Provide an optimal diet including a good quality organic formulated diet. Photo credit: Barbara Heidenreich
Next, provide an optimal diet.Thiswould include a good
quality, organic, formulated diet. This can then be supple- mented with abundant fruits and vegetables, with perhaps some whole grains and cooked or sprouted legumes. Seed mixes and snack foods should be eliminated, but can be re- served for use as training treats.
If your parrot currently eats a seed mix as a staple in the
diet, it is critical that you gradually transition him to eating a better diet. Not only are seedmixes low in nutrients nec- essary to good health, but they are so high in fat that they lead to debilitating diseases, such as fatty liver disease. Please consult with your avian veterinarian or an experi- enced behavior consultantwho can guide you to success in this endeavor. It can be difficult to transition a parrot off of a seedmix and onto a better diet, but this can easily be done with the right information. Diet ismerely a training issue.
When beginning to improve the diet, a valuable rule is to
eliminate absolutely any foods containing sugar, or any form of sugar, in the first five ingredients, any food that is not 100% whole grain, and any food that contains hydro- genated or trans fats.
Another aspect of the environment that serves to foster
increased hormone production is a degree of sameness to the environment.Therefore, a valuable strategy for reduc- ing hormone production is to provide challenging and new experiences. Ideas include rides in the car, trips to visit friends, the introduction of new toys or cage furnish- ings, increased exercise, new foraging opportunities, and the ability to learn new things.
Positive reinforcement training has gained great popular-
ity in recent years. This is simply the process of teaching a parrot to perform new behaviors. You might teach a cute
Training your parrot to present cute tricks offers a different, healthier way to interact with your bird. Photo credit: Barbara Heidenreich
trick, such as turning around on cue, or a core behavior like going into a carrier on cue. Nomatter what you teach, this process is perhaps the very best way to evolve a pair bond with a human into a healthier relationship. The truth is that parrotswill always offer behavior thatmakes themost sense within the context of the bond that they have with you. If you have a pair bond with a parrot, that bird will offer you a lot of regurgitation, physical closeness, attempts a mas- turbation, etc. If you evolve that bond through training, the parrot will then begin to offer behaviors that make sense within the context of that bond.
CONCLUSION We must remember what Jamie McLeod of The
Menagerie said so eloquently, “ParrotsAreWhatWeMake of Them.” The environmental provisions and the diet we construct for them has the power to dictate the type of parrot with which we live. We can create a parrot who screams when we leave the room, who bites anyone who comes near us, and who constantly climbs down off of the cage to seek out small, dark places. Or, we create a calm parrot who interacts with his toys up on his cage, who loves his training sessions and who is, all around, a good citizen in our homes.
Pamela Clark, CVT is a well-known author, speaker and
parrot behavior consultant. Her knowledge extends to a wide range of parrot species, and has been gained through experiences as diverse as breeding to rescue and rehabilitation. She can be reached at (503) 606-0235 or by email at
clark.exotics@thegrid.net.
Good Bird Magazine 31
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