A note on Punishment and your Parrot

[Cosmos_Friend]

Cosmos_Friend LOL! I smoke too,outside. I will tell Sophie " Rom is going to be naughty", as kids taught her this. She will stepdown then I will wash my hands and go get her when I am done. She trusts me to come back so she will let me go. Sometimes she refuses, and I gently place her in front of her cage. She will stepdown, but I always come back to get her ( after washing), so she knows my " word" is real. Cosmo is doing just fine Nancy

 

Nancy,

 

Yeah, I think he's OK, however Dan seems to be very a experienced Grey Parront, so I've been trying what he suggested to stop the regurg, with no luck. Like I had mentioned, it's only a tiny bit and since Cosmo is so attached to me, I guess this is his way of him showing extreme pleasure and excitement.

 

~Rick

[danmcq]

Nancy,

 

Yeah, I think he's OK, however Dan seems to be very a experienced Grey Parront, so I've been trying what he suggested to stop the regurg, with no luck. Like I had mentioned, it's only a tiny bit and since Cosmo is so attached to me, I guess this is his way of him showing extreme pleasure and excitement.

 

~Rick

 

Just a note on this. The regurging can happen through out their life. It is a natural instinct and it is a sign of their love and need for you. I did not mean you could stop it completely. As I pointed out about our Dayo, he will regurge sometimes just seeing my wife when we walk in the door after being gone for a few hours. I just meant to discourage it from happening over and over by just calming them, telling them it's not necessary in a very sweet and calm voice and perhaps diverting their attention to a foot toy , just stopping the scratching for a minute or so etc. At first, dayo would regurge two and sometimes three times in a row for my wife. It then lessened over time.

[Dave007]

thanks again for your insight. So gently pulling away will not effect him negatively. That's good to hear because earlier today, he had me captive for over 15 minutes! About the regurgitating, how would I go about discouraging this?

 

Why would you wanna stop or discourage a bird's natural function? All parrots do it. It's a big mistake to interfere with that natural reaction to different things. That's like trying to stop a person from smiling or crying.

[danmcq]

Why would you wanna stop or discourage a bird's natural function? All parrots do it. It's a big mistake to interfere with that natural reaction to different things. That's like trying to stop a person from smiling or crying.

 

Well, we tried to discourage the multiple regurges because Dayo would empty himself for kim during that time. Just assuring and providing a distraction like a foot toy helped in getting it down to one most the time. We know it is a natural instinct. I personally do not think it is healthy for them to regurge 2,3 and even 4 times. I could be wrong, but it's worked for us and dayo.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

Rick Yes Dan does a great job and is very experienced. We LOVE him. Nancy

[Muse]

Great post. I found the SHORT time out is the best recourse. We *never* cover cages. We have a fleece blanket that goes over Megan's cage when the little birds are having out time, if she climbs to the top and tries to be aggressive. She does not like the cover and has pretty much given up on messing with the birds and actually lets them perch atop her cage now without any signs of aggression. This told me a cage cover would be something she would view as negative. As for giving a time out - we just put them back in the cage and turn our backs on them. And they KNOW - they are VERY intelligent creatures. As soon as they go in time out, the cute gets turned on at 100% trying to get back in mommy or daddy's good graces. But to be effective, the time out has to be short. Ten minutes tops for a very serious offense and shorter for less serious, seems to be the most effective. And it is most effective if you remain in the room but divert your attention elsewhere, strongly making the point that they are without interaction for that time out. It did not take ours long to realize they don't like being ignored, and now, just like with the human children I have raised, just the mention of "Do you want to go in time out?" is often enough to stop the unwanted behavior cold. After time out, we follow with lots of love, and admonitions to be 'good bird.' I basically have raised ours the same way I raised human kids, and I think they are pretty well-behaved for the most part (hormonal behavior aside - all bets are off when hormones go crazy!).

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

Muse...excellent post! Cage covers should always be a " comfort thing". Some birds Love them, some can't stand them.If you can raise a kid, you can raise an African Grey. They are soooo similar in their behavior. Timeout worked with us also. I originally started with one minute per year, just like kids. Shouldn't exceed 10 minutes. Ryan my son and Sophie bonded in their timeout sessions. Ryan in his chair, Sophie in her " timeout cage". Now I know why they are so close! LOL! Ryan now 22, Sophie 13. They are still best buds. Neither have been in " timeout", for many years. Nancy

[Blair]

wow. I just read thru this thread and kicked myself. Amadeus is perched on my belly just watching me type. I've had him for 15 months and it has been trial and error thru this time. I am a smoker, inside at my house and trailer. He used to try and nibble the cigarette before I lit it, but that behavior stopped a long time ago. An interesting behavior that he does before he comes to me from the cage, is he will sit on the cage opening and defecate before stepping up. I didn't teach him this, and when I first got him he would defecate on my shoulder or wherever all the time. If he stays on the back of my desk chair too long, he will let loose, always to the rear. If I get up from my chair he will turn around and watch me and sometimes let loose on the front. Doesn't bother me as I keep towels and wet ones handy for this.

[JeffNOK]

wow. I just read thru this thread and kicked myself. Amadeus is perched on my belly just watching me type. I've had him for 15 months and it has been trial and error thru this time. I am a smoker, inside at my house and trailer. He used to try and nibble the cigarette before I lit it, but that behavior stopped a long time ago. An interesting behavior that he does before he comes to me from the cage, is he will sit on the cage opening and defecate before stepping up. I didn't teach him this, and when I first got him he would defecate on my shoulder or wherever all the time. If he stays on the back of my desk chair too long, he will let loose, always to the rear. If I get up from my chair he will turn around and watch me and sometimes let loose on the front. Doesn't bother me as I keep towels and wet ones handy for this.

 

Hi Blair, do you still smoke in the home near your grey? Parrot lungs cannot tolerate the presence of smoke. It can cause serious damage. If you haven't already started doing this, please smoke outside and even wash your hands afterwards. Nicotine on your hands can transfer to your bird through the skin. Greys can actually become addicted to nicotine through such exposure.