PARROT, problem! can you help?

Question

I have a dorable Kakatoo, guffin, that has been sucking the life out of me and my family! even though there's no measure of my love towards him, but he's killing me/us!
He is 6 years old( that's what iv been told when bought him, at the age of 2), UNBELIEVEBLY, energatic, playful, demanding and constant craving for attention and if his demands not provided, screems as long as he gets it. Like an exact spoiled brat! He's extremly smart and intelligent and since Im at home 24/7, he expects me to play with him most the time. FAIR ENOUGH! but i can't keep up, there're 3 of us and he makes all of us quit! and that's after playing with all his toys! one of his favourit game is to bide my short! and i can't teach him to quit. And he screams a lot also knows all my tricks of leaving the aprt. so he always blok my way not letting me go along with screaming. There're lot more but i guess, i gave you guys the picture and i do not wish to make my Que. longer than it is. What am i doing wrong?

Answer 1

Well, your choice of getting a cockatoo came with the responsibility of having to deal with things like this and the presumed knowledge you had that cockatoos, of all birds, are known to be THE "Velcro birds". They're much more needy than other birds and are much more prone to picking up bad behaviours in order to get attention or mental stimulation; usually best suited to homes where they can be socialized multiple times a day, usually by one or two people.

If you want to discourage his biting, redirect it. He probably nips at you because he wants your attention and wants to play. If you ignore this action, you're sending him the message that doing this to you won't get him any attention. When he gives up eventually, you can shower him with praise and attention, make a big fuss that he's being so well behaved when he's not prodding and poking at you. You may want to aid this process with edible treats. Or you may want to leave a wood chew or some sort of toy by your pants so he'll pick on that first, or when he fails to get your attention by picking at the shorts, he may direct his beak to the toy.

I hope he's caged. By caging him, you're not only reassuring yourself that he'll be safe when you can't supervise him and his actions (flying, climbing, nibbling, eating, drinking, chewing, shredding), but you're giving him a home and his own cage to be territorial of. Of course if he has full range of the apartment, he's going to find ways to keep you there with him. You're going to have to teach him that his cage is a good place where he should learn to be self amused while you're gone. I taught my birds to return to their cages by luring them with treats, like small bits of millet or after shutting the door when I put them in, feeding the millet/treat. They learn to associate things quickly, so when you return him to his cage, sit by his cage and praise him like he's just won the Nobel prize and give him some treats and/or head scritches.

One thing to discourage screaming is simply to ignore it. It's similar to the dog training technique, "Nothing In Life Is Free" (NILIF). You'll have to wean him off of your time so that he learns that he's not being outright neglected, but that he's gradually transitioning from having 100% of his time with you to having 'X' amount of time for your daily routine. Start reducing the time he spends with you and/or out of his cage over a few weeks. If he screams, ignore it. When he goes silent, run to him and praise him just like you would the biting. Only give him this kind of attention when he's quiet and cooperative. If he's squawking at you and you happen to walk by, don't even do so much as look at him. Don't acknowledge he's there until he can be approached as a calm, cooperative bird.

Keep in mind that no matter what you do, any vocal or physical response to the bird is attention that they want, crave, and love. They learn that by doing things, if they evoke some sort of response from you (yelling, saying NO or OUCH, jumping or flinching, even eye contact), they're getting what they want. When bitten, don't move, don't look, don't yell. If the bird won't let go, you can gently physically lift his upper mandible off of you and put him on a bird safe area while you go cool off, or yell profanity or whatever you choose to do when bitten, in a separate room. Also, you should never punish your bird by sending it to its cage. Birds should feel secure and safe in their cage, not couped up and punished. If they learn that they get sent to their cage when they do something wrong, they'll hate their cage and refuse to go to it knowing the fact. Or if some people have birds who are anti-social and love their cage, they may misbehave so they CAN return to their cage. Punishment never works with parrots, and especially when you include their cage in the matters, it's a lose-lose situation.

It's not the easiest thing to do - to ignore something that's constantly clinging and clawing at you, but it has to be done for progress. If you keep letting him do what he's doing now, you're going to lose it and likely have to send him to another home, even if purely out of frustration. Many people don't fully understand the responsibilities that come with a cockatoo and the 'burden' of their needs, so as a result, MANY pet cockatoos are surrendered to rescues or humane societies. Keep in mind that this will be your bird until he's well into his eighties.

Also, cockatoos tend to reach sexual maturity around 3 and 7 years old. It seems like he's already dealt with that or he may be getting a bit hormonal now, and that you've survived it, so the worst of parrot ownership (in my opinion) is over with. Though keep your eyes open for possible signs of self mutilation, because with its likeliness in cockatoos specifically, that's also one of the worst. But hormonal birds tend to be needier, nastier, and meaner because of their hormones. Work through all of this with patience and never try to rush anything.

Check this out for some more general parrot information on screaming and hormonal tendencies (as well as diet, living with multiple animals, clipping vs. unclipping wings, etc.): http://rationalparrot.com

As an addendum, I agree that birds usually need more stimulation. Many owners are ill educated and don't provide the proper mental stimulation needed for their birds, so that USUALLY is the case. However, some birds, especially cockatoos or African Greys may suffer OVER stimulation and feel the need to self mutilate because there's just way too much going on. It's a bit challenging to stay within a safe spectrum, since there are ill effects of both extremes.

Answer 2

Cockatoos are mentally equal to a two year old human child and emotionaly a three year old human child..their entire life ! They get bored very quickly, demand attention all the time can scream at the top of their lungs but are the most loving, endearing, intelligent feathered friend you could ever have. Yes, it takes time to understand them and figure out what you may be doing wrong. They can be great talkers, so be careful what you say around them..they may repeat it when you least expect it. They will eat a wide variety of foods and should.There are many great books on cockatoos, and a magazine called " Companion Parrot by Sally Blanchard" There are too many to list. Talk to the people at your local pet store, many may be bird owners and of course go on line for more info...Hang in there !!

Answer 3

Goffin cockatoos have a lot of spunk! Many have given advice already, although putting the bird back in it's cage may not be the best of ideas... If the bird is screaming you want to put them in a place that isn't fun.. such as the bathtub of a bathroom for 5 minutes or until he quiets down, or a small pet carriet (such as one for a cat) that's away from everyone else for 5 minutes or until he quiets down. Once he quiets down, praise him highly! Keeping him busy is also a great way to entertain! Also you can look into the Bird Sitter DVD or playing soft music...

Your best bet however is to get a hold of Kim Bear.... she can be of a lot of GREAT help!
http://www.kimbear.com/

Answer 4

Hi, This is not uncommon. He needs to learn to entertain himself. You need to learn to set limits. As you have said, he is a spoiled rotten little brat, and this isnt going to change without a fight. LOL Does he have a cage? Are there any toys that he does play with? I am assuming he is an only bird. Is he your first bird?
I am new to the yahoo lists. I got your question as I was setting up a specialized list for handicapped parrots. So I dont know if I will be able to see the thread. Should we get cut off, feel free to join my brand new list and I'll be happy to help all I can. new list is Handicappedparrots.
Julia Shattuck
Host of Parrottalk list for rescue, rehab and rehome- Secondhand Rose
Owner of private lists- Parrotpeople; HandicappedParrots
Co-author of parts of the next edition of 'For the Love of Greys' by Bobbi Brinker

Answer 5

Nothing
Welcome to parrot parenting.
It's like having a 2 year old for the rest of your life. Complete with screaming, biting, and destroying things.
They are smart, energetic and very social. In the wild they live in flocks of hundreds and fly long distances, which satisfies their needs. In captivity with a "flock" of 3 and just a house to roam around in, they get bored and annoyed.

Things to try:

~Only pay attention to him when he's quiet. This will be hard because you've already taught him that screaming gets attention. Wait until he is eating, or use a penny can (12 pennies in a soda can, tape the top shut. Shaking it startles animals into silence, well, usually) to shut him up and praise like crazy. NO ONE pays attention to the screaming bird. It has to be a group effort or it won't work. Get ear plugs.

~Reach out to other owners. Put ads in local papers and try "play dates". Birds of a feather tire each other out. There are bird leashes that make it more safe.

~Rotate his toys. Put about half of them away. Every week bring out some of them and put others away, even his "favorites". This will extend his interest in the toys and provide the "excitement" of new toys every few days. Cheaper than actually buying new too.

~Get on a schedule. Eating, playing, and quiet time.

~Consider a bird nanny. Lonely birds are very unhappy birds. (remember the wild flock of hundreds?) It's like leaving a 2 year old locked in a cage all day. Unfair and slightly in-humane. You can hire a pet sitting company to come in for an hour or two to play, or you can sign him up for "day care" a few days a week.

Good luck to you.

EDIT
I disagree with esther. I think birds need more stimulation not less. I think putting birds in the busiest place in the house is better than quieter ones.

Answer 6

One trick you can use to stop the biting is called a wobble.

Basically you would be training the bird not to bite through the loss of stability on your arm. When the parrot perches, and acts out in a way that you find problematic, quickly and gently lower your arm so that the bird loses a little bit of balance.

This helps to teach them that it's not acceptable behavior, and causes no harm (just be careful not to overdo it).

As for the screaming, changing the location of his area may help. Try putting him in a place that has less static and noise around.

If he's still having behavior problems regardless, I would talk to a behaviorist that may be able to help you.

~hope this helps!

PS -> Please don't thumbs down just for the hell of it. Answerers actually lose points because of it.

Answer 7

all birds and parrots are difficult... they forever have the mind set of a 2 year old child. nothing can really change that.

as for the biting of your pants... you train them like a dog. command NO loudly.

for screaming obviously the bird wants attention, so don't give it to him. ignore him when he screams. when he's quite praise him and give him LOTS of attention. i know this is hard to do cuz parrots really REALLY know how to scream. better yet respond to his screams with a sooooft whistle. every time he screams whistle softly back. eventually he'll whistle and realize that's how you two will communicate and he'll get more attention by whistling... which lets face... that is WAY more pleasant.

if he always wants to play buy him lots and lots of crazy new toys so he overwhelmed with new things. they love shiney things.

good luck!

Answer 8

I'm 14 but we have an African Gray Parrot. When it screams we raise our voice a little, because we don't want to scare her. Then if she doesn't stop we put a blanket over her cage. (we put a blanket over her cage when she sleeps to.)
Our bird always wants to play. So all we do is say her name and start talking to her. Then she will get tired of talking and shes quiet.

Hope i helped.

Answer 9

I have a Lesser Sulfur Crested Cockatoo, and when he misbehaves, he gets 3 chances, then boom, he's in his cage, covered up with an opaque sheet. That shuts him up.