Acclimating and Taming Your New Bird

March 28, 2016 / feistyfeathers

Basic Taming

Clip both the wings or have a professional do it for you prior to taming. Once you get the bird home give it about a day to adjust. Taming should be done in a small room without much furniture. Bathrooms, shower stalls, and hallways that can be blocked off work well. The bird should be transferred from the cage to the taming room with as little fuss as possible.

The cage should be completely out of the room. Frightened birds will head for the cage if it is in sight. If you have other birds, the training room should preferably be out of sight and sound of them as well. You basically want an area with you, the bird, the training tools and nothing else. Tools needed for taming include treats, a towel, two wooden dowels (perches) and a something nonthreatening for you do concentrate on (phone, book, tablet, crochet). Millet spray is a great treat for any bird; grapes, nuts and other fruits can be used for larger species.

Lesson 1: I am Not a Predator

The first lesson is designed to demonstrate that you are not some ravenous predator out to kill the bird. The procedure is simple: Place a towel on the floor a few feet away from you and place the treats on it. Place the bird on the floor, sit down, and do your nonthreatening activity while completely ignoring the bird. It will probably move as far away from you as it can. This is why the room must be small- you want the bird in fairly close proximity, not 10 feet away. Feel free to chirp on occasion, but avoid making eye contact. Eating healthy finger foods like carrots or popcorn while you read also helps. Eventually it may get the courage to taste some of the treats, move about, or preen. When the bird starts relaxing around you physically you can start the next lesson.

Lesson 2: Stick Training and the Up Command

The object is to get the bird to step up onto a wooden perch and then a finger. You’ll need two perches that are familiar to the bird. Don’t use anything strange or fancy that could frighten the bird. Wooden dowels from the bird’s cage work well.

Start by holding the perch at the very end and getting the bird to step up on the opposite end. This can take a while. Most birds step up willingly if correctly prompted. The perch should be offered above the feet, slightly lower than mid-chest. Too low or too high and the bird won’t step up. Gently push into the bird to move it off balance, and it should step up. Some birds heroically cling to their current perch, regardless of how off balance they are. You just have to be persistent.

Praise the bird once it steps up correctly, then try again. This time use a word to ask it to step up. “Up” is the standard word, but pick whatever you know you’ll use on a regular basis. I usually fall back on “come here.” Whatever you choose, use it consistently and have anyone else in the household use it as well. Remember to praise the bird profusely after EVERY correct step up.

Eventually the bird should begin stepping up easily when asked. This would be a good place to stop the session, depending on the bird. Some birds get bored with repeated step ups and will simply jump off and head elsewhere. You definitely want to stop before that happens.

Next you want to make the transition from perch to finger. Continue the step ups, but each time slide your hand along the perch a bit closer to the bird. If the bird freaks out move back and inch or two and try later. After a while you should be able to get your finger directly under the bird’s feet while still grasping the perch. At this point you can try switching completely to fingers. Make sure you hold your fingers straight. A crumpled finger isn’t very inviting.

Once the bird is finger trained in the taming room, try it again from the cage. Try to give it something fun to do when it is outside the cage, so it has a reason to come out. A playstand stocked with millet or other healthy treats should work well. If your bird can happily play by itself on a stand with you in the same room then you’ve accomplished a lot. Petting is something people tend to worry about, and it can’t really be trained. Not all birds enjoy being pet, and it’s not something you want to push them into. Cockatiels, cockatoos and conures usually like being pet; budgies don’t. Focus on building a good relationship with your bird. Earning their trust is key.

Types of Untame Birds

Budgies

Unlike most species, budgies don’t usually come handfed. For this reason, budgies are best purchased one at a time. Single birds are much easier to tame than two at a time. Once your first budgie is tame you can buy a second. The first may actually help you tame down the second. Birds watch each other closely, and a frightened bird may relax a bit if it sees a tame bird interacting with you. If you make the mistake of buying two budgies at once they should be separated (sight AND sound) for taming sessions.

The Timid Handfed

No taming problems for you! You wanted a nice friendly bird so you bought a handfed. However, the bird just sits there, not making a sound and avoiding contact. What went wrong?

Chances are that you’ve been tip-toeing around your new bird with the intention of letting it settle in. This is a problem. Birds are prey animals. In the wild they tend to make some level of noise when they feel comfortable. If their environment suddenly becomes silent, it is usually a sign of danger. By avoiding your bird and being as quiet as possible, you are conveying the message that danger is near. There is little in the way of “settling in” that birds need to do. They will need to adjust to their new cage and your daily routine, but that’s about it. Birds are much more adaptable that we give them credit for.

Handfeds need virtually no time to adjust. Don’t avoid them. Instead, immediately talking to them and wait no more than a day to start handling.

Used Birds

These birds usually come with problems. We humans have the tendency to teach our birds all kinds of annoying habits, and then give our pets up when they don’t meet our perception of The Perfect Bird™. I suggest consulting an avian behaviorist for truly troubled birds, as that is beyond the scope of this article. My goal here is to give you a jump start towards building a trusting, civil relationship.

Try to learn as much about your used bird as possible. What did it eat? Was it kept around children or pets? Physically abused? Exposed to toys? Other birds? The answer to each of these questions should influence how you treat your new bird. A bird with limited exposure to children, pets, toys and new foods may show fear at the introduction of any of these. Birds kept isolated from other birds for years probably have no flocking skills, particularly if they’ve been housed with a mirror (mirrors generally make birds antisocial or territorial). In this case you must use extreme caution when introducing it to other birds. A physically abused bird may be very fearful of humans.

Untame used birds are generally either fearful or hostile. A fearful bird will try as hard as it can to get away and will bite if cornered. A hostile bird holds its ground and bites if approached.

fry04 Hostile Birds

Given the choice, I’d rather work with a hostile bird. These guys tend to tame down quicker- it’s a simple matter of winning them over while at the same time displaying your authority. Basically you can treat these guys like new birds that just hit puberty and got an attitude. Reinforce the “up” and “down” commands, and give them praise and treats for good behavior. You can also modify the basic taming technique. For instance, a few years ago I adopted a mitred conure who neither liked nor hated people. Fry would grudgingly step up on an arm, but he would not voluntarily interact with humans. I placed him on the back of a chair at the kitchen table. I then read a book and ate a bird-friendly meal (eggs and toast) with my sun conure. My sun would pig out on the egg yolks and Fry would greedily eye the toast from his perch- he loved white bread. Eventually he’d throw caution to the wind, jump down, grab some toast and drag it to the other side of the table. The goal was to force him to interact briefly, while making it seem like his idea.

Fearful Birds

Fearful birds take much longer to tame down. If the bird is cage-bound you may want to keep it in the original cage, no matter how inadequate, to make it feel more secure. If you have to you can always cut a hole in the side of the original cage and physically attach it to a larger one. That way the bird can explore a new area if it feels comfortable. Covering one side of the cage can make the bird feel more secure as well.

In this case taming involves making the bird feel welcome, then gradually introducing hands in a nonthreatening manner. It is essential that you move at a pace the bird is comfortable with. Start out by just sitting near the cage doing a nonthreatening activity or talking to the bird. The object is to very slowly build trust, and this can take a very long time. Since these birds are so fearful of humans, grooming might be best if done by a professional so that you don’t shatter any limited trust you’ve built.

Approaching Your Bird

If you’ve only dealt with dogs and cats then bird mannerisms can seem very alien. Always keep in mind that birds are prey animals- often their first instinct when faced with something new is to fear it. Your attitude and approach will have the greatest impact on how birds respond to you.

Confident and Calm

Your attitude should be one of confidence and calm. Birds are very good at reading your emotions. If you are confident, the bird will be more likely to do what you ask. If you are calm and relaxed the bird should relax too. Many people are initially nervous about being bitten. These people tend to be overly timid, tense, and will jerk their hand back at the slightest provocation. You absolutely cannot act like this. The bird will sense your tension and become nervous as well. Practice with very tame birds first before approaching strange ones. Keep in mind that birds use their beaks like a hand. They will often reach out with it to steady themselves when stepping up, particularly if you are holding your hand too high or too far away.

The approach is simple. Walk towards the bird with your hands behind your back. Constantly talk to it in a sweet voice. Extend your hand with your fingers straight and your thumb down. Hold your hand up to the bird mid-belly. Do NOT press down on its feet. How is it supposed to raise its feet if you’re pressing down on them? Likewise, don’t hold your hand too high. Sticking your finger in its face is rude. Most handfeds are finger tame and should not have a problem stepping up so long as they are approached correctly. If the bird seems really nervous and tries to bolt, you will need to slow down your approach. Try moving your hand in from the side along the perch. Stop if the bird starts to move away, back up your hand and try again. Remember to keep talking to the bird in a sweet voice.

Birds seem to compartmentalize human bodies- arms, hands, head, face, torso – all can be viewed as separate objects. What your bird thinks of one body part may not apply to another. Many birds fear hands. Hands can grab, restrain, clip and even hit. If a bird runs away from hands, try offering your arm instead. You’d be amazed how many birds that bolt from hands will readily step onto an arm. The presentation of your various parts also makes a difference. As long as I sit or stand upright, my goffin sees my face as another bird. The moment I lie down my nose magically transforms into a chew toy.

Reverse Psychology/Nonthreatening Activities

Nonthreatening activities are an essential part of earning the trust of fearful birds. Remember- parrots are prey! Older birds in particular will be very frightened by new things and new people. UC Davis conducted a study that found that most parrots had a brief window in which they were open to new things. After that window had closed (usually two years for larger species) they became terrified at anything new in their environment. This is because when they are babies they are constantly learning about what is safe and what isn’t. Everything is new. However, once this learning period is complete anything new is assumed to be potentially dangerous. Better safe than sorry.

Acting nonchalant and using reverse psychology can help get around this somewhat. Here, Jennifer was having trouble getting Loki to play with a new toy. Instead of waving the toy in the bird’s face, she completely ignores the bird and concentrates on fiddling with the toy. Loki immediately comes over to see what’s up.

O Budgie, Where Art Thou?

March 24, 2016March 24, 2016 / feistyfeathers

Preventing and Recovering Lost Birds

“who can shed light on what happens to a cockatiel loose in minnesota”
– post on Toolady.com
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Few things have ever made me feel quite so helpless as watching an escaped budgie fly off and vanish from sight. Hopefully nothing like this has happened to you and you’re reading this as a precautionary measure only. However, it’s much more likely that your bird is currently lost. Perhaps you’ve found a bird and are wondering what to do next. Whatever your reason for reading this article, I hope it helps enlighten you on how best to deal with this heartbreaking experience.

Prevention

There is one very simple way to prevent birds from escaping. Unfortunately, most people are lax about it and consequently I receive numerous questions about lost and found birds. Smaller, lightweight species can fly well with only one or two primary feathers. Add a gust of wind and you may never see your bird again. Clipping the wings regularly is very important if you want to prevent escapes. However, one clip per molt just doesn’t cut it (no pun intended). Birds do not shed all their feathers at once- they grow new ones a few at a time. This means that it takes a while for the primaries to grow back. It only takes one feather to lose your bird. Waiting until all of them have grown in before clipping can be disastrous, but few people are willing to bring their birds in to be groomed for each individual feather.

I highly recommend learning to clip your own birds. Grooming can then be done at home, per feather. If you have a good relationship with your bird this should not be a problem. Clipping is a painless procedure that takes mere seconds when done correctly. Your bird may be slightly stressed the first few times, but will not hate you for it. After a while clipping becomes routine- your bird won’t like it but will at least know what to expect. Even Fry, the conure that hated hands, did fine during clipping. He would try to run if he saw hands coming and wriggle away once I had him, but he trusted me not to hurt him and would never attempt to bite. If you have a large or squirmy bird like Fry, you can hold it while someone else does the clipping. Birds that are very tame and used to handling may not need to be restrained at all- yet another area where proper socialization helps.

Another way to prevent escapes is to limit outdoor time. Let the bird sit by the window for part of the day or build a sunroom both you and your birds can enjoy. If you must take your bird outdoors, don’t take any chances. Even if your bird can’t fly there are still dangers. What if a hawk or cat gets it? What if the bird is startled and manages to get into a tree, climbing up out of your reach? Or worse yet, manages to get into a neighbor’s yard? What if someone steals it? Murphy’s Law always applies to birds, so plan accordingly. Take you bird outside in a cage or on a harness. If brought out in a cage make sure you secure sliding doors. If you have a young bird, start training it to wear a harness while it is still open to the idea. Older birds are going to be much slower to adapt.

Here’s another tip that won’t prevent escapes, but will make your life easier if your bird does get loose: teach it to sing/whistle a tune. This works best with birds like male cockatiels, who love to whistle along. A unique tune will help you keep track of your bird should it get out of sight. Where did it go? Which tree is it in? If your bird sings you can better pinpoint its location.

Can they survive?

I’m often asked about survival odds. Some people hear about wild flocks of parrots in California and Florida and think that their birds have a pretty good chance. Unfortunately, they don’t.

True, budgies and cockatiels are very hardy. However, all our pet birds are currently bred in captivity. Australia has had laws against exporting wildlife for some time now, meaning that Aussie species are even farther removed from their wild ancestors. Captive bred birds are not very well equipped to survive in the wild. They are not used to the weather. They are not used to avoiding predators. They are not familiar with the native sources of food or where to locate them. Many cannot even fly very well so even if they wish to return they can’t (again proper socialization is important, as is proper clipping!).

The wild flocks of introduced parrots that you hear about were established back when parrots were still imported in large numbers. They were most likely wild birds, caught and imported, which then escaped or were released. Most of these parrots are also larger South American species like amazons and conures. Larger parrots would have fewer predators and be able to access better food sources. It’s not hard to see how larger, wild caught species, introduced as groups into fairly mild environments (Florida and California) could learn to adapt and survive. However, it is unrealistic to expect a single smaller bird, captive bred but native to the Australian outback, to survive a Minnesota winter. Your bird’s best chance at survival is to be found.

Finding Your Bird

There are two scenarios when a bird escapes:

The bird remains in sight, but is somewhere inaccessible, like a tree.
You have no idea where it is.

Scenario #1 is bad; #2 is virtually hopeless. YOU HAVE A MUCH BETTER CHANCE OF GETTING YOUR BIRD IF YOU KEEP IT IN SIGHT. Unfortunately, many birds take off flying in one direction and continue to do so until they run out of energy. Parrots are not homing pigeons and will not find their way back on their own.

Scenario #1- KEEP THE BIRD IN YOUR VIEW. If you can’t see it, keep track of it by sound. Having someone nearby really helps here, as you risk your bird flying out of sight should you choose to go indoors and get something to help you catch it. Aside from keeping track of where it is, it is also important not to startle it into flying again. If your bird doesn’t trust you much, this will be difficult. If within reach, I find that using a long perch helps. Get the bird to step up and then slowly move it to a better location. Attempting to grab an untame bird will only result in it flying further away.

Getting a bird down from a tree is tough. Even tame, loving birds will be reluctant to see what the fuss is and climb down on their own. Amazons are notorious for climbing higher into a tree, or flying to another one as soon as you are about to catch them. In a case like this a hose helps- spray ABOVE the bird so that it rains DOWN onto them. Really soak them. It will make it more difficult for them to fly. Then have someone climb the tree (if possible, ask around the neighborhood) and get the soggy psittacine. Lures can also be used to get a bird down. Leave out a cage with food in it and the door open. Bring out another bird (preferably a friend of the loose one) in a cage and place it next to the first cage. Play a tape of recorded bird noises.

Scenario #2- This is BAD. Your only hope here is to a) locate your bird or b) hope someone else does. First search the neighborhood. Call out to your bird and pray you can find it through sound. If that fails, put up signs around the neighborhood and post on social media lost/found groups. Also contact every local person who owns birds (especially if they keep them outdoors) and let them know to keep their eyes peeled. Birds are attracted to other birds, and yours may very well be attracted by the sound of theirs. I’ve inadvertently adopted several stray budgies this way.

Found a bird?

People are often devastated when they lose their pets, and it is unfair to assume ownership of a lost bird without at least attempting to find the owner. Check the local pet stores, vets, social media, and newspapers for ads about lost birds. If you can’t find the owner you can keep the bird yourself, providing you can properly take care of it, or give it to someone who can.

Case Study: Birds of a Feather…

I keep all my breeders outdoors and they do attract escaped birds. My cat is the first one to notice. He never gives my aviary birds a second glance since he knows he can’t get to them. If I see him staring at something by the aviary I know there’s a loose bird.

I’ve had three escaped budgies hanging around my aviary this year, two of which I managed to catch. The first was easy- I just walked over and grabbed him. The poor thing was starving, emaciated and trying desperately to find a way into the budgie cages. I placed him in quarantine and a day later notice that he seemed to have bulked up, an impossibility. I examined him and found that his skin was stretched taut, especially around the thighs. He had a punctured air sac and the area under his skin was filling with air. I called my vet and made an appointment, then made several pin pricks to his swollen thighs to release the air. Luckily this solved the problem. After a vet visit and 30 day quarantine, he was ready to join my flock.

The second budgie I caught was just last month (December 13th or so). She was much better off, hanging out in the neighbor’s yard up in a tree all day. It was cold out and she didn’t seem to be enjoying herself. After about a week I found her eating seed spilled from my aviaries. There’s about a one foot gap between my second aviary and the roof and I managed to scare her from on top of the cages into this space. Once in the gap she was reluctant to leave, though she’d run/fly all over the place trying to avoid my net. It took about 20 minutes and a second person, but we managed to net her. She too went through quarantine and joined my flock.

Grooming

March 24, 2016December 30, 2016 / feistyfeathers / 3 Comments

Wing Clipping

Proper wing clipping is essential for pet birds. Too many flighted birds escape, crash into windows, are killed by fellow pets, fly into ceiling fans and open water containers, etc. Some people claim to have “bird-proofed” their home enough to allow free-flight, but there could still be many unforeseen hazards. If you do not live alone, you also have to rely on other people to close doors and windows and keep them closed when a flighted bird is out. One small miscommunication could lead to an escaped bird. In addition, free-flight causes some birds to become territorial and hard to handle.

When to clip:
Birds do not molt all their feathers at once. If they did, they wouldn’t be able to forage for food and escape from predators. Instead, they lose one or two feathers at a time in alteration. Since most birds (especially the smaller ones) can fly with only one or two primary feathers, it is important that you clip each individual feather after it’s grown back. Don’t wait until all the primaries have grown back before taking your bird to be clipped.

Many people seem afraid/unwilling to clip their own birds. It’s a simple procedure that anyone can (and should) learn. Some people are afraid their birds won’t like them if they do the clipping themselves. This is nonsense. I’ve been clipping all my own birds for over 25 years and no one has ever held a grudge. As long as clipping is done quickly and painlessly (don’t cut bloodfeathers) birds will forget about it five minutes later.

How to clip:
I highly recommend getting your birds used to playing with their wings. It makes clipping much easier. If your bird does not allow you to touch or extend its wings, you will need to restrain it. Use a thin shirt for small species and a towel for large ones. Small birds can be held in one hand and clipped with the other. With larger birds an assistant is needed. One person should hold and the other should cut, although an experienced person can do both.

Catch the bird using a towel and position it so that the head is out. You want the cheeks/jaw between your fingers. Do NOT squeeze your bird tight. Grasping the chest is dangerous and unnecessary. The goal is to restrict movement of the wings and the beak. A flailing bird can injure itself and a stray beak will happily take a chunk out of you. The lower mandible needs be between your fingers. If positioned correctly, this prevents the bird from biting. The wings should be held against the body until they are brought out for clipping.

Small birds easily fit in one hand. I usually catch with my right hand, then move them to the left while I clip (I’m right-handed).

The feathers that need to be clipped are the primaries (1). These are what provides the power for flight. In small birds 7-10 feathers should be cut because these guys can get lift very easily. Large species often fall like rocks when only a few are cut. Two – five is standard for larger species. Never cut too far up (see red line). There should still be some space (at least a cm) between the edge of the cut primaries and the feathers above.

Feathers are made of keratin- the same stuff fingernails are made of- and do not hurt when cut. The only exception would be bloodfeathers. Never cut a bloodfeather!

Nail Trimming

Feathers are easier to clip than nails because it’s easy to recognize a blood feather and much harder to find the vein in a nail. Some people buy cement or sandpaper perches in an attempt to keep nails trimmed. These can actually irritate bird feet. As with all perches, it is important to have a variety of textures and widths so that feet don’t develop sores. A single grooming perch is fine so long as your bird has other options like wood or rope.

When to cut:
Learn to judge on your own. If your bird is tripping or the nails are catching on your clothing then it’s time.

How to cut:
Some birds don’t even need to be restrained for nail clipping. With both my GC conure and my tiel, I can let them sit on my finger while I just reach over and snip. You have to be careful with this though since they can move. For my Goffin I just hold her foot while she’s perched and clip. Routinely playing with your bird’s feet can go a long way toward making nail trimming easier.

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I use human fingernail clippers or nosehair clippers (for smaller species). Get out a towel (or old thin t-shirt for smaller birds) and some flour (in case of bleeding). Some people use Kwik-stop but I’m not a fan.

With small birds that don’t bite very hard you can usually do the job yourself. With major bitters or larger birds it’s better if you have two people. One person should towel the bird and keep the beak out of the way while the other person holds the feet and clips. This should all be done as quickly as possible to minimize stress.

You want to snip off the tip of the nail. If you clip too far up you’ll hit the vein and your bird will bleed. In black nails the vein can be virtually impossible to detect, though if you’re experienced you can avoid it by just using your intuition. Beginners can try pressing down slightly with the clippers first- if the bird flinches, chances are that’s the vein. Some birds squeal or flinch at any pressure though, with or without a vein. Not all cut veins bleed right away so keep an eye on the bird for a minute or two after cutting. Most veins start dripping once the bird begins walking around. Flour stops bleeding pretty well but you may have to hold the bird still for a few minutes to keep the flour from being rubbed off.

Beak

Healthy beaks do not need to be groomed. Unfortunately, there has been a bit of hype about grooming beaks lately, mostly to try and sell beak sanding tools. Only birds with grossly deformed beaks need any grooming. Scaly mites, injuries and vitamin deficiencies can cause the beak to overgrow. In a case like this the bird should be taken to a vet to have the beak done professionally. The beak is not like a toenail. Though it may look solid and plain, the beak is in fact a highly sensitive structure and should only be trimmed by an experienced professional (i.e. avian veterinarian, NOT a random pet store employee).

The left conure needs a beak trim, the right does not. If you look closely, the left bird’s beak is not rounded as it should be, but rather angles down in a straighter line. It’s a mild deformity but has led the beak to overgrow (it took 12 years to get overgrown).

This sun conure has scissor beak, another deformity in which the two sides veer off and do not meet in the middle. Because the upper and lower bill do not grind together during normal use, a bird with scissor beak will need routine beak grooming. As you can see here, the lower bill has overgrown.

Feather Health

March 22, 2016 / feistyfeathers

feathers

Feathers are made up of the same material as fingernails. They help birds regulate their temperature, allow them to fly, facilitate communication, and can indicate the overall health of a bird.

Maintenance/Preening
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Aside from wing clipping, feathers require no extra maintenance on your part. Like cats, birds keep their own feathers clean. They will spend hours a day preening their feathers to keep them in good shape. Preening involves gathering oil from the uropygial gland, located at the base of the tail, and spreading it over the feathers. Each feather is individually run through the beak and straightened.

A few species- cockatoos, cockatiels, and African greys- have specialized down feathers that dissolve into a fine keratin powder. This powder performs the same function as the oil from the uropygial gland. However, it makes these species extremely “dusty.” If you keep these birds indoors you may need a good air filter. If a powder species doesn’t seem to be producing any powder, take it as a sign of illness. PBFD is one possible cause.

You can help your bird keep itself clean by allowing it access to a shallow dish for daily bathing, or by spray misting it. I do not recommend applying any kind of product to a bird’s feathers. There is no need. Birds produce their own oil/powder naturally and do not need any special “conditioner.”

Molting

Pinfeathers dot this budgie’s head. (X)

Twice a year your bird will molt. Molting is the process of losing feathers and replacing them with new ones, not unlike a dog shedding. It is done gradually, so while you may find lots of excess feathers in your bird’s cage, your bird will not appear to have lost anything. New feathers grow in encapsulated by a waxy sheath. You will see these pinfeathers start to dot the top of your bird’s head where it cannot reach. Pinfeathers can be itchy and if your bird allows head scratches you can help release the new feathers by gently rubbing them between your fingers. Normally this is done by flock mates.

Blood feathers are pinfeathers which are still being fed by a blood supply. Flight feathers grow in as blood feathers and can bleed profusely if broken open while they are still growing in. If a bird has a broken blood feather you can attempt to stop the bleeding by putting flour on it. If that doesn’t work, grasp the feather at the base of the skin with needle nose pliers and swiftly yank it out in the direction it is growing. Only yank as a last resort as you can cause damage to the follicle.

Stress Bars

If you’re finding lines across your bird’s feathers then you have a problem. Stress and malnutrition during a molt can both cause new feathers to emerge with stress bars.

Plucking & Feather Loss

The first thing to do is determine why a bird is losing feathers. Not all feather loss is caused by plucking, and not all plucking is the result of neglect. Giardia can cause intense itching, which can then lead to plucking. Thankfully, it can be treated. PBFD causes severe feather loss and compromises the immune system. There is no cure for PBFD. If your bird is losing feathers it is best to take it to a qualified avian veterinarian first to rule out any medical causes. Make sure your bird is receiving a good diet and that the humidity isn’t too high or low. Many of our pets come from tropical climates, so if you live in an exceptionally dry area this could be exacerbating any problems.

It’s usually quite easy to tell if a bird is plucking itself. Birds can only pluck the areas they can reach, so a bird that is plucking itself will be losing feathers on the chest and back but never the head.

This African grey exhibits overall poor health in addition to plucking of the chest and back. All the remaining wing and tail feathers are bent, drab, and stressed. Photo by Tambako the Jaguar.

This blue and gold macaw had plucked its entire chest and legs. Photo by Rodrigo Soldon.

Feather plucking is a difficult habit to break once it’s begun, so swift intervention is always best. A bird could be picking for any number of reasons: poor health, parasites, stress, or boredom. Birds without anything to do rapidly turn to destructive behaviors like plucking and even self-mutilation. Make sure your bird has plenty of toys/activities AND companionship.

If you adopt a feather plucker, a proper home will go a long way towards halting the plucking, but it can still remain a habit. If this is the case, make sure your bird has plenty else to do. Foraging toys, chew toys, exercise, etc. will all help. You can also get a special vest to help protect the chest.

Some birds are plucked by their mates. This is actually quite common and not a cause for concern, so long as it does not progress to something worse. When a mate is doing the plucking, feather loss is usually restricted to the head because this is where they mutually preen.

Vita has been plucked by her mate for years. Notice how it is completely confined to the head.

Injury is another source of feather loss. If a bird is severely injured then the feather follicles may be damaged beyond repair, preventing any new feathers from growing.

Blue boy had a head injury years ago, and retains a quarter-sized bald patch to this day.

Bands

March 21, 2016June 5, 2020 / feistyfeathers

There seems to be a lot of misinformation online about bands. Pet owners are attempting to use band information to find out more about their birds, which is a good thing. However, the reality is a lot more complicated. First I’m going to discuss the basics of bands and then I’ll address some of the common misconceptions.

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What are bands?

Bands are like little ID bracelets. They can be metal or plastic and are located just below your bird’s ankle. There are several types of bands.

Plastic bands on canaries. Photo by steve pj2009.

Plastic Bands

Plastic bands are most commonly used to identify softbills. They allow aviculturists to quickly distinguish between different birds at a glance- particularly important if you don’t want to catch your birds every time you need to tell who is who. Sometimes birds will be banded several times on multiple legs. Breeders may put one band on each leg and then clip off a specific band when they discover the sex of a bird.

Open band removed from my mitred conure postmortem.

Quarantine Bands

Until 1992, the United States imported large quantities of wild caught birds. These birds were held at quarantine stations before being offered for public sale. All birds that went through quarantine were banded with open bands. If your bird does have a quarantine band you can look up where it was imported. All quarantine bands were open bands, as they were applied to adult birds.

Open Bands

Open bands are metal and usually round (not flat). The only benefit of open bands is that they can be applied to adult birds.

African grey chick wearing closed band. Photo by Papooga.

Closed Bands

Domestic-bred birds wear closed bands. These bands are flat and can be made of metal or plastic. They can only be applied during a brief window of time when the chicks are young. If banded too early, the bands will fall off. Too late and you won’t be able to fit them on the feet.

What information do bands carry?

Bands can tell you many things. The information given varies, but often the state, year, ID number and breeder are given. For instance, my cockatiel Melonie’s band says “CA LS 92 52.” This means she was bred in California (the state is often written sideways), her breeder’s initials or business abbreviation is L.S., she was hatched in 1992 and her ID # is 52. Breeders can pick and choose what they want on the bands. Some will not contain a year since the breeder may not use up all of his or her bands in one year.

Why is banding important?

Bands provide positive ID of a bird. If a bird is purchased and then later returned, the seller can verify that the returned bird is in fact the same one sold. They can be used as identification in case of theft (unless removed- microchipping is better). Closed bands are also fairly good proof that a bird was captive breed.

Are bands harmful?

Open bands can be dangerous because the small slit in them may catch on things, like the cage wire, especially if not closed enough. Most of the time bands are very safe. Hens usually do not attack babies with bands nor do birds mind them at all. Injuries can occur when a band catches on something, but most of the time this is the result of an unsafe cage. If your bird is banded be extra careful that no toys could catch your bird’s band.

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Feisty Feathers Bands

I try to band all the chicks I can. My cockatiels are banded with my National Cockatiel Society number (45F). Indian ringnecks and green cheeks are banded with my aviary name (FSTY).

Can I look up where my bird came from? Its age? Breeder?

Yes and no. Aside from specific clubs, which have their own bands and registries, there is no comprehensive banding system or database. Aviculturists who breed show animals like English budgies are far more likely to participate in such a system than someone who sells to the pet trade. Many breeders are going to want their own system in place, and may not use a club since their bands are often not very customizable.

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Don’t assume the year is accurate.

The first year I started banding my own birds I got the year printed on my bands. Big mistake. Bands came in lots of 25 and I didn’t come close to using half of my bands that year. So I could either throw them away the following year or keep using them with the incorrect year. This is why most breeders don’t even bother with a year.

Don’t assume the state is accurate. Or the breeder. Or anything, really.

I recently acquired a pair of African greys from someone who was moving to China. This breeder was trying to unload all their stuff in prep for their move, and since I’d bought their last available pair they came with a lot of extra stuff: net, handfeeding formula, perches, and unused bands. Even though this was a California breeder, the state stamped on the bands was PA.

This brings me to another point- breeders can totally swap bands. I think the first time I bred ringnecks I ended up borrowing bands from a friend because I only needed a couple. When my grandfather died I got all of his old bands. I didn’t use them, but I certainly could have.

My point is that nothing about bands is certain. Pet owners have a tendency to give bands the same sort of authority as dog licenses or microchipping, when it’s really more like your neighbor borrowing a label maker so they can organize their closet. All you can know for certain is that closed bands were applied to babies before leaving the nest.

Banding is a way for breeders to distinguish between individual birds, not for people to be able to track down a breeder, know the age of their bird, etc. Some breeders make their banding system public, but most don’t because it’s an internal ID system. Many breeders don’t really care if their bands are “accurate” because again- it’s just to be able to tell the difference between similar birds. A few will have nice records and a formal system but many will not. It really depends on the breeder. So while you can use the information on a band to make a guess, there is no guarantee your guess is going to be accurate.

Here are some links if you do want to look up more information on bands:

Red-fronted Kakariki

March 21, 2016 / feistyfeathers

Cyanoramphus novazelandiae

kak16 This information pertains to the red-fronted kakariki (C. novazelandiae) but most of it can also be used for yellow-fronts (C. auriceps).

In the Wild
More detailed ecology here.

Kakarikis are native to New Zealand. There are several species, most of which are endangered or extinct. New Zealand is a small group of islands southeast of Australia. Like most islands, it has very unique wildlife. Until man came, there were no mammals and birds evolved to fill in niches normally taken by mammals. Many of them became flightless and have no fear of predators. When man brought mammals like cats, weasels, and rats, most of the native birds were wiped out. Luckily the kakariki can fly. Still, they spend as much time on the ground as they do in the trees.

Kakarikis have long feet and toes which they use to scratch about on the ground like chickens. Their feathers are also elongated and fluffy to help protect them from the cold (New Zealand is right above Antarctica).

Kakariki feathers are elongated and fluffy.

Contrast with desert species A (cockatiel) and tropical species B (green-cheek conure).

Compare kakariki feathers with those from other species: the cockatiel (A) from the deserts of Australia and the green-cheek conure (B) from tropical Brazil. The down is concentrated near the skin and the tips are dense when compared with those of other species. Elongated feathers can be erected to trap heat near the body. Unfortunately these adaptations can work against them in captivity. Kaks can overheat easily.

Noise
Kaks have a very pleasant “wa wa wa” sound and males can be talented talkers.

Lifespan
15-20

Sexing
Kaks are dimorphic so there’s no need for DNA or surgical sexing as long as you know what to look for. Males are about 15 grams heavier than females, and have bigger heads and wider beaks. The females look very thin and dainty. Most males also seem to have a brighter shade of red than hens. Chicks can be sexed by the width of their beaks when their pinfeathers are just beginning to open. Use the following pictures as a guide to sexing your kaks.

male (left), female (right)

female (left), male (right)

Weaknesses
Kaks may be susceptible to aspergillosis. I’ve never had a single case of aspergillosis in any of my other species, yet it killed several of my adult kakarikis over the years. That said, I have yet to confirm this problem with other kak breeders and the problem stopped when I moved to Northern California. It could be that my first location just had a lot of spores locally and the kaks were more likely to pick them up and/or develop infections.

Baldness is common in kaks, particularly hens. Not all birds seem to have this problem. The feathers usually grow in during a molt and the bird will look perfect for a week or so, but then the feathers will drop out again. The cause may be genetic (kaks aren’t very common in the U.S. and many have been inbred) or overzealous preening on the part of the male. Kaks seem to drop feathers quite easily, so I can see how a little rough preening would knock quite a few out. My hens look really ratty in the breeding season.

Many of you have reported seizures or strange trances in your pet kaks, and have asked me if this is normal. This year was the first time I’d ever experienced it in my own flock. I placed my male yellow-fronted kak in a brown paper bag so that I could weigh him. When I took him out, he lay on the ground and appeared to be dying. I immediately rushed him to the vet, certain that he would be dead when we arrived. Instead he slowly started acting normal again- first he stood up and wobbled around, and soon he was hopping about the cage. By the time my vet saw him, he was acting normally.

My vet (an excellent avian vet, by the way) told me that some species go into weird trances or even have seizures when certain procedures are done. She said that it really freaks out the owners, but it is perfectly normal. I can’t remember all the species she mentioned, but she said Meyers parrots would go into seizures when their nails were trimmed. Odd and frightening, but they always snapped out of it eventually. Like I said, I’ve gotten numerous letters about seizures, trances and stumbling in kaks, so it appears that they may be one of the species that reacts like this.

Yellow-fronted male

Husbandry
Kaks are very busy birds who want to be everywhere at once. They’re the only psittacine that makes me feel bad about clipping wings. Breeders should definitely be kept in an flight and pets should be let out as often as possible. Since kaks are so curious you should make triple-sure that there are no hazards in or around the cage. And be wary of escapes! I’ve seen my kaks perform somersaults in the air to avoid a net. Feed cups should be covered. These guys will flick food everywhere with their scratching behavior. Also, kaks do enjoy running around upside down on the ceiling so I’d advise at least part of the cage ceiling be wire.

Just try to catch us, Mom!

Breeding
The first thing you need to make certain of is that your birds are not hybrids. Red-fronts only have red and it’s found on the crown, back past the eye, as a sort of stripe leading to eye and as a spot behind the eye. Yellow-crowns do not have the stripe or the spot near the eye, but have a small patch of red just above the cere and a yellow patch extending past over the eye. Hybrids look like yellow-crowns with a more orange color and sometimes a partial spot or stripe.

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Kaks can be bred similarly to cockatiels and Aussie parakeets. I’d advise only keeping one pair per aviary due to their curious nature. If offered multiple nestboxes they will start a clutch in one box and when the first clutch gets older the hen may start a new clutch in the second box while the male finishes raising the first. They are very prolific for their size (females about 55 grams and males about 75), laying 8-12 eggs. Often the hen cannot properly incubate such a large clutch and some may have to be taken out. Babies quickly begin to look like parents so banding is a good idea (banding is a good idea anyway). For a week or so after fledging their beaks will be beige but then will turn the typical silver tipped with black.

They will kick everything out of their feed dispenser/dish. Every inch of their cage will be utilized. There is no dead space with kakarikis.

Diet
Regular psittacine diet. While most of my birds go right for the corn in their frozen veggies mix, my kaks eat the peas first. One of the most wonderful traits about kaks is that they are so curious. Not only does this make taming easy, but conversion to pellets as well. With most kaks, this is as simple as adding a bowl of pellets next to the seed dish for a day and then removing the seed the day after (just make sure they’re eating it if you switch cold turkey like this).

Personality/Behavior
Kaks were what inspired me to name my business Feisty Feathers. They’re a lot like big budgies- very animated, playful and chatty, but not very cuddle. I’ve handfed both budgies and kaks. It’s a joke. They want to be fed but they’re too hyper to sit still and feed. They want to over there or doing at that. It’s a miracle to get their crops completely full. Kaks make very entertaining pets if you can handle a bird that will get into everything.

Cockatiel

March 21, 2016March 21, 2016 / feistyfeathers

Nymphicus hollandicus

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In the Wild
Like budgies, cockatiels also hail from the deserts of Australia and breed very easily when given a constant supply of food. They are also extremely hardy, making them a perfect choice for beginners.

Noise
Tiels love to whistle, or at least the males do. Males are very cute when they’re whistling and showing off. They aren’t great talkers and anything they do say will be more of a whistled version. My male tiel Tootsie used to say “pretty bird” and another bird I knew named Jake could say “Jaker Bakers.” Tootsie actually picked this phrase up from him but would only say it once in a blue moon.

Lifespan
20-30 years

Sexing
Tiels are dimorphic which makes sexing easy. Normal colored males have a yellow head. Hens look just like chicks- they are grey and retain the yellow bars on their wings and tail. Mutations often cannot be sexed visually but can easily be distinguished by behavior. Male cockatiels will sing and show off when presented with a mirror. Hens usually won’t show any interest in it at all. More help sexing various mutations, see Sexing Cockatiels Visually.

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Weaknesses
Cockatiels seem prone to giardia, a parasitic infection that causes itchy behavior and plucking. Other than this they are quite hardy.

Night Frights- Occasionally an owner will be woken up by the sound of their pet frantically thrashing about the cage. Odd noises, movement or lights may set off such a fright (like if you try to sneak past the bird’s cage at night without turning on the lights). Some frights have no apparent cause. Frights can be dangerous because the bird flaps about, refusing to calm down. Thrashing birds can easily break a wing, leg or bloodfeather. Use flour to clot the blood if a feather is bleeding.

If your tiel is prone to frights there are several things you can do. First, try to find out the cause and eliminate it. Is the bird next to a window? Could passing car headlights be the cause? Try covering the cage or leaving it uncovered. Try placing a night light in the room. If nothing seems to help, it would be beneficial to have a separate cage for the bird to sleep in, one without lots of toys and perches for it to knock into.

One thing you should consider for your own health is that cockatiels are very powdery birds. I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone who has asthma or another respiratory condition. If you still want a tiel but have allergies/asthma, invest in a good air filter.

Husbandry
Cockatiels aren’t as active as kaks or budgies so they don’t require as much room. Still, the cage should always be as large as possible. Pets will require a lot of time out with their owners. Pairs will breed in modest-sized cages.

Breeding
See Breeding Cockatiels.

Diet
Regular psittacine diet. Veggies and leafy greens are favorites.

linus2

Personality/Behavior
The cockatiel personality can be summed up in one word: sweet. The cool thing about cockatiels is you get a bird with all the good qualities of a cockatoo or larger parrot without all the vices. Cockatiels are very cuddly, but don’t get so attached to their owner that they develop bad habits like cockatoos.

A tiel’s favorite place to be is on its owner’s shoulder. Like most birds, they love spending time with the family and will call out if separated. Tiels have a very specific call for “Where did you go? Come back!” and will use it when you walk out of the room. Some owners find this call very irritating, and there are a few things you can do to prevent the bird from calling incessantly. First, keep the bird’s main cage in the living room or other actively-visited room. Second, keep the cage well-stocked with toys so that the bird has something to do when you leave. Third, put the bird on a schedule. Like most of us, birds like knowing what to expect. If you come home every day at around the same time, let the bird out, then put it away while you make dinner, the bird will learn that there are certain times it will be out and certain times it will be caged while people are still around. Multiple birds can also help keep each other company while you are otherwise engaged.

Aside from calling and the typical attitude that comes with puberty, cockatiels don’t have many behavior problems.

Kakariki Network

March 21, 2016March 21, 2016 / feistyfeathers

The Kakariki Network is my personal attempt to create a database of kakariki breeders and other resources. Breeders are listed free of charge. If you breed kakarikis but are not on the list please send me your information so it can be posted. Keep in mind that this is simply a database of breeders- I cannot vouch for the quality of birds. Please use the same caution you normally would when shopping for new birds.

Please note that many breeders operate out of their homes, and may withhold certain information for security and privacy reasons.

USA Breeders

Non USA Breeders

Kak Information

Midori’s Feathers and Flowers
Brat the Kakariki

Should I buy a Second Bird?

March 20, 2016 / feistyfeathers / 1 Comment

The last time I was at a bird club meeting the speaker was the editor of Bird Talk magazine. She brought up some of the frequently asked questions they receive. As bird club members, we all kind of chuckled at these because they were common knowledge to us. One of the questions they routinely get is “Should I buy a second bird?” She said the fact that the person was even asking the question indicated that the answer was “no.” Most people nodded in agreement at this statement. I beg to differ.

I receive this question a lot too, but most people don’t ask it out of some nagging doubt it won’t work or they shouldn’t do it. In many cases, they want another bird, but are unsure how their first will react. Will the two get along? Will their first bird lose its pet qualities? How soon can they be introduced? What species would be most compatible? To me their question shows that they know enough about birds not to jump into something blindly. They want to educate themselves first. Most people obtain their first bird without doing any research. They learn through trial and error, not really the best way for the pet or the owner, but if they’re trying to rectify the situation the second time around I can’t fault them. There’s nothing wrong with making an informed decision.

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Benefits of Keeping a Flock

I have a personal philosophy regarding this issue – I never keep birds singly. A bird that has its own cage is still kept near others and allowed play time with them. The only time I completely isolate a bird is if it must be kept in a hospital cage due to health problems. This does not mean that I think every owner should run out and buy more birds. Many people are happy with just a single pet. This article is for those of you who are contemplating buying another bird, but haven’t quite made up your mind yet.

I believe it is psychologically beneficial for birds to be kept in a flock. My adopted mitred conure responded extremely well when kept around my flock. He no longer tries to assault other birds. Many people don’t properly socialize their birds. One of my requirements of socialization is that bird know how to be a bird. A handfed reared in isolation with no avian contact may have identity problems later, particularly if its owner expects it to act like a little human. Birds are not humans and never will be. We both share many behaviors but have different motivations. Understanding your bird’s behavior is the key to getting along with it. I think new owners tend to attribute human motivations to their bird’s behavior or simply treat them as if they have no emotions at all. Both views will lead to problems.

When you allow birds to interact with one another you give them a chance to communicate in their own language and to be themselves. As an aside: One of my pet peeves is when people ask me about teaching their birds to talk or want to know if my birds talk. Yes they talk- they speak bird! You’ll get along much better with your animals if you learn to communicate with them. I’ll have you know I’m fluent in “duck” and “chicken.” I’ve made friends with wild ducks using this skill. Don’t ask me how to teach your birds to talk, ask me how you can learn to speak “bird.”

Not everyone can give their bird the attention it requires. Many people will buy their pet a mirror, thinking this will help keep it company. This is worse than keeping a bird isolated. If you can’t give your bird the attention it needs, give it up or buy a second.

I also believe that owners learn more about bird behavior when observing more than one interacting. Owners of one bird only see that single bird’s behavior. They have no point of reference and mistakenly judge their behavior as “odd.” When you see birds interact with one another it makes more sense.

I also cannot overstate how beneficial it is for birds to have another bird, even a different species, around during the day when you’re not home. Parrots are not meant to be kept in isolation.

Will my first bird lose its pet qualities?

No. If your bird is tame and lovable it should stay that way. I have never seen a bird become unfriendly just because it had a new friend. I think this myth has been propagated by owners whose birds hit puberty the same time as a new bird is purchased. Behavior changes associated with puberty have nothing to do with the introduction of a new bird.

This guy was handfed and socialized by me. He’s an aviary bird and I haven’t handled him on a regular basis for ten years. Still tame.

Let’s say you buy a new cockatiel. You have it for a few months. It’s so sweet and wonderful you just have to get another one. Your first bird is probably around six months to a year old when you decide to introduce another. Guess what time puberty hits? That’s right, around 6-12 months. The new bird is unjustly blamed for problems that would have occurred anyway.

What species are the most compatible?

This is more of a concern if they are to be sharing a cage. Given a large enough cage, you can probably keep any birds of similar size together. I keep conures, budgies, kakarikis, tiels and ringnecks together, but then I have walk-in aviaries. Territorial issues are less of a problem when you are not breeding.

If the cage is smaller you’ll need the species to be more alike. Tiels and budgies have similar care requirements but they don’t get along well in confined spaces, especially if there are only one of each (or one tiel and numerous budgies). Tiels are mellow birds; budgies are pesky and very active. The constant movement alone can drive a tiel nuts in a small cage. Even if it doesn’t, the budgies are likely to harass the tiel endlessly.

When species are very different (in size or behavior) you need to give each their own cage. I would not keep any of the medium or large parrots together in a standard pet cage. You’d need a large flight to do that.

Supervised play is fine with most similar-sized birds, as long as you know how to read body language and prevent problems.

How soon can they be introduced?

Quarantine all new birds for at least 30 days. By quarantine I mean keep them in another room with NO contact with your current birds. You don’t want to risk bringing in any diseases. Feed the new bird last and change clothes/wash hands before handling your other birds again. I also recommend a vet check and bloodwork if you can afford it. You can see a veterinarian for disease testing or submit it yourself.

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How do I introduce them?

Some species can be thrown in together with few problems. Budgies and tiels usually fall into this category. Heck, budgies typically welcome new birds! However, birds that have established territory- especially perceived breeding territory- may have a problem with a new bird suddenly sharing it. In this case it is best to start out with separate cages, in view of each other, and supervised play time outside of the cages. How soon the two get along will vary. If you see any fighting take things back a step.

How do I keep them from breeding?

Don’t buy the same species or the opposite sex, and don’t give them a nestbox.