No Bites, No Scars

The parrot owners I know, those who handle parrots and not just leave them in their cages, have scars.  They have scars on their hands and arms and sometimes on their faces.  They also have scars on their clothes - lots of holes and no buttons or snaps left. 

In fact, when I went in to the parrot supply yesterday, the first question was, "Are you guys all right?  Did you come in for band-aids?  No trips to the emergency room?"  They knew that I had just gotten an "unadoptable" mitred conure with a big sharp beak and band-aids and scars are just part of the deal - especially since I am a newbie.

But, no, no scars, no band-aids, no emergency room.  Not yet.  In fact, I have a dream: to be a parrot trainer without scars.  I had read a lot about dealing with bites and watched a "How to get your parrot to stop biting in 15 minutes" video and had decided that bites were part of the deal - you sucked it up and gritted your teeth and learned to take it.  And then I got an email on Bird-Click from Melinda Johnson.

Melinda said the most incredible thing; I didn't believe it at first.  She said, "Bob, I don't have any scars from being bit by parrots."  She basically said, "don't avoid getting bit by protecting your flesh and having the parrot bite at something else - learn not to put your parrot into a position where he feels like he needs to bite."  Really, I didn't quite believe it - but I did decide to try it, at least reducing the scars would be something.

So, I started taking it slow with all the parrots I interact with (and there are quite a few because of the amount of time I spend at the rescue).  I am learning to tell when they want to be approached for a handshake (or a hug) and when just a nice conversation across the table is called for.  Last night, my wife was talking to Kilo and I said, "Put out your hand, he wants to step up" and she said, "No way, I'm scared."  "Go ahead, he is asking to be picked up."  So, she put out her hand, and he gently stepped up.  He wanted down a few seconds later and she put him back on the playground.  No scars tonight.

There are times when I need to move him when he does not want to move and at that time, I ask him to step on to a dowel.  When he wants to step up, I let him; when he wants to step down, I let him.  I started the same way with Coco, my Sun Conure - and now, Coco ALWAYS wants to step up.  He even steps up for my wife and son.  He is a great little guy and ALWAYS wants to be petted.  A few weeks ago, things were different, but now, he loves it.

"How to get your parrot to stop biting in 15 Days" takes a lot longer than 15 minutes, but hey, they live 30 to 100 years, I think we have time - and I like this method a whole lot more because I know that the parrot is enjoying it and getting used to me at his pace.  I know that some of my friends will probably continue to treat bites as "part of the deal", but thanks to Melinda, I won't any more.  There might be times when I need to let a frightened bird bite me for his own safety (maybe not), but I won't plan for a bird who is not in crisis to have any reason to bite me.  Maybe I too can be a parrot trainer without scars.