Pure Parents

Question:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Path: news.getnet.com!news.net99.net!cooking.extremes.net!news3.net99.net!news2.n et99.net!agis!vtc.tacom.army.mil!news1.oakland.edu!jobone!ukma!usenet.eel.u fl.edu!netline-fddi.jpl.nasa.gov!joes-pc.jpl.nasa.gov!user >Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds >Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory >Lines: 32 >NNTP-Posting-Host: sharon-ppc.jpl.nasa.gov >Mime-Version: 1.0 >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >hi everybody:   now that we are somewhat over the crisis of a starving >baby, my pionus seems to be entering some sort of adolescent stage and her >personality is  starting to really change.  don’t get me wrong here, she >is a real sweetheart, and loves attention from everyone but i am noticing >some changes – mostly in attitude. >now, instead of a little cheep here and there, she is starting to get a >squawk that demands immediate response, and, while she won’t take food >from my fingers (we’re still working on that one) she sure doesn’t seem to >have any problem seeing my fingers as something to bite into.  of course, >the nip is nothing compared to when my zon gets in a shot and it’s not a >discovery sort of thing i don’t think – the attitude is different than >when she’s just exploring.  obviously we are getting into the "adolescent" >stage are we not?   If i think way back to when my son was two, i see some >similarities and i think to myself, "oh no, not again." >carson is now 12 weeks old, can anyone provide specifics about behaviour >of pionus for the next couple of months past that point?  i’ve not dealt >with a bird that young before and i’d like to avoid developing bad habits >rather than breaking them later.    i do read pbr and bird talk and just >about anything else i can find but as my luck would have it, (as usual) i >can’t find any books on pionus.  so,   are baby birds like small children >in that while they all have their own idiosyncs, genetics dictate that >they are brats until the age of 15? >i’d appreciate any and all input. thanks >"Tylenol, Tums and Coke – the breakfast of network administrators" >–

Hi Sharon, Yes, birds can be like kids, in that they are always testing you to see who will be the dominant one!  You have to let them know who the boss is. I see a change in our baby grey’s personalities after they are weaned.   It’s as though they are thinking,  "Since I don’t need you to feed me anymore, I can do anything I want!"  In the words of Sally Blanchard (a noted bird behaviorist), you must ". . .establish dominance in a caring, patient way."   In her article "No More Biting Birds," she states  that birds do not know how to be good pets and that the bird owner must show the bird which behaviors are acceptable.  It makes sense.  Alas, it IS parenting all over again!   Sorry!!!!!     Mary Arnold

Response:

hi everybody:   now that we are somewhat over the crisis of a starving baby, my pionus seems to be entering some sort of adolescent stage and her personality is  starting to really change.  don’t get me wrong here, she is a real sweetheart, and loves attention from everyone but i am noticing some changes – mostly in attitude. now, instead of a little cheep here and there, she is starting to get a squawk that demands immediate response, and, while she won’t take food from my fingers (we’re still working on that one) she sure doesn’t seem to have any problem seeing my fingers as something to bite into.  of course, the nip is nothing compared to when my zon gets in a shot and it’s not a discovery sort of thing i don’t think – the attitude is different than when she’s just exploring.  obviously we are getting into the "adolescent" stage are we not?   If i think way back to when my son was two, i see some similarities and i think to myself, "oh no, not again." carson is now 12 weeks old, can anyone provide specifics about behaviour of pionus for the next couple of months past that point?  i’ve not dealt with a bird that young before and i’d like to avoid developing bad habits rather than breaking them later.    i do read pbr and bird talk and just about anything else i can find but as my luck would have it, (as usual) i can’t find any books on pionus.  so,   are baby birds like small children in that while they all have their own idiosyncs, genetics dictate that they are brats until the age of 15? i’d appreciate any and all input. thanks "Tylenol, Tums and Coke – the breakfast of network administrators" —

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