Passing the Gauntlet
by Sam Foster

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Not Living Up To Expectations

"I can’t believe it, my umbie just bit me ... Our Moluccan will not stop screaming ... My pionus won’t come out of her cage ... Our 5-year old African grey doesn’t talk ... Why won’t my Amazon let me scratch his head any more ... My bird hates me, he tried to chase me out of the room ..." and so it begins.

For whatever reason, suddenly or over an extended period of time, our pet bird is not living up to our "expectations." Perhaps we bought that cuddly umbrella cockatoo baby thinking it would always welcome our caresses, sitting for hours in our lap cooing with contentment. Maybe we felt sorry for the beautiful Moluccan in the pet store and knew that "we" could make it stop screaming just by giving it a loving home. Did we start a new job and forget the importance of taking our little pionus out of the cage every day for her "special" time? Do we talk to our beloved Congo grey and even play tapes with our own voices while we’re away, and still she doesn’t say a word? Is this the delightful Blue-front Amazon who for years loved having his head scratched and now growls and lunges at our hands when we reach out? Or can this possibly be my "best friend" who is now aggressively chasing me around the room trying to bite my feet?

So, how do bird owners react when situations such as these arise? Some are terribly disappointed, or take it as a personal affront, and instead of trying to resolve the problem, harbor their hurt feelings, ultimately "blaming" the bird. There are also those who become frightened and intimidated by these lunging, biting little "monsters" and refuse to try and handle them any longer. A few become so impatient or angry that they just want to "get rid" of this bird, so they can find another one who is sweeter or more well-mannered. Whether dealing with another human being or with a pet, there is often a limit to the amount of stress or indifference a relationship can tolerate. It’s very sad when pet bird owners decide to "give up" on their once treasured companions, who they now consider to be too difficult, trying or time-consuming. These people could be throwing away one of those truly special relationships in life that only a few enjoy. Perhaps if we looked more closely and honestly at our own abilities to adequately provide a comfortable, secure and nurturing environment and did more research concerning various species personalities and possible "challenges" they may present prior to adding a new flock member, the parrot rescue and placement centers wouldn’t be overflowing with unwanted and "unmanageable" pets.

Are They Worth The Effort?

More often than not, it isn’t the severity of a situation that prompts the owner to "pass the gauntlet," but a lack of patience, understanding and long-term commitment to the emotional or physical well-being of the bird. Take a moment to consider these so-called "problem" birds and decide if you think they would be worth the effort. In a nice, avian pet shop sat a little pionus.

Her three siblings had all been sold and one by one went off to their new homes. Since this particular baby had not been chosen, it wasn’t played with very much and became more and more aggressive. In fact, since she felt it was her obligation to protect her cage at all costs, even the staff decided this bird was just "mean" and might have to be put into a breeding program. One day a fairly new employee decided it was time to work individually with this little girl. It was never a problem getting her out of the cage — as soon as the door was opened a flash of green would hurl itself, beak first, at the nearest intruder. After several nose piercings and bloody fingers the employee bought the little Maximillian.

She had somehow fallen in love with this spitfire, despite the fact that the feeling did not appear to be mutual. Once settled in her new cage, it became obvious that little Maxi was also going to defend this new territory. Any attempt to put a hand inside the cage was met with tail fanning and little "Tasmanian devil" sounds. After a couple of weeks, she finally relented to stepping up on a stick, but would then make a purposeful run for the hand holding it. Her new owners finally learned to hold a stick in both hands and often repeated "up" many times while trying to successfully navigate Maxi to her play area. If she climbed to the top of her cage, it was virtually impossible to get her off, even towering above her holding out the stick. She would run over to the edge of the cage and lunge forward in full attack posture, then with feathers fluffed out, strut around the top of the cage doing her pionus "turkey walk."

After three months no significant progress had been made, and although Maxi had finally stopped charging for the hand holding the stick, she now took great delight in trying to attack hands or face while food was being changed or her cage cleaned. Each day Maxi was also offered an outstretched hand for "step up," but this was always met with aggression and a determined effort to bite. In addition, after 5:00 p.m. Maxi refused to come out of her cage and any attempts to make her do so resulted in bodily injury to her owner. A steady supply of antibiotic ointments and band-aids remained in the house.

No Warning

There was a beautiful healthy umbrella cockatoo who was the love of his owners life and her dearest friend. She purchased him from a pet store when he was 1 1/2 and for the past two years they had eaten meals together, spent long hours sitting outside in the sun listening to the wild birds and talking to neighbors as they walked by, taken naps together on the sofa, and invented endless games full of variety and laughter. Theirs was a special bond that could never be challenged or duplicated. One day, as she was putting him back in his cage, Umbie suddenly reached down and bit fiercely into her forearm and would not let go. Stunned, and with blood gushing, she finally had to pull his beak away with her free hand. There had been no warning or noticeable change of body posture. However, when back in his cage, Umbie began running back and forth "ramming" the side of the cage as if trying to chase her away.

For the next few days things again seemed fine, until one week later. She was scratching the top of his head through the cage when he quickly raised his head grabbing her two middle fingers in his beak and bit through one of the fingernails, which resulted in nerve loss in her index finger. These incidents were the prelude to a dramatic change in the relationship. From that point all of Umbie’s gentle love and affection was targeted to her husband and she was treated as an intruder. When she cleaned the bird room each morning, he would appear very agitated, pacing back and forth along the bottom of his cage throwing toys, shredding paper and letting her know that she was no longer welcome in his territory. If Umbie was out of his cage playing with her husband and she walked into the room, she had to prepare herself for a full-fledged attack. Sutures were added to their first-aid kit.

A Long Distance Move

The owner of a beautiful Bronze-wing Pionus was planning a long distance move. The young bird, now 2 years old, had suffered a severely broken wing while still being hand-fed. As the gentleman cared a great deal about this little fellow he called some close friends to ask if they would take his beloved companion and provide a safe and loving home. They agreed, knowing that this bird would always have special physical needs. In addition to this, due to the nature of the fracture, Bronzy had undergone several surgical procedures and follow-up exams, which made him very nervous and untrusting. He would come out of the cage by himself but run from any human interaction, often resulting in a fall. His left wing cannot be raised at all, so if he falls, the flapping of his right wing merely serves to propel him faster to the floor at an odd angle, usually resulting in an injury to the left wing. Each time this happened, next would come the challenge of trying to pick him up to treat the wound. Anyone with a Bronze-wing knows that their long thick beak can deliver one of the nastiest bites in the bird world, and Bronzy was anxious to prove that point. This regular occurrence taught them to administer both avian and human first aid at the same time.

A Phobic Rosie

One afternoon a woman receives a phone call from a friend who breeds parrots. She is told about a young Rose-breasted Cockatoo who has some serious problems. Although details of the bird’s history are unknown, it is thought to be 1-2 years old, has already had two owners, been flown back and forth across the country and luckily ended up at a caring facility. Facts that were known ... this little girl is terrified of hands, screaming in terror and thrashing about the cage whenever a hand gets too close. Because of this, blood feathers were often broken. When this occurred, her previous owner would use a towel to extricate her from her cage, pull the feather and then return her to the cage. At this stage Rosie had no tail or primary wing feathers and only a few secondaries. The edges of all of her remaining feathers had been shredded. After much deliberation, the woman and her husband decided to drive several hours in order to see this poor bird. They then discovered that Rosie, in the 4 weeks she had been with this breeder, had never come out of the cage on her own, although the door was left open during the day in an effort to encourage her to do so. The toes pointing forward on both feet had been broken at some stage, probably from the ongoing trauma of falling to the bottom of the cage, and she had varying degrees of bumblefoot. This couple had no idea how long the physical and emotional rehabilitation of this little girl might take or what the final result of their efforts would be. But they lovingly loaded her small cage in the car and began the journey home.

Only Time Could Tell

Although these are abbreviated versions of fairly lengthy ordeals, do you think these birds could eventually become (or return to) loving, enjoyable, well-adjusted and trustworthy companion parrots? Or would it be easier to pass the gauntlet? After all, any one of these scenarios could well end with the words, "and then the bird was sold/given to a new owner."

Well, after 16 months, the little Maximillian has developed a playful, endearing personality and now invites head scratches inside her cage and willingly steps up onto her owners hand (at least 90% of the time).

It’s now been almost 9 months since the male umbrella cockatoo first attacked one of his owners. They have worked diligently to develop and accept a "compromise" relationship which so far includes morning out-of-the cage cuddles, lots of in-the-cage head preening and scratching throughout the day, and endless face to face conversations full of loving expressions and laughter.

In less than a year, Bronzy has turned 180 degrees. Even though he still falls occasionally causing his wing to bleed, he is always the first to lean forward for kisses, to say "Bronzy, up-up" and "Love you," and to eagerly run over for a scratch or a cuddle. When visitors come by he sits at the front of his cage watching curiously, offering his favorite repertoire.

Then there’s Rosie. Though showing remarkable progress, she still has a long road to travel. However, with no feather plucking or shredding for over 3 months, she now has several wing and tail feathers completely grown and no longer falls like a rock to the bottom of her cage. The fear of hands is still prevalent, but she has learned (from the other members of her flock) to actively play with several favored toys, hang upside down swinging from a rope perch, and how to join in the vocal merriment.

Worth The Effort

Perhaps the next time we find ourselves thinking that our pet birds have become "too difficult," we need to stop and ask if what we don’t really mean is that maybe we took on more than we were prepared to handle ... that a particular behavior, to us, is unacceptable ... that we are disappointed with certain personality traits ... or that the relationship is just not living up to our own expectations. Each of the four experiences described here were indeed worth the effort.

Don’t think that there haven’t been (and will be) moments of extreme frustration and anxiety, or times when the dread of being viciously bitten again didn’t send the pulse rate soaring, and days when the question "am I doing the right thing?" wasn’t repeated over and over again. Yet, as these relationships continue to develop and change, they far exceed the owner’s initial hopes. I know this for a fact, because I live with these birds.

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