Macaws:
Red Shouldered (Hahn's) Macaw
Severe Macaw
Blue And Gold Macaw
Blue Throated Macaw
Military Macaw
Red Fronted Macaw
Scarlet Macaw
Green Winged Macaw
Hyacinth Macaw
Socialization is crucial for companion parrots because if not for what we teach them, they're wild birds. All too often a parrot will bond to its caretaker or someone in the family and then be aggressive toward everyone else. If you think about it, this makes sense. The parrot gets everything it needs/wants from this individual while everyone else is erratic, unpredictable, and possibly dangerous.
Guests, visitors, and strangers are possibly the worst people from the parrot's perspective. At worst they come and invade their territory, scare them, and make them feel helpless. At best, they leave them alone while diverting their owner's attention away from the parrot. Either way, there is nothing to be gained by the parrot and everything to be lost so it's not a wonder parrots typically don't like company. This is why socialization through a positive reinforcement approach is essential. Here I will outline the steps I take with my birds and suggest you do with yours when introducing any new people.
First, never take the parrot's tameness for granted. Just because it steps up for you and doesn't bite (if it does, you're going to have to go back to basics before introducing others) does not in any way mean that it will behave this way towards strangers. Hopefully the parrot has a history of training and positive reinforcement from you which gives it reason to be around you. Or perhaps it's just used to you and nothing else. Regardless, don't take this for granted and invite others to handle your bird straight out because most likely this will result in failure, bites, and worst of all encourage your parrot to be aggressive towards people.
Here are my 12 steps toward introducing people and having a well socialized parrot that will step up for any person:
1) Ignore the bird. More importantly have your visitor ignore the bird. The worst thing that could happen is your visitor gets excited that you have a parrot and goes straight to the parrot cage upon entry. The parrot doesn't know what to think of this but is safer to get defensive than wait to see what happens. Even if the parrot doesn't get a chance to attack your guest, it will still develop a bad first impression that this individual is potentially dangerous. So instead, it is best to pretend the parrot doesn't even exist for the first 10-60 minutes. The visitor should avoid eye contact or walking straight toward the parrot. Otherwise the visitor should just go about things as though you didn't have a parrot at all. I usually tell people that I'll show them the parrot later but for now something else. This shows the parrot that the guest is harmless and avoids setting a bad impression. This gives the parrot a chance to watch within the safety of its cage without feeling trapped by an approaching stranger.
2) Let the bird loose. Let the parrot out of the cage and choose whether to approach or not at its own pace. Again, don't allow the visitor to impose upon the parrot. Ideally the parrot should be flighted and given the chance to fly closer or retreat at its own comfort level. Most likely in no time it will approach out of curiosity or come to you for security. By letting the parrot set the pace rather than the guest, it's guaranteed that it won't have reason to be terrified.
3) Show how to handle parrot. You must realize that most people have never handled a parrot before and don't know how to. Even the ones that have still probably don't know how to handle your parrot so assume you must start from scratch with anyone. This is best because then the way guests approach your bird will be similar to how you do and familiar. Show your visitor how you approach the bird, how it steps up, how you pet it, etc. Don't give people the opportunity to treat your bird like a dog or child. They have to understand that this is an intelligent free willed animal deserving respect and admiration.
4) Human perch. Let your visitors first contact with the bird be as nothing more than a human perch. Guide your visitor into holding their arm or finger out to accept the bird and do nothing else. NEVER let them just reach in and have the bird step up. You can't be sure what they'll do and the bird especially. Many times this will result in a nasty bite but if nothing else, will assure the bird that it's safest to just avoid strangers all together. It's a great idea to target train your parrot beforehand and then use the targeting method to target the parrot onto your visitors hand and then back off. Again, remember that the first time on someone's hand should be uninvolved. The person should not pet or handle them yet. Showing the parrot that it can stand on random people's hands without anything happening is far more reassuring than something unpredictable going on. If the bird doesn't target or is well capable of going on other people's hands, just put the parrot onto their hand. Use your hands to keep their attention and deflect a potential bite. Don't give an opportunity to either visitor or parrot to get scared. If one gets scared, the other is sure to become scared too and ruin everything. A scared, biting parrot will make a human scared; by the same token, an unsure human will scare the parrot into biting.
5) Tricks. The bird should be trick trained beforehand. This is yet another reason why trick training is so useful. Have your visitor cue tricks from your parrot and reward it with treats. This is fun and exciting both to visitor and parrot. Allow the visitor to present bigger treats or the best ones you refrain from using too much. This will help the parrot overcome the unfamiliarity and even look forward to visitors instead of dreading them. This is a fun, safe, hands off approach to use positive reinforcement with the parrot for socialization.
6) Step Up. Only after going through the prior steps do you actually allow a new person to request the parrot to step up. What we did was build a certain level of trust in the bird before having someone actually move their own hand toward it. By the time you think it's appropriate for a visitor to approach the bird for step up, the bird has received good things and nothing bad so it's worth a try. My preferred way for having my parrots step up for visitors is by surrounding the bird with tricks..My parrots are accustomed to receiving treats after performing a trick. Thus I have the visitor cue a trick, then while approaching with the treat, ask the parrot to step up to get it. The parrot already knows it earned a treat so it might as well step up to get it. This gives the parrot less reason to doubt motives. After a few successful step ups as such I switch it around. I have the visitor get the bird to step up first for the opportunity to preform a trick for a treat. Thus the parrot learns to simply always step up to earn potential opportunities and not exclusively when a treat is in the hand. Again, it's good to go through these stages with your parrot yourself before completing them with visitors so that the parrot knows what to expect.
7) Petting. Now that the parrot is comfortable being on hands, we can introduce hands for petting. Remember that people don't know how to handle or pet a parrot so you must show them the way your bird likes it. This is not a time for experimental petting. If your bird won't end up liking it then it will avoid allowing people to do it in case it's bad like that again. I have my parrot perch on my hand and hold its beak between my fingers. This teaches it a submissive pose, puts a buffer between biting guests, and it tells it what's about to ensue. I begin by scratching my bird's neck the way it likes and then having the guest reach in and join together. Then I take my hand away and allow them to continue. Since the parrot was enjoying it from the start and the visitor did nothing more than continue it, the parrot allows it and even enjoys it. This creates a reason for the parrot to look forward to visitors and not dread that they will manhandle it in some terrifying way.
8) Bird Potato. Play bird potato with one or more guests by randomly passing the parrot around between people and handling it. Mix tricks, scratches, step ups, and breaks randomly so the parrot just becomes accustomed to as many people and hands as possible but always keeping it desirable for the parrot.
9) Grab training. Teaching the bird to allow itself to be grabbed by different people is not only useful when that needs to be done (grooming, vet, boarding, emergency, etc) but also builds a greater level of trust. If the bird will trust someone to grab it and not bite, then it will especially feel safe and not bite just standing on their hand. At first this process may take days or weeks so work with someone familiar but eventually the more people you follow these steps with the easier and quicker it will go. Have the visitor come as close to the bird as it allows and give a treat. Then the visitor should progressively bring the hand closer to the bird without touching and then give a treat. Eventually the visitor should be able to touch the bird for a treat, cup it, and finally grab it for a treat. In the long term have visitors grab and carry the bird to other parts of the room, grab it on/off the cage, and give treats and mixed intervals. The parrot will just become accustomed to being handled by people as a normal activity.
Repeat the above steps with as many people as possible at home. Once the bird is ok with at least a few people you can begin trying the next approaches.
10) Private Outings. Bring the parrot on private outings with not too many people. Take the parrot to dinner with family, over to a friend's house, etc. Start with smaller events that can be controlled before going to things that are more bustling. These are great opportunities for the parrots not only to meet new people but also to become more at ease with people they already know. My parrots can get more bossy at home but when out they are much nicer to other people. This is a good opportunity to continue the socialization process and mend bridges. People that were previously enemies can become friends in unfamiliar places.
11) Public Outings. Once the parrot is used to some people and places you can begin taking it on outings to public places. Parks, malls, streets, carnivals, etc are all great opportunities for your parrots to learn that people are harmless and good. Inevitably people will want to handle your parrot and they will be willing to listen and do as you say. This is your chance to guide the interaction as you have done at home and ensure that interactions with other people will always be good. Since the parrots are busy taking in all the activity of being outside and not within their own territory, they will be less likely to protest. Since humans have always been a safe thing before and the new unfamiliar ones are being presented in familiar ways, the parrot will cooperate. Again it is your responsibility that the parrot does not bite or scare people and vice verse. However, successful public outings like this will make your parrot infinitely more robust and social towards people and changes in their life.
12) Uncontrolled Random Interactions. It's inevitable that at some point or another someone will handle your parrots not in ways that you would recommend. Most likely this has already happened previously and set things back a lot. Well once you reach this last stage, it should be ok for this to happen sometimes. Ensure that the parrots are not hurt but as long as it's not harmful, allow people to handle them in random unpredictable ways. Every now and then someone will just run up and touch my parrots at the park or pet them in ways I wouldn't recommend. But the parrots realize that this is harmless and get over it. If you always shelter your parrot from this, then of course these unpredictable interactions will be terrifying. But once your parrot is already well socialized, allowing some of these to slip by now and then just makes them more robust and prepared to deal with things you could never have foreseen to prepare them for.
Remember that every person is different and that every interaction will make your parrot more social. At first control the interactions very closely to ensure that they aren't too much for the parrot but over time challenge your parrot with tougher less predictable situations. Even when you achieve a socialized parrot, continue to maintain it or over time it will again become too comfortable with you and not with others. Encourage interaction with family members, friends, and strangers that is always positive to the parrot but also always fun/safe for humans. Don't give humans the opportunity to scare the bird but also don't give parrots the opportunity to bite people and make them afraid of birds either. Lastly here is a video of how Kili and Truman have been socialized with Jamie:
A common problem that companion parrot owners face is the parrot being unwilling to go back into the cage after being out. I kind of end up taking it for granted that parrots just go back into their cages because the system I set up makes it so mine always go back in without protest. It isn't so much about the technique of how to put them in as the complete approach to parrot ownership and scheduling. First I'll go into my system that ensures that parrots always go back into their cage willingly and then I'll show how I go even further and vary the exact methods I use for putting them away to maintain maximum tameness. Note, this article is about how to get an already tame parrot that knows how to go into the cage (but doesn't want to) to be more willing to go inside rather than the initial taming/training. If you have a new parrot or one that never learned to step into the cage, refer to the taming article instead.
Many people complain that their otherwise nice parrot will start screaming, biting, flying away, or causing any other sort of trouble when the time comes to put it away in the cage. Let me tell you, it doesn't have to be this way. In fact it should never be this way because it causes undo stress on the parrot (and the owner). Having a little planning and self-discipline can take care of all of this. Here is the strategy laid out:
1) No meals outside the cage. I have absolutely no idea why people feed their parrots outside the cage. They don't need it and it makes it pointless for the parrot to go into the cage. If a parrot has everything it could possibly want outside the cage, then why in the world would it want to go inside of it? Treats for training or foraging are fine, but meals must be in the cage only.
2) Save the best toys for the cage. Unless you're at the stage where you are having difficulty getting the parrot to come out, you don't need to give the parrot the best stuff to stay out. Usually they are thrilled at the diversity of things to see and do outside the cage anyway. You should provide them with toys to keep them busy (and distracted from your stuff) but there's no reason the out of cage toys should be better than the in-cage ones. If your parrot likes toys, sometimes hanging a brand new toy in the cage right before putting it away provides a good enough reason to go inside and check it out.
3) Don't make it suck to be in the cage. As much as you should avoid making out of cage time be too good (so the parrot wants to stay out), you must avoid making the cage be a bad place. Never use the cage as punishment. Make sure that the cage is a safe/comfortable place for your parrot. Provide a desirable variety of perches, toys, and things to do. This also means making sure the parrots never feel unsafe in the cage. Never allow people to taunt or scare the parrots when they are in their cage. While many people recommend having cages in high traffic areas, I prefer the exact opposite. I find that (with at least my Poicephalus parrots) they need a substantial amount of quiet alone time during the day for things like relaxing, vocalizing, preening, playing, and napping.
4) Let the parrot get tired when it is out of cage. Basically let it fly when it is out of the cage (don't clip its wings). In fact make it fly so much (through flight training) that it is happy to take a break in the cage. Since my parrots associate the cage with peace/relaxation, they are very willing to go inside when they are tired.
5) Don't let the parrot spend too much time out of cage. Some people keep their parrot out of the cage all day and then complain that it won't go into the cage when they need it to. If the parrot is used to being out all the time, then it just tries to continue what it is most accustomed to. I prefer to have a balance. Rather than letting my parrots out for a lot some days and less others, I try to keep it more uniform based on what I can normally provide. So even if I'm home all day on the weekend, I don't spoil them with out of cage time all day. I may take them outside or on a trip, but at home they spend a typical amount of time in the cage every day.
6) Put the parrot away when it is time for sleep. Maintain a predictable sleep schedule for the parrot. If the parrot expects to go to sleep and is accustomed to sleeping in its cage, it will be willing to go in if not entirely on its own. I keep the lights in the parrot area on a timer to go off at the same time every night and then I cover the cages. This way they are used to the routine and want to go into their cages in the evening. For this reason the last time of the day when they are out is right before their bed time.
7) Provide in cage meals when the parrot is put away. First have the parrot without food or out of its cage long enough for it to get hungry. Don't provide food while it is out (except small treats). Then put it away to a meal waiting in the cage. The parrot will notice the meal and go in the cage for it. Instead of thinking how it doesn't want to be in the cage, it will instead strive to go in for the meal.
What it comes down to is that if the parrot wants to be in the cage, it will not create resistance to being put away! To sum up my routine: I let Kili & Truman out briefly in the morning to poop and then put them away to their morning meal as I am leaving. Some days I put them outside in the aviary in the daytime. By the time I need to put them back in the cage, they are happy to be reunited with their cage after being out for so long. I may take them out to the park in the evening. When we return they are very willing to go back into their cage because they are tired from all the excitement and flying they do outside. Finally in the evening I take them out for out of cage time and training. After this they are usually tired and just dying to go back into the cage for meal and sleep. By keeping their cage as a place of food, familiarity, and rest I can ensure their willingness to go in any time. They never protest going in because they are so accustomed that going back into the cage is a good thing even if that one time there isn't a specific reward for going back in.
On the flip side, I don't take any protest from my parrots either. Even if they were to bite, fly away, or give me any kind of trouble for putting them back in, I would not let it change my determination to put them away one bit. This is an important point because many people end up teaching their parrot to bite by giving in. If the parrot is rewarded just a few times for biting by being left out longer, it learns to bite whenever it doesn't want to be put away. There may be some occasional times when my parrots don't want to be put away and they may make it known through body language. However, it never gets to biting or anything else because they would never get away with it. Still, the main solution is making it so they want to go into the cage and not force. Because even if you can ignore biting, the parrot can still outfly you. You certainly don't want to get into a situation where you have to forcefully capture and cage the parrot because it will leave terrible associations both with you and the cage.
I used to let my parrots watch me pour food into their bowls outside the cage, come up to them with the bowl in one hand and have them step onto the other. I would fix their attention on the bowl and put them into the cage along with the bowl. Now, I just put the food in and they already know its there. Basically I would recommend the first method to people who have trouble putting the parrot away so the reward is on its mind and distracting from biting. However, if it's not the case then it doesn't matter much either way. I do not leave food in the cage though while they are out. I don't want them sneaking in, pigging out, and then coming back out. Then the lesson is entirely lost. Meals are only fed when out of cage time is entirely over. By the time the parrots are done with their meal, I'm sure they've forgotten exactly how they ended up in the cage to begin with.
I absolutely do not recommend letting the parrot climb into its cage itself. This is bad training. This teaches the parrot too much freedom that makes it difficult for you to circumvent in the case you truly must put the parrot away yourself. By allowing it to go back in when it wants to, inadvertently makes it not want to go in when you want/need it to. This is why every single time my parrots are to go back into the cage, it is through some form of interaction with me. Usually they really want to go into the cage so I get credit as the awesome savior that delivered them to their cage/meal. Other times there is no good reason for them to go in but they are so accustomed to going in whenever I put them in that they just go for it.
I never give treats for going back in the cage (although it's not a bad idea in some people's cases). Since mine have their food managed (at least to the extent that they receive exactly two meals a day), so to them a complete meal is already a super huge reward as it is. They clearly value it higher because they are willing to display more sophisticated behavior to receive it than for other treats. This is why it is so hugely successful for making them go in willingly. In fact is is so successful that I can recall the two parrots simultaneously and have them race across the room to land on my hand first! I always put whoever got to me first in the cage first as an additional incentive. False starts do not count though! This exercise teaches both patience (waiting for the cue) and cooperation! If one of the parrots does not fly, the other doesn't get the treat. With time they've each learned to come because that is the way to get the meal.
Since my parrots really want to go in the cage, I take this a step further and to my training advantage. I vary up the exact method that I get them into the cage in order to maintain maximum tameness. Sometimes I flight recall the parrots individually. Other times I recall them together. Yet other times I walk up to them, wherever they are, and have them step up onto my hand to be put away. Finally, I grab them from on top of their cage (or wherever they are) and just stick them in. Because this is rewarded with the meal inside (or the other reasons I previously mentioned), they always let me handle them this way and put them in. Sometimes I even combine methods where I will have them recall to be grabbed and put away. Whatever method I use, it is something that I want to maintain. Thus not only going into the cage is reinforced but also handling methods that I may use with them in or out of the cage!
By setting up this system of food management, environmental management, and scheduling I ensure that my parrots are willing to go back into the cage on a daily basis and at any random time that I need them to. I use going into the cage as a reward for other taming behaviors or flight recalls. This makes it easy for me to keep my parrots as pets and it makes their life less stressful because they get what they want. They still get to eat, spend time out of cage, etc but it is done in a way that I get credit for it instead of a pissed off parrot. This allows me to maintain control and the parrot to be well behaved around humans. It's a win/win for everyone. It doesn't even require a lot of training, just a rational approach to managing time and resources.
I brought Kili and Truman to the Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine for a Bird Wellness check up. I had no reason to suspect their health but I had some questions about their weight and wanted to have a fecal exam to check for parasites (especially since I take them outside a lot).
I had a feeling that Kili was getting too pudgy even before visiting the vet. She had been on freefeed for nearly a month while I was away on two different trips. Since I normally manage the parrots' food, I allow for them to go on freefeed for some length of time to make an adjustment. I let this coincide with when I'm gone because it is convenient and let's them get their molt and hormonal time over with while I'm not there to put up with it.
The issue is that I primarily use behavior as feedback for food management rather than weight. To clarify, I use behavior to establish a target weight rather than just targeting a weight based on a specific percent reduction from freefeed. I'm not recommending this method for others without a more in depth understanding but just going to explain it here so you can see why Kili got so fat. I start the parrot at freefeed and see how motivated it is for training (flight, tricks, etc). Usually this is not very much because it just ate and has no room for any more food. Then I begin progressively reducing food portions while noting motivation increase as demonstrated through performing known behaviors. Once I reach the apex of performance, I target that weight by managing food portions. This worked very well up until now and the birds maintained healthy weights. However, since the last time they were freefed, I never got Kili back down to training/healthy weight. Part of it was that she was molting some critical primary feathers and I didn't want to stunt their growth but the main reason was that her training motivation was sufficient with a higher food intake. Basically she's just gotten so good at the tricks that it takes far less food deprivation to get her motivated to perform. This is why I needed a confirmation from the vet that she was in fact getting fat and not something else. Two alternative theories I had were that I either had overly deprived her before and she never attained healthy weight (probably not) or that she had grown/matured some more since before and belongs at a higher weight. Thus I thought we could use a veterinary consultation. I was also looking for a followup to the scar from her earlier beak puncture.
As for Truman, he had a pelvic fracture some years back and I wanted the vet to check that he has regained full leg motion since. Truman is still a klutz and falls down a lot so I could never tell if he was having trouble or just that way by nature. Also he walks slowly. He'll never run or hop like Kili when he's on the floor. He just slowly waddles over. Once again, I suspect it's a species thing but it was hard to tell if it was any kind of remnant of the injury.
I specifically picked a day when Lorelei Tibbetts would be available. She is the office manager and nurse. She just has the right approach with birds. She's doesn't just minimize the bad experience, she takes the extra step to make it a good experience for the birds. You can immediately tell that she's a bird person in how she approaches and handles the birds. And they can tell that too. Of course they are trained birds but having the right approach is still necessary in order for them to cooperate. Both Kili and Truman will step up for Lorelei and enjoy being held and cuddled. This is really important to me. I would not bring my birds in for an unrequired preemptive wellness visit if it were to stress them out or cause them harm. This is why I didn't get any blood testing.
The vet looked over Truman first. She said he has full range of motion in his legs and they seem fine. She also checked him over and listened to his heart. He wasn't traumatized but he was agitated. He kept growling. Lorelei had to ask Truman to be quiet so that the vet could hear his heart. It was so cute. She would whisper in his ear and give him kisses so he'd be quiet long enough.
Both parrots got their talons dremelled. They have been excruciatingly sharp but I've been putting off cutting them. They have been very sharp yet short so there wouldn't be enough to make a good cut. Since I was already paying for the vet visit I figured I'd let them take care of it. The birds never faced a dremel before so I was worried it would freak them out but it was expertly done and over in no time.
Kili got her belly squeezed from different angles and the vet called her pudgy. I knew she's been a perch-potato lately and a little on the heavy side. I just wasn't sure if I should do anything about it or not (because it hasn't been manifesting itself behaviorally). But the vet confirmed it and told me she'd be better off at a lower weight so Kili's going on a diet to slim down. It shouldn't be difficult to do. I'm going to continue feeding her seeds/nuts as treats for training but I will reduce the morning pellet portion and feed more veggies to her in the evenings (rather than pellets again) so she can fill up without the excess calories/nutrition. And on the other side of it, I'm going to make her fly more. Since she'll be fed less, she should be more motivated. So I'll be going back to working her out in flight on a variable ratio reinforcement schedule. The vet also recommended varying the pellets that I feed them so I may look into that as well.
I'm going to be documenting Kili's weight and training progress for the next few weeks and will report back when we've achieved a healthier weight for her. Even a flighted parrot on a twice daily meal plan can become obese (mainly because of caging and overly rich diet) so just imagine how much worse it is for clipped free fed parrots! Flight is great exercise but they have to use it to benefit from it. I've been letting Kili slack off because she was molting feathers (she was at the point of only having 2 on her bad wing). But now that she's whole and healthy again, we're going to be doing a lot more flight training again. It's so important for parrots to be flight trained and for owners to do this with them regularly because they don't get enough flight simply on their own. Perhaps if they were out to roam the house all day it would suffice. But since we let them out for a limited time and they want to spend that limited time with us, they don't end up flying for more than just getting around. This is where flying recalls and doing tricks really pays off as more than just fun and games but exercise as well!
At the end of the visit, Lorelei took Truman around for a tour of the new clinic (as they recently moved from a few doors down). Here is a video of the new Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine facility:
Kili and Truman's fecal test results came in all clear today. Also Kili's new diet plan is in full swing. I fed her less pellets this morning. Then in the afternoon I took the parrots to the park to fly. I'm putting Kili's higher hunger motivation toward exercise (so it's a double win for her health). I'm not starting them too hard all at once. I had Kili fly 5x long (20ft) recalls and returns. Then Truman flew 5x medium (10ft) recalls and returns. Finally I had Kili fly 5x more medium recalls but from less familiar places around the park. It's a great start considering I had not flown them much more than on the short leash this year. We'll keep working on recalls and flight in coming weeks.
While browsing parrot videos on youtube, I inevitably end up coming across videos pertaining to wing clipping. Believe me, I don't go looking for them, they just seem to find me themselves. I am always surprised by how common and taken for granted wing clipping of companion parrots is. Even more so I am shocked by the ridiculous myths that are circulating regarding it.
I compiled the following video from some of the horrific clips I've seen on youtube (pun intended). I didn't go out of my way looking for the most brutal ones. I think people who have posted them see nothing wrong with it and from the sample I've seen, I think this is pretty representative of how brutally most people clip their parrots.
I have always been a major proponent of keeping companion parrots flighted, however, I have not put all the reasons into a single article until now. I would like to not only demonstrate why it is bad to clip your parrots' wings but also why it's good to keep them flighted. To be fair, I'll also cover some of the challenges owners of flighted parrots should expect. Nonetheless, I think the reasons for keeping parrots flighted far outweigh reasons for clipping.
My personal experience of living with and training parrots spans a clipped parrot, refledged parrot, and a never clipped parrot so I think I am equally qualified to discus any of these stages. So onto the main topic, how to properly trim parrot wings? There is much discussion about whether to clip the primary or secondary feathers. How many feathers should be clipped? Will my parrot hate me if I clip its wings? And many other similar questions. My answer is that the right thing to do is not to clip a parrot's wings in the first place but instead analyze the motives for clipping and then achieve them in less intrusive ways than clipping the wings that are specifically directed at those issues.
Kili was clipped when I first got her. Like most parrot owners, I didn't know any better.
On the other hand Truman was never clipped. It took a great effort to find a breeder capable of this.
Parrots, like virtually all birds, have feathered wings that are used for flight. Millions of years of evolution of the avian and psittacine biology have led to these highly effective flighted bodies. Birds are evolved for flight in many different ways beyond just the wings that are apparent to the uneducated eye. Birds, like their dinosaur ancestors, possess hollow bones, air sacks, and higher metabolisms. These anatomical systems allow for the balance of weight and energy required for flight.
I think most people would agree that it would be cruel to always keep a cat or dog locked up in a small kennel without the chance to walk and run around for exercise. Likewise, even if a parrot isn't always caged but has its wings clipped, it is unable to attain the level of exercise necessary for its physiology. The health of the clipped parrot is as much jeopardized as a human or animal entirely denied of physical exercise. Obesity, cardiological, respiratory, and muscular problems are just some of the issues associated with parrots denied of flight. This is a good time to point out that a clipped parrot and an unclipped, but always caged parrot that has no room to fly, are in practically the same predicament. I will use clipped and unflighted interchangeably to mean parrots that are entirely denied flight whether by clipping, caging, or other means.
In flight, a parrot not only has to perform strenuous contractions of its pectoral muscles for flapping, but also many peripheral muscles for balance and direction. In order to keep up with the intense aerobic respiration necessary to keep those muscles moving, the bird needs to make full use of its heart, lungs, and air sacs. Thus many muscles and organs are used and exercised by a parrot in flight.
The problems of clipping are not only physical but also psychological. Without the rigorous mental stimulation of flight, clipped parrots are more likely to develop behavioral problems such as feather plucking, screaming, and biting. Think about it, an animal with the anatomy and metabolism evolved for flight has way more energy than can be consumed by any means other than flight. In a clipped parrot this unconsumed energy leads to obesity and/or behavioral issues associated with restlessness.
Feather plucking is often (but not exclusively) associated with insufficient mental stimulation, aka boredom. Flying is no less mentally challenging than physically. Believe me on this. Even without being physically strenuous, piloting gliders and airplanes is a mental exercise like no other. After a few hours of flying, I feel like my brain was reinserted after being bounced around in a game of badminton. Flying not only involves thinking about a lot of things quickly but also planning ahead. Our feathered friends have to think where they are going, how to get there, how to navigate obstacles, avoid predators, prepare for landing, calculate the landing, and have backup options in case it doesn't work as planned. That bird brain has to work harder in a few minutes of flight than spending all day with toys, feeding, and tricks. So you see, clipping wings not only causes a physical but also a mental handicap to a parrot.
Clipping a parrot's wings immobilizes a parrot which causes it to depend on humans for transport. People think that's a good thing. They believe that this makes a parrot tamer, more manageable, and like people better. Wrong. Just because the parrot cannot get away from things it dislikes does not make it not dislike them. Screaming and biting can be largely associated to the clipping problem. Parrots have a fight or flight reflex. Really it should be called flight or fight because they will typically opt to fly away than fight. The clipped parrot learns to bite the owner to avoid handling or things it dislikes. A flighted parrot flies away instead. To the lay parrot owner, biting may seem preferable over flight. Hey, at least the biting parrot remains within reach while the flighted parrot can get away. However, with training, flight is more manageable than biting. A parrot will fly where it wants, so if you can just change things such that the parrot wants to fly to you, problem solved. Biting on the other hand is very difficult to undo once it is learned. Once a parrot learns that biting will get it what it wants (to be left alone, not to be put into cage, etc), it is very very difficult and painful to eliminate this. To eliminate learned biting, it is necessary to accept hundreds or thousands of bites to convince the parrot that this will not affect your behavior when it is already convinced that it can.
Screaming is yet another problem that clipping is partly to blame for. The screaming parrot in the cage is a different issue, however, out of cage clipped parrots learn to scream to get the owner's attention. In the case of a flighted parrot that wants to go some place else, it will simply fly over there. However, a clipped parrot placed on a high stand is helpless and cannot go back to its cage for a drink or over to the owner without human attention. Thus the clipped parrot can learn to scream to get the owner to come over to take care of its needs rather than attending to them on its own. Also, to me it seems that parrots are more prone to screaming when they have a lot of energy. After a good flying session they get tired and tend to be a lot quieter.
I am going to present many reasons I have come across for clipping wings and present alternatives.
Clip the parrots wings so that the parrot will love you.
The parrot has no reason to love you whether you clip its wings or not. It probably has even more reason not to if you're so selfish that you want to cause such an atrocious physical and mental handicap. The best way to achieve a parrot's love is to do things that it likes (or train it to like things it may not naturally like) and treat it with respect. By treating a parrot in ways that it likes ensures that it will want to fly to you and be around you. You cannot force your pet to like you, you have to earn it. Not clipping the wings provides the most genuine feedback. If your parrot regularly comes to you, you know it really wants to be with you and not because it is forced.
Clipping wings is necessary for the parrots own safety.
This is the biggest load of bull I have to listen to from all over the place experts and beginners alike! First of all, I don't think anyone truly believes this and that it's just a cover up for other selfish reasons. But I will for the moment assume that people really think this and go line by line dispelling this fundamental myth of parrot ownership. Rather than addressing this classic line, I'm going to break it down to specific safety concerns that clipping is purported to address.
I clip my parrot's wings so that it doesn't fly away when I take it outside.
Many people who have never once seen their parrot fly indoors have been shocked to see their clipped parrot flying away outside. There are several reasons why clipped parrots magically seem to be able to takeoff outdoors. Wing clipping normally involves cutting the tips of several primary feathers. The primary feathers are a bird's means of propulsion moreso than lift. Primary feathers are more akin to a propeller than a wing on an airplane. Without thrust, a parrot cannot fly up or straight. However, it can still glide on its remaining secondaries and wing surface area. While the clipped parrot cannot glide or control its flight as well as an unclipped one, it is still able to do this to an extent. Indoors this usually means that a parrot can only fly a limited distance. Outdoors, there are three elements that can cause a clipped parrot to fly beyond any capability observed indoors. The adenaline rush of a major startle could give the parrot strength to flap harder than usual and overcome some clipping. Wind is the biggest cause of clipped parrots becoming able to fly outdoors. Wind replaces thrust as the source of air moving over the wing surface initially for a clipped parrot becoming airborne. By taking off into a headwind gradient, dynamic soaring occurs where additional lift is gained by increasing winds. Also winds can be deflected upward by trees and buildings, creating even more of an upward push. Worse yet, the wind drifts the parrot across a large distance, but being clipped it lacks experience or control to solve this. The parrot could end up in a tree, fall into water and drown, or get hit by a car. Don't be complacent and think that this is only a problem on windy days. Thermals can form without wind and suck the helpless parrot upward should it take flight. People have been shocked by how high or far their clipped parrot has ended up when it unexpectedly took flight outside. Whether clipped or not, companion parrots should be properly caged or restrained when taken outdoors.
It is necessary to clip parrot wings so they cannot fly out of doors and windows.
Once again, even a clipped parrot has some flight and gliding capability. Sometimes it is just enough for something terrible to happen. This is why rather than using clipping (which isn't foolproof for preventing fly outs), it is important to solve this by keeping windows/doors closed while the parrot is out. Whenever doors or windows need to be opened, the parrot should be away in its cage. This is the only way to guarantee its safety.
Parrots should be clipped to prevent them from falling into toilets, sinks, and other sources of water.
I hear this all the time, yet it makes absolutely no sense. A clipped parrot is more likely to "fall in" by accident without escape than a flighted parrot. A flighted parrot can control its flight so most likely would not be in danger of this situation. I can tell you from personal experience that my parrots have never gone into sinks/toilets even when possible. They are scared and uninterested in them. They are less likely to fall into them than a scared clipped parrot without control of its flight. There still exists the possibility of doing it out of curiosity which really can apply to any parrot. Clipping wings is no guarantee that the parrot doesn't end up in the bathroom. Keeping toilet seats closed or better yet bathroom doors closed solves this danger without clipping parrot's wings.
Parrots need to be clipped or they can fall into a boiling pot of water while cooking.
I see absolutely no good reason for a parrot (or any pet) to be out during cooking. Besides boiling water, cooking usually involves knives, fumes, and other things that can be dangerous to any any parrot. The one and only case I have heard of a parrot falling into a boiling pot of water was a clipped parrot though. Parrots should be put away and attention given toward cooking. But if we're going to talk about theoretically who is safer, it's probably the flighted parrot as it can fly away. A clipped parrot fell off someone's shoulder once and landed right in the pot. Once again, clipping is not a solution at all (and possibly a greater threat). Common sense and safety precautions must prevail.
Parrots must have their wings clipped or they will fly into walls/windows and break their neck.
This myth I have only ever heard professed by people who have always clipped their parrot's wings. My parrots fly around the house and I don't have this problem and nor does anyone else I know with flighted parrots. If anything, it's the clipped parrots that end up crashing into things when they gain a few feathers without practice or experience using them. I guess owners take this as proof that parrots can't be trusted to fly and go right back to clipping them without even giving them a chance to get better. My parrots did take some harmless bumps while learning to fly but have practically never crashed again since then. Once a parrot is a capable flier, it can think on the fly and avoid walls and windows. As an extra precaution it is good to keep windows shaded, however, once parrots learn about windows they can fly in such rooms without knocking into them.
Parrots can become victims of other pets (cats/dogs) if they aren't clipped.
Parrots are at risk around other animals whether clipped or not, period. Despite people's hopes and desires of keeping both in harmony, parrots just are not compatible with carnivorous pets who instinctively see them as prey. Clipping may actually put a parrot at greater risk of not being able to fly away but keeping them flighted does not save them either. I have heard of more cases of parrots being killed by cats/dogs than most other kinds of accidents combined. Don't look for excuses, don't think if it hasn't happened that it can't, don't add a parrot to a household with a cat/dog/ferret, don't add a cat/dog/ferret to a household with a parrot. This really is a case of choosing one or the other (or keeping them entirely apart, like dog outside).
If I don't clip my parrot, it won't stay on its perch.
Well duh! Neither would you. Naturally a parrot wants to move around, explore, and do different things. No matter how much food, toys, and exciting things you put on the perch, it's not enough to keep a parrot sufficiently mentally stimulated. Of course when it is unsafe or impractical for the parrot to roam your home, it should be in the cage. However, for the time it is out, it deserves to have some freedom getting around. I don't know why people think it is fair for a cat/dog to roam a house all day long but that a parrot should be clipped and sit on/in it's cage 24/7. If clipping is the only thing that it is keeping it in one place, then you can imagine mentally how much it is missing out on when it can't go anywhere.
I don't want my parrot pooping all over the place so it is best to clip the wings.
This practically is not an issue for a potty trained flighted parrot. Almost all of the time my parrots fly back to their perch to poop. In fact this may be cleaner than a clipped parrot that just goes wherever it is because it doesn't have the option to fly to its designated pooping location (such as when it is on the owner).
If my parrot could fly, it won't want me to put it back in its cage and fly away.
The root of the problem would exist regardless if the parrot is clipped or not if it does not want to go back into the cage. The flighted parrot would fly away, the clipped parrot would bite. Either way, something is not right and you would be hurting your relationship with the parrot by forcing it. Instead of clipping (or forcing), use training and feeding schedules to make it such that your parrot wants to go back into the cage and it's like you're doing it a favor.
If my parrot could fly, I wouldn't be able to put it away in the cage as punishment.
Sure shows what a bad idea it is to use the cage as punishment? Most likely it just encourages more biting anyway so it's for the better not to do this in the first place.
Clipping parrots' wings does not hurt them
It is true that the actual scissor to feather aspect of clipping wings does not hurt them. Many times parrots are hurt in the grooming process but even that can be done gently enough (or even trained to participate in) that this may not hurt. However, the parrot is likely hurt in other physical and psychological ways. Its health is hurt by the lack of exercise, it's mind is hurt by helplessness, and it's body is actually hurt when it falls down. Often times clipping is done severely on purpose not only so that the parrot couldn't fly but also so it would be self-punishing to even try. This can lead to bruised or fractured legs and sternums.
Flighted parrots can get killed flying into ceiling fans.
Yes, they can. I don't know what parrot owner in their right mind keeps those things around. If not entirely remove it, I would at least suggest disabling the wiring so it can't be turned on by accident. There are plenty of alternatives like closed box fans, air conditioners, and those new bladeless fans. It's a reasonable enough sacrifice to make for the safety of your pet and not a good excuse for keeping them grounded. I hate to think anyone is choosing a fan over their pet and if they are I really pity the way they must treat it in other regards.
Flighted parrots just end up in the cage all day.
This isn't true or at least doesn't have to be. Or rather it should be the same as with clipped parrots. Even clipped parrots require supervision when they are out of the cage. After some time they will get bored of staying on the same perch (as would a flighted parrot that might just fly over to another) and begin to scream for attention, hop off, or find other ways of driving the owner nuts. I think it is just in the parrot's nature to get bored of things and want to explore so clipped or not, the amount of time the owner can tolerate them being out shouldn't change too much when going from clipped to flighted. Some just have more patience for these things than others. However, during the transition stage things can fall out of balance which usually encourages people to go back to clipping. The time when a parrot is figuring out what it can do with its wings isn't necessarily representative and you have to move past it to get to a truly flighted parrot. My parrots get about the same amount of time out of the cage as they did when they were clipped (some of them). It is limited moreso by my schedule than anything else but when I do spend all day at home, I still keep their out of cage schedule similar to what they should normally expect.
Clip a parrot in the beginning and let it fly later.
Some folks on the edge of encouraging flighted parrots still suggest an early clip (including breeders that fledge and have flighted parrots). The most popular time to clip (weenling coming home) is probably the worst time to do it. Developing parrots need to learn flight and how to appropriately use it in the human environment during this stage more than ever. They learn quickly and get hurt less because their bones are still flexible. This is like a toddler learning to walk. Not being able to fly in this critical stage may cause some permanent physical and mental abnormalities. The parrot that got to fly throughout its first year will have an advantage over the one that didn't down the line. Most importantly, this is the most pointless time to clip a parrot because the just hand raised fledgling is eager to go to people and eager to learn. This is the best opportunity to teach it life in the human household while still having its unquestioned trust.
A partial trim is a good intermediate compromise.
Some people suggest cutting just 2-4 primaries so that the parrot retains a level of flight but flies less. I don't like this idea because it seems the parrot would have to flap disproportionately hard to stay airborne and cause stress to its wings and system. It is definitely more natural to be flying with full feathers. If the owner is ok enough with the parrot to be mostly flighted, then clearly flight safety precautions have been made so there really isn't much reason not to just go all the way. Parrots will get into mischief no matter what so you may as well accept that there is no magic solution and it's part of who they are and what we like about them.
Exceptions
I know people are going to come up with some specific exceptions and try to argue that it's ok to clip all parrots on the basis of these rare ones so I'll just bring up some cases where clipping may be inevitable. Some parrots will be born with deformities or develop certain injuries throughout their life that may prevent them from safe flight so these cases should be left up to the vet. Parrot rescues are overwhelmed with other people's unwanted parrots and it is often impossible or dangerous to keep them flighted. Under the circumstances those parrots are already getting the best they can expect considering the situations they are coming from. Still, rescues should strive to home out those parrots to friendly homes where they can be kept in their natural flighted state. However, with such an overwhelming number of birds being displaced, they often have to do whatever they can for minimal survival for these unfortunately unwanted animals. I cannot blame the rescues. It's the people who screwed up the parrots to begin with that are at fault.
Then there will be animal hoarders who just want to collect as many different parrots or animals as possible. They can't keep parrots flighted amidst a household zoo of animals. The problems here lie far deeper than just clipping vs flight so I'm not going to get into them. The only point I have to make is that people shouldn't mix parrots with incompatible animals and shouldn't acquire more animals than they can provide outstanding living conditions for. Likewise there are circumstances of children owning parrots that want to keep them flighted but the parents do not allow them. I don't know what the parents were thinking allowing them to get a bird in the first place then but another reason why I don't recommend parrots for children until they are in complete control of their circumstances.
There will also be some circumstances where people bought and kept a parrot clipped for a long time and are considering flight. Yet their household and circumstances truly prevent them from keeping them flighted no matter how much they would like to. Again, it is still worthwhile to try to go as far as possible in preparation for having the parrot flighted, brainstorm with other people what can be done, etc. But, there will be times that it is still not possible to go that final step. However, this is not justification for most people not to try or make excuses. Everyone thinks they can't do it but most often it is because they haven't tried or haven't tried long enough. I simply cannot believe that such a vast number of parrots have to be clipped by extreme household circumstances. Just because exceptions may exist does not mean we shouldn't all strive not to have to be them.
Conclusion
Now I'd like to go over some of the challenges. Flighted parrots do require some training, vigilance, and bird proofing. However, none of these concepts should be unfamiliar to owners that clip. If they are, they are probably going about parrot ownership in the wrong way. The vast majority of bird proofing should already be in place regardless if the parrot can fly or not (such as avoiding teflon, closing doors, closing windows, not cooking with parrot out, etc). Just the finishing touches and supervision are all that's needed beyond that. Even clipped parrots can end up on the floor and electrocuted while chewing a cord so owner vigilance is required either way. And finally training. Even clipped parrots must be taught basics like step up, targeting, and being held. Adding flight recall is just once further step and really the culmination of the other skills. It should almost come naturally if you can provide the parrot the necessary motivation to be around you. There are plenty of minute details and perfections to flighted ownership that I won't get into here because I have discussed them before and throughout. Accepting these challenges should just be a natural part of bird ownership. If owners genuinely care about their companion parrots, the benefit of knowing how much better off your parrot is far outweighs the extra effort in keeping them flighted.
Many people resist keeping flighted parrots. I'm not completely sure why but my guess is that they mainly fall in two categories: people who simply don't know/realize that keeping parrots flighted is safe and possible, and people who just don't care about their parrot. I think the sad reality is that most people who clip their parrots fall into the second category. Whether it's because they prize their possessions more than their pets or because they just selfishly want a decorative talking animal that doesn't get in the way... I really pity their parrots and find it a total shame that they acquire them in the first place. These people will resist, make excuses, distract, and ignore good reasoning. But they won't have the guts to admit that it's their fault and they are to blame and not the parrot. I cannot change their minds. But for everyone else who clips their parrots and is reading this article, please take these reasons into consideration. Don't take this decision lightly. Think it trough and seek help of others. Please feel free to discuss this and your specific case on the parrot forum. Think it over. Work in little steps toward making your parrot flighted. Even if you don't think you can achieve it 100%, just taking the steps to bird proof as much as possible, use harnesses outside, using flighted precautions, etc will at least ensure more safety for even the clipped parrot. Then all that will be left is figuring out the last few unique issues to getting your parrot safely flighted. There is always a solution. The only question is if it's worth it to you?
Finally I would like to end this article by expressing just how truly remarkable it is to have flighted parrots. This is a large part of the reason I chose to have birds. It is just absolutely thrilling to watch them effortlessly get around on their wings or feel the breeze as they swoop right over my head. We should appreciate, marvel, and envy their flight and not take it into our hands to be taking it away from them. Here's a video of my parrots in flight.
Note all the flights in the video are trained/cued flights and it may seem like that's the only kind of flying my parrots do. This isn't true. They do fly at will or on cue to me outside of training sessions or just where they want to go. It's just very difficult to capture because it is spontaneous. The only way to reliably demonstrate their flight to an audience is when it is on cue. But rest assured they do fly as they wish at other times.
I get often asked about leaving parrots home while going on vacation. Well this article is about how going away on vacation ends up being a vacation for the parrots as well! There are many reasons we can't bring our feathered friends with us whether its safety, accommodations, going abroad, or just needing to get away from the squawking and cleaning for a little bit. So this article is about making your absence tolerable for your parrots.
The first and definitely most important thing for preparing your parrots for your absence is getting them used to being without you beforehand. When we hear of stories of an owner leaving a parrot home a week to come back and find it plucked naked, often this is a result of the parrot being completely spoiled with attention and then suddenly deserted. But just like taming, independence also takes some getting used to for our feathered pals. Even if you don't see yourself going on vacation any time soon, it is still important to maintain a controlled relationship. What if someone in your family becomes ill and needs care? What if you get sent some place for work? There are many unexpected scenarios besides just taking a vacation that may require our parrots to cope without our presence. The only way to prepare them for this is by letting them experience this beforehand.
Your parrot needs to be just as capable of spending time alone as with you. Surely many of us are more concerned with taming and getting them to behave with us, but we must not take this too far and make them entirely dependent on us either. This is why (both for training and vacation purposes) I recommend limited out of cage and interaction time daily. There are minimums and they are much discussed, but I also believe there should be maximums. It's impossible to put exact numbers on it but the point is that your parrot needs to spend enough time in its cage on its own every day that it won't entirely freak out when suddenly you aren't around a day.
It is important to provide good cage enrichment and activities. Of course this is much discussed elsewhere and is a good practice all the time. While maintaining routine is convenient and reassuring, it's important to be spontaneous from time to time. Yes, I try to be home to see my parrots on time, feed them at the normal time, etc. But once in a while if I need to be out late or decide to put them to sleep late than usual, it just prepares them for dealing with out of the ordinary scenarios. If I actually end up going a very long time without a natural break in the routine, I may opt to not take them out a certain day despite being home just to simulate this. But normally there are real reasons for this to happen so I generally save it for these occasions.
Don't be scared to leave the parrots home for an entire day or weekend (preferably with someone to keep an eye on them). If you've never done it before, be sure to see how they do a weekend without your presence prior to leaving them for an entire week or more. Try progressively longer durations. If you are leaving the birds alone for 12-48 hours without anyone to check up on them, consider leaving multiple sources of food and water in case any are spoiled or contaminated. A water bottle is preferable. Never leave parrots completely unattended for more than 2 days at a time though because if anything does happen to their food/water supply, they won't be able to make it much longer than this without intervention.
A question that frequently comes up is if it is better to leave parrots at home and have someone come to take care or to bring them along with their cages to someone else's home. Unless it cannot be arranged, I think it is much better and safer for the parrots to stay home. Not only are they familiar at home but they will also feel safer. To take both their favorite person away and the familiarity of their surroundings is more stressful. People worry that they'll get bored without people around, but I think if you make the above mentioned preparations they will be equipped to deal with it. Another thing is that the parrots are significantly safer remaining in your own home. As a parrot owner, you've probably spent years making your home bird safe. It is easy to begin to take this for granted and forget dangers they could face in someone else's home such as teflon fumes, other pets, children, ceiling fans, windows, etc. For all these reasons, it is best to have a sitter come briefly to your home to care for the parrots each day rather than take the birds to their own home.
When having someone birdsit for you, one of the most important considerations is whether or not they will handle the parrots. In most cases, unless the person is both familiar with parrots and specifically familiar with handling yours, it is safer not to have them let the parrots out. As much as it sucks to stay in the cage for two weeks straight, it is safer than being let loose in your home by someone who can't put them back away. Still, discuss a contingency plan with the birdsitter about what to do if they get out and cannot be returned to their cage. The sitter should leave the cage doors open and cage loaded with food so that the parrot can eventually go back inside to feed.
When I am away, I like to leave my parrots more toys than usual to keep them busy. I put in several new toys to provide with more activity and material for the parrots to play with. However, I also like to leave a few old favorite toys for familiarity as well. I make sure not to rearrange the perches just before leaving instead favoring a tried and true cage layout. This is not the time to experiment with new kinds of toys though, so any new toys that are provided should be similar to safe/successful toys in the past.
I usually end up writing a basic manual covering all things that need to be taken care of and possible contingencies for my bird sitter. So not only do I tell about the basic things that need to be done but also what to do in case there are problems and I cannot be reached. This includes biting, escape, illness, vet care, etc. At the same time, I try to reduce unnecessary activities by as much as possible not to burden the sitter too much.
The birds are fed exclusively pellets while I'm gone. Why? This is safest, simplest, and most nutritious. This is the least burden but also least responsibility for the care taker. The parrots are guaranteed to get all the nutrition they require, the food won't spoil, and it's very easy to guarantee that they don't run out of food in any way. Although I normally follow strict food management, I have my birds overfed while I'm gone. A normal pellet meal won't even line the entire bottom of their food bowls but when I'm gone I have the bowls nearly topped off. I make sure the birds are left with enough food to last several days despite the sitter coming daily. This is to ensure that if for any reason the sitter skips a day, the birds have enough food and water to get by. While we are concerned about long term diet and variety in their meals, a 100% unlimited pellet diet for a few weeks won't do any harm for a parrot that is accustomed to eating pellets.
Aritos, Latin American Onion Ring Parrot Chips (Ara + Fritos = Aritos?)
Finally, the reason I called this parrot vacation is because if done right, this can be as much of a relaxing vacation for your parrots as it is for you. Recently I spent a week traveling in Central America while my brother came once a day to take care of Kili and Truman. He is fully qualified to handle them so he would let them out for as much as an hour every day to fly around. They couldn't be more thrilled! I came back to find they had assumed full control of the situation! My computer mouse was destroyed, poop all over the carpets, and the birds helping themselves to places I would never allow them to go. Not only this, but they stuffed their crops to the brink for every day nonstop. No discipline, no food management, no responsibility. It truly was a vacation for them as well. But this is ok. Let them have it easy while you're gone and then work the taming, training, and order back in once you return.
So with all the preparations that were made over time, it was no trouble at all to leave the parrots home for a week. I got to take a vacation and do some traveling. Meanwhile Kili & Truman also got to take a vacation from training and just enjoy being wild for a little bit.
Trained Parrot is a blog about how to train tricks to all parrots and parakeets. Read about how I teach tricks to Truman the Brown Necked Cape Parrot including flight recall, shake, wave, nod, turn around, fetch, wings, and play dead. Learn how you can train tricks to your Parrot, Parrotlet, Parakeet, Lovebird, Cockatiel, Conure, African Grey, Amazon, Cockatoo or Macaw. This blog is better than books or DVDs because the information is real, live, and completely free of charge. If you want to know how to teach your parrot tricks then you will enjoy this free parrot training tutorial.
Trained Parrot site content Copyright 2010-2020 Michael Sazhin. Reproduction of text, images, or videos without prior permission prohibited. All rights reserved.
Aritos, Latin American Onion Ring Parrot Chips (Ara + Fritos = Aritos?)
Older Articles 
Newer Articles