Greys And Elephants: Is there a relationship?

Greys And Elephants: Is there a relationship?
By Jane Hallander

Note: Jane passed away early in 2002 after a courageous fight with cancer. Her love of parrots lives on by her articles helping people who share their lives with companion parrots.

Reprinted with permission from the former Grey Play Round Table® African grey magazine, and its www.AfricanGreys.com web site

Unfortunately, African Grey Parrots have garnered a reputation as a parrot species with a high risk of phobia. According to Webster’s Dictionary, a phobia is “an exaggerated, usually inexplicable and illogical fear of an object, class of objects or situation.” In this case our parrot friends develop an extreme fear of their human handlers… a fear so strong that the bird actually thinks it is about to die.

WHAT CONSTITUES TRULY PHOBIC BEHAVIOR?

The Grey who throws himself to the cage bottom, screaming to hopefully drive us away is probably phobic if he consistently repeats this behavior whenever one or more people try to handle him. However, the parrot who simply runs away from your hand or the “UP” command, but behaves with confidence when you handle him is not phobic. He probably has just not learned what is expected of him and where his place is within the “flock”.

As we learn more about what triggers phobias in African Greys, several patterns become evident. While there will always be exception, if someone calls me for a consultation about their African Grey, I already know that it is probably a domestically-bred male Grey, who started showing phobic symptoms between one and a half to two years of age. I also know that it probably started after he fell to the floor and was picked up by his concerned human. If this sounds like the psychic side of me coming out, it isn’. These are the statistics that fit the profile of a phobic African Grey Parrot.

Let’s look at each variable that contributes to the overall profile:

First, we seldom see phobia in wild-caught imported Greys. I believe that this is due to the fact that wild Greys are raised by the parents, rather then pulled from the nest at a couple of weeks old and raised by a human hand-feeder. Parrots as with other animals, have two ways to express behavior. One is instinctive or ‘hard-wired’ behavior that all members of a species are with. For instance, the knowledge that a Grey’s primary predators are hawks and that attacks come from above is instinctive.

Besides instinctive, parrots use ‘associative learning’ or socialization from other birds for information about their daily lives. While a Grey may instinctively know that hawks are dangerous preatiors, it takes other birds to teach him about secondary predators, such as dogs, cats or even humans. All Greys, wild or domestic, know to fear hawks. However, wild-caught parrots may initially fear dogs and cats, because they are close cousins t predatory animals in Africa and are secondary predators taught to them by older wild Greys. Wild Greys probably have a ‘clear list’ of what is and what isn’t a danger to them, and humans probably aren’t among the list. Humans do not ordinarily play an active predatory role in day-to-day African Grey life (in the wild). Therefore, there is no reason for a wild bird’s parrot teachers to identify humans as predators.

Unfortunately, domestically bred parrot babies seldom have an opportunity to learn anything from another bird. They must rely only on their instinctive background for knowledge of how to be a bird. Therefore, domestically bred Greys are often armed only with their instinct, which tell them that danger comes from above. Instinctively, they know that flying is the escape route from an overhead predator.

Why is it that a young Grey, that has severely clipped wings and falls to the floor, can easily become phobic when it is pursued by a worried human owner?

Apparently, that is enough to trigger an intense fear of the person, who at the moment appears over the bird’s head. That fear may then easily become an associated learning response and the bird associates his person with that very same instinctive fear of an overhead predator.

WHY ELEPHANTS?

Ivory poachers hunt male African elephants for their tusks, making the African elephant an endangered species. In an effort to save the African elephant, groups of juvenile males were transported to the safety of game preserves, where they could be guarded by game wardens. The plan was working well until the wardens started finding dead black rhinoceros in the same area as the juvenile elephants. Before long, it became apparent that the juvenile elephants were ‘ganging’ up on the rhinos and killing them. After observing this strange phenomenon, some experts felt the elephants would have to be destroyed before they wiped out the rhino population, another endangered species. Of course, this idea was counter to the original purpose of saving the African elephant.

One thoughtful warden had a theory. He had blood samples taken from the juvenile elephants and found their testosterone levels higher then samples taken from juvenile males living close o an established heard of females and older males. Testosterone, a male hormone or androgen, is a primary contributor to aggression levels in many animals. His theory was that the juveniles, living in groups alone and far away from their natural social environment, were developing unnatural behaviors and aggressions because they were not exposed to natural elephant social order and the associated teaching that came with it.

Based on his theory, they imported two older adult bull elephants from another game preserve and placed them with the young juveniles. The older bull elephants did exactly what they would do in their natural environment … whipped the juveniles into a somewhat submissive mode toward the older elephants. This is required within elephant herds to keep young bulls from claiming and mating with the female elephants. Only one bull elephant gets to mate and produce oung and he is the strongest of the lot. When the senior bull is unable to defend his herd against challenges from the juvenile bull elephant herd, he loses his leadership place and a younger, stronger male takes over. This insures a strong gene pool, necessary for species survival.

Sure enough, within a few weeks, the testosterone levels of the young male elephants dropped to normal ranges and attacks on the black rhinos ceased completely. What happened here that applies to male African Greys and phobias?

GREY TO ELEPHANT COMPARISON
Game wardens saw that male elephants kept with only other juvenile male elephants, interacted with each other through natural elephant games that taught them confidence and aggression exactly what they needed to become potential heard leaders in a natural environment. However, living by themselves wasn’t their natural environment. A natural environment requires older elephants to tone down the juveniles, while still allowing the game playing that teaches future survival skills.

Of course, our Greys don’t have the same social structure or survival requirements, as do African elephants. African Greys live in flocks, but bond to stay with only one mate for as long as that bird lives. Therefore, there is no need to subdue young males around the flock. However, there is still some amount of agression needed by Greys to defend their nests and drive intruders away. Where does that confidence and agression come from?

My theory is that confidence for male African Greys comes from ‘game-playing’ and interaction with other Grey males in the formative time between fledging and when they start to mature sexually. This would explain why we don’t see phobias with wild-caught Greys, even those who were imported at a very young age when importation was still legal. Wild-caught birds grow up naturally with natural African Grey socialization and associative learning from other Greys. Domestically bred Greys usually don’t have an opportunity to socialize and ‘play’ with other Greys, so may be lacking the extra testerone and confidence derived from roughhousing and playing with their peers. If it is in fact a question of testosterone levels and/or lack of confidence developed from interaction with other male Greys, that may also explain why we don’t see phobias with African Grey hens.

Why don’t we see phobias in other species, such as Amazons?

Again, a domestically bred parrot’s response to ouside stimuli depends on how the bird is genetically programmed for survival in its natural habitat. For instance, it is very possible that African Grey juveniles are further ’tutored’ by other, perhaps older birds after they fledge, but before they reach maturity and join the flock as adults. We know this happens with Galah (Rose-breasted) Cockatoos, while some other Cockatoo species do not continue with heavily supervised education of juveniles. If there is another parrot species that can become phobic as easily and in similar numbers as the African Grey Parrot, it is the Rose-breasted Cockatoo. My friend and colleague, Sam Foster, has done extensive research into the Galah behavior, especially phobias. Amazons appear not to have as much structure to their flocks as do Greys and Galahs. Possibly because most South American Parrots fly in ‘multi-species’ flocks that contain Amazons, Macaws, Conures and other South American parrot species.

While this isn’t the only reason Greys become phobic, it appears to be one of a short list of coincidences that lead to the final unfortunate result. If we clip a Grey’s wings or toenails too short, or provide perches that are too slippery or large for the Grey to grip, especially if it is at that very sensitive, clumsy, juvenile stage, we may be undermining whatever confidence it instinctively has. This becomes an even greater problem if the Grey has been allowed to learn to fly, fully flighted, at fledging age. Many responsible breeders let their Grey bappies learn to fly, land and navigate before gradually clipping their wings and sending them off to new homes.

As discussed earlier, an African Grey who falls, due to a short wing clip or from toenails clipped too short to grip his perches may have the trauma its painful fall reinforced when the worried owner hurries to pick the frightened Grey up from the floor. A common scenario is that the startled Grey is ‘chased’ by the worried human. The parrot cannot fly to instinctively escape the person and initially becomes afraid of the owner’s hands. In this case, phobia starts with the hands, but if not corrected, soon develops into a full phobic reaction whenever that particular person comes near the parrot. Simply waiting until the bird on the floor turns to face the human, might avoid future problems.

While no one can absolutely guarantee that a young African Grey will grow into a happy, well-adjusted adult bird, there are certainly ways to minimize potential problems. Perhaps we need to further study and duplicate the natural parrot socialization as much as we can in a domestic breeding situation, rather then attempt to ‘shape’ our young Greys into ‘little humans’. Everyone knows of wild-caught Greys who are ideal companions. My own Jing is a perfect example. If wild birds can make the adjustment so successfully into a very different environment there is something to be said for associative learning from other Greys --- because that’s exactly what wild Greys receive as thy are growing up.

Should I Add Another Bird To My Flock?

photo of Koko & Ed

Recently I was left a comment under and article I have posted here by good freind and African Grey expert, Maggie Wright; asking about whether this man should help a 10 year old female, African Grey by taking her home to live with him, his wife and a 1 year old African Grey.

Evidently, the owner of the 10 year old Grey now has children that "take all her time" so she is not able to spend any time with parrot anymore. The Grey is now plucking and the owner looking to place her in a new home.

The Gentleman that is interested in this 10 year old Grey tells me that his wife is already complaining that their own Grey takes all of his time and asks if he would just be asking for trouble to bring this other Grey into his home.

Here was my reply to him:

If you do as Maggie suggests in this article, then there should be no problems. My two Greys have their own cages and are across the room from each other. They are let out of their cages on to the play tree or to be out with either my husband or I at separate times until we get another Tree built. Fortunately, my husband spends his time with Koko and I spend my time with Nick so they both get to be alone with the person they love the most and they don't have to share us with each other very often at all.

If your wife resents your current Grey then it may not be a great idea to bring in this poor girl that is going to be stressed enough going into a new home after living with this family for 10 years already.

IF your wife wants to help out and is willing to spend some quality time with either your baby Grey or the new Grey then I say "sure", go for it. Everyone in the household should be in agreement and commited to love and care for this other Grey in need.

Greys (or parrots of any kind) demand and deserve as much time out of the cage and with YOU then many people feel they have time for.

It may better to help this lady re-home her bird by having her locate and contact a bird sancturay or rescue organization near by. If she needs help, please have her contact me and I can put her in touch with a network to help find this Grey a perfect home.

There are many parrots out there at the moment with a need for a knowledgable and loving home due to thier current owners losing jobs and or homes. The sanctuaries are over-flowing. However, they need to be alerted to these birds in need and may be able to find them a wonderful forever home if they know the bird exists out there and is in need.

What About Nick?

Nicodemus or Nick as he is affectionately called is my wonderful almost 14 year old friend and partner. Nick has been with me since he was about 4 weeks old. I was an experienced hand feeder of many parrots and with the help of Phoebe Linden (via reading her wonderful works on abundance weaning)I sucessfully raised a wonderful parrot as naturally as possible in a domestic environment.

Sadly, when Nick was a little over a year old, I had to go to work outside the home and even with my husband home all day to help keep him company and take him to his tree and back a few times a day, Nick began pulling out his tail feathers, flight feathers and chest feathers. About 6 years ago, I had sustained a neck injury while employed at a mixed animal veterinary practice and had a three level cervical spine fusion. Nick was so thrilled to have me home full-time again. He slowly stopped plucking and now pretty much full featherd he thrives on me working on my laptop in the living room with him and Koko most of the day and going out for fresh air and sunshine on the deck as the weather permits.

Nick is very in tune with me and my emotions. He will bug me terribly by asking me "Are you happy?" until I answer in a cheery tone, "Yeah!" He will not accept any less then enthusiasm in my answer to him. He KNOWS when I am faking it too! lol But seriously, it is pretty much impossible not be happy around him and even if I am in a bad mood or in more pain then I like to deal with he makes me happy by being the wonderful intelligent, caring creature he is.

Nick helps me the dogs by telling them "Quiet" or "Enough". He knows and calls them by their names (though they rarely pay too much attention to him). If someone is coming up our gravel drive, Nick will be the first to "bark" and get the dogs going in alerting us to their presence.

Want to share stories about your parrots? Please send me any stories and or photos of your birds and I will post them here to share with the world. :-)

KoKo Update

Just a quick little update on Koko Love.

KoKo was once very loved and possibly lived with a sick and elderly person. She has the worst sounding cough imitation I have ever heard and does a lot of loud sighing and moaning.

She continues to be a sweet girl for me but is madly in love with my husband. I had to be gone for a couple of days last weekend and left Koko, Nick and my husband to fend for themselves. When I got home, Koko had plucked all the feathers AND down except those on her wings and tail, she has a bare chest and back now, poor thing. I had assumed she would be happy in my husband's care since she is so crazy about him but with him being disabled, he was only able to come out and feed her three times a day and spend a few minutes with her out on his shoulder or chest while he sat on the couch. I am in the same room with her every day and all day and she and Nick and I just hang out together a lot. She obviously missed me in that respect and even with Nick's company across the room from her and the radio on, she felt abandoned by me and maybe neglected. I feel so bad for her, it was just too soon for me to be leaving her alone over night yet...

She eats well and plays with some toys. She adored the toy that Tracy made for and flew down here to California with in her carrier. She has totally destroyed and pulled everything off the ring now and seems to miss it. Hopefully Tracy will be feeling well enough again soon to make us some more!

KoKo Love

Meet our Koko Love.

Koko loves her name, she uses it in most of her sentences. Koko want some, Koko is a pretty bird, Koko UP, etc. She also adds the word "Love" to her name about 95% of the time. Koko Love want love, Koko Love want some, Koko love wanna go out...

Koko is a little love sponge and can't seem to get enough attention after being so neglected for so long. She allows me to have her step up and sometimes she deems me privileged enough to be able to give her some head scratches but when my husband walks into the living room, she will go into the baby bird begging posture and flutter her wings, whistle, sing, bark, meow and say UP until he comes over and gets her. He can give her head scratches, back rubs, kisses and little hugs. Koko thinks the sun rises and sets on my husband.

We have only had Koko for about three and half weeks now and she comes up with things that are always surprising us and making us smile. About the third day she was here, she let out this big heavy sigh sound with an Ahhhhhhh at the end of it like she was just totally exhausted or bored to tears! That same evening when I was holding her she began to make loud yawning sounds and then when on my husband's shoulder, she made the yawning noise again and then said "Koko Love Sleepy". So we put her to bed.

My husband is disabled and has been bed-ridden for the most part for the last 4 years. Bringing Koko into our home has forced him to come out and see her at least once a day and usually twice. You see, we also have a gorgeous Grey named Nick that is totally bonded to me and has bitten my husband on more then a few occasions. While my husband wanted very much to be friends with Nick, for the most part Nick will have nothing to with him unless I am gone and he wants to go to his tree (We have a large manzinita tree we built about 18 years ago in our living room.) or back to his cage from the tree. Then he will allow my husband to come get him and let Nick ride on his arm back to where ever it is he wanted to go. That's it! No head scratches! LOL So, when Koko came to live with us my husband was in shock that a parrot wanted his attention and affection. Tracy Conant Owner of Pampered Avian Rescue was so right about us being the perfect home for Koko!

When Tracy emailed me and said that she thought we should talk about how to get Koko to me I about fell off my chair! We had never discussed us getting Koko since they did not normally ship parrots. However, when Tracy and I had started talking about her work in Parrot Service animals and my husband's disabilities she began to pray about whether Koko should come live with us or was there a better home for her yet to come. Tracy told me that when she prayed about it that she had a peace and joy wash over her and she KNEW we Koko's forever home!

Little Miss Koko Love

Introducing Koko...

Koko came into our lives on August 2nd, 2008. She is believed to be about 8 years old and was surrendered to Pampered Parrots Avain Rescue in Airway Heights, Washington.

Koko had been living with owners and co-directors of Pampered Parrots Avian Rescue - Tracy and Bret Conant for about two months. Before being surrendered to Pampered Parrots, Koko had been neglected and left in her cage without much attention or time out to play and explore. That kind of life is like rotting in prison for Grey so Koko proceeded to pluck her self.

Tracy and Brent spent a lot of time with her, especially Brent as even though Koko loves everyone, she ADORES men! What looks like red lipstick on Koko in her picture is strawberries. She had just eaten garden fresh strawberries shortly before she decided to share them with Bret; whom she was madly in love with.

We were not looking for a parrot to join our family of one large Congo African Grey male named Nick, 5 Boston Terriers, a barn cat and several Japanese Koi and a few gold fish. It was all God's idea. One morning as I was feeding and talking to Nick I had said how we really could care for and love one more bird. I had no intention of looking at baby parrots, we had lived and gone that route in the past as well as adopting and taming a few wild caught parrots in our days gone by. It would have to be a special bird, one that NEEDED us and the love, attention and good care we had to offer. Then I was distracted by life and work and did not even think that thought again. About two or three days later, I got an email from my dear friend, Maggie Wright she was circulating about a CAG in Utah that had been in rescue, cage bound for two years. Usually I just re-circulate and cross post these emails to my other bird crazy friends but this time, something struck me. Was I to be Tipper's new home? I felt like God was whispering to me and I needed to find out more and put in an application for Tipper.

I then learned that Phoebe Linden, Gay Bradshaw, Kathy White and a few others were all working together to find Tipper a new, forever home. I emailed my application to Lisa, owner of Utah Critter Sanctuary and then called her on the phone to talk about Tipper. Lisa was very hesitant to let Tipper go to anyone out of Utah so it was not meant to be that he come live us.

Meanwhile, I had been corresponding with Tracy Conant at Pampered Parrots. I had seen the picture of Koko on Petfinders but Tracy had told me earlier that they did not ship birds. I had stayed in touch with Tracy about her work in being a parrot service animal advocate and we corresponded back and forth for a week or two. I had shared with her about my husband being disabled and pretty much bed-ridden. He loves the animals living with us but has always been disappointed that Nick would not let him pet him. We talked about the nature of parrots and how she had a service parrot of her own and how she had help place a few and told me of the fantastic ways these birds kept people from anxiety attacks or PTSS flash-backs. One day she emailed me and out of the blue said, "I think we need to talk on the phone about how to get Koko to you" I was in a state of shock. We had never discussed Koko coming to live with us... She then told me that she had been praying about it and believed that not only would Koko benefit by living with us but that my husband would benefit from having her in his life since she was such a flirt and sweetheart with men.

So, Koko came to us a little over a week ago and I will keep you updated on how she adjusts and how our lives are effected by her sweet presence.

Check back soon....

Meet Tipper the Congo African Grey

Meet Tipper

Tipper was born in captivity in 1998, and eight years later relinquished to the Utah Critter Sanctuary & Ferret & Parrot Rescue Shelter.
Destined for the pet trade, Tipper was raised at the nadir of a booming market for hand-fed Grey babies. What happened between his hatching and his surrender to sanctuary is anybody’s guess. Only Tipper knows for sure. He was probably less than 3 months old when he was sold to humans who bought him, a cage, a toy, bowls and food. Less than 10 years later, Tipper has been rejected and passed from “owner” to “owner,” until he finally became homeless.

When he was surrendered into shelter, the people who gave up Tipper told their story of disappointment: Tipper doesn’t act like a well-socialized Grey: he isn’t friendly, he won’t come out of his cage, he’s not playful, he doesn’t talk all that much, he’s easily frightened, and worst of all, he’s a biter. They described how they struggled to get him to exit his cage until they discovered “toweling.” Using a towel, Tipper would be caught by the head and neck in his cage and his wings pinned to his body. Tightly wrapped and held feet up, the panicked bird twitches and thrashes until he is “set free” back into the cage and allowed to kick off the towel. (It is notable that at the shelter, Tipper has never bitten anyone and is considered to be very gentle.)

Unlike many traumatized birds, Tipper is still in overall good health, beautiful, and in excellent, full feather--an “upright and feathered” parrot. For the full story and more, please click HERE

As you will read in the rest of Tipper's story at The Kerulos Center Website, Tipper has come to the attention of many Avian Experts and lovers. We will be keeping up with Tipper and his story here as we learn any news of him finding a new forever home and over-comes his life of being cage bound and mis-understood.

Stay tuned!

Commercial Bird Pellets Good Nutrition??

Hi,I'm Nick, Dr Jeannie's African Grey.
What did you have for dinner last night? I had some sprouted seeds, strawberries and bananas! Mom says I got lots of great nutrition. Okay, What ever, it was yummy, that's all I know! Mom wants to tell you more about some "nutritional" food for us Birds:

Commercial Bird Pellets Good Nutrition??

Finally, I have noticed an ever slowly but increasing amount of skepticism among my bird owning friends towards the many commercial bird foods available these days. Many of the manufactures of these pre-packaged and processed foods claim that their diets duplicate nature or even boast that they are an improvement over nature itself. PLEASE!!!

Is it really realistic to think that we finate humans could duplicate nature in its wholeness and complexity? Improve upon nature?? Are they serious??? How in the world could a dry, processed, fabricated diet ever match or exceed the outstanding quality that can be found in foods God produces in a natural foods diet?

With all the pre-packaged, prepared food choices now on the market, many bird owners have become somewhat dazed about the dos and don'ts of good avian nutrition. From the comments and emails I get, it is clear to see that confusion and frustration abound! While most feed products are touted to be "balanced" or "complete". (just like processed dog and cat food) the manufactures all say that their products are superior in quality. But, are they really?

For some reason, people think that just because a food product is advertised in a magazine or is on your favorite store's shelf that it is safe and healthy to feed your feathered companions. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. If you haven't already done so, it is time you take a closer look at these feed product labels and make sure you can define each ingredient for the future welfare and love of your birds. I will warn you though; you may be very surprised and not very happy with what you find.

Read the ENTIRE article HERE


Copyright © 2003 -2008 This article is the sole property of Dr Jeannie Thomason and Natural Parrot Care.com . It cannot be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the expressed written consent of the author.

Introducing My Second African Grey Parrot to the Flock

Hi Feathered Friends! Our good friend Maggie Wright wrote a great little article on adding a second parrot to your flock. Thought you might enjoy this!

Introducing My Second African Grey Parrot to the Flock

By Margaret T. Wright

I often hear African Grey owners say they want to get a second parrot to keep their current Greys company. If this issue has not been well thought through, it can result in many problems. I learned this lesson the hard way. This is what happened:

Meeting Sweet Pea
My first African Grey Merlin Tewillager and I had been together for three years. Her behavior problems were finally settled and we were a tightly bonded pair. We did everything together, including travel, and Merlin was perfectly content with her small flock of two. At times I would bird sit Greys while friends were on vacation and Merle was very relaxed about that. The visiting birds were usually buddies and she knew the "intrusion" was only short-term. We were in a wonderful situation.

One day I met a neighbor down the street who had a young Congo African Grey chick. The Grey’s name was Leah, she was eight months old and she had been purchased a few months earlier from a pet store for the man’s son who had just gone off to college. Two months later, the neighbor asked me to keep Leah for the weekend. The following Monday I was told that he had to find a home for this precious little bird because his next-door neighbors had served him with a lawsuit about the bird’s noise. I agreed to keep her and find her a new home.

Leah was shy, cuddly and precious, with her baby sounds and clumsiness, and I fell in love with her immediately. She had enormous energy, and I was entertained for hours watching her growl at, attack and chew her toys. She was a bit smaller than Merle and underweight, so I enjoyed spoon feeding either pureed sweet potatoes, carrots or butternut squash to both birds at night. Late at night, after I put Merlin to bed, I cuddled with Leah. I could feel her confidence exude every time I told her how special she was and that I loved her.

As the days went by I became more and more attached to this shy, clucking chick. But Merle’s and my one-on-one relationship was so strong that it was difficult to decide to keep Leah. Merlin’s reactions to the bird made me think my decision was correct. She was so jealous that she started feather picking. One day "Miss Every Feather in Place" pulled a red tail feather, right in front of me. I took it from her and she pulled another one. I took the second one from her, and she pulled a third one. I let her keep it. As the days progressed, there were more feathers than usual in the bottom of her sleeping cage. Weeks later, as I was cuddling Leah, Merle yelled at her, "Yick! You’re lucky!" That unnerved me, and I finally realized how deep Merle’s jealousy really ran. So, every night, I took Merle into the bedroom for our special time, reminding her "You’re the lucky one....we’re partners." To this day, "we’re partners" is her most important phrase.

A friend wanted to take in Leah to be company for her male Congo Grey. However, she did not like the parrot’s name, so I changed it to Sweet Pea, a nickname I had been calling her all the while. We agreed that if it did not work out I would retrieve Sweet Pea and somehow make it work with Merlin Tewillager. Letting go of Sweet Pea was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but for the sake of Merlin, it had to be done.

The First Trial
My friend Dale’s Grey named Burrdo was two years old and about twice Pea’s size. Dale wanted Pea and Burrdo to live together in the same cage. She hired a behavior consultant to oversee the process and a plan of introduction was made. Then we began slowly introducing Sweet Pea to Burrdo.

After a few weeks of afternoon visits, Sweet Pea and her cage were finally transferred over to Dale’s apartment. The parrots were brought together physically on a play-stand for a few hours per day and under supervision. A few weeks later, they were introduced to a new large cage. Individual sections had been set up where each grey had his/her own perches and toys. They were placed together in the new cage for a few hours per day, again under supervision. A few weeks later, they were moved into the new cage. They were also given daily time-outs where one Grey was placed on the play-stand while the other enjoyed the freedom of roaming their shared-cage. The behavior consultant was on call and came by to work with the parrots twice per week.

But the process was not working. Like Merlin, Burrdo was so bonded to Dale that he did not want anything to do with another parrot, especially one in the same cage. They appeared to get along when the apartment was quiet, but the moment Dale or her husband came into the room, Burrdo acted out. He snuck up on Sweet Pea, who was quietly chewing a toy on her side of the cage, knocked her off the perch and then jumped down on top of her at the bottom of the cage, snapping and biting at her.

After nine months of attempting to make this work, it was agreed that I would bring Sweet Pea back to live with Merlin and me. I had been visiting and cuddling with her practically on a daily basis through the whole ordeal; therefore, the transition back into my home went smoothly.

Home Again
However, Sweet Pea came back to me as a bully. By this time, she had been removed from three homes and was determined that she was not going to be separated again. Instead, she was going to remove the competition. She would slide down her cage, sprint across the floor and zip right up Merle’s cage to attack, the moment my back was turned. The situation was so bad that I had to either let them out of their cages at different times, or put them in different rooms. Also, I attached plastic "skirts" to their cage bottoms with velcro to prevent both parrots from being able to quickly climb down to the floor.

Unfortunately, Merle’s behavior also changed. She became more nervous, fidgety and fearful than usual. That’s when I called in avian behavior consultant Jane Hallander to help me sort out what was happening.

Surprise. It turns out that I was contributing to the mess. First, my overreactions, such as running over to the cage to grab Pea, were giving Sweet Pea lots of attention. Secondly, without realizing it, I had lowered Merlin’s alpha status, which made Pea think she could take over. I did this by giving both birds equal treatment. Merlin had lost many of her special privileges, such as being spoken to and served first. What I did for one, I always did for the other. What I thought I was doing to make peace in the home was actually making things worse.

Changing My Behavior
I stopped reacting to Sweet Pea when she attempted to attack Merle. I let Merlin know that she is safe and that Pea would not get her. Then I gave Merlin her privileges back. She always rides in the front seat of the car (no air bags) when we travel. She is always acknowledged first, served first and spoken to first. When I can only take one bird with me on a trip, she is the one to go. I let Sweet Pea know that Merlin is the alpha bird, but I also love her and will never let her go. She has her own special times with me, such as nightly cuddles and individual games. I also take her on a special "Sweet Pea weekend" once a year, where she gets 100% focused attention.

And guess what! Their behavior changed. Merle is no longer fidgety and nervous, and Sweet Pea is less aggressive. On top of that, Merle has her own way of getting back at Pea. She calls Pea "Sweet Pig." She knows the "derogatory" meaning of pig because it is one of her animal sounds and she uses it when she wants to make people laugh.

My "girls" have been together for four years, and although they are not extremely close, they tolerate one another. They talk with each other across the room. Merlin says, "What does the rooster say?" and Sweet Pea responds, "Quack, quack." It is much more fun to give the wrong answers! They can sit together on the same perch for a short period of time, and they have become good company for one another while I’m doing my errands.

Whether Or Not To Add Another Parrot
I have often been asked whether or not someone should purchase another parrot to be company for their Grey. First, it is a lot of work, so the addition of another parrot should be because the owner truly wants an addition to the flock. Secondly, the answer depends on the circumstance and length of time that the Grey has been alone. For example, bringing in two young Greys, either at the same time or a few months apart, should be no problem. However, if your Grey has been living alone in a single parrot household for two or three years, his flock is established; therefore, the addition of another parrot (whether it is another grey or different type of parrot) may bring up territorial and jealousy issues.

An alternative to purchasing a new parrot may be to place a mirror in your Grey’s cage and it will be happy with the "other bird." As avian behavior consultant Jane Hallander called it, it is another bird "without an attitude." However, introduce the mirror in the same fashion as a toy. Make sure your parrot is comfortable with it before leaving it in the cage when you are away. The Bell Plastics cube mirrors can make very popular African Grey cage-mates.

However, should you decide to bring in a new parrot, here are a few suggestions:

Keep them separated: There will always be some level of conflict when a new flock member is introduced. Therefore, it is wise to keep them physically separated in different cages and in different corners of the room so that their perceived territories are not being invaded. Do not ever put them in the same cage, unless it is their idea and after a long period of introduction.

Prepare your current flock: Prepare for the new arrival by setting up its cage beforehand and pretending that it is already there. If it is an overnight surprise, prepare your parrot while the new flock member is in quarantine.

Treat your first Grey as the alpha bird: Maintain your first Grey’s privileges by continuing to speak to him first, serve him first and always remove him from the cage first. Let him know he has not lost his position in the household. If there are specific rituals that he enjoys doing with you, continue them. If the new parrot is a young chick, always tend to your first Grey before cuddling the young parrot.

African grey parrots are so reflective of our energies, attitudes and moods that a positive perspective can quickly improve flock relations. Give a clear message that you intend for everyone to get along... and they will.

© 2003 Margaret T. Wright

Maggie Wright is a marketing consultant and the creator/publisher of the African Grey magazine, The Grey Play Round Table and Natures Corner magazine®. Visit her web site at: http://www.africangreys.com

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Maggie Wright talks about the Human-Animal Bond

African Grey expert, Maggie Wright joined us on the BlogTalkRadio show “Animal Talk Naturally” LIVE, last Wednesday, March 26th, 2008, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. The exclusive interview focused on Maggie’s heartfelt passion about the human-animal bond and how we must continue to fight to keep our lives intertwined and interdependent with animals.

You can listen to show by clicking on the blue box below:

Liz Wilson on Internet Radio Show

Liz Wilson, joins BlogTalkRadio hosts Dr. Jeannie Thomason and Dr Kim Bloomer on “Animal Talk Naturally”, the online, internet radio show all about caring for your pets naturally!

Well-known parrot behavior consultant, Liz Wilson was our very special guest on the BlogTalkRadio show “Animal Talk Naturally” (http://blogtalkradio.com/animaltalknaturally) with hosts, veterinary naturopaths, Dr. Kim Bloomer and my human, Dr. Jeannie Thomason on Wednesday, February 20, 2008. The exclusive interviewfocused on the work that Ms. Wilson has been doing with and for parrots for many years.

We had a lot of fun and Liz's wonderful 50 year old Blue & Gold Macaw, Sam even said "Hi"!

You can hear the recorded show by clicking on the box directly below:

1,200 parrots rescued at airport

1,200 parrots rescued at airport

Over 1,200 exotic African Grey Parrots have been seized from traffickers in Cameroon after 2 two shipments were intercepted by the Ministry of Forests and Wildlife in Douala International Airport.

The parrots were being illegally shipped to Bahrain and Mexico for the exotic pet trade, and are now being cared for by the Limbe Wildlife Centre (LWC).

“As you can imagine it was pandemonium here when they all arrived, squashed into tiny crates, the live birds standing on top of their dead cage mates. It was a terrible scene” says Felix Lankester, Chief Veterinarian of LWC., that has now received 2 truckloads of the dying parrots.

Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), only limited numbers of parrots can be moved or traded.

Please read the full story here!

The World Parrot Trust has more info and ways for you to help.