My Pineapple GCC - behavioral and vet question

[pastimesteve]

Hi everyone,

I introduced myself a while back on the New Member forum, but I'm now a first-time bird owner of an awesome baby Pineapple GCC named Peanut. He/she will be 13 weeks old tomorrow. She has been home with us for two weeks. Peanut is an awesome baby bird and is well behaved and gentle.

However, as a new bird owner, I have a behavioral and a vet question:

Behavioral question - Peanut only wants to be on my shoulder, or someone else's shoulder when she's out of her cage. She doesn't like to stay on a perch or our finger. If she's put there, she wants to fly back to my shoulder. Is this normal baby behavior, or do I need to do something different with positive reinforcement to get her to want to play on her play gym or at least sit on my finger? I do want her to perch to help her learn where to potty and where not to, as well as for other reasons.

Vet question - I have the choice of two Avian vets locally. One apparently wants the bird's owner to go back to the room with the bird, the other does not -- allegedly -- allow it for some reason. I'd assume it's better to be back there with your pet, but I only know this from being a previous dog owner.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

Hey Steve,
Congrats on your baby Peanut. I have two GCC's and they are a joy to be with 99.9% of the time. The other .1% of the time you want to pull your hair out. LOL

Everything you're going through is absolutely normal pertaining to Peanut wanting to be on your shoulder. GCC's are very active and they love to be on shoulders. Some people will say don't allow it and other say it's not a problem. I am with the latter group of people as long as you ensure Peanut knows who's boss. It is recommend to teach them to remain on a perch though but due to their love for the flock, their strong willed personality, and their high energy it can be difficult. It takes a lot of patience, time and positive reinforcement on your part.

As for the Vet question, I would absolutely go with the one who permits your presence in the room.

 

[DebsFlock]

I don't mind shouldering as long as I don't think my face is in danger. IMO that's the main reason not to allow it, there is some risk of being bitten in a really bad location.

We have a found 'tiel that exhibited exactly that fly-to-shoulder behavior and unless you are quite flexible, it can be a way to avoid your hands. If you want to keep your bird flighted, it's going to take a lot of patient training to get her to get her to stay put elsewhere, but it's probably a good idea to be able to. We didn't really get Blanco to stop until we trimmed him, and even now he will make a determined shoulder run every chance he gets. I don't mind him there one bit, but I want him to be invited, not storming the castle.

I have experience only with two avian vets and both allowed owners in the exam room. They did take the bird in back for more involved treatment. I can sort of see where it would make life a lot easier to keep the owner out, so they don't have to deal with "oh poor baby" fretting from some fraction, but I'd personally only work with a vet who took that approach if they had impeccable credentials and I had limited choice. I want to be involved, and I'm pretty level headed about it. Being banned from the exam room makes me wonder if there is something to hide. So I'd personally only choose that vet if there were strong reasons to think he or she was a much better vet. I don't think it's a good policy.

In fact, my cat vet has suggested I'd have made a rather good vet tech. We have one cat who hates blood draws so much it takes me, the lead tech and the vet to get the job done. Hyperthyroidism lead to frequent blood draws and at one point he just said "no more!". Of course they could do it in the back without me, but Pepe is a little better when I'm holding his head.

 

[aliray]

All my parrots are shoulder birds and wherever else they can climb to No Heads though. they are also relatively small parrots . All my parrots are clipped and have times they play on their cage tops however if they want company they glide to the floor and go for a walk till they find a human

 

[pastimesteve]

Thanks all! Great information. Peanut has been clipped, but it doesn't stop her from attempting flight. She is one determined little bugger. No fear at all! I worry about her getting hurt.

Steve

 

[BreannPearlLang]

I've had weird success with my birds learning to step up by "scaring" them off of the cage and immediately offering a finger to step up on. it works wonders.

 

[Kantia]

Remember that your little birdie wants to get to the highest place possible, it's their instinct. I allow Tich on my shoulder so he can mess my hair up (Shh, don't tell him, he think's he's better than a hairbrush!) and snuggle into my neck, but being on my head is a no-no.

Regarding the vet, I would want to stay in the room. I've worked in many veterinary surgeries and the owner knows their pet the best, and they are sometimes more comfortable and less stressed with the owner present.

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

I'm not comfortable with a vet that doesn't want the parront in the room for wellness exams or not-feeling-well exams. More involved treatments and procedures are another story - I could see the need for vet and tech to do their thing. Sometimes a vet will say that it is better for this reason that you are or are not here. Then you can decide if you agree.

Over the course of many years of shouldering Pritti, I've received about 5 bad single bad face bites that bled, swelled, and took several days or more to heal. So if I average it out over twenty years, that's once every 4 years (not that it works out like that), but in every case, except maybe one, there was some surprise thing - I think - that I did to scare Pritti and "shock" him out of a mellow/trance that he was in, like we are both quiet and all of a sudden i turned my head fast and called out across the room, stupid me. Still a bite is not what I want to accept, but I'm willing to take the risk because because the benefits and upside are so great for both of us. He's a good boy and does not bite to break skin unless provoked by fear.

 

[momto3]

We have a quaker parrot and she is only allowed on our shoulders when she is behaving. If she doesn't want on my finger and flies to my shoulder I take her off my shoulder and put her back on my finger until she stays there for a bit--then I place her on my shoulder. I want to to learn that she can go on my shoulder when I say so and when she is behaved. Sometimes she gets a bit bossy and doesn't want to come off--then I pluck her off and she doesn't seem to mind. I think shoulders are great fun for you and your bird, but it has to be on your terms.

In regards to the vet question, I would never go to a vet that would not allow me to remain with my pet. I have been in the back many times with my animals and I can tell you that sometimes they are calmed by my presence and sometimes I am way too stressed and it is best for me to remove myself. The vet and I always make this decision based on what else is going on in the back and how the animal is doing. I had to euthanize a hamster once and the vet (emergency vet on weekend) would not let me be with the hamster because he said it would be too traumatizing for me. I absolutely would not leave the hamster alone so I left and had to drive 1 hour away to find a vet who was open! I would suspect any vet with a blanket rule about leaving the pet alone.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Georgie was a shoulder girl a lot of the time. She did perch on the finger/hand/arm too, but ultimately she tried to work her way to the shoulder, her favorite place. She was very good with "step up" so we practiced that routine a lot to keep her flexible.
My vet always keeps you in the room but one time, when Georgie was a baby and being microchipped, he said i "may" want to temporarily walk out of the bird's line of sight, in case she associates any bad experiences with me. I went back in a moment later, and he said she didn't mind it one bit afterall. She was always a really 'rough and tumble' kind of bird, kind of brazen actually!