Spring Survival Guide

It seems that almost every parrot goes crazy in the spring.  They chew much more, get a lot louder, nippier, grumpier, and worst of all hormonal! 

My phone rings off the wall every year at this time by people who are either fed up or are panicked about their parrots behaviour this time of year.

It is all a natural reaction to spring.  Which is breeding season for most animals including parrots.

We need to provide for our pets and our own sanity to make it through the two months of raging hormones.

Here are a list of things that should help.

- Clip the birds wings.  If he is attacking and biting clipping the wings will stop 90% of your trouble as you will have to approach him in order to get bit.  It also helps to ease off some of the aggressive tendencies.

- Bring in lots of toys.  This should help keep your wood furniture and door moldings safe.  Parrots chew very heavily this time of the year.  By providing plenty of toys it should help to keep their little beaks busy and ease off on the furniture chewing.

- Keep them caged longer, if they are aggressive and grumpy, there is no reason to get your self injured.  Spend time with him by playing games through the bars of the cage.

- Get rid of hormone inducing toys.  Happy huts, fuzzy buddies, nesting materials etc

- Ignore the loud screaming.  I know it is a pain but it will end shortly.  You don’t want to acknowledge the screaming as it only leads to reinforcement.

- Keep petting to the top of the head.  If the parrot starts panting, stop all petting.

- If the parrot starts laying eggs, start a calcium supplement and get rid of hormone inducing toys.

- Some plucking can take place this time of year also.  Give plenty of baths and provide preening type toys.

If will take some patience and perseverance but it does get better………well that is until next spring!

Cuddles – Indian Ring Neck Parakeet

Cuddles
Indian Ring Neck
Although we have had Cuddles for several years now.  I only just realized that she was missing from this page!  Bad mom I am!!  Cuddles has been with us for approximately 4 yrs.  She has a paralized beak and has chronic ear and eye infections as well as occassional seizures.  She has only had 1 seizure in her time with us but is a permanent resident due to all her issues.

What to look for in a rescue or sanctuary

There are various types of rescues for birds and I would like to discuss some of them here. People have different visions for their parrots after they can no longer care for them.

Some wish to see their birds flying free out of doors or in huge aviaries. In most instances, and in our Canadian climate these conditions are not possible.

I have even been told  that some plan on having their pets put down as they do not feel anyone would either want them or would care for them they way they do. I find this quite sad, as there are many wonderful homes out there that would love to give a second hand parrot an excellent and loving home and would willingly follow the previous owner’s routines and provide plenty of years of love to a parrot.

There are shelters which provide temporary care and usually some behavioural help until the parrot finds another wonderful family to care for it.

There are those that have wonderful aviaries with trees and play areas and keep all the birds and refuse to adopt out. They believe this is the only environment for a parrot. However they take in more and more and at some point the birds no longer recieve the attention they deserve.

The pros and cons of this are that birds that enjoy that type of environment would thrive in there. It would be a wonderful place for ex breeders and birds that do not enjoy human companionship. The sad part is those birds that love attention from human companions as most of the time they do not do well in this type of environment. They would rather be cuddled and snuggled and talked to and played with regularly. These birds you will find cowering in the corners of these aviaries, frightened of the other birds. Even volunteers can not offer these birds the bonding and attention an individual home can offer.

There are others that house the birds in any type of container they can find and are stacked on top of each other with 500 or 600 birds! This environment is not good for any bird! They do not adopt out birds and also feel their system is best.

Although it might be nice to see a bird flying around in an aviary, we need to remember that these birds were hand raised and conditioned to wanting human companionship.

We at Paso feel that each bird is an individual and needs to be assessed based on their needs, history and experiences. We do not feel that ALL birds can fall into one category. Although a nice sanctuary setting would be wonderful for some. It is not for all. Some birds would thrive much better in an individual home where they would receive one on one attention in a family setting.

We certainly don’t feel any place with 600 birds is good for any bird!

When choosing a rescue/shelter/sanctuary for your bird, carefully look at how the birds in the sanctuary are. Are they happy? Well adjusted? Are those running the rescue able to handle ALL the birds they presently have? Do they look comfortable with the birds both large AND small? Remember these people will be your birds care givers for a long time and maybe permanently. Do they rely on volunteers to work with the birds instead of themselves? How many volunteers do they have? Is it clean? Do they try scare tactics to avoid checking other rescues? Most of all do the birds at the rescue look comfortable with the rescuers!

These are more important than clinical cleanliness! We all know parrots make messes and rescues are no exception! Most importantly is how do the birds react to their new rescuers? Are they fearful and is the rescuer capable of handling your parrot?

These will make your parrot integrate into the rescue easier and will assure both you and the bird that they are in good hands.

Can you get references for them through your local bird clubs, zoo’s, SPCA et cetera. Word of mouth is another form but not the end all to be all. Does the rescue cut up other rescues trying to get “your business”? Does the rescue use scare tactics? Does it look like they are trying too hard, or does it appear that they ramble on? If these things are happening it’s probably due to the lack of skills on their part so they make up for it using these tactics.

You are the advocate for your parrot. Make sure to check the rescue and get outside references such as those described above.