nora@cbnewsl.ATT.COM (nora.y.mclaughlin) (10/10/89)
I'd like to pose a question to all the pet bird people in birdland. I often hear of how people who own big birds such as Macaws, Cockatoos, Amazons, etc. let their birds run around the house on the floor as they follow them from room to room. I'd love to let my amazon do this, but I am afraid I 'd be stepping in their droppings all the time. Do you folks have this problem? Is your bird paper trained or something, or do you just not care if the bird messes the floor? Or do you follow them around the house with a paper towel in hand
stafford@soleil.UUCP (Bill Stafford) (10/11/89)
In article <2189@cbnewsl.ATT.COM>, nora@cbnewsl.ATT.COM (nora.y.mclaughlin) writes: > > I'd like to pose a question to all the pet bird people in birdland. > I often hear of how people who own big birds such as Macaws, Cockatoos, > Amazons, etc. let their birds run around the house on the floor as they > follow them from room to room. I'd love to let my amazon do this, but > I am afraid I > 'd be stepping in their droppings all the time. Do you folks > have this problem? Is your bird paper trained or something, or do you > just not care if the bird messes the floor? Or do you follow them around > the house with a paper towel in hand My amazon, Nacho, is sort of potty trained. When I first got him I noticed that he made a short, high pitched squeaking sound as a precursor to taking a dump. When ever I had him off of his cage and he made this sound I either put him back on the cage or distracted him until I could. When I did take him to the cage I said "let's go" over and over until he was in or on the cage. After a few months Nacho learned to associate the phrase with the action and now will say "let's go" whenever he wants to go back to his cage, whether to eat, dump or sleep. This "lets go" solution works fine if Nacho is on my shoulder or perched near me. However, if I'm not around to take him back to the cage, he will eventually just take a dump where ever he happens to be. He is clipped but I don't keep him caged so he quite often climbs down to the floor and follows me around or attempts to locate me if I'm out of his sight. So I occasionally have to clean up an accident, but they are not that frequent and, in any case, I just could not keep a pet bird if it had to be constantly caged. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] [] W.A.'BEEKY' STAFFORD [] LuAnne, LuAnne [] [] Harris Semiconductor [] I know your heart don't love me, [] [] !rutgers!soleil!stafford [] But the rest of you still can. [] [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
mikec@ux1.lbl.gov (Mike Chin) (10/11/89)
My conure has a perch on the top of his cage that he sits on when outside. When nobody is playing with him, he just stays on his cage perch & poops onto the newspaper I place below; he never tries to explore the room. When an obliging human calls him over to play, he's on a 15-20min poop schedule; he get's flung into the air to fly back to his cage perch, he's told to "take a poop", and then allowed to fly back to shoulder or knee.
bamford@cbnewsd.ATT.COM (harold.e.bamford) (10/11/89)
In article <2189@cbnewsl.ATT.COM> nora@cbnewsl.ATT.COM (nora.y.mclaughlin) writes: >I often hear of how people who own big birds such as Macaws, Cockatoos, >Amazons, etc. let their birds run around the house on the floor as they >follow them from room to room. I'd love to let my amazon do this, but >I am afraid I'd be stepping in their droppings all the time. It is surprisingly easy to step on a bird. Some friends of ours just lost their lovebird that way. And if you have a dog or cat (or baby) the bird is in further danger if it cannot fly. They DO dump where and when they please if they can fly. But this is not the problem you might think it is. More on that later. There are three main problems with letting pet birds fly. 1) They get too independent and cannot be controlled. This is true of hand-fed babies as well as wild caught. Birds that fly are almost always more 'bitey' than clipped birds. They are difficult (sometimes impossible) to potty train. Yes, you CAN potty train a bird! 2) Birds that fly, will fly out the door when you answer it. Which means that when the doorbell rings, there is furious activity on the part of owner (playing the part of mean, nasty catcher) and the bird (working hard to stay free) to cage the bird before whomever is at the door gives up and goes away. More of a problem than you might think. Makes one dread the sound of the doorbell. 3) Birds are sometimes so "into" flying that they run into windows and walls. Often serious injuries occur. Sometimes lethal injuries. No joke. Happens a LOT! Our birds used to be allowed to fly. No more. And they ARE JUST AS HAPPY! Arguments equating clipping of wings to hobbling of feet notwithstanding, these birds are very happy. Don't let metaphysical, pseudo-mystical arguments about the "natural" expression of a bird sway you. If you pay proper attention to your birds, they will be as happy or even happier not flying. Of course, all birds (flighted or non) have only a few simple requirements that they expect you to supply: 1) Your undivided attention, 24 hours a day. 2) YOUR food, in YOUR dish. 3) That pen in your hand. Simple. Before Pandora, our Macaw, was doing a lot of flying (when she was still a baby) we had her 60% potty trained -- 60% of the time we could tell her to "dump" (while on her perch) and she would. This meant that she was "safe" for 10-15 minutes thereafter. She would even fly from a shoulder to her perch, dump, and then fly back. Then she became more sure with her flying and now she is only 2% potty trained. Even after clipping her wings, she never regained her training. Most annoying. Merlin, our African Grey Congo, was 95% trained before clipping. He rarely dumped on us (unless we had company, of course). Again, after getting independence with flight, his training dropped to 50%. After clipping, it rose to about 80%. I attribute this to Merlin's superior intelligence over Pandora's thickheadedness :-) As for cleaning up bird droppings, the nastiest seems, to most people, to be droppings on carpet. And it is nasty. But most people don't know the easy way to clean it up. Most people grab a towel and attack it immediately. Wrong. The best way is to let it completely dry and use the vacuum cleaner nozzle (the semi-sharp, metallic tube) to scrape it up. When dry, scraping the deposit flakes it off easily and the vacuum sucks up the dust leaving no visible residue. Try it. So, I recommend that you clip the wings and don't let the bird walk around on the floor a lot. A little bit, under close supervision, is fine. Instead, make a bird "cape" and wear it when the bird is on your shoulder. DON'T buy one of those Bird Shirts (tm) advertised in the magazines. They are made of tee-shirt material which slides off the shoulder too easily and won't absorb enough to save your clothing from staining. MAKE a cape from a terry cloth towel. Just fold in the ends to make pockets for your shoulders, run it through the sewing machine, and throw it on. Make enough of them for guests. Just toss in the laundry when dirty (10-15 minutes after wearing :-) ). Whew! Hadn't intended to say this much! -- Harold
mary@dinorah.wustl.edu (Mary E. Leibach) (10/12/89)
bamford@cbnewsd.ATT.COM (harold.e.bamford) writes: You made some very good points, and your article is well written. It's just that I don't agree with everything you said. :-) >It is surprisingly easy to step on a bird. Some friends of ours >just lost their lovebird that way. And if you have a dog or cat >(or baby) the bird is in further danger if it cannot fly. Two good arguments for flying birds. But they are even better arguments for strict supervision. If you know where your bird is at every single minute, you won't be stepping on it. There is also such a thing as bird proofing a room. I won't let a bird out in a room where there are pets or babies or anything else that might be a danger (or endangered). >They DO dump where and when they please if they can fly. But this >is not the problem you might think it is. More on that later. Yeah, 50% of bird ownership is cleanup. :-) >1) They get too independent and cannot be controlled. This is true >of hand-fed babies as well as wild caught. Birds that fly are >almost always more 'bitey' than clipped birds. I don't "control" birds, I relate to them as friends with mutual trust and respect. I know, clip a bird's wings and you can tame it in ten minutes. Or so Bird Talk says. I tamed a fully flighted budgie, and it took me two months. But I have a friend, not a robot obedience pet. Blakey likes me because she has learned to trust me, not because she can't fly away from me. All five of my birds fly, and Vila, who is just getting his flight feathers, bites the most, and always has. Last night he was on one of his rare flights, and he came over to me. I put my arm out, and he landed on it. This was a major accomplishment for him, and boy did he get praised. >2) Birds that fly, will fly out the door when you answer it. Which >means that when the doorbell rings, there is furious activity on >the part of owner (playing the part of mean, nasty catcher) and the >bird (working hard to stay free) to cage the bird before whomever is at >the door gives up and goes away. More of a problem than you might >think. Makes one dread the sound of the doorbell. I selected my apartment with birds in mind. I am on the fifth floor. If a bird were to fly out the door, it would be in a heated hallway, with the elevator or the stairs (protected by a door) the only exits. If someone comes calling, they have to call on the phone downstairs. I then have plenty of time to get the birds in the cage, go down stairs and let the person in. My door is always locked, and the windows have screens (on the inside, minimizing injury when colliding with the window). >3) Birds are sometimes so "into" flying that they run into windows >and walls. Often serious injuries occur. Sometimes lethal >injuries. No joke. Happens a LOT! Windows are protected by screens, and the room where flight usually occurs is 20 x 12, large enough for any turns. >Arguments equating clipping of wings to hobbling of feet >notwithstanding, these birds are very happy. Don't let >metaphysical, pseudo-mystical arguments about the "natural" >expression of a bird sway you. How about blood spurted all over the place? That is what happened, repeatedly, when Cally had his first moult. You see, when I got him, a year ago this month, he had his wings clipped severely. No flight was possible. He was also rather clumsy. Then when those blood feathers started coming in, the accidents started happening. The first time he hopped off the playpen and landed wrong on a feather. That wasn't the last time. One time he bleed so bad, I couldn't stop the blood even after I pulled the feather, and I was afraid I'd loose Cally. After getting a large cage, keeping the bird on the floor when he was loose, and nights sitting up with him after a thrashing fit, the nightmare was finally over, and the feathers were in. After that, I swore to Cally that no Blake's Birdie was ever going to be clipped again. I didn't care how I had to rearrange my life, but they were going to fly free, and they are going to be safe doing it. I've kept my word. You pointed out some important things to watch for. If someone can't make it safe for a bird to fly free, then the bird should be clipped, but CLIPPED PROPERLY!!! Your other ideas are all good. Thanks for your taking the time to present them. -Mary, and Cally the Precocious Cockatiel(tm), and Vila the Cudly Conure(tm), and Blake the Beautiful Budgie(tm), and introducing Del and Dayna, the Fertile (we hope) Finches(tm)! Better known as Blake's Birds(tm)! Dedicated to the memory of the British SF show Blake's 7, and the liberty and rights of pet birds! Six eggs laid!
bamford@cbnewsd.ATT.COM (harold.e.bamford) (10/14/89)
In article <993@dinorah.wustl.edu> (Mary E. Leibach) writes reponses to my article: >bamford@cbnewsd.ATT.COM (harold.e.bamford) writes: >>It is surprisingly easy to step on a bird. Some friends of ours >>just lost their lovebird that way. >... good arguments for flying birds. But they are even better >arguments for strict supervision. If you know where your bird is at >every single minute, you won't be stepping on it. I must agree here with the strict supervision comment. In the case of my friends' lovebird, Peaches, the doorbell rang which startled EVERYBODY badly (including both of my friends). Two dogs started barking, and both birds went slightly bananas. Peaches hit the floor and got stepped on a fraction of a second later. Not poor supervision. Just bad luck. And Peaches could fly... >>1) They get too independent and cannot be controlled. This is true >>of hand-fed babies as well as wild caught. Birds that fly are >>almost always more 'bitey' than clipped birds. >I don't "control" birds, I relate to them as friends with mutual trust >and respect. Sigh. I was afraid this would be misunderstood. Both of our birds are hand-fed babies. They are far friendlier than any "tamed" bird can ever be. In the case of Pandora (full name: Pandora Hatfield, the Real Macaw), I don't think there are friendlier birds anywhere. There may be some as friendly, but none that are more. But birds are, forever, two year old children. They get independent (which is not a problem, per se). They often express their independence by biting too hard or ignoring directions during feeding (No! Get OFF of my plate! Get OUT of my coffee! Do NOT stick french fries in my EAR! etc...) or ignoring their potty training. Such are parental discipline problems. Parents often deal with recalcitrant children by confining them to their rooms, but we reserve caging for only the most serious offenses. We have found that the natural tendency for disruptive behavior is decreased when the wings are clipped. And the other advantages are free. These birds are members of the family (one step, IMHO, beyond mere friends). Their happiness and safety are very important to us. We tried going without clipping the wings and now we feel this is better. It was not an easy decision to make as they clearly loved to fly. But we firmly believe that clipping was the right thing to do. I can well believe that the smaller birds (like your Cally) are not in the danger from flying that the larger birds are in. But a screen across a window won't help a macaw that has just spotted something fascinating outside the window. But it DOES sound like a great idea for smaller birds. >I selected my apartment with birds in mind. I am on the fifth floor. >If a bird were to fly out the door, it would be in a heated hallway, >with the elevator or the stairs (protected by a door) the only exits. >If someone comes calling, they have to call on the phone downstairs. >I then have plenty of time to get the birds in the cage, go down >stairs and let the person in. My door is always locked, and the >windows have screens (on the inside, minimizing injury when colliding >with the window). We live in a house. So do many others. You seem to have found the ideal situation for YOU. Others may not be willing to give up their current home. These others should consider clipping wings as an alternative to moving to a different home. >How about blood spurted all over the place? That is what happened, >repeatedly, when Cally had his first moult. You see, when I got him, >a year ago this month, he had his wings clipped severely. No flight >was possible. He was also rather clumsy. Then when those blood >feathers started coming in, the accidents started happening. My understanding is that a properly clipped cocketiel can often still fly short distances. (I expect that we will now be flooded with messages supporting/detracting from this). It sounds as though Cally had been improperly clipped. But given your traumatic experience and your environs, I concur with your decision to not clip again. Not that you needed my approval... :-) It begins to sound as though the decision to-clip-or-not-to-clip should be based upon many factors including: environment, species of bird, owner's experience, etc. Do you (and other bird owners) agree? What other factors should be involved? -- Harold
sandra@pyrtech (Sandra Macika) (10/16/89)
All this bird clipping, pooping, caging, etc. talk does not belong in rec.birds. Go to rec.pets please. Thanks, Sandra
HF.GXS@forsythe.stanford.edu (Gail Smithson) (10/16/89)
In article <87777@pyramid.pyramid.com>, sandra@pyrtech (Sandra Macika) writes: >All this bird clipping, pooping, caging, etc. talk does not belong in >rec.birds. Go to rec.pets please. > >Thanks, >Sandra I am a birder and also a pet bird owner and I really enjoy both types of postings. As was mentioned before, with the low volume of postings in this group it should not be too much of an inconvenience for those who only like one type of posting. You can just pass by the pet bird postings. Please try to share. Gail Smithson
rdouglas@hpcuhb.HP.COM (Robert Douglas) (10/16/89)
>All this bird clipping, pooping, caging, etc. talk does not belong in >rec.birds. Go to rec.pets please. >Thanks, >Sandra >---------- Why do we have to go through this every other month? I believe, Sandra, that a conclusion was reached here a couple of months ago to allow pet bird discussions here since 1) this is such a low volume group, and 2) the pet bird discussion are not overpowering the birding discusions. Robert Douglas ----------------------------- rdouglas@hpda.HP.COM
mary@dinorah.wustl.edu (Mary E. Leibach) (10/17/89)
bamford@cbnewsd.ATT.COM (harold.e.bamford) writes: >>In article <993@dinorah.wustl.edu> (Mary E. Leibach) writes >reponses to my article: >>bamford@cbnewsd.ATT.COM (harold.e.bamford) writes: >>>1) They get too independent and cannot be controlled. This is true >>>of hand-fed babies as well as wild caught. Birds that fly are >>>almost always more 'bitey' than clipped birds. >>I don't "control" birds, I relate to them as friends with mutual trust >>and respect. >Sigh. I was afraid this would be misunderstood. Both of our birds >are hand-fed babies. They are far friendlier than any "tamed" bird >can ever be. In the case of Pandora (full name: Pandora Hatfield, >the Real Macaw), I don't think there are friendlier birds >anywhere. There may be some as friendly, but none that are more. Sorry, that was a knee-jerk response to all this literature on taming that requires clipping first thing to make your frightened little birdie dependant on you for getting around so it will use your finger. Blakey got tamed because she thought I was a giant sized deluxe budgie chew toy. She doesn't bite though, unlike some hand-feds who shall remain nameless. >They often express >their independence by biting too hard Vila isn't independant, he's sadistic, and proud of it! He'd rather be carried somewhere than fly on his own, though he can. He is also big on petting. Can he help it if he likes the sound of my scream? >or ignoring directions during >feeding (No! Get OFF of my plate! Get OUT of my coffee! Do NOT >stick french fries in my EAR! etc...) The only way to get anything eaten in peace is either while the terrible twosome are in their cage, or when they have goodies in their dishes on the playgym. Vila is cute about drinking from a glass (which he just discovered this weekend) but Cally is a menace. He has tried landing in my cereal. (No, Cally, Cherios will not support your weight! Splash!!!) >Such are parental discipline problems. Usually I am at the receiving end of this. Cally is very strict with me. ;-) >These birds are members of the family (one step, IMHO, beyond mere >friends). Their happiness and safety are very important to us. "Mere" my foot. I would, and have, go any lengths for them. >We live in a house. So do many others. You seem to have found the >ideal situation for YOU. Others may not be willing to give up >their current home. These others should consider clipping wings as >an alternative to moving to a different home. Provide they are clipped properly, I agree. I was just moving to my first apartment, and kept birds near the top of the list. >My understanding is that a properly clipped cocketiel can often >still fly short distances. Vila could glide 20 feet on his clip! He couldn't gain altitude though, and couldn't take off from the floor. My idea of a proper wing clip. >It begins to sound as though the decision to-clip-or-not-to-clip >should be based upon many factors including: environment, species >of bird, owner's experience, etc. Do you (and other bird owners) >agree? What other factors should be involved? In an ideal world, under ideal circumstances, wings should never be clipped. Most people don't have, or can't have ideal conditions, so their birds need to be clipped. I'd say time was a factor. If you can't take time to let them out to fly everyday (or give them a flight cage), they may as well be clipped. (Birdie needs strength and skill as well as feathers to fly out of a jam, and they don't get them without practice.) I'd get big cages anyway, but budget is also a factor in that cages big enough for even limited flight would be nice for a flying bird. Also, the availability of someone with skill to give a proper clip is important too. Otherwise, you are going to have some severe headaches! If you are planning a clip to correct possible discipline problems, make sure you have something to correct, and that clipping will correct it. Flying may cause some such problems, but so can maturity, mating urges, personality flaws, or even a desire for more attention. Personally I don't think clipping is bad in all cases, just in my case. Clipping for a good reason is a good thing. But every bird, and every human, is different. Clipping every bird, just cause a book says to, is not justified in my opinion. Or in Cally's, who was a victim of just such behaviour, as well as a bad clip. Most of Cally's problems can be attributed to what he suffered due to that clip. Do what YOU think is best, out of love, and for the welfare and happiness of your birdies. -Mary, and Cally the Precocious Cockatiel(tm), and Vila the Cudly Conure(tm), and Blake the Beautiful Budgie(tm), and introducing Del and Dayna, the Fertile (we hope) Finches(tm)! Better known as Blake's Birds(tm)! Dedicated to the memory of the British SF show Blake's 7, and the liberty and rights of pet birds!
rickf@callao.WV.TEK.COM (Rick Faltersack;685-2198;61-000) (10/17/89)
In article <87777@pyramid.pyramid.com> sandra@pyrtech.pyramid.com (Sandra Macika) writes: >All this bird clipping, pooping, caging, etc. talk does not belong in >rec.birds. Go to rec.pets please. > >Thanks, >Sandra Oh no, ... not again... rec (recreation) birds (animals with feathers) Looks like a perfect fit to me. As has been pointed out many times, the total volume in this group is quite small. In fact, when left only to the watchers (or only to the keepers) there is often nothing at all for days, even weeks. So Sandra, post something about birds and quite playing self appointed net.police, protector of the news group topic. Yeah, I guess that was a flame, sorry. -rcf-
bsp@hpfibsp.HP.COM (Bruce Spence) (10/17/89)
>From: sandra@pyrtech (Sandra Macika) >Date: Sun, 15 Oct 1989 18:39:07 GMT >Organization: Pyramid Technology Corp., Mountain View, CA >Newsgroups: rec.birds > >All this bird clipping, pooping, caging, etc. talk does not belong in >rec.birds. Go to rec.pets please. > >Thanks, >Sandra $FLAME_ON$ And this kind of authoritarian notes policing does not belong on notes at all. Sandra, there is no reasonable basis for this, especially in view of the recent rational discussions of the content of this notes group. The institution of notes/news is evolutionary and dynamic as are most (all?) human institutions, so references to old notesgroup charters are not awfully useful, either. This discussion is now as appropriate here as anywhere; dictatorial commands are not. $FLAME_OFF$ On the subject of the basenote: Our three bird friends (a cockatiel, a green-cheek conure and a white-front amazon) are all fully flighted by our conscious decision. They are caged when we are away, and are closely supervised when out. (Sometimes I wonder who is supervising whom! ;-} ) The green-cheek flies very little, and then only short distances; I suspect s/he would suffer little from *being* clipped. One of the main reasons for not doing so is the trauma associated with the clipping process. I am unwilling to put my friends through this. The cockatiel, on the other hand, being a nomadic beast by nature, flies a great deal and seems to love it. I would hate to take this away from him once he has gotten used to it. The amazon has just recently gotten his flight feathers fully in, and is discovering flying, especially to find one of us when out of the room momentarily. This has provided a lot of enjoyment for all of us, and seems to be positively impacting our bonding, particularly with my wife. I wouldn't imply that this is necessarily the 'right' way (I am coming to doubt that there is one) but I believe it is right for us. Bruce Spence Hewlett-Packard, Colorado IC Division Fort Collins, Colorado hplabs!hpltbf!bsp
bamford@cbnewsd.ATT.COM (harold.e.bamford) (10/17/89)
In article <87777@pyramid.pyramid.com> sandra@pyrtech.pyramid.com (Sandra Macika) writes: >All this bird clipping, pooping, caging, etc. talk does not belong in >rec.birds. Go to rec.pets please. #include <standard-args-on-contents-of-rec.birds> #include <standard-args-on-wading-through-dog.cat.gerbil-news> #include <standard-escalation-of-personal-insults> #include <standard-pleas-for-moving-discussion-elsewhwere> main() { exit(13); }
mary@dinorah.wustl.edu (Mary E. Leibach) (10/20/89)
bsp@hpfibsp.HP.COM (Bruce Spence) writes: >Our three bird friends (a cockatiel, a >green-cheek conure and a white-front amazon) Ah, another cockatiel AND green cheek owner/ee. (Vila is green cheek/maroon belly hybrid, but close enough.) How do those two get along? Cally and Vila (the terrible twosome in recent postings) go the whole spectrum from fights to communal preening in about five minutes. I don't know who is tops in the pecking order, Vila chases Cally around, but Cally will bully Vila till he preens him. They like each other though, they are just too macho to let anyone else know it. :-) >(Sometimes I wonder who is supervising whom! ;-} ) The birds are supervising you, silly. >The green-cheek flies very little, and then only short distances; I suspect >s/he would suffer little from *being* clipped. Vila too. People express is much more fun. > The cockatiel, on the other hand, being a nomadic beast by nature, flies a >great deal and seems to love it. Just like Cally. Have you figured out what it means when a conure bobs his head and jumps up and down at you? Or what spreading the tail, fluffing the head feathers, and struting up and down a perch means? Or putting his tail up, and shoving his rear against your hand, or anything else? I would like to know. -Mary, and Cally the Precocious Cockatiel(tm), and Vila the Cudly Conure(tm), and Blake the Beautiful Budgie(tm), and introducing Del and Dayna, the Fertile (we hope) Finches(tm)! Better known as Blake's Birds(tm)! Dedicated to the memory of the British SF show Blake's 7, and the liberty and rights of pet birds! Hatching any day now!
shane@inferno.UUCP (Shane Bouslough) (10/20/89)
From article <7190001@hpcuhb.HP.COM>, by rdouglas@hpcuhb.HP.COM (Robert Douglas): >>All this bird clipping, pooping, caging, etc. talk does not belong in >>rec.birds. Go to rec.pets please. > >>Thanks, >>Sandra >>---------- > > Why do we have to go through this every other month? I believe, Sandra, that I agree, I love the critters wild or not, I even like chickens. Why not let the articles stay? I hope there's no suggestion that bird owners aren't as sincere in their appreciation of birds as are the birders. -Shane P.S. I don't own a bird, and I go birding when I can. -- --------------------------------- CLIP'N'SAVE ---------------------------------- | Shane A. Bouslough | uucp: ...{rutgers,sbcs,icus}!alps!inferno!shane| | Periphonics Corp. | phonenet: w:516-467-0500 h:516-929-5822 | | 4000 Veterans Memorial Hwy. |"I'm sure it's a software or a hardware problem"| | Bohemia, NY 11716 | OS/2... JUST SAY NO | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
stewartw@warpdrive.UUCP (Stewart Winter) (10/20/89)
In article <1002@dinorah.wustl.edu> mary@dinorah.wustl.edu (Mary E. Leibach) writes: >Have you figured out what it means when a conure bobs his head and >jumps up and down at you? Or what spreading the tail, fluffing the >head feathers, and struting up and down a perch means? Or putting his >tail up, and shoving his rear against your hand, or anything else? I >would like to know. Finally, an easy question to answer. The bobbing of the head is a prelude to regurgitation (a true sign of affection). The strutting, etc. is showing off to get your attention. This is all geared to lead to ... mating with your hand ... that's what happening. This means that your bird has pair-bonded to you. There can be some downsides to this behaviour (jealousy, etc.), but it means your bird is in love with you ... what more could someone ever ask for. Stewart -- Stewart Winter Cognos Incorporated S-mail: P.O. Box 9707 VOICE: (613) 738-1338 x3830 FAX: (613) 738-0002 3755 Riverside Drive UUCP: uunet!cognos!stewartw Ottawa, Ontario "The bird for the day is .... parrotlet." CANADA K1G 3Z4
mary@dinorah.wustl.edu (Mary E. Leibach) (10/24/89)
stewartw@warpdrive.UUCP (Stewart Winter) writes: >The bobbing of the head is a >prelude to regurgitation (a true sign of affection). Prelude it may be, but none of my birdies, including him, regurgitate to me. Vila has also done this to music that has a good beat. Maybe he is trying to dance too? >This means that >your bird has pair-bonded to you. There can be some downsides to this >behaviour (jealousy, etc.), I can believe that. The way he acts sometimes you would think he is glued to me. Anytime I give his cockatiel cage mate any attention, there he is to push Cally away and have all the attention to himself. But if he loves me so, why does he so delight in biting me hard and listening to me yelp? That, and being scratched are his ideas of quality time spent with me. He is only eight months old. Isn't Vila a little young for this? >but it means your bird is in love with you ... >what more could someone ever ask for. :-) Thanks for answering. -Mary