Rituals

Anybody else here a giant sucker for rituals? It seems like if I do something for more than 3 seconds that Sass really likes and it is connected to something else meaningful then I have unwittingly signed some kind of Amazon Master Contract, in blood. For example, one night played peek-a-boo at bedtime. The next night she threw a huge tantrum at bedtime. Really got nasty and I had no idea why. Then as I was doing a last check lights out, this little girl starts starts scaling up and down the side of her cage peering through the legs of a ladder crying "BOO!". So we played peek-a-boo, tantrum solved, she went to sleep. But now I have to play it every single night without exception.

After a bath she will hold her wings up and out for long segments of time. If I don't say "pretty bird" every single time she cries out "FLYING BIRD" like I mean it, over and over, I am in trouble. I said it the first time I saw her do this but now I am stuck with this ritual, probably for the rest of my life.

And I know these are very small petty things, but there are "so many". I am just awed at how well trained this bird is getting me. Perhaps the rituals give the day (and person) some dependability and reliability. Maybe it allows the bird to feel a little more "in control" of a world they really don't have much control in to start. Whatever it is, if there are this many rituals this early in our relationship, I can't even begin to imagine 10 or 15 years into the future!

LoL I try to keep things very varied for my boy so that things are said or done differently alot of times, and in a different ordereach time ...I guess if you want them to be talkers repetition may be important I dont know, for its their playfulness that captures me rather than their speech ability, but I do know that each night I sing a lullaby before bedtime and yes that is a ritual my boy demands...the rituals are really built by us I think, and the order we do things in, but then, all parrots are individuals, and I have only ever had the pleasure of knowing two Amazons in my life, Mr Biggles who was a white fronted Amazon, and now Rodney who is a Blue Fronted Amazon, so my experience is limited. Others may have other advice for you to help you deal with the rituals

When I am changing out JoJo’s water bowl, I have to offer him a drink before I put it into it’s holder! Evil eye if I forget, and he will just wait! It really is adorable to watch him drink!
Smart though? One time when he wasn’t in the mood, I offered the drink and he leaned over and tapped the holder, not catching on, I stuck it in his face again! He looked at me and tapped on the holder, this time, much harder and deliberate! That really floored me!

When all else fails, follow the Amazon...

The rituals may seem controlling, but its far better than the cold shoulder!

We have quite a few rituals here in Sammy land. Take bedtime, for example. I have to change his inside water and put in all new papers. Then, Roger has to take over and open the door and tell him to go to bed. Sam then MUST ring two bells, and attack his rope. Then and only then will he go inside to bed. At which time, he must ring one bell through the cage bars.

Morning routine is quite detailed as well. I wake Sam up and pick him up out of the cage and bring him onto the playstand on top. His food and water must already be there or there will be Amazon stink eye. He eats some breakfast, then he has to have his two Cheerios with his medicine on it. If the cheerios are late, he will hang off the side of the cage and call for them, of course with stink eye as well.

Dinner time is a whole routine in itself. When we sit down, there must be fresh veggies provided immediately. Then, after those are eaten, we have to have a Nutriberry and half a walnut for desert. If there is something desired on the table, some of that must also be provided, such as corn on the cob or pasta. All during our dinner, he must have something new in his cup at all times, or there will be a lot of noise and begging. You would think the parrot ran this house! Well, you would be correct.

And when he finally does go to bed, we have to go to bed as well. If we make too much noise, he rings the bell and calls to us to go to sleep.

Birds like rituals. Each of mine have a few things they like ( demand) just so. They deal with my ways of doing stuff do I deal with theirs

I couldn't agree more. My Max(RIP llittle guy) and Salty both like a routine. Salty def has a nite time ritual that he gets upset if it's not followed. He'll be cranky the next day if it's skipped. If I don't say hello to him when I come home, same deal.. cranky.