With many species, it is possible to manipulate pho-
toperiod. This appears most effective with cockatiels, Amazons, macaws, Pionus and many of the other New World parrots. This requires that you provide at least twelve to fourteen hours of complete darkness. Simply covering the cage is not likely to be effective, if light can creep under the cover.Themost effective way to do this is to set up sleeping cages in a separate bedroom or office, and to place black-out shades on the windows. This will not be effectivewithAfrican greys or eclectus parrots,who breed year round.
Next, remove access to “small, dark places.” Remove
the sleeping hut fromthe cage. Don’t allowyour parrot to crawl down your shirt or up your shirt sleeve.Don’t allow your parrot to crawl under the bed, couch or ottoman. Don’t allowhimto burrowinto the couch cushions.Don’t let him jump into your drawers or hang out in the closet.
Perhaps most importantly, remove the mate from the
In some cases increased hormone production may contribute to feather destructive behaviors. Photo credit: Barbara Heidenreich
Hormonal parrotswho are allowed to hang out in small,
dark places or other perceived nesting sites can do a huge amount of damage to your home. One female grey who was obsessed with getting into the laundry room chewed up huge sections of the floor covering.
In the majority of cases of feather destructive behavior,
with which I deal, increased hormone production is usu- ally a partial cause. In extreme cases, self-mutilation can result. Along with this potentially life-threatening prob- lem,we can add chronic egg-laying and cloacal prolapse.
STRATEGIES TO REDUCE HORMONE PRO- DUCTION
If you recognize some of the signs listed above, there is
no need to despair. Just as we can trigger increased hor- mone production,we can also change environmental pro- visions to decrease hormone production to the extent that this is possible.
picture. If your parrot has a pair bond with you, then you will need to limit cuddling, confining your petting to the head only. Believe it or not, a hands-off approach is re- ally the best. (Remember: parrots don’t pet each other in the wild.) Further, you must limit the time you allow the parrot to sit on your shoulder or on your lap to no more than five to ten minutes once or twice a day. If you cur- rently spend a much longer time physically close to the parrot currently, then you can decrease the amount of time spent gradually.
Lastly, don’t encourage regurgitation ormasturbation. If
your parrot begins to show you attention of this sort, sim- ply tell himcheerfully, “Thanks, but no thanks!” and then put himdown immediately.This simple time out frompos- itive reinforcement strategy can help reduce these behav- iors rather than encourage them. Similarly, if the parrot has a particular toy that he masturbates on, then you should remove that particular item. At all times, ignore this behavior and instead give the parrot attention for more acceptable behaviors.
If the parrot has a pair bond with another parrot, con-
sider caging them separately. The best set-up in these sit- uations is when the two parrots have separate cages, but a play-stand in between so that they can still enjoy some interaction when they are out of their cages. If the pair bond exists with your partner or another person in the house, then this is the time to have a serious conversation about this information.
30 Good Bird Magazine
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