work for another. In any case, if the daily food intake is staggered for a companion parrot then it is important that natural foraging opportunities are provided outside of those times to reduce boredom, possible stress and anxiety due to separation, and relieve pressures associated with behavioural feather picking.

The biggest problem for a large proportion of parrot owners is the unavailability of suitable, natural foraging items. In these cases, we need to reflect on the suitability of the artificial enrichment and toys being provided. A lot of the traditional parrot toys lack functional relevance for the birds they are provided for. With the increase in the availability of toys and artificial enrichment products specifically designed as `foraging’ items, where our parrots engage with them with the goal of procuring hidden food treats, we can now provide these items as an alternative to natural browse. If your parrot lacks interest in the toys and artificial enrichment on offer, it’s time for a change. The WPT Store is now stocking some cool toys for pet parrots that are worth a look!

Enclosure Variability & Suitability:
A dynamic and creative approach to food management needs to extend to providing a captive enclosure that facilitates `normal’ behaviours. In my experience, most pet parrots are maintained in enclosures far too small, and for too long, to maintain optimum behavioural health. Larger enclosures obviously facilitate the provision of a wider range of materials, substrates, perching and food positioning options. If small enclosures are used then it may be beneficial to maintain a regular schedule of variability and change in terms of enclosure furnishings. Care should be taken with sensitive individuals with a history of aversive reactions to changes. Such individuals should be catered for via gradual desensitisation to enrichment items, and even new perches in extreme cases. Parrot owners also often `over provide’ enrichment items such as toys and inadvertently create a cluttered environment that reduces healthy movement within the enclosure. Providing excessive amounts of artificial enrichment may also result in a lack of interest in such items, so a rotation schedule, with a minimum number of artificial enrichment items being provided for no more than a week at a time, may be far more beneficial than a `saturation’ approach. This is often particularly relevant for young parrots. When we consider enclosure suitability we also may need to consider the position of the enclosure. Incompatibility stress with other animals in the environment might be a potential contributor to feather problems. This therefore prompts reflection and careful observation of any parrot that is damaging its own feathers and is housed with or around other birds and animals and appropriate modifications made if necessary. The ideal, in my opinion, is to provide companion parrots with access to an outdoor aviary. This facilitates enhanced provision of natural browse and exposes the bird to a huge variety of natural stimuli, particularly visual and aural stimuli, that is rarely achieved indoors.

Bathing Schedules:
Skin and feather health may be dependent to varying degrees on humidity and access to bathing opportunities. Owners of companion parrots kept indoors, particularly in air-conditioned environments, may need to reassess the bathing schedule of their bird if behavioural feather picking is diagnosed. I have consulted with a number of feather picking birds that were rarely, if ever, bathed or provided with opportunities to self-bathe. This is very important for keepers of neo-tropical species whose natural range is within areas of high annual rainfall. Proper access to bathing promotes natural preening behaviours and can often be a significant component of successful recovery. In the case of Peaches and Vincent, the bathing schedule you have described should be more than adequate ☺


Balanced Social Interaction:
It’s great to see that we have an environment here with two African Greys and not just one. Companion parrots are often deprived of natural physical interactions with conspecifics (same species). When we consider that mutual preening is an integral part of natural pair bond behaviour for a range of species commonly kept as pets, the lack of access to such interactions can be considered contributory to some cases of excessive preening leading to feather damage. Aside from the physical aspect, balancing social interaction for pet parrots encompasses the behavioural and cognitive side as well. Most parrot species (the kakapo is one exception) are highly social and often form strong pair bonds. It is extremely unnatural for most parrots to be alone for most of the day, as many pet parrots often are. I firmly believe that many parrots fail to cope with the inconsistencies of the human-parrot bond and as a result we often see behavioural abnormalities arise. Obviously there are exceptions, but there is little arguing that captive parrots that are kept alone and without the stimulation of other parrots in their environment or without regular human interactions will benefit from being provided with another parrot, preferably of the same species, in their environment. A whole suite of behaviours can be observed between parrots, even in different enclosures, housed in the same environment that would otherwise be absent in a solitary individual. Such stimulation can equate to increased activity and engagement in enrichment items and less time spent damaging feathers. The key to this strategy is achieving compatibility and minimising incompatibility stress.

Jo, you have covered this consideration as well as any companion parrot owner can by having two African Greys in the environment. We’re still short of the ideal for avoiding feather picking by not having a truly compatible partnership, but Vincent is still very young. Over time, hopefully the level and quality of interactions between Peaches and Vincent will improve and provide both of them with a stronger diversion from picking in your absence.

Finally, considering Jo’s question about whether Vincent flying to her and not staying with other family members or visitors for long durations is `age’ related behaviour. Whilst a young parrot at 11 months of age will certainly still tend to gravitate towards whomever it has a well-established parental association with, it’s perhaps best to consider this behaviour purely from a reinforcement schedule perspective. It’s likely that the behaviour of flying back to you is reinforced with more consistency, and better contiguity, than the reinforcement on offer from others wanting to handle him. It’s also likely that the interactions Vincent has with you are more positively reinforcing in general and that he has established a stronger association with you as someone who is predictable, and offers rewards on a more consistent schedule than others. Try making your goals more achievable for Vincent by setting up a reinforcement schedule from other people that you would like to handle him that is more consistent and less variable than is perhaps presently being delivered.

Jo, managing feather picking is an on-going process of reflection, careful evaluation of the functional interaction and relationship between the behaviour and the environment, and a dedicated approach to creating alternatives to feather chewing. If the problem persists then I would recommend seeking out some professional advice and support on-site from a consultant or veterinarian who may be able to work with you on some strategies specific to your environment.

Kind Regards from `Down Under’,
Jim McKendry
Parrot Behaviour & Enrichment Consultations
http://www.pbec.com.au

Answered by Steve Martin & Staff:

Hello Cathy,

I believe the best place to start is to simply catch the bird in the act of pooping while on top of its cage. If you see him poop, reinforce the behavior by giving the bird a treat, or something else he likes, such as a scratch on the head, verbal praise and attention, etc. If the bird likes being with you, you might even pick him up just after he poops to reinforce the pooping behavior.

If you are really attentive to your bird’s body language and learn his rate of pooping, or how often he generally poops in a given amount of time, you can anticipate when he feels the urge to go and put him back on the cage then wait for him to go. You might find that you will put him back on his cage every 15 minutes or so. You might also pick him up and put him on the cage when you see him going to one of his current favorite "pooping places." If you wait long enough while he is on the cage, he will eventually poop and you can pick him up, praise him, give him a treat, etc., to reinforce the behavior. At this time you can also start putting in a cue for him to poop. All you have to do is say the word “poop,” or whatever word you want him to associate with the action. It really doesn’t matter what word or sentence you use as a cue, and you can even use a hand gesture or other visual cue. In the beginning you should say the word when you see him beginning to shows signs that he is about to defecate. Gradually you should start saying the cue word before he shows the signs so he can learn to understand the cue is a signal for a specific behavior that you want him to perform. Once he has learned the pooping behavior on cue, you should be able to cue the behavior in other areas, such as when you hold him over a trashcan or when he is sitting on a perch away from his cage.

Remember, behavior is strongly influenced by its consequences. So, whatever happens immediately after a behavior will help determine whether or not the behavior will occur again. The more you reinforce the pooping behavior with experiences the bird likes, the more likely it is that the bird will do the behavior again. Another important point to remember is to ignore unwanted behavior. If he makes a mistake and poops somewhere other than at his cage, just ignore it. The best training involves using positive reinforcement to train behaviors, and avoiding aversives, or things that the bird dislikes, to try and decrease the occurrence of a behavior. This is actually called punishment, and is usually a poor way to train animals. When you arrange the environment and set the bird up to succeed, and focus on positive reinforcement while avoiding negative interactions, I suspect you will be amazed at what your bird can learn.

Best of luck with the “poop training.”

Steve