Why You Can't Punish A Parrot
by Sally Blanchard

Find out how to meet
your parrot's needs and
establish dominance
before its behavior
becomes a problem.
 

This article is copyrighted and may not be reprinted without the written permission of Sally Blanchard or the PBIC, Inc. Contact us for permission.

 

The Yellow-collared macaw napped quietly on his T-stand. When his owner, Robbie Berkowitz, first rushed him into the bathroom, Zacky was very wound up. After all, it was housecleaning day.

Cleaning house was tolerable to Robbie only if she danced her way through it to the beat of rock-and-roll music blasting from her stereo. Zacky liked the music, too, and appeared to fancy himself as the lead singer, dancing furiously, bobbing his head up and down, and jabbering incoherently. He interrupted his dancing long enough to head for his water dish, where he delighted in splashing water as he frolicked. As he grew more and more agitated, Zacky punctuated his mumbled sentences with loud shrieks.

Bad, Bad, Bad Bird

In a dramatic duet with the rock-and-roll singer, Zacky's screams finally became intolerable to his owner. "I've had it! Bad, bad, bad bird!", Robbie yelled as she swooped Zacky up and rushed him into the bathroom to place him on his stand. Shaking her finger, Robbie shouted, "You're driving me crazy. You're such a bad, bad bird!" Turning around to leave, she exclaimed, "You can just stay in here until you learn not to scream!"

The whole sequence of events smacked of great drama to Zacky. He liked the loud music that inspired Robbie to dance and twirl around the house, and, matching her energy, he joined in the fun. His instinctive "call to the flock" encouraged him to compete with the noise in the house. Then Robbie rushed over, plucked him up and, yelling and hollering, rushed Zacky to his T-stand in the bathroom. Just as quickly, Robbie slammed the door and left.

Zacky was still wound up, so he danced a little, mumbled something like "bad, bad, bad bird", and called to Robbie for a few minutes. When he got no response, he looked around the room for something to do. It was fairly dark and quiet, and since Zacky found nothing to do, he eventually settled down for a nap. The fact that Zacky became quiet was not because he understood the cause and effect concept of punishment but because there was nothing for him to do.

During my years as a bird behaviorist, I have heard many variations of Zacky's story that basically boil down to the same thing. Unable to deal with their parrots' noisiness, owners try to punish the birds by telling them how bad they are, then placing them in other rooms or covering their cages. When the birds become quiet, the owners think that they're punishment has been effective. But it doesn't teach the parrot anything about not screaming.

Perpetual 2 Year Olds

I used to be an art teacher, and in college, I found myself fascinated by studies of children's creative development. Children need to reach certain physical and mental levels before they can develop the skills to understand and perform tasks. I often hear people refer to parrots as perpetual 2 year olds, always going through "the terrible twos." In many respects, I think it is a fair comparison. Capable of a certain degree of understanding and learning, parrots are intelligent animals with the ability to adapt to new situations by changing their behaviors.

Not always to the advantage of either themselves or their owners, parrots are also intelligent enough to change their peoples' behavior to suit their own needs Like toddlers, they are very curious, constantly exploring and testing their environment. Parrots demand that their needs be met, but they have little sense of cause and effect, and they usually have very short attention spans The same thing is true of young children. Children normally develop beyond this level, however, while parrots are incapable of doing so.

Punishment Doesn't Work

Major behavioral problems can occur when the owner of a parrot expects his or her pet to understand punishment as the consequence of its actions. At one of my bird-care seminars, a woman with a blue fronted Amazon told me that when her bird started yelling, she put him in the bathroom, and if he had been really bad, she left him in there for an hour or more. A part-time cartoonist, I always picture the "bad bird" sitting on his T-stand checking his little "birdie wrist watch" and saying to himself, "Gee, I must have REALLY BAD! I've been in here for a whole hour!"

Parrots do not think this way, however. I have tremendous respect for their curiosity, playfulness, intelligence and ability to learn, but despite their wonderful potential as companion pets they cannot develop beyond the "terrible twos" Parrots do not learn acceptable behavior by being punished. The establishment of rules in their lives is effective and can prevent problems.

Just as a young child standing in the corner for a prolonged period loses any understanding of the cause-and-effect relationship between unacceptable behavior and punishment, the parrot sitting on its stand in the bathroom has little concept of why it is there. All Zacky could understand was that one minute there had been lots of excitement, and the next minute he was left alone with nothing to do.

Robbie Berkowitz thought the isolation was an effective punishment for Zacky because he became quiet. Actually, Zacky grew quiet and napped in the darkened bathroom because he was deprived of stimulation, not because he understood that screaming was bad.

The practice of putting Zacky in the bathroom when he screams has only the short-term effect of quieting him while he is in the bathroom. He is not fully capable of understanding that every time he screams he will end up in the bathroom.

If Zacky could be magically transported to the darkened room the moment he screamed, he might learn to associate screaming with deprivation of attention, and his behavior might change as a result. Unfortunately, the first response his screaming elicited was drama from Robbie. Although not abusive, she certainly was dramatic with her finger-shaking and yelling. When Robbie picked up Zacky, he saw it as a continuation of the rock-and-roll excitement. By the time he was in the bathroom alone, he had no idea of its correlation to his screams.

Time Progression

Parrots have little sense of time. Humans are both blessed and cursed with a sense of what may happen next, creating their own sense of anticipation or dread. Joan and Rick Franklin named their African grey Greta Graybo because when they first brought her home, she wanted only to be left alone. Fortunately, with the right information about taming and lots of love and hard work, Greta has become a more social bird.

Now the grey regularly announces Rick's homecoming several minutes before he pulls up in the driveway by strutting along the top of her cage, calling out, "Dad's home! Hi, Rick, how's it going?"

The Franklins thought that Greta had an incredible sense of time and was anticipating Rick's arrival each night. My guess is that since African greys have superb hearing, and Greta had learned to recognize the sound of Rick's car when it was still several blocks away. Her response is to a specific stimulus the sound of Rick's car.

Her ability to associate the sound of the car with the impending arrival of her favorite person is a tribute to Greta's intelligence. But a parrot that is placed in its cage or in another room for biting or screaming will not necessarily understand that the isolation is a result of its previous actions, especially if several steps (such as finger-shaking or shouting) have separated the two events.

Cause and Effect

Understanding time progression is important if a parrot is to comprehend cause and effect, the concept that if one thing happens, another predictable event will follow. The basic principle of punishment is that a person (or parrot) will not misbehave because it knows that something unpleasant will ensue if it does.

In Zacky's case, this would be effective only if he grasped that his screaming would lead to a period of isolation in the bathroom. Because of the time it takes to pick up the parrot and take him into the bathroom, the opposite usually occurs. The immediate cause and effect Zacky perceives is that if he screams, he gets yelled at or picked up. Establishing these patterns may actually work in reverse with the parrot training their unsuspecting owners to provide a drama reward when they scream.

Several years ago, I realized that my double yellowhead, Paco, was demanding that I put her in the closet. When she screamed, I quickly scooped her up and put her on a dark shelf in the closet. I was convinced that she understood this as punishment because I said nothing to her when I picked her up. I also provided her no drama reward. It took a few months for me to realize that she enjoyed being in the closet and had learned to scream whenever she wanted to putter around in her private little nest cavity.

Teaching Bad Behaviors

Most of the pet birds I work with have actually been taught to behave badly by their owners. Many times, the owners thought they were punishing their pets when they were actually providing the desired response. A young bird sitting on its owner's shoulder may start fiddling and exploring the owner's ear or clothing with its beak. The owner most likely will turn and tell the bird to stop. If the bird continues, the owner may become more agitated and dramatic, and then the game begins in earnest.

Soon the bird learns to bite or scream (or both) for the drama and attention these actions invariably elicit. The bird screams, and its owner comes rushing across the room to cover the cage, then leaves the room. The bird screams again, and the owner soon reappears and tells it to quiet down. What power the screaming bird has—making the person it most wants to see reappear! A parrot bites, and its owner grabs it by the beak, shaking the bird's head and telling it no! Mating parrots vigorously grab their partners' beaks, so this certainly can't be an effective punishment.

A man in one of my behavior classes told me that his blue and gold macaw bit him regularly, but he never let the bird "get away" with the behavior. Each time his bird bit, the man slapped him across the side of the head, grabbed his beak and the bird stopped biting at the time. I asked him why he thought his bird bit him every time he handled him.

It had never occurred to him that his continued aggression was teaching the bird to respond with aggression. Parrots are highly empathic, mirroring our energy and moods. A parrot that is treated with aggression will act aggressively toward its owner. Extreme aggression is met with fear by a parrot and can damage its trust.

Demanding Its Needs Be Met
Judy, the proud owner of a young citron crested cockatoo, called me about a month after I had done an in-home consultation. She asked, "Has Sunshine's behavior improved so much because she wants to please me or because of the rules I am setting for her?"

One of the toughest lessons for some children to learn is that the world does not revolve around them or their needs. A captive parrot, like a child, depends on its owner to meet its basic needs. Being creatures of immediacy, parrots learn to demand that their needs be met the moment they realize them.

Postponement of gratification is not a concept a parrot innately understands, but by anticipating his or her pet bird's needs and establishing rules based on those needs, an owner can teach the parrot acceptable behavior. Although tame parrots are certainly responsive to their owners' affection and attention, Sunshine's changes had much more to do with the new rules she'd learned than with her desire to please Judy. Many behavioral problems occur when the owner does not understand how to anticipate a parrot's needs.

It fascinates me that parrots, who can contentedly spend so much time undoing the knots on leather toys, letting their owners scratch their necks or fussing over the seeds in kiwi fruit, often have such short attention spans when relating to rules. When Spike, my black headed caique, is disciplined with dominance, he will stand at attention for about 10 seconds. Then he reaches back to preen a feather, as if to show me he doesn't care that I am asserting my dominance over him. Ten seconds later, he is be coming too wiggly to control, and I either have to reestablish dominance or give him permission to go.

Establishing Dominance

If it is impossible to punish a parrot, how can we teach our birds not to do the things that cause problems? Setting rules, teaching verbal commands, and making choices in anticipation of your parrot's actions will let it know what is acceptable behavior. Spike is an energetic little bird, and when he gets too rowdy during our playtime, I say "UP" in a firm voice, to insist that he step up on my hand. I then hold him just below eye level in front of my face and stare at him intensely for about 5 seconds or so with my "evil eye" dirty look. He immediately stands at attention because he knows that I mean business.

I am not punishing him; I am simply reestablishing my control or dominance. Nurturing dominance is based on respect and trust

— not on aggression. Spike knows that I am "the boss", but he also trusts that I will not harm him.
Setting Rules

Guided mainly by instinct when young, pet parrots must learn new behaviors when their natural responses are blocked by the artificial environments they live in with us. They can substitute their own learned behaviors, or we can teach and guide them toward actions we wish to encourage. I set rules for my pet birds, and they look to me to let them know what is acceptable. It I want Spike on my shoulder, I say "OK" and place him there. He is not allowed to run up my arm, I choose whether or not I want him on my shoulder.

When I come home, I reach into his cage and say "UP" when I bring him out. It is not his choice to come out if he wants to. From my experience, I have realized that parrots seem to bond to the person who establishes the most loving control over them. A parrot whose owners have established rules and provided guidance lives a far less confusing life. Establishing a nurturing dominance does not create a "bird robot." Spike is a happy, active and very playful pet who goes to all of my seminars with me and loves to show off all his tricks.

When introducing rules for your pet bird, consistency is important. If you let your parrot climb up your arm once in a while, it will never understand that it is not allowed to do so. Always follow through with what you start.

Establishing dominance through verbal commands is a very successful way to solve behavioral problems. Parrots are just as capable of comprehending and responding to verbal commands as dogs are. When a verbal command is used over and over, the parrot learns its meaning quickly and knows it must respond. I use four basic commands "UP", "DOWN', "OK", and "NO."

Although the "UP" command is used to get a bird to step onto your hand, its most important function is to create dominance. Each time you pick up your bird, say "UP" in a friendly but firm voice. Then have the parrot step from hand to hand, as you say "UP" each time.

I worked with a hand-shy yellow naped Amazon recently, and within five minutes he was stepping from one hand to the other. When I stopped to allow him a rest break, he lifted one foot and said "UP." I'm amazed how quickly most birds learn verbal commands and understand that the owner is now in charge.

The "DOWN" command applies to all pet birds, but is needed most for the cockatoo that sticks to its owner's hand as if it has been glued there and absolutely refuses to step off . I've watched people vigorously shake their hands as if they had flypaper stuck to them, but the cockatoos manage to hang on or roll over on their backs to avoid going back to their cages.

At Ease

The "OK" command can be tricky. Because of a fairly short attention span, a bird will not remain under control for very long. Anticipating that in a few seconds you are going to lose control of your bird, say "OK,' and let it relax. This becomes your decision rather than the bird's. The "OK" command is similar to the military command "At ease.' You are still in control but are giving the bird permission to do what it would have done anyway.

I use the "NO" command when I am physically separated from the one of my birds if it is misbehaving. If I am in the living room and I see that Spike is starting down the side of his cage, I will look over with the "Evil Eye" and say "NO" firmly and sharply. Spike immediately heads back up to his playground.

This command may take some time to teach your bird. In the beginning, it works as a distraction, and often the bird forgets what it was doing. Spike also responds to "Come here.'' If I am sitting across the room and want him to come visit me, I will call to him and give him permission to come down.

Anticipating Needs

Many problems with pet birds occur because the owner doesn't understand how important meeting the bird's basic needs can be. When an owner comes home, a pet bird usually has two very strong needs the need for social interaction and the need for food. By going straight to the bird's cage, taking it out and giving it a special food treat, the owner immediately meets the bird's needs—and also avoids having to listen to the parrot scream to get its needs met.

I recently worked with a Moluccan cockatoo named Jeremy, a screamer who yelled so loud whenever his owner left the room that the house shook. Kim Tenifield loved Jeremy very much, but she found his shrieking unbearable.

I applied to this situation what a well-known ornithologist in Costa Rica had explained to me several years ago When a parrot leaves it mate or the flock, the birds call to each other until they are out of earshot. It occurred to me that one reason parrots in captivity scream when their owners leave the room could be to maintain this communication. The parrot may initially vocalize to stay in touch with the person and then find that when it does scream, the owner returns in an effort to quiet the bird.

I knew some cockatoo owners who had worked out a method of preventing their parrot's screams—a system that satisfied their bird's instinct to communicate without offending their eardrums They taught the cockatoo to whistle a tune when they left the room.

So I encouraged Kim to try a similar tactic. I advised her to continue talking to Jeremy as she left the house and to begin whistling a quiet tune as she made her way down the front steps. Within two weeks Jeremy had stopped screaming when Kim left.

The moment he realized that she was going to leave, he started whistling the little tune. He would continue whistling, and she would respond until she got in the car and drove away. When she came home, she would begin whistling the moment she got out of the car, and instead of screaming, Jeremy would quietly whistle back.

In the wild, parrots call to each other to stay in touch, not to demand that the other return. Having a better grasp of the behavior of wild parrots often helps the parrot owner understand the needs of his or her pet.

Behavior Modification

I have never seen punishment work successfully as a means of modifying a parrot's behaviors. Rather than treating the symptoms of the problem (such as biting and screaming), a parrot owner must treat the underlying problem. With few exceptions, the basic problem with a parrot that misbehaves is that the owner has set no rules and therefore has no control over their bird. Once a bird owner establishes dominance, the relationship changes amazingly quickly. Many clients have called me just a few days after a consultation, eager to share the remarkable changes in their parrots' behavior.

Zacky, the yellow collared macaw, was not really a problem bird. Almost any healthy, active parrot would have difficulty sitting through the kind of exuberance and noise its owner was generating without some sort of dramatic response. If Robbie Berkowitz had anticipated that Zacky would become so wound up by her singing and dancing, she could have put him in the bathroom before she started cleaning house and prevented his screams Or she could have realized what a great time Zacky would have—and just let him do what came naturally.

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