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• Reputation: 4209 Q&A: 121 4 6 1581 87 19 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Expert: 2 topics Pets Other - Pets Follow Following 5 Russ Campbell, NWEBS

  5 0 The first difficulty here is I don't want to cover points that fail to recognize your experience with birds. However your Jenday and Blue Crown Conure experiences don't necessarily prepare one for dealing with the personality and force of an Umbie. You are certainly facing the same challenges that many larger parrot owners have had to deal with and I congratulate on being proactive and seeking to learn more. This is a situation that is certainly solvable and will just require the work of learning how to reinforce the behavior you want to see and extinguish that which is not working in your home. First a note on the biting behavior. Biting occurs for myriad reasons but with minor exception learning to read your parrot's body language will clue you in on when a bite may occur. When I get an unexpected bite I stop and review in my mind trying to figure out what I missed, because invariably my bird has told me ahead of time that they were uncomfortable with what was going on. Sometimes at that moment when we give the "step up" command we are more focused on what we want and not looking carefully at what the bird is telling us at that time. Take a moment right here to read this document and review Sally Blanchard's "Important Concepts of Nurturing Guidance in Living with Companion Parrots" Sally represents an older perspective on working with parrots and does not speak in the strict sense the way more academic behaviorists do, but the principles behing these concepts are good and in a context that make sense for many people. She also has a book called "The Beak Book" that deals specifically with biting, causes and ways to address it. In the larger picture remember that parrots thrive on routine and predictable situations. You need to build in regularity of action and verbal cues in being around your bird. For instance, after being out for breakfast and together time I now look at my birds and say "it's playtime in your house time" and my male Poicephalus steps up and now says "time" in his small voice and my female Grey often simultaneously flies over to her cage and climbs in on her own. This has come to be by repetition, using consistent cues/actions with praise and reward for their actions. Even though my Grey is not overly enthusiastic about being in the shower with me, she is kind to my fingers and we have a routine. Also she knows when I say the words "all done" and I place her on the shower curtain rod that she is done getting wet for that session and will settle right down to watching me shower and shaking herself off. Sticking to this routine has helped make getting a shower a much less stressful time for her, she will acquiesce to my request to step onto my hand going to the shower and right on to my upstretched hand from the curtain rod afterwards without problem. It is not uncommon for a bird to be able to work with one member of a couple when the 'most preferred' individual is not present and then be overtly solicitous to the preferred member when they are present. Cockatoos can become sexually excited by certain kinds of handling and it is important to understand that stroking the bird the full length of its body or any excessive petting under the wings can be very stimulating and contributing to the resistance and emotional reaction that Spike was exhibiting when your husband asked him to step up (and he may have seen that the intended effort was to have him go back to his cage). Are you sure of the sex of your Umbie? Was testing done for you or just related to you when you first obtained him. One drop of blood on a paper and $20 is all you need for reliable sex testing by Zoogen. Returning to the cage compliance can be reinforced by preferred rewards left in the food bowl or given directly to the bird as it returns. If the bird is grasping the preferred treat (almond in the shell, for example) as it is placed in the cage then the beak is otherwise occupied. Now a true behaviorist is strictly going to talk about reinforcing selected behaviors, extinguishing others that you consider undesirable, and understanding the concepts of how this is done is very important. Timing on giving reinforcement or the bridge to reinforcement is very important. Any behavior you see your Umbie using with regularity is there because it has been reinforced. You may not realize that you are actually reinforcing behavior you don't want, but it is that process that keeps those behaviors active. Screaming is one of those behaviors that can be so disruptive and so easily reinforced. Let me assure you that it is possible to get to that point where Spike is not filling your home with unending earsplitting raucous calls. At this point read the following piece by Barbara Heidenreich entilted "Wow. That Bird Sure Can Scream!". Be sure to read through the bio information at the end of the piece about Barbara's credentials and take note of the other books written by her, which are also recommended (“Good Bird! A Guide to Solving Behavior Problems in Companion Parrots” and “The Parrot Problem Solver. Finding Solutions to Aggressive Behavior”). In this piece you will note she references the book “Don’t Shoot the Dog” by Karen Pryor. This is a great book to get from your library and review for the basics in animal training and how to understand the implementation of these principles to get to where you want to go with Spike. Getting bit is no fun and an Umbrella Cockatoo certainly has a formidable beak. Your husband has the right to expect not to be bit by Spike. We get angry, upset and confrontational at those moments and those points of drama can be very reinforcing for the bird. At those moments, keeping cool, getting the bird to a secure space without emotional outburst and removing himself is best. The long lesson here would be that the bird did not get what they wanted in the interaction. They wanted to be with him and he is now gone. Then the screaming follows because it is the next behavior that usually gets it some attention. When my female Grey came to us she would make an Alexandrine alarm call three times (very loud) and then a man's voice would come out her yelling, "KNOCK IT OFF!". My spouse said "What do we do?" and I said "ignore it". The alarm calls disappeared but the statement remained and she now uses it when the Poicephalus buzzes her with a close flyover (which we think is great and obviously our actions help reinforce it). Your husband removing himself for a couple of days is probably not a period of time that will serve any direct learning objective that you have for Spike, but he must be confident in handling the bird when he returns and using a t-stick or other protective hard perch for Spike to step up on at those times when your husband thinks a bite might occur is one method that can work. There is nothing about proper training techniques that require you to be hurt by Spike. Take precautions as needed. Your husband is going to be the most important person in extinguishing the screaming behavior and understanding the process and being commited to working on it is critical. With the screaming behavior resolved through training, establishing the other routines of how you would like mornings and daily life work on weekends can be much easier to deal with. I have the book resources mentioned above as well as several of the Good Bird! training DVDs by Barbara Heidenreich. I would recommend getting them (use the library). If you were close to me and there was an easy way to share them I could lend them to you. As with anything, reading and learning the information is one thing, working on the training is the most important part (but you must understand how best to reinforce what behaviors you want and not the ones you want to extinguish). I could also arrange for you to talk to people far more experienced than I in training larger birds if that would be helpful. Contact me directly using the the NWEBS website. It is difficult to anticipate the most important points to make with this not being a dialogue but I hope that this helps. Remember, there is a huge experienced community of bird owners out there that would be happy to help you in working with your bird. All of the situations and behaviors you described can be addressed and resolved with proper work. This is doable. Properly applied, the appropriate behavior training methods can be very powerful.   Russ Campbell, NWEBS answered in Other - Pets 9 months ago | Report 4 comments by Russ Campbell, NWEBS, Master Gardener Andrea, and Russ Campbell, NWEBS… 3 0 So, it is the next morning and I'm looking back at my answer wanting to add a lot more, but that could be a bit overwhelming and verbose. I am amazed that I could create such a long statement without once using the full term "positive reinforcement" which is the most powerful concept of all in working with parrots. It underlies all of the methods and philosophy of good animal training. I would suggest looking through the many free things you can read on Barbara Heidenreich's site, . Also, avoid any websites that speak in terms of "secrets" or "new methods" of training and teaching parrots. There are ubiquitous ads and a website out there espousing many ebooks for sale that promise to teach you "hidden" secrets at working with your birds. The concepts are not new and are just drawn from the well known principles of positive reinforcement (as heavily plagiarized from highly respected sources) and not presented very completely or appropriately. There are many expert voices worth listening to out there but the "W" brothers are not among them. Russ Campbell, NWEBS commented 9 months ago | Report 1 0 Thank you for all the time and thought you put into answering my question. Yes, having experience with smaller birds does not prepare you for the "big guys." Spike is a male. The breeder had him tested. Our Jenday conure was a female and died at age 18 from being "egg bound." Frankly, after that traumatic episode, we wanted a male. Yes, they are more aggressive, but they don't lay eggs. I have downloaded the articles you suggested and printed out your answer. Much of what you said we have started doing. The problem was being inconsistent and not having a strong strategy. I have run across the websites you mentioned and my instinct was not to trust there "new" and "hidden" secrets. I will check out Heidenreich's website. Her article about screaming was very good. My husband was unable to not interact with Spike. He did remove himself from the family room, where Spike's cage is located, and worked upstairs most of the day. We believe Spike got the message and was more appropriate in his behavior. My husband said you are correct he was not looking at Spike's body language when he asked him to "step up." He appreciated your point and it made sense. Thanks again and I will keep you posted! -Andrea Master Gardener Andrea commented 9 months ago | Report 1 0 Thanks for the 'Shroom. I read in your response that you guys really do have a good idea of where to go and how to proceed. Conference together so you both are on the same page as to your plan to respond to Spike's behavior, addressing the most critical points right away, the screaming. It can be as simple as your husband goes elsewhere in the house on the weekend and Spike screams while you are busy nearby with household tasks ignoring the noise (wear earplugs if necessary). When those moments occur when Spike is quiet for a period you tell him what a great bird he is, perhaps give him a small treat. Your husband only reappears when Spike is quiet for a time. If he has to be in the same area he ignores Spike if screaming is occurring and only interacts with him when he is quiet. If screaming occurs he immediately turns away, busies himself with other activities or leaves the room with no drama. Spike will learn what behavior gets him the attention he wants. This afternoon I talked with a very experienced cockatoo person and they mentioned one specific behavior to watch for when judging emotion in your Umbie. Most parrot owners key in on body posture, movement and feathers. For those of us with birds with colored irises seeing pinning pupils is a tell to excitement, but that is not possible with dark eyed cockatoos. Obviously a fluffy looking U2 is in relaxed state and sleeked appearance denotes an excited or other high state of awareness. This advice is specifically related to the eyes. Almond shaped space of the visible eye (created by the eyelids) shows a relaxed state (with normal blinking). Half closed eyes are seen in a bird that is very relaxed and happy. When in an excited state the eye shape goes very round. This could be curiosity, but combined with non-blinking is a tell of intense emotion and a good time to pay attention to the rest of the bird's postural cues and that beak. I do hope you let me know how things go with Spike. Russ Campbell, NWEBS commented 9 months ago | Report 0 0 You deserved the 'shroom' and more for being so helpful. The additional information about the eyes is very useful. Please thank your friend for me. I think the best way to handle Spike's demanding screaming for my husband is for him to leave the room. He has tried noise-cancelling ear protection and facing away from Spike while reading or working on the computer and that hasn't worked. Leaving the room is best. Right now Spike is quiet. He had his usual Sunday shower with me and is playing quietly in his cage. The screaming is a relatively new and we definitely were reinforcing the behavior by saying, "stop" or simply acknowledging him. We knew better, but sometimes "knowing" isn't enough. You were able to succinctly articulate all the information I've read on-line, in Bird Talk, etc. Thank you. The biting has become more of a problem. I think several issues contribute. My husband not taking Spike's non-verbal cues seriously and my husband's vision. He is blind in his left eye and has limited vision in his right eye. Consequently, he doesn't always pick up on Spike body language as quickly. Also, Spike wants to play more aggressively with my husband--playing ball for example--and my husband doesn't see his movements as quickly and will pull his hand away abruptly, which seems to communicate something that causes Spike to bite. One thing we learned last weekend was the different way he and I feed Spike in the morning. I uncover the cage, remove the food/water dishes, open the door and allow Spike to come out. He refuses to "step up" and wants to come out, sit on the top of the cage, and then allow me to say, "step up." This little routine was not being replicated by my husband. Instead, he would ask Spike to "step up" and then Spike would get mad and bite. Now, my husband has adjusted to give Spike the same routine as he has M-F. Yesterday, however, Spike bit him when he tried to get him to go back in his cage. This morning, after reading your answer, we let Spike play and then said, "It's playtime in your house time." His "reward" was me swinging him (he holds onto my finger and I "swing" him back and forth with my arm. He loves it!) Then he happily went into his cage. We will definitely have a conference to discuss our strategy so we're both on the same page. Again, I greatly appreciate your input. I printed your answer and comment and the articles you suggested. I will also get a copy of Sally Blanchard's book and read it. Russ, I really appreciate your help and will give you an update next weekend! Master Gardener Andrea commented 9 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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