Birdie Pets

More physical punishment wanted

Question:

Karl Smith writes: >What has worked very well for me is: a squirt bottle. When he bites me >he gets squirted and "no!". He’s now learned that No and a squirt >bottle are related – and he screams at the squirt bottle, not me. When >I get random unintentional nips I just say "No." When I get bitten, I >squirt him. I’ve only had to squirt him once in the past two >months. We’re both much happier. He knows what his limits are, and the >water doesn’t really hurt him – it’s just really irritating. You can >get a squirt bottle/sprayer that has a brightly colored head. My bird >doesn’t like even being misted, but for those people that have birds >that do, I’ve seen some posts that say that using two squirt bottles >of different colors – one for "play" on mist, and one for >"discouragement" on a stream works.

UH OH!  According to Sally Blanchard, this is a NO NO!  : )  Remember: >Sally Blanchard recently addressed the issue of quick fixes and why >they don’t change bad behavior (Pet Bird Report, Sep/Oct 1993).  I was >really surprised when I read this article since she "blasted" >techniques that many people have found effective.  I have used the >following techniques which she advises against:  yelling and >screaming, squirting with water (when my two birds were trying

>to inflict harm upon each other), punishing the bird by putting >it in the cage.  She also advises against hitting the bird or >slapping it in the face, grabbing the beak and shaking it or >"thunking" the beak, punishing by putting the parrot in the bathtub >cage or some other far away place, covering the cage, putting the >bird in a dark room, putting the bird in a box; flapping the wings, >dropping the bird to the ground or throwing it on the floor, >buying another bird or turning your pet into a breeder.  All I was >able to say after reading this article was WOW–I must be a bad >bird parent.  I know that I am not a bad bird (or cat, dog, fish, >rabbit) parent; I was just up against a potential philosophical >difference on "parenting techniques" and I needed to think about >adjusting my practices.  

Another point I’d like to make: We were having biting problems with my noble macaw.  He would never bite me, but he would bite certain guests, and always seemed to be biting my husband, even hard enough to draw blood.  We were at our wits end trying to correct him.  The NO command worked only temporarily.  As soon as it ceased to be a novelty, it was worse than useless. It got so bad that my husband completely refused to handle the bird.  Then, one day, he appeared confidently with bird in hand.  What had happened? It seemed that my husband had made an observation about the way I handled the bird that he hadn’t noticed before, and which I myself was completely unaware of.  As it so happened, whenever I held the bird, and he tried to bite me, a split second before the bite, I (unknowingly) distracted him with my other hand.  This last-second distraction thwarted the bite every time.  But my husband hadn’t been doing this, thus he was getting bitten. When he started using the same distraction technique, he no longer got bitten. This is a classic example of someone "innately" handling a bird safely, but not relaying the training method to a novice.  I think that this is what Sally Blanchard does.  I have no doubt that she could take control of some screaming, biting macaw with relative safety.  But most people can’t, and shouldn’t.  The point is that there is alot more to bird handling/training than most people think, and we all should be open to sharing our training tips with each other on a continual basis.  But at the same time, the tips should be taken "with a grain of salt", knowing that just because it appears to work for one person, it might not necessarily work for you. -E                .            

Response:

-> appears to work for one person, it might not necessarily work for -> you. Funny you should mention that. I just got done saying the exact same thing. Each "child" is different.

Response:

Lorne: I’ve been trying to get your attention to say hi.  Remember me?  I visited your place last April.  I’ve got my grey named Rocky.  He’s perched on my shoulder now, chattering away.  How’s things?  How are Sydney and Bruno? …Barb  * 1st 1.11 #875 * Captivity serves no porpoise.

Response:

Filed under: Pet Bird Cage