HOW TO UNSPOIL A PARROT
by Gayle Reece

 

This will be harder for you than it is for your parrot. Parrots feel more comfortable when someone (other than them) is in control and takes the lead in the security of “the flock.” They don’t want that job!

If you have allowed your bird to make the rules, he is probably a little uneasy about it! Oh sure, it may look like he’s having a ball while he runs amok throughout the house! But the house, and you, will not be able to tolerate this lifestyle for the next fifty years.

Which brings up the point that whoever inherits this parrot will have to have your same level of tolerance. “Oh look, honey, Sweetums chewed up our new plasma TV!” “Isn’t he precious!”

 

BASIC SKILLS

Every parrot needs to have some basics in his repertoire. He must have down five basic skills without question.

·        Step Up

·        Step Down

·        Stay Put

·        Step Up onto a stick or hand held perch

·        Total acceptance of being wrapped gently in a towel

 

Other “skills” would include acceptance of strangers, willingness to try new foods, eagerness to take a shower, and inquisitiveness about new toys and items placed near him.  These may be a little more difficult to instill but should be in your long-term goals as a parrot’s parent.

 

RELATIONSHIPS

This brings up another point. The relationship that you establish with your parrot is key in determining how successful you will be in “unspoiling” him. If you are considered his “mate” (an impossible role to fill), you may have extreme difficulty in establishing your new role as teacher/parent. Unfortunately, most spoiled birds have become willing characters in this kind of love fest. Unending cuddling and lots of smoochie babytalk…is not good.

It should be every parrot caregiver’s goal to establish a strong sense that they are the parent or teacher of their bird, not its lover or underling.

So, if you’re reading this, you may have a spoiled parrot living under your roof. It is quite easy to fall into this category. When a parrot is new to the home (perhaps a baby parrot, which attracts spoiling even more!), the tendency is to lavish attention on them and (the both of you) enjoy every bit of it.

After a while, however, you find that you cannot keep up the pace and aggravation builds up! It’s not easy living with a demanding and very loud and spoiled parrot!

If you have determined that it is in both of your best interests to make some changes, here are some suggestions on how to do just that!

 

CONTENTMENT INSIDE  THE CAGE

Make sure you have an adequately sized, safe, well-outfitted, escape-proof  cage in great location in your home. It should have lots of interesting toys suited to the interests of your unique bird. If your parrot has a long attention span and likes to figure out puzzles or mechanical toys, get them.  If your parrot has a short attention span and tends to go quickly from one activity to the next, get lots of them. Every parrot should have plenty of destructible wood toys to tear apart because ALL parrots should be in this mode much of the day.

I suggest that you provide a bolt-on cup or basket up high in the cage for filling with blocks of wood, pieces of cardboard, toy parts, and other enrichments for his entertainment. Take a good look at your bird’s cage because, after a while, we tend to let it get rather stagnant with old toys, old perches, and few interesting items. Before tackling the unspoiling project, get the cage in order.

Next, decide which are the primary problems that are exhibiting themselves with the spoiled bird. Is it the noise? Is it destructive behavior? Is it the constant need to be with you? Is it all of the above? Perhaps you don’t perceive any problem, you just know that you have a spoiled bird on your hands. There is one area that you could work on that would improve all areas of his behavior. For instance, more time playing inside his cage happily. This will make his life better and your life more manageable. Birds actually enjoy the cozy safe feeling of being in their own cage.

 

MORNING ROUTINE

This can be accomplished by determining a reasonable schedule and working towards it. You might try setting him up for success early in the day by putting him in the shower while you replace his cage papers, give him fresh water, foods, and enrichments. Go retrieve him from the shower and take him on an exuberant flap and fly all around the house before returning him to the cage wet, tired, and ready to preen, play, eat and rest! For some birds, this will give you a couple of hours of peace, others…ten minutes.

But you can work up to a longer period if you put in some earplugs, and resist the temptation to go “make him happy.” If he is incessantly noisy, you can wander in and fuss with something near his cage pretending to be busy but not giving him any direct eye contact. You might even turn on a soothing CD. (The Baby Genius Series has one called “Nature’s Experience” including songbirds, rain, crickets, etc. with instrumentals that is very calming.) If you can train yourself to practice this routine, you will both enjoy the results.

 

INSTRUCTIONAL INTERACTION

Then, after a period of time, when he is quiet, go bring him out for a one-on-one instructional interaction session. i.e. Teaching him a specific behavior or “trick” with the idea being that you are being a teacher or instructor, not a playmate or cuddlebunny.  (Fetching a wad of paper, waving with a “High Four!”, or spreading out his wings to “Eagle Boy!” whatever.) It doesn’t have to be a high wire act or roller skating because the fact of the matter is…the result doesn’t matter! The goal is to have him perceive you as a teacher and for you to lavish animated praise on him for his efforts! Five or ten minutes of this type of interaction daily (without the TV on or other distractions) will make a change in your relationship for the better.

 

BUT HE’S MY BABY !

What, no cuddle time? Are you kidding! Of course you can still have your moments.  A brief session of closeness while you watch TV or kick back with the family is fine. It is also advisable to pass him around to other willing members of the family. Be very aware, however, that no one is stroking him into some sort of coma. It is best to keep your hands busy around his head and neck and off his body. Preening the feathers around his neck is a common way to bond. Even two males or two females would do this for each other! Parents do this to babies and babies do this to adults and siblings. But rubbing your hand down a bird’s back or worse yet, stroking the base of the tail is a complete no no. You do not want to induce any sexual arousal in your parrot! It’s not cute and the message is very confusing to your bird!

 

HE WON’T STAY WHERE I PUT HIM!

“How in the world can I make him “stay put” when he’s outside the cage?” If your spoiled parrot comes to find you, or just wanders around finding trouble…you must teach him to “stay put.”  First, create a playgym that is appealing to him! One that hangs from the ceiling has a better chance of holding him captive. There are all kinds of playgyms available but I find that hanging a couple of bungee ropes from the ceiling with ceiling guards is terrific. These tend to promote physical activity such as flapping, climbing, and hanging upside down!  A ceiling guard is a piece of plastic PVC pipe that is too wide for the bird to grasp making it impossible for the bird to climb up and eat your ceiling! Attach some fun toys to the same hanging links so that they hang down the middle of the ropes. If you want to try something really fun, purchase The Atom from www.motherpluckinbirdtoys.com ! This has been very popular in my home.

 

TAKE CONTROL OF THE BEHAVIOR

Devote a part of every day to supervising his time on the playgym. Take control of the behavior by teaching him to come to you on command. Place him on the gym and say, “Come Here” as you tap your arm. Encourage him to jump over to you and give him lots of praise when he does. You may need to place your arm right next to him and each time move it a little further away. Once you feel he gets the “Come Here” command,  place him on the gym give the command, “Down” and then say, “Stay Put” with the flat of your palm giving him a visual cue and back away.

You will need to consistently retrieve him and return him to the gym every single time he comes off. You will need to do this without any fuss or eye contact. Simply walk over, say “up” in a calm but firm voice, and return him to the gym without looking at him! Hold your flat palm up and give the command, “Stay Put.” He will get the idea eventually. Always be the one to decide when it’s time to go back to the cage. Make play sessions end when he has successfully stayed on the gym. You may want to keep the first few sessions quite brief but successful.

It is important that during the training period he not be allowed on the gym unless you are supervising him. If he is allowed to come off without an immediate response from you, you’re back to square one. You might make the rule that if he comes off three times…it’s back to the cage and you walk away immediately without looking at him. Don’t allow him to have an investment in his bad behavior. Persistency and consistency will bring success.

 

CONCLUSION

Once you have a parrot that plays and entertains himself in his cage and on a playgym, you will be less at his mercy for constant attention. Excessive manipulation by a spoiled parrot can grate on your nerves and is often a sad but real reason parrots are re-homed. It’s certainly not fair to create a parrot monster (spoiled parrot) and then complain that he’s too difficult to live with! It may take a month or more of dedicated effort to unspoil  him, but in the long run, you’ll both be in a better place! Make the effort and enlist every member of the family to support you. Good Luck!

 

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