Any other parrot owners here?

[Anonymous]

I need to learn more about the parrot teenage years. My sweet little parrot just turned two and has started nipping when she doesn't get her way, meaning the particular food she wants or sitting on the person she feels like sitting on at the moment. I hear that this, too, shall pass. Does anybody else have experience?

[Anonymous]

Haha, yes! Our parrot is 5 and is still firmly entrenched in his teenage years. It's gotten a little better, but you definitely have to continually do the same things over and over in regard to behavior.
One mistake we made was responding to his "yelling" when he was a baby. It has taken a long time, but (for the most part) he'll do a specific whistle if he needs to locate me in the house. If he doesn't get a response, then he'll escalate into his screaming yells.

[Anonymous]

Thanks! But three years and still working on it? Oh wow! Thank goodness she has other good qualities that make up for the parrot bossiness.

How do you discipline? I grew up hearing you should blow on the bird, or put it back in the cage. And never yell, because the bird finds that amusing.

More recently I was talking to the folks at Phoenix Rising who said you should never put the bird back in its cage because you want it to like its cage--I can see that. But they also said you should never blow on the bird. And basically, after a lot of back and forth, it sounded like I had to adjust to the bad behavior rather than doing anything to let the bird know I was unhappy. As parents we're firmly in the camp of ignoring the people who advise that you never say "no" to your kid, so this doesn't really work for us. What do you do when your guy shrieks?

[Anonymous]

20:02 again. I should clarify that I'm not into corporal punishment, for birds or kids. But when the daycare center sent home flyers saying we should never tell our kids, "don't run," but instead we should say, "use your walking feet," we ignored them. Sometimes you need to say exactly what you mean. I thought blowing on the bird got the message across, but Phoenix Landing is against it. What do you do?

[Anonymous]

19:14 here. I will say that I am guilty of not always following the advice I was given but here it is: ignore the bad behavior. It sounds incredibly easy, but when ours gets really wound up he goes through his entire repertoire of sounds: loud whistle, shrieking, imitating a squeaky toy, microwave beeps, etc.
what I started doing was trying to find a sound he liked and would repeat back to me. For example, if he started his "yelling session" I would wait until be quieted down and then do a low whistle. If he did it back, I would whistle again for him. His favorite whistle (and it is dead on accurate!) is the one he picked up from my iPhone. Now that is generally the sound he uses to "find" me in the house. Sometimes we'll do it back and forth for several minutes until he's okay with me not being in sight.
I have put him back in the cage when I felt like he's needed a time-out or when he continually flies into the kitchen when I'm cooking and it's a safety hazard. I try and give me a treat when i do that so it doesnt create a negative connotation for him. He doesn't hate his cage and will climb in when he's tired and wants to go to sleep. We've gotten to the point where we can leave his cage open all day while we're at work so he can either hang out on top or go inside to eat/sleep. He has definitely chilled out over the last few years, but I wish I had received some of the advice we now use a lot sooner. I am his "person" and when DC was born, he definitely felt like his place was taken. It's taken a lot of work to almost get back to where we were in terms of companionship.
I know how to read his signals much better to avoid getting bit and when he needs his "space". He does tend to get more of an attitude when his flight feathers need to be clipped or when his nails get a little long (more gripping power). (We have perches in his cage to help keep his nails short, but he doesn't always sit on them and then we have to take him to the vet for a nail trim).

[Anonymous]

How fun, a thread about parrots ! I have a Double Yellow Head Amazon who will be 22 years old next month. He is such a great bird and member of our family. Other than his yelling, he has really settled down over the years but I do have the chew marks on my dining room chairs to remind me of his more teen "busy" time. I agree with a PP that the best thing to do is to try not to give attention to the bad behaviors. Make sure your bird is in a safe spot and really try to ignore when he is acting up. Even negative attention (yelling "no", for example) is still attention.
Good Luck !

[Anonymous]

Wow, these birds fascinate me. Are they trained to go to the bathroom in one spot?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, these birds fascinate me. Are they trained to go to the bathroom in one spot?

OP here. Some birds have been potty trained. Most of the parrots I've known have not been potty trained, however. I've had the good fortune to be acquainted with a number of birds, large and small, through my own family, other family members, friends. But only my current little parrot, who is one of the smallest of these, comes anywhere close to being potty trained. That is, she poops on command. You hold her over a waste basket, or over the sink in the pantry or kitchen, and you say "poop!" and then she'll bear down and do it. We've caught her faking when apparently she has nothing to show and wants to get us to stop bugging her about it. She will also run down your arm and poop onto the floor. The thing is, though, this is totally dependent on all of us remembering. If we forget to ask, or if she forgets to run down an arm, then it happens on your shoulder. A lot. The whole family is often walking around with bird poop on our clothing.

Birds are truly fascinating. However, they're flock creatures, so they require lots of attention. They can't just be left in the cage or they'll be miserable. This means they're not for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, these birds fascinate me. Are they trained to go to the bathroom in one spot?

19:14 here. Ours is also trained to "go potty" in the kitchen in the morning and when we get home from work. We also have to be conscious of when the last time he went "potty" was so that we can try and avoid any accidents. He knows when he has to go and will try and alert us (peck at us and a few times he's actually said "potty") or he'll try to position himself so that he doesn't poop on us when he goes. If he does have an accident, he looks at it and makes this sound like he's sorry he did it and then moves to a a different spot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, these birds fascinate me. Are they trained to go to the bathroom in one spot?

OP here. Some birds have been potty trained. Most of the parrots I've known have not been potty trained, however. I've had the good fortune to be acquainted with a number of birds, large and small, through my own family, other family members, friends. But only my current little parrot, who is one of the smallest of these, comes anywhere close to being potty trained. That is, she poops on command. You hold her over a waste basket, or over the sink in the pantry or kitchen, and you say "poop!" and then she'll bear down and do it. We've caught her faking when apparently she has nothing to show and wants to get us to stop bugging her about it. She will also run down your arm and poop onto the floor. The thing is, though, this is totally dependent on all of us remembering. If we forget to ask, or if she forgets to run down an arm, then it happens on your shoulder. A lot. The whole family is often walking around with bird poop on our clothing.

Birds are truly fascinating. However, they're flock creatures, so they require lots of attention. They can't just be left in the cage or they'll be miserable. This means they're not for everyone.

I would love to have one, but will have to live vicariously though you all. THe commitment is mcuh more than any other pet.

[Anonymous]

I agree that this is a fascinating thread! I do not have any birds (we have 3 cats) but seriously think they are some of the coolest and SMARTEST pets. Maybe in my next lifetime. Meanwhile, I'll pay attention to this thread. I find it so very interesting!

[Anonymous]

Wow. Doesn't a bird's longevity scare you guys a bit? I would like to consider a parrot, but a 70 year committment seems too much.

[Anonymous]

More stories, please. I really want one but have a dog so guess I can't.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Actually, dogs and parrots can work, we've done it. It depends on the dog's personality and the parrot's size. I don't think I'd recommend a parrot and a lab, for example, because even the most well-meaning lab is going to act on instinct at some point.

Yes, birds can be very smart. The largest ones can be as smart as a toddler. Have you seen any of the documentaries about the African Grey, Alex? He could put sentences together.

Yes, the age thing is a bit daunting. Some people make arrangements for their kids to take the birds. Many birds don't live to 70, because they die in home accidents or they lead unhealthy lifestyles as pets.

All birds are very social, however -- it's that flock instinct. So whatever the size, they do need a lot of attention from you, unless you have a flock of parrots and they're not really pets. They are surprisingly gentle, too, because they most are prey (they are eaten by others) rather than birds of prey (hawks and such). Most of the time, sitting on your shoulder and foraging on the table while you work near them is fine, but they really do need interaction. PPs are right when they say it's a commitment that you really need to think about, before taking it on.

[Anonymous]

I always figured that a parrot potty trained the person, not the other way around. And they poop every 10 minutes, so there's that.

I had a small parrot and a cat at the same time. The cat would occasionally stalk the bird (who liked to walk around on the carpet and pull on loose threads), but never caused any harm. I always made sure to leave enough flight feather that the bird could get a little air if he needed to. My favorite thing was to eat together. He loved pretty much everything on my plate, so I would make him a little plate of his own, on a saucer, and we would sit at the table together. He mimicked speech sounds while we ate, as if he knew he should be conversing with me. Loved that bird.

As soon as my pet man dies, I'm getting another. Unfortunately, he ALSO has a longish life expectancy (90 years or more, can you imagine??), but is incompatible with a pet parrot...