Not a parrot person?

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for a bit of experienced reassurance here! I'm planning to get an eclectus in around 12 months, but I don't have a good track history with parrots!

I've just had a run in with a bare-eyed cockatoo who has literally nearly bitten the side of my finger off. My husband and I had an Amazon in the past, she was a rescue and did not like me and I'm wondering if there are just some people that parrots don't like! I'm quiet and calm and fairly confident around birds.

I have a Mynah, she will happily land on me and take food off me, but she was aviary reared and isn't particularly tame and not a parrot!

Is there anything I can do about it if I do for some reason anger feathered beasties of the parrot family!?

The cockatoo is in a small(ish) private zoo I volunteer in once a week and is very aggressive... I entirely admit I fell for his tricks and scratched him through the cage...oops... He lives with 2 Amazons in a cage with other birds (G&B macaws, all types of cockatoo, Amazons and some smaller conures etc) in cages that face a central walkway. None of the parrots are particularly friendly apparently.

Welcome to you!

Hello there!

I don't have much experience with a lot of birds, just a lot of experience with ONE, but I'll say this: parrots are complicated, but I can't imagine that there's anything inherently wrong with YOU! Still, there are a lot of experts here who may help you ferret out mistakes you might be making and/or find new skills.

Meanwhile, welcome! Glad you found us!

I think its just based on each individual bird. Some birds will come running at you saying take me home and some will want to bury you below their cage, I dont think theres anyone who "all" birds hate. Dont make fast sudden movements, talk to them softly, and just be calm and patient. Another thing that plays into it is, some birds may have been hand fed, raised, or lived with a female all their life and HATE males, or vice versa.. some even prefer a certain race or hate people eith long hair. Some birds have weird opinions of who they like, but no, every bird does not hate you, you just need to find the right bird that chooses you. As long as you dont make the bird feel threatened or try to make him do things he doesnt want to and go to fast, like grabbing the bird after trying and failing to make it step up rather than just calling it quits for the day and letting him be until he feels more comfortable near you then there will be birds who love you.

Don't take it personal - birds in captivity often act out. Parrots take tons of time. They are forgiving tho. If you can have the opportunity for the bird to pick you rather than you pick the bird, that would be awesome. Good luck!

You said you used to have a rescue amazon ... may I ask what happened to make her past tense?

Hi,

Thanks for that everyone, glad you didn't all go "Oh yes, some people are repulsive to all parrots..."

Our Amazon's name was Charlie. She was around 10 when we got her. Unfortunately she started to get ill around 18 months later (a lump developed at the bottom of her chest and she wasn't going to the toilet normally), we took her to a vet who diagnosed a liver problem(fatty liver I think?) she felt was due to being fed an unsuitable diet for the vast majority of her life. Over the next few days she stopped going to the toilet at all. A different vet diagnosed a hernia and felt that her bowel had come through. It was heartbreaking. She was so weak she wouldn't have survived the operation and the vet did not believe it would be a success so we had to decide to let her go.

Oh, gosh, JB, how terrible...

I hope the Rickeybird just croaks in his sleep at a ripe old age.

I think that you already ARE a total parrot person!

Mmmm-hmmm!

..."Croak in his sleep"... NICE TALK GAIL! And what do you think RB would say/do if he heard you talk like that? I see a CHOMP coming..

OHhhhhh Rickybirrrrrrrdddddd....



Jim

Not a Parrot Person?

Interesting, but understandable!

Where to start, hmmm!

Lets start with a few basics:

It is NEVER the fault of the Parrot! It is always the fault of the Human!!! By starting from this position, the Human more quickly finds and corrects what they are doing wrong!!!

Why should a Parrot Trust a Human??? If you understand that most things EAT them, you can quickly understand why they tend not to trust quickly! Hey, even other Birds EAT them!

Dogs, Cats and Humans Hunt!! (well, less so with Humans, but you get the logic, right). We are a nature threat to them! They are only a few generations out of the wild!

We are huge compared to them! They can connect with our face, but all the other friends we have around us, like hands, arms, legs confuse them. Trusting us and our friends is not an easy task!

Humans want to 'pet' Parrots ASAP! Parrots, want to develop a Trust Bond and build from there!

Human's change color daily, somethings many times in any given day. Parrots have the same feathers everyday. It takes them longer to figure out who we are bringing with us every time we change the clothing that covers our friends (see above regarding our body parts).

Now, visit the Amazon Forum and read the second Stickly Thread, which is highlighted in light blue. Read the first Thread regarding Understand Amazon Body Language. Now, if you had that understanding of what your Amazons was telling you, would it have helped with your relationship?

Some insider information:

Read with great deal the Parrot Forum of the specific Parrot you have an interest. FYI: Your current choice is a Parrot that requires a special diet. If you did not know that - you have a lot of digging to do!!!

After you have gained the needed knowledge. And this is very important!!! Let the Parrot Choose You!!! FYI: The One that Chooses You, Maybe A Totally Different Species!!! You need to be able to accept that reality!!!


I Thank-You, for your heartfelt telling of the loss of your Amazon! It is never easy to recount such a loss.

You have come to the right place. We are a group of Parrot Lovers that tell it like it is!!! So, please understand that we are not being hard on you, we are being honest.

So, Welcome to the Parrot Forums!!!

Sailboat... so beautifully said, as always.

Jim... from your lips to the bird's ears (not)!

I'm so sorry to hear about poor Charlie. That's a terrible thing to go through.

Parrots are a tremendous, outrageous, incredible, unbelievable amount of trouble. They need more time than you have, more money than you have, and the time and money commitment can last for nearly a century, depending on the bird. It's not like after 20 years they figure out how to maintain themselves and you can go back to having an independent life. So it's good to ask lots of questions of yourself before you get a bird, because you can't just Control-Z out of them.

As others said, it's important to be able to read the bird's body language. At the same time, the bird is reading your body language. If you are a little bit apprehensive or nervous, or excited, or move too fast like an attacker, or move too slow like a snake, or if you look like you might do something interesting when bitten, bird may bite.

Birds that have learned to step up will often do so automatically when a perch or hand is presented confidently, and balk if you seem hesitant. Watching lots of videos of other people with their birds might help you figure out a good pace for starters.

Just as there are one-person birds, there are one-bird persons. If after long thought you decide that yes, you want a parrot enough to make the accommodations required, then take your time finding the bird. Wonder Guy sort of adopted Gus because he needed adopting, and there was something about him, and he will never be rehomed if we can help it - but I know that he really wanted an Amazon who would love him like the last one. If it were I, I would visit as many birds in rescues as possible and wait for the thunderbolt. You will get experience with seeing how different birds act, see how people interact with them, and one day it will happen. A bird will see you, and try to come to you, and follow you, talk to you, step right up for you. Bird will fall in love with you, and you will fall in love with bird. This will remove 90% of the "am I a parrot person" talk, because the parrot will be emphatic about wanting you, and you will work out the details as you go along. You just haven't met the right bird yet.

The reason I suggest visiting rescues instead od breeders or stores is because there are so many parrots that need love. Sometimes the owner became unable to care for them, or had health complications. Sometimes the owner becomes unable to properly care for a bird, but since it was an expensive bird they don't want to give it away, so it sits in a cage by itself in a back room, or a basement, with no toys and no interaction and nothing to do but go insane. Our Gus was living somewhere like that, cage a foot deep in poop. It's amazing that he was resilient enough to survive that. You could make a difference like that for a bird, a bird that will love you all the more because somehow they KNOW what you have done.

So that's a long post, but I don't do short. I try to discourage people from getting parrots as pets, because I know what is 70% likely to happen to the birds as the humans go through changes. But if the human is really willing, ready and able to love and care for a parrot, then I will almost beg them to please at least look at the lost and thrown-away birds that are just as sweet, intelligent, and wonderful as any baby in a pet store. Whatever your heart decides to do, do! And if there is anything at all that you need to ask, ask, because there sure some wonderful folks here who seem to live for helping parrots, and they will help you and yours the way they help me and Gus.

Hi Guys,

Thank you all for your comments and sympathy. I thought I was looking for some straight forward reassurance, but you've given me a lot to think about. Sailboat in particular... Yes I was aware of the dietary needs of ekkies and their unusual non-dusty feathers and bathing needs, but then research is probably my strength, and I wonder now if my behaviour lets me down. I'd never thought about how difficult it should naturally be for a parrot to trust a human. With clothes changes and huge, ranging bodies and limbs.

With Charlie she seemed to like me more initially (her previous owner had been a woman as am I), then she bit me a couple of times and preferred my husband. Honestly now I didn't put any further work in with her and became quite frightened she would bite me again. Although I realise now it was a very tame bite compared to my current manky wound. I didn't try and build her trust at all.

Again, thank you all.

I like you, Jottlebot. You're frank and open and a sincere listener.
Good luck to you, whatever you decide.

I have posted this before,but figure this would be a good time to do it again
When I got Amy,she was just a pup...I don't think I even KNEW about rescue's for birdies.
I got her from a guy who had a HUGE cage,with twenty or so,little baby 'zons run and playing in it.
The guy was the first to rell me "let the bird pick YOU!" Watch 'em all...pay attention to the one<s> that watch YOU!
So I did..he said "take your time..talk to 'em...watch all of them closely" and I did that too. I noticed a few who just ignored me..a couple who LUNGED at me! ...and there was this ONE...who followed me around the mansion they all were in..she stopped when I stopped...walked when I walked..climbed up the cage bars,crawled over the other 'zons to follow me..her eyes pinned and her beaky would move as I talked to her,like she was saying 'PICK ME!!"

The guy said " YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN!" So, I sat in a chair,as he reached in,and the 'zon, ( later to be known as AMY ) climbed right on his hand. He told me to slowly extend my arm and ask her to "step up". which she did without hesitation. I then lowered my hand slowly,which then she hopped right on to my leg,looking up at me,and lowering her little green/yellow/blue noggin. I was kind of confused,looking up at the guy.
He said "She wants skritches!"
So I stuck my forefinger out and began gently scratching her head and cheeks.
I did this for about ten straight minutes..by the time I stopped,her head was lying sideways,eyes closed,beaky slightly open..she was in heaven lol.

The guy then told me that being "picked" this way is no better way to get bonded with a parrot.
This was twenty-seven years ago..we are 'tight" she would defend me to her death,as I would with her :52: :40: :08: :21:
Hope this helps!

Jim

You've already been given some phenomenal advice, so I'm just adding a little extra here. In terms of your question about whether parrots take an instant dislike to some people, I think it's more a matter of having an instinctive distrust of certain behaviors and body language indicators. People who are very anxious or animated will tend to be more frightening to parrots than those who are more calm and relaxed. Why? Because parrots are experts at reading body language. Their lives in the wild depend upon that ability.

But just as moving too swiftly or frantically can be an issue, so can moving too hesitantly. Movements, especially when initially building the bond, must be at a happy medium. The best term for it, I think, is deliberate. Moving confidently, yet deliberately, lessens the natural fear of predators to which Steven (SailBoat) alluded. I know you said that you are a calm person, but be mindful of how you move in the presence of parrots.

I must say, though, that you truly come across as someone who will be a really good parront. Because you ask sincere questions and seem to be receptive to the answers you receive. That's important. I couldn't tell you how many ask questions, yet are only open to the answers they want to hear. Actually listening is very important to being a good parrot person, both for what you'll learn from other people, and for what it says about your ability to pay attention to the needs and desires of your parrot.