Does your bird do this?

[Delfin]

Now that Mulawa is acclimatised to the lounge and dining room I'm starting to introduce her to other rooms of the house and asking her to step down onto many new surfaces. This is done daily and of course Delfin is helping too. :bunny7:

Mulawa displays the following behaviour, When asked to step down onto the table, she will put one foot down onto the table but will hold onto my finger with the other foot and rather tightly. I will just hold my hand there until she either gets the courage to step down completely or step back up to the hand. This usually takes around 3 to 4 attempts before she will step down and not hold onto my finger. When Mulawa first started to step up she would hold onto my finger extremely tight, but with more interactions, she was not griping onto my finger has tightly, in fact the last few days she is quite relaxed when sitting on my finger. The bonding and trust building sessions are paying off.
:jumping40


I'm wondering if any other Parrots behaved the same way when they were being introduced to new areas and surfaces and if its just young birds that display this behaviour or age doesn't matter. Is this behaviour more pronounced in certain species or is it a more individual trait ?.

The Alexandrine Parrot is reported not to be the most cuddly or dependant species of parrot, (this is not what I have found with Delfin and now Mulawa) but the behaviour displayed by Mulawa is one that says "I'm holding onto you because I'm unsure and a bit scared".

What are your thoughts on this?

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

I've had Zilla for a little over 4 months now and she still does the one foot holding onto my finger tightly when I ask her to step down onto surfaces other than her cage, play stand, or gym. She especially doesn't like stepping down onto my bed and I take her there every day after I close my office so I can change out of my "good" clothes and into something she isn't going to destroy by pooping or chewing on it. She's a 28 year old Amazon, so I don't think species or age have a difference in this. Just my opinion and experience with her.

 

[DoodlesMom]

It must not be species specific, Doodle does the exact same behavior when uncertain!! I have followed your sticky post on trust and bonding and before she would step up she'd only put one foot on my finger and holding tight to her cage bars. Now when I try to get her to step down on something new, she will intently look at the surface and look at me, kinda like shes looking for assurance that it's OK.....but will also only tentatively put 1 foot down and hanging on me with the other.

I'm thinking that once we've earned their trust, they trust COMPLETELY & Unconditionally. It's kinda funny that when Smokey, my dog, gets to close, she'll run BEHIND my head and peek around at him, like a kid running to mommy when scared!

 

[Betrisher]

The Beaks do exactly the same thing and I think it has to do with the slipperiness of the surface I'm asking them to step down to. If it's the kitchen table, they're extremely careful, because that's slippery and they know this because when they fly down and land on it, they skid! LOL! If I put an old sheet down for them, they're not as wary and will step down with confidence. This is why I think it's the 'slippery' factor that causes their wariness.

Dominic does the same thing, but he's wary all the time. His fatty tumours upset his balance, I think, and so he's never really confident. Dom also uses his beak for balancing a LOT and that can lead to some painful (though unintentional) nips.

I think it's really good that you're helping Mulawa experience her world slowly and by degrees. That will build her confidence hugely and help prevent unnecessary crash-landings, since she'll know how each surface behaves. I've done similarly with my Beaks, showing them each window and touching their beaks to the glass as well as showing them the difference between carpet and tiles and stainless steel etc. Touch wood, we haven't had any window-crashes yet, but Madgie gave herself an unscheduled manicure the other day by sticking her toe just a teensy bit too far into the mesh of the wall-fan. It went 'bbbblllltttt' and she flew off, horrified! Thank goodness, she no longer sits on the wall-fan, which suits me fine. I have plenty of Proper Perches set up high on walls and cupboards, so she has no excuse.

 

[strudel]

I don't tend to put my bird down places, but she does hang on with one leg if she doesn't want to come to me or go back in the cage. She also does this thing where she puts out a leg and then takes it back. She is quite good at getting me to dance attendance on her.

 

[Taw5106]

Buddy steps up confidently but doesn't like to get down. Venus on the other hand grabs my finger with her beak and pulls it to her and steps up while holding my finger. It freaked me out at first but she's gentle and that's just her routine. She will step down for me with no problem but she also is very curious so she has a motive to getting down. I haven't taken her out of the office yet, it'll be interesting when I do.

 

[Ann333]

I don't let Pumpkin down around the house. Just his cages, gyms and on me. While I trust my dogs, they get very excited and a playing pit bull or basset hound or even the shih tzu could accidentally kill a tiny bird.

 

[RavensGryf]

I remember reading an article once that said how it's a biomechanically natural movement for parrots to step UP, but stepping down is not a natural way that they move in nature. Sure they're physically able to do it, and our birds obviously do, but I think the article makes sense to me. To go down a tree in the wild, they use their beak to aid with stability in climbing, but to do a movement like how we ask them to step down onto a surface is more of a learned behavior, like learning a trick. That's where some might take to it faster, while other birds seem to need a little more time to get comfortable where it's not awkward. Does that make sense to you too?

 

[Delfin]

So far it seems that age hasn't any thing to do with this behaviour, but the question of is it being more pronounced in certain species hasn't been answered yet. Birds that are prone to being needy.

surface texture and confidence looks to be a major factors in this behaviour while I can improve confidence through interactions, surface textures will be a bit more of a challenge. Maybe someone has an idea on how to overcome this.

Amanda_Bennett
I gather Zilla is a re-homed parrot and seems to have bonded to you really well. When asked to step down, she takes into account what the texture of the surface is like before stepping down.

Doodlesmom
Delfin would do the same when scared, he would fly to me and hide behind my head then poke out to have a look. Looks like that another behaviour that birds might share. How did the sticky post of trust and bonding work for doodle and yourself?.

Betrisher
How is the Beaks, your flock and yourself? I hope Madgie's toe is alright?. Bet that wall-fan put the fear of god into her. There another behaviour of Delfin's. He would fly onto the table and slide for around half a metre and then walk over and say "hello". Delfin will also sit on a folded up tea towel and allow us to pull him around the table while sitting on the tea towel. I'm letting both Delfin and Mulawa experience different surface textures and locations. This I believe, is only part of what gives them mental stimulation, which stops them from being bore and boredom leads to behavioural problems.

When we open the curtains we twisted them and then loop one end through on it's self to hold it. Delfin was climbing up and down one of these twisted curtains. So I got Mulawa to step up and then got her to step down onto the curtain. She was a little hesitant but did climbed onto the curtain. I watched what she would do, she climbed up and down the curtain with stops along the way and at each stop she would tap on the glass. I have been showing Mulawa all the windows and tapping the glass with my finger, then holding her beak and then tap the glass with her beak.

Strudel
Apart from their stands and cage we get both Delfin and Mulawa to step down onto the floors, seats and window sills. I believe this helps with confidence and independence. But that's what I do with my companion bird. Each to their own.

 

[Delfin]

Ann333
We keep tequila our American Stafford terrier and our birds Delfin & Mulawa separated by a physical barrier (cage) when they are in the same room. When Tequila goes down stairs to play with our son. Then the birds are let out of the cage. We feel that it's safer for the birds at this present time.

Tequila is still just a pup at eight months old and because she is so full of energy. American Stafford terrier have a strong chase and catch instinct so a little preventative planning will ensure that there is no accidents with a fatal outcome.

Yes we can train tequila to sit and stay, but if the birds flies and the chase and catch instinct kicks in, then a disastrous accident can happen in the blink of an eye. So we practice preventative measures.

 

[strudel]

we get both Delfin and Mulawa to step down onto the floors, seats and window sills. I believe this helps with confidence and independence.

I don't have any philosophical objection to it, I just don't because I've got too much junk everywhere and haven't been able to parrot-proof stuff AND I've got a dog who is a bit enthusiastic so we keep clear of birds on the floor unless I know the dogs are out and the back door is shut (got a doggie-door).

Her "out-time" tends to be with me. I carry her about on my shoulder or on my hand. I do put her down if I want to do something quickly, but until I get better organised she can't really get much freedom around and about.

Now to think of it, she is a bit reticent going onto the handle of the kitchen trolley or somewhere like that than she is on her perches. It's understandable, really, it doesn't have the same familiarity. I suppose we're the same getting onto a boat or negotiating stairs than we are on a flat surface.

I watched a video in which the lady said that she tends to always do "step up" rather than "step down", ie she lowers the bird so that it is always coming UP at wherever it is to go. My galah doesn't seem to mind too much going different directions and they tend to walk around a lot (wild ones, outside) so I don't think they have that same desire to keep up high, like budgies and others do.

 

[Ann333]

Yea i know how that is, our dogs were fine around our ferrets, and never moved to hurt them or even hinted at it. I know mine can be trusted to be nice, its just if a dog gets too excited and starts running around i don't want my bird to get trampled by fat basset feet.

 

[Dopey]

Mine hang on tight for any place new to them or fairly new to them.

In fact, last week when I put Jingle down on the table he got mad and said, f you and then what the f*&%.
How's that for saying I don't like where you want me to step down. It was the kitchen table for pete's sake.

 

[Betrisher]

Thanks for asking, Peter. We're all fine, thanks. Barney still hasn't quite regained the weight he lost while out in The Wild, but he's sure eating well! Poor Madge: you should've seen the look on her face when her toe went 'bzzzztttt' in the fan! She's fine, though, just reluctant to land on the fan again (which is good). Just FYI, our fans are mesh-covered and it was just amazing bad luck that her toenail fitted through a hole when it did. Only the nail got buzzed, but that was enough to put the wind up Madgie forever, I think (no pun intended).

I agree that giving birds lots of new experiences by way of textures and surfaces (and even different sounds) is enriching for them. It never ceases to amaze me how clever and observant my Beaks are and how ready to try new things. I just wish they'd allow me to pat their little heads. Try as I might, I just can't seem to gain enough trust for that to happen.

Yet.

 

[DoodlesMom]

Doodle is either on her cage or on me (temporarily in a wheelchair ) When Smokey gets on the couch he gets under a throw cover. Doodle will hop down and walk on him....Smokey is used to different animals, he was raised with a 15 yr. Old Iguana, they shared the sunlite on the floor. They are never together without me, though cuz I know crap happens!

Delfin: I wouldn't have gotten Doodle where she is without that post. I had no CLUE how to get through to her. It's been 3 months now and we BOTH gained confidence in each other. We still got work to do but the worst is past us. With limited mobility she , Smokey and Charlie (iguana ) are what keep me sane!!

 

[Birdman666]

I'd say that's a fairly normal fear response.

Mine generally don't anymore, but I'm sure they all did at one time or another.

Now they're all used to it.

 

[RainbowRose]

My Senegal does this, usually when he doesn't want me to put him back in the cage. He will grip me tightly with 2 feet or put 1 foot on the perch and Still squeeze me! Lol but yea he does this wherever I try to place him even if he's been there before, I think he just gets hesitant maybe because I adopted him a month and a half ago still, but I think he is afraid of falling. Senegals are kinda top heavy LOL but yes my parrot squeezes my finger hehe