In March, 2004, my husband came home from work with news about a coworker of his who was trying to get rid of her bird.
The bird was said to have multiple behavioral problems, including a problem with biting and a problem with feather picking.
At the time, our experience with birds did not reach beyond our very young, healthy cockatiel. However, another coworker
of his who had no experience with birds thought she would take him home as a novelty. Worried about the bird and determined
to make a difference in his life, we volunteered to take him.
The bird's name was and is Beeper. As it turned out, while the nurse who owned him had tried to take care of him,
her husbandry was seriously lacking in a few crucial elements. To top it all off, he had been constantly abused by her
16-year-old daughter, who liked to yell at him, throw things at him and at his cage, and kick at him while he was on the floor.
We went to see Beeper before making the final decision to bring him home. When we asked him to "step-up", he promptly
chewed our fingers bloody. We took him on, anyway.
The first step to resolving Beeper's behavior problems was correcting his husbandry. His cage was at least 20 years
old. The bar spacing was far enough apart that he could get his head through. There was an opening in his cage
for holding feeding cups that was broken and had homemade wiring across it, and the feeding cup itself was on the ground.
When Beeper moved around in his cage, it was so rickety that it swayed back and forth. He had two wooden dowel perches
and was on an all-seed diet. He had not been regularly bathed; instead, his owner kept a shallow dish of water in his
cage which he used about once a month.
Within a month or two, Beeper had a new cage with a playtop. It was a very large, spacious cage with plenty of
room for a high-energy bird. We furnished it with a manzanita perch, a rope perch, a cement perch, and lots of new toys
for chewing and making noise. He was also converted to a pelleted diet, and offered fresh food choices one to two times
a day. He began showering with me on a daily basis.
It took a long time for Beeper's behavioral problems to start to change. He slowly learned that new toys were fun
to play with, and that Mom and Dad meant him no harm. He even stopped pulling out his feathers, and many of them have
grown back.
Unfortunately, Beeper formed a strong bond with me. This meant that he would chase after my husband and deliver
painful bloodly bites. It has taken six months of consistent operant conditioning training to get Beeper to act civil
to my husband. At this point in time, Beeper can be out of his cage in the same room as my husband with no problems.
My husband can approach him on any perch and touch him and play with his beak and feet, and scritch his head with no problems.
We hope that with more time and patience, my husband will be able to handle Beeper again.
Rescue birds can make great pets, but they take a lot of time and dedication. Beeper came to us as "free bird!
comes with cage!", but even birds who come without a price tag can be expensive. We have spent over $1,000
in new bird supplies and vet care this year for Beeper alone. In exchange, I have found a wonderful avian companion.
FYI: Beeper is an 8-year-old senegal parrot.
