An inquiry we receive regularly concerns the possibility of adopting a bird to serve as a companion to another bird already in the household.  CPR's adoption policy states that birds can't be adopted exclusively for that purpose.  I would like to take this opportunity to discuss this concept and how our views are evolving.

There are many factors that can influence the success of having more than one bird in the household. As we all know, parrots can and will pick and choose the humans they like and dislike. This is also true when it comes to other birds. We warn that there's always the chance that there could be a dislike of the newcomer (or vice versa) generating aggressive behavior. With the good intention of giving your feathered friend another friend, you may end up with two birds that must have separate times out of the cage!

The flip side of this problem is that the birds may become extremely close friends, preferring each other to you. Also, hormonal behavior may be triggered. Your docile companion (or the new bird) may become aggressive toward you or others. Adding a bird to the household has also been known to trigger egg-laying.

Aside from those potential issues there are other, more practical ones.  A separate cage is a must for all larger species and also required in the beginning for your smaller birds. You should never presume you can bring home a new bird and expect your guy to share his or her home. So there's the financial aspect of an additional cage, perches and toys as well as the added yearly vet exam. Other questions to ask are: Do I have the space for another cage?  Do I have the time to devote to another bird? Trust me, the vocalizations will more than double...someone to finally talk "parrot" to!

With all this in mind, historically we have been extremely hesitant to adopt a bird with the goal being for it to serve as a companion to another bird. As time has passed however, we have softened that stance somewhat. While you must keep in mind the potential issue of the new companions disliking each other, we have witnessed major benefits of a single parrot having another feathered friend around. And sometimes a little "competition" is a good thing. With the positive reinforcement training that is occurring at Parrot U, we've seen many birds become interactive through observational learning. "Hey, how come that guy gets a nut?  I can turn around too, watch!" Or, "What's so good in that bowl that she keeps her head in it forever when Mom puts it in?" Or, "Gosh, he got to spend time with Dad watching TV and I had to stay on this stupid perch!"

With all of these caveats in mind, our experience is showing that the benefits of adding to your flock can be very enriching for the single bird. We are not as quick to dissuade people considering the option.  As always, the proper information, guidance and management are vital to the success of adopting any bird. We will work closely with you toward that success, and as always, if a placement doesn't work out, CPR will always welcome our bird back into the flock. 

A perfect example of adopting a parrot to enrich the life of another parrot can be found in this month's Happy Endings. 

Pepe came to CPR last year, along with Rex, Mozart, Cleo and Aggie when their caregiver suddenly passed away.  Pepe's a sweet guy, quiet for an Amazon, who was often seen hanging out on top of his cage, watching the comings and goings at Parrot U.

A while back, Dr. Powers contacted me on behalf of a client, Steve Kessler, who had recently lost his Yellow-Nape Amazon, Buddy, that had shared his home for over 25 years. Also sharing his home was a 30 year old Orange-wing Amazon, Little Goose.  Buddy and Little Goose had spent 25 years together although Steve said they didn't really pay much attention to each other. Dr. Powers was aware of my hesitation tp adopt parrots as companions for other parrots, but asked that we consider this request.

Remembering Buddy

Since Buddy's passing Steve reported that Little Goose had shown serious signs of depression. Vocalizations stopped and he no longer allowed Steve to skritch his head. After making certain that there was nothing physically wrong, Steve strongly felt that Little Goose was lonely without an avian pal. Would we consider allowing him to take one of our Amazons home to see if that would help?

 

Even though he lives 3-½ hours from CPR, Steve came to visit the birds on more than one occasion and we held one-on-one classes to fulfill adoption requirements. After much consideration Steve felt that Pepe, our 15 year old Blue-front, might be compatible. Pepe was not a highly socialized bird but had shared the last 10 years of his life as part of the flock. 

 

Little Goose

Happily Little Goose revived!  Steve reports "The whistling for attention is back, the noise is back, and there is a special call that is an obvious happy call that he has started to make again.I'm even allowed to scratch his head. Pepe is still somewhat standoffish but Lee said he was not a person bird so I consider that normal.However, he does get excited when I talk to him and, of course Little Goose gets jealous."

 

We are SO happy for everyone in the Kessler home.  Steve is extremely happy to have the Amazon noises back and that Little Goose has reconnected. Pepe has a WONDERFUL new home that is willing to let him be himself. And CPR has broadened its view on "companion" parrots!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's funny to hear how people describe the results of training. The words "magical" and "miraculous" come up on a regular basis.

But is it really magic? No, it's simply psychology. As a matter of fact, it's human psychology. ABA stands for applied behavioral analysis. It's a simple, almost mathematical, formula that anyone can use. 

There are two simple things you need to remember. First, positive reinforcement works! Your bird (or your kids) will work harder, faster and retain the desired behavior with positive reinfocement.  Didn't your mama tell you that you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar? Same principle. Second, you need to know your ABCs. This set of ABCs stands for Antecedent (what happens first), Behavior (what actually happens), and Consequence (what immediately follows the behavior). Not so hard, right?

Here's an example:

A:  I enter the room.

B:  My bird screams.

C:  I give my bird attention.

What happened here? The bird got what it wanted, essentially training me.  Will this behavior continue? Absolutely. Do we want this behavior?  Absolutely not!

Let's try again:

A:  I enter the room.

B:  My bird makes a pleasing sound,

C:  I immediately respond with praise, head skritches or food rewards.

Again, what will happen?  The bird will continue the behavior. 

In both cases, there were consequences. I might not have been aware that I was "teaching" my bird to scream in the first scenario, but that was the effect. In the second situation, I reinforced what I liked, teaching the bird a positive behavior.

The bottom line: ignore behavior you do not want (no yelling back, or attention of any kind) and reward behavior that you do want (with verbal praise, head skritches and food rewards).

Now get out there and do some magic of your own!

[Editor note:  Reserve your seat for the next Positive Reinforcement Training Class -- free at Parrot University on Saturday, March 27]