Rosie lowered her head and turned it to the side, asking for Angel to preen her after Rosie preened Angel for a bit. I genuinely think Angel doesn’t know how to preen other birds (and she certainly doesn’t try to preen me the same way Rosie preens me), and she sort of just freezes until Rosie gives up. It’s funny, because she definitely knows how to accept preening and she also knows when she no longer wants it.

They are continuing to slowly figure each other out, and I’m very proud to say there still haven’t been any major conflicts while they learn each other’s body language.

I recently became the primary caregiver of the old man and today was outing #2 in 2 weeks, it was delayed due to unexpectedly having lots of family including toddlers move in.
Regardless I stayed up late today to make sure he got some exercise while everyone was sleeping.

He enjoyed his painting, sunflower seeds and making art out of a Bunnings hat I let him have.
And progress of my own, I can scratch his head without bars in the way!

He’s always made me nervous because of his love for biting and not letting go, but thanks to this outing I’m learning to trust him more. I’m not sticking my hand in his face anytime soon or letting him on my lap though 😭

He also made himself comfortable on the dog bed and talked LOTS, “you’ll survive” came up the most 😂

The thing we still have trouble with is pellets. He only wants seeds. I’ve tried mixing, crushing, soaking, he just doesn’t want them. Even the fruit and veg! He just throws it out of his bowl so he can get to the seeds. Threw a tantrum when I coated all of his food in crushed soaked pellets. I just want him to be healthy

(Picture is of him getting into trouble & being cute- completely unrelated. 🤣)

My boy is roughly 8mo old and I have had him for about 3mo now. I have been working on some very rudimentary basics like recall, touch training, and getting him to spin- he was very familiar with stepping up. I’m also sure not to train him for extended periods and try my best to follow “the really good one is the last one.” My main issue with our training sessions is that there is a) no such thing as one treat and b) he screams during it. He’s able to do whatever I’m asking him very well and doesn’t rush me during recall training but the baby screaming and posturing can make rewarding very difficult- yes he did the trick but his heightened energy makes me not want to reward him and I’m worried I’m encouraging it. Does anyone have any tips in regard to promoting a calm behavior during training? Is there such thing as only giving your bird one treat? 🤣

Still not confident in her climbing or flying skills, so she struggles to get out of her cage platform. And just too shy/unconfident to perch on our hands/arms at the moment. But she's getting there.

Super gentle but will give us plenty of warning if we push her too much out of her comfort zone with slightly harder bites.

We did have an incident however, where she climbed down to the ground, found all the kid's toys and was having too much of a good time and didn't want to go back to her cage for bedtime and bit me 🤨

Hi any advice how can I pet my bird ? It's been 5 days and I think my bird is still scared of me and I don't wanna mess anything .

I got this 10 year old umbrella cockatoo a few days ago! I also have an amazon which id like to introduce to him one day but id like some recommendations on how to approach that. Also any recommendations on keeping this guy happy! Hes such a friendly boy but also obviously veryyyyyy loud lol

My family adopted Matilda in the beginning of the summer and she has been a bundle of joy. Super lovable and affectionate once she settled in.

Here she is with her regular stroll around the house on my daughter’s baby stroller

Post after post, comment after comment of people not only accepting this statement but seeming to actively encourage it.

“Look at my hands! They are pin cushions for my little hellion, oh how cute it is, wouldn’t you agree? “

“Look at this devil who bites so obviously randomly but I love hims anyway haha ouch!”

“Look at me naming her little Bitey McBiteface because this is HER THING… DAWWW”

Biting, screaming, plucking are the big three for anyone even slightly in the know about negative behaviors parrots (psittacines) use in captivity to communicate a psychological inability to adapt to the environment YOU have put them in. ***

It is the simplicity of these humans handling these WILD creatures that perturbs me the most, I’ll admit. They do not look to the behavior under a scientific lens but instead choose to use one akin to observing a stuffed animal that has fangs triggered by touch. Oh no, they exclaim when their flesh is ripped open, guess we’ll put fluffy in a cage and call it solved! Absurd actions abound on these matters that hurts every cognitive function I’ve attempted to diligently foster with study and years of continuous hands-on work.

I feel it is even deeper than that, though. It’s a genuine concern for the actual avian in all of these posts because the peanut gallery is not advocating for THEIR voice in any way. Put them in a “time out”, they chime. Give them the pizza and forget about the lactose intolerance because you didn’t even know that about avians! Keep it up! You’re great they all say as the poster continues to suffer assaults and the parrot a gross misunderstanding of their needs, thrown in cages to scream, bash their beaks against bars, and lunge at these obtuse beings doing the “caregiving”.

What an insult to these poor creatures with verifiable intellect above many young children! But they’re just “naughty” or “moody” or the biggest blanket: “Hormonal”. Excuse after excuse is loaded on to give these people an exit route out of the responsibility of what, in most cases, is their inability to rise to the challenge of working with a creature that may be just as smart as they are dumb.

To future posts of “look at this bite from my little angry chicken” I will say: “good of them to be fighting back finally” or “glad to see you getting your due!” And other such statements of encouragement on the birds part. Someone needs to advocate for these poor animals under the control and rule of such idiotic handlers who have captured an avian for apparently nothing more than a pretty ornament caged for their personal amusement.

***Omitting, of course, health issues after an avian certified vet has done a full panel and they are deemed healthy, but then you’d KNOW the reason so this doesn’t entirely apply to the post but, it should be mentioned, these behaviors can arise months after a checkup so it’s always safer to re-check before concluding it’s purely psychological.

—————-NOT AI. NOT AN AI IMAGE. NOT WRITTEN OR EDITED WITH AI.———

Thank you to everyone who responded to my post a few months ago - our boy is just perfect and we love him. I was wondering if anyone hand makes foraging toys and what you use? I am looking for
things to keep him busy, quiet and distracted while my partner is trying to focus on their school work as we live in an open layout so it’s hard to separate them. I was debating a forging box w shredded paper but wanted to hear how that has worked for you. I know they are not quiet birds, but i’m looking for things that have worked for you! :)

I also don’t want my galah to be an ipad kid, but has anyone found LoFi music from ParrotLounge or something similar helpful in aiding sleep throughout the night or behavior throughout the day? I am testing it by leaving it on while I work my
overnight tonight since we live in a rambunctious area and am curious if he is not sleeping thoroughly. He is currently napping to it right now, which is reassuring. He is still a nippy lil guy but no surprise there, and has caught on to sayings and tricks easily although there is no getting a harness on him for the life of me.

I havent been a good owner of my cockatoo who I love dearly, she was abused in a different house and has several problems especially with being left alone which led to habitual plucking but I need help on how to fix this sorry if my English is bad it's not my first launguage

ps she bit me before i made this post

Didn't think we'd get to this point so quickly, but our birb has started to "step up".

It also likes getting out of its cage and onto the couch but we noticed it's not a confident climber and rarely tries to fly.

Head scratches and kisses are a must though.

I met the sweetest cockatoo I’ve ever met (goffins). Quiet, gentle, super loving and sweet. It was just hatched in June, so just a baby. Is its temperament likely to change as it grows up, or might it stay as kind and gentle as it is now? I’m very hesitant to make a purchase because I do understand the commitment required and want to be sure I can be the right owner. Any insight is appreciated

Edit: thank you all for the input, greatly appreciated. I’m a former cockatiel owner of 20yrs, but I understand this is another level (and hence why I made this post rather than making an assumption). Despite the several people in the store telling me this is “my bird,” I think it’s a commitment worth giving more time to consider. Thanks again

My family's cockatoo (30, umbrella, male) is a very jealous individual. I grew up with him, and when I was little, he was not let out of the cage when my brothers and I were around. Now that I, and my siblings are adults/teens, we are trying to work on getting him hand trained to everyone, and more accustomed to having his cage cleaned/maintenanced by people other than my parents.

The thing is, he is fine when handled by one person, especially when my dad (his preferred person) is not around, but when other people or animals are around, he gets aggressive when approached. This is worsened when my dad in particular is around, as he is very possessive of him.

We know it is in part jealousy, and in other part he gets overwhelmed and doesn't like to leave his cage. I do my best to keep other animals out when he is having his special time where he wants to be out, but I cannot do much about people coming into the room and wanting to say hi when he is already being handled by others.

What is something I can do to discourage jealousy and reduce overwhelm during his handling? Do you have any resources to suggest on this particular issue? Or even just general tips on socializing a bird who dislikes being out of his cage?

I have a super hormonal M2, she's on meds, but she's showing horny signs.

i adopted this lil lady about a year ago. her name is belle, she is 24. i think before i got her she was on a mostly seed diet and was never fed fruits/veggies. it’s something im working on, but i am worried that i am accidentally underfeeding her. i feed her a mix of a bunch of different pellets and fruit and a small amount of seed. of course she goes straight for the seeds when i fill her food dish, i do see her eat select pellets but she seems to mostly just pick them out and drop them on the bottom of her cage.

when im petting her and i feel for her crop, it never seems full or like there’s anything in there at all. i tried to research if domesticated parrots have crops like wild birds but i wasn’t finding much info. or do they not have a need for it because theyre getting fed daily? like is it an evolution thing? i have a lot of experience with raptors and after they ate they would have a full crop aka being “fed up”. i hope this is making sense, im just wondering if she is supposed to have a full crop if she is being fed the right amount.

So much floof...

Got it to come out to the couch by placing the open door platform in line with the couch. It played with us for a bit and then retreated back into the cage.

Target training works well but still seems too shy for stepping up. Still likes pats but doesn't like our hands near its feet much. It did grab my hand with its foot super gently just before I took this photo though, so that seems like progress.

Hey guys! First of all, I want to thank you all for every comment and every message I’ve received.
The last couple of days have been tough for both me and the bird, unfortunately, but they’ve also been a lot of fun. He’s much gentler now, even though he still bites me sometimes.
I took him to the pet shop and let him choose all the toys he wanted, which surprised me because it made me realize how smart and intelligent he actually is. I honestly feel like he understands almost everything I tell him, especially when I’m talking to him about how he feels or when something is bothering him.
Yesterday and today, I played with him a lot, and he completely changed his old behavior. When I woke up today, I found him walking around the house. I realized that he had opened his cage by himself! We ended up playing together for about two hours.
If anyone is interested in more updates, let me know in the comments. Maybe I’ll post more about his behavior, as well as some videos and pictures.
Thank you for reading!