What you actually need to know about parrot ownership.
Posts about our Amazon, Vi.
As a first-time bird owner, I found many online parrot training guides to be… rather vague. It was hard to figure out how to create a tangible training process for my parrots out of abstract ideas.
Fortunately, I had a ton of guidance from the bird rescue where I used to volunteer, and now several years of the hands-on experience of rescuing five different parrots from varying walks of life.
Thus, I’ve created a list of suggested milestones for training parrots who are hand-shy to step up.
Screaming is one way birds get attention (positive, negative, it doesn’t matter!) Now, I can’t definitively say whether or not this was the case for Miss Viola Waddlesworth at her former home, however, her friend Sam, the African Grey who went to a neighbor’s house, frequently shouts, “Shut up, Waddles!” …So yeah, we likely have a few years’…
Last night, we allowed Ms. Vi to climb into a diet coke box. … She hasn’t stopped her hormonal quivering since. All parrots go through hormonal phases, especially in spring and summer given the extra daylight (which prompts a release of hormones) so that’s expected there. But dark, enclosed places that resemble nesting hollows apparently…
It is with a happy heart that I can now say this: Vi CONSISTENTLY steps up! I waited two weeks to make sure, but it’s official: she is cage-bound no more! We made our goal of July! A little late, but better than never! When she’s in her cage, it’s her terms; she’s made it…
…Because I have been busier than any person has a right to be, but we made more progress with Vi! She stepped up for Fletcher last night for a tasty piece of bread. She also let him pet her–exciting, because we were expecting her to be a one-person bird and merely tolerate him. Not so!…
Vi and I sing the end of “So Long, Farewell!” from The Sound of Music. Yes, we’re goobers.
“Spare the rod and then spoil the child!” Take that saying as the opposite what is meant by most folks, and you’ve got seriously the best advice you can take if you ever want to win the trust of a rehomed parrot… She needs to be a bit spoiled for a bit. 🙂 Spare that…
In the “a stitch in time saves nine” quotes category, there’s a popular saying in education: “Go slow to go fast.” Essentially, if you don’t want to re-teach a skill multiple times over, it’s worth teaching it well and thoroughly the first time. Which takes patience. So, so much patience. Shockingly, this is also true for bird training! Vi…
Sometimes, just hanging out around your parrots and eating things will tell you all you need to know about what really matters to them.
…And then keep going until you match your initial definition! Hit a bit of a road block with Vi (extremely limited progress…) until today. I was headed to my local bird shop (Busy Beaks Bird Shop if you’re interested–I volunteer for them by maintaining their website) and decided to see if I could coax her into…
