Ground Rules

[Ginkai]

Hi again everyone, Ginkai again

I have yet another question for the brilliant minds of the forum regarding my baby Galah.

What I would like to know are good basic ground rules and boundaries that I should stop/prevent Suki from doing or myself and husband doing with her.

Things like should she be allowed on the ground? On the kitchen table? Is it ok to eat dinner with her around? If she screams or cries for attention should I give it to her or always ignore?

Sorry if its too much to ask but I'm making sure to start her life right, seeing as I will be living with her for the next 30 - 80 years

 

[suebee]

you ask the correct questions

i can only answer with the experiance of nut and to do with dinning, i let nut wonder on the table when there is no food out, when plates of food are down she sits on her cage, waiting on her share! (at bottom of the table, we have a huge refactory style table) tables wiped before and after each meal

but here are the negatives,
when she is in season, its impossible to stop her flying onto my man, during meal times, so we cage her (her sleep cage is in kitchen)

she does not understand why she has to give up her place when we have guests

so i think a perch next to table be better in the long run, especially one that canbe rolled about, (must make man make one lol)

but remember my mistakes, i let nut do things when she was all new an entertaining, and now we have a little battle when she is told no! and it can take a few months before the take notice of the NO!

 

[Spiritbird]

Here are some wonderful and wise articles for you to read.

https://companionparrotonline.com/Member_Articles.html

 

[Enjru]

Here are some important ground rules for you to consider:

1) I will be responsible for all of Suki Lala's needs.
2) I will be financially responsible for Suki Lala's avian veterinary bills, including first health check and yearly health checks after that, and any emergency veterinary bills as they arise.
3) I will provide adequate safe environments for Suki Lala to live and exercise and play in, including sleeping cage, playgyms, training T-stands, etc, and without poisonous houseplants, toxic cleaning chemicals, overheated Teflon cooking pans, oven cleaner fumes, etc, around.
4) I will provide Suki Lala with a healthy, nutritious and interesting diet.
5) I will provide Suki Lala with physical and mental enrichment activities, including exercise, eg, flying or wing-flapping, climbing, foraging opportunities, toys, training sessions, etc.
6) I will provide Suki Lala with lots of socialization opportunities, to get accustomed to interacting with myself, other members of my family, relatives and friends, perhaps even office acquaintances and strangers, eg, customers at work, people at the local bird club, people at the park, etc.
7) I understand that it will be quite likely that, some time down the track, whether in 5 days, 5 weeks, 5 months, 5 years or 5 decades, that Suki Lala could engage in some problem behaviors such as biting, screaming, feather plucking, etc. I commit to working through any such behavioral problems with Suki Lala, including at the least, trying advice offerend on this forum, asking the avian vet who has an interest in behavioral issues for advice, joining expert companion parrot behavioral websites such as Susan Friedman's Living and Learning with Parrots group or Melinda Johnson's Clicker Training group, even up to engaging professional help from a qualified member of the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators.
8) I understand that Suki Lala may have a natural lifespan of many decades, and I commit to caring for her as best as I can for as long as I can, and to plan responsibly for her ongoing care when I am too old or disabled to look after her properly, or upon my death.

 

[Ginkai]

Here are some important ground rules for you to consider:

1) I will be responsible for all of Suki Lala's needs.
2) I will be financially responsible for Suki Lala's avian veterinary bills, including first health check and yearly health checks after that, and any emergency veterinary bills as they arise.
3) I will provide adequate safe environments for Suki Lala to live and exercise and play in, including sleeping cage, playgyms, training T-stands, etc, and without poisonous houseplants, toxic cleaning chemicals, overheated Teflon cooking pans, oven cleaner fumes, etc, around.
4) I will provide Suki Lala with a healthy, nutritious and interesting diet.
5) I will provide Suki Lala with physical and mental enrichment activities, including exercise, eg, flying or wing-flapping, climbing, foraging opportunities, toys, training sessions, etc.
6) I will provide Suki Lala with lots of socialization opportunities, to get accustomed to interacting with myself, other members of my family, relatives and friends, perhaps even office acquaintances and strangers, eg, customers at work, people at the local bird club, people at the park, etc.
7) I understand that it will be quite likely that, some time down the track, whether in 5 days, 5 weeks, 5 months, 5 years or 5 decades, that Suki Lala could engage in some problem behaviors such as biting, screaming, feather plucking, etc. I commit to working through any such behavioral problems with Suki Lala, including at the least, trying advice offerend on this forum, asking the avian vet who has an interest in behavioral issues for advice, joining expert companion parrot behavioral websites such as Susan Friedman's Living and Learning with Parrots group or Melinda Johnson's Clicker Training group, even up to engaging professional help from a qualified member of the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators.
8) I understand that Suki Lala may have a natural lifespan of many decades, and I commit to caring for her as best as I can for as long as I can, and to plan responsibly for her ongoing care when I am too old or disabled to look after her properly, or upon my death.

Wow enjru that reads like a pledge of allegiance. And I am very willing to take that on. All pets I have owned have only ever left my care by dying at a ripe old age. It makes me very sad when I see neglected animals and I refuse to be a bad animal carer. Hence why I'm asking so many questions now before she is in my care to make sure she has the best life possible. I already have two playstands, a large cage and a few toys ready for her arrival, I'm going to buy a few more toys from her breeders as well, as they sell toys.

While I very much appreciate the rules for me and I'm glad you outlined them so thoroughly, I would like to have some boundaries that Suki needs in place to live a harmonious life with my family.

 

[Enjru]

Some ground rules, for Suki to consider following, include:

1) I understand that I am allowed to scream with relative impunity every morning and evening, because these vocalization times are natural. However, screaming at other times during the day will not be responded to by my human family, unless I have injured myself and am in pain. My parront will help me avoid starting up any such problematic screaming behaviors by giving me lots of things to do by myself, including foraging for my food, playing with my toys, etc, so that I do not feel I must have human interactions to make my life worth living.

2) I understand that my human family will provide me with really yummy treats that are my absolute favorite things to eat, and that I can expect and deserve to be rewarded with these treats whenever I behave in ways that facilitate my family's suitable care of me.

3) I understand that I will not be provided with opportunities to bite people. My parront will help me achieve this goal by reading my body language properly, so that I am understood when I am too scared, or feeling aggressive or over-excited, and that when I am in these moods, I will be given time and space to calm down and relax, before my human family will interact with me in any physical ways.

4) I understand that I may find one of the humans especially attractive and fun to be with, but I understand that my ongoing handling and care may be provided by more than one human, and that I will therefore be expected to maintain civil relationships with more than one human. My parront will help me achieve this goal by not letting anyone over-cuddle me, use me as an emotional crutch and/or stimulate my sexually sensitive areas.

 

[PetoftheDay]

I would emphasize that everyone in the household needs to be aware of the ground rules, as there is no question a parrot will pick up on who lets her get away with stuff, and who doesn't, so getting all the humans on the same page is a must!