Bi-monthly Bulletin MagazineArticle
ARRIVING HOME WITH YOUR NEW BABY BIRD
Reprinted from the original article 9/91 By: Dottie Schira PARTII OF II
( Our magazine has info and articles for both bird owners and breeders. Keep up with the latest bird care, household hazards, specie profile, and more. )
PART II OF II 
Another mistake new bird owners make is to run right over to the cage the moment they get home from work and let their bird out of the cage. Again, the first time you are too busy or tired to do this, your bird will not understand and he will probably voice his objections. It is best to wait until you unwind and relax before getting your bird out of his cage. After all, time spent with your bird should be quality time not rushed, stressed out time with your bird.
Now lets talk about your birds' screaming. Many people start looking for some kind of treat to give their bird to shut it up. Your bird just taught you a trick. He screams and you reward him with a treat. Don't even think about yelling back at him. He can yell louder and longer then you can ever hope to. He thinks that you are playing a screaming game with him and he is going to want to win. If you are thinking of throwing something at his cage, then think again. Been tried, doesn't work. He looks at this as attention. It might be negative, abusive attention, but what the heck, it's attention just the same.
Ignore your bird as best you can when he screams. He will be quite persistent in his screams waiting for you to break down and give him what he wants. Do not doubt his intelligence for a moment. He is watching your every reaction, reading you like a book. Be more persistent in ignoring him. This may mean weeks. Yes I said, "Weeks," of ignoring your bird before he gives up.
Try rewarding your bird when he is quiet. You can reward him by giving him his favorite treat. Ignore the screaming, reward the silence. You may want to save his favorite treats and only give them to him as a reward for being quiet. This way he will want to do what is necessary like being quiet to get his favorite treat. The bird owner is usually responsible for more than 75% of his/her bird's personality and bad habits. There are usually no bad birds, just uninformed new bird owners.
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10/5/98
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