Lonely parrot

[tendrini]

I have recently sort of "inherited" my teenage daughter's parrot - a four year old green cheeked conure. He was living in her bedroom, but she seemed to realize that he was really bored and lonesome since she was gone most of the time. Now, his cage is in the dining room so he can be part of what is going on in the household.

The problem is that I can't bear it when he squawks, which is quite a lot. My daughter says he is trying to contact the flock, and from what I've been reading about parrots, this makes sense, as they are very social creatures. I've noticed that when I am where he can see me, he is quiet, but if I leave his sight, the squawking begins - very high pitched and sharp, and it is almost physically painful to hear.

So, I've been carrying him around the house with me in a smaller cage, all day every day. He seems to like this, and is quiet and very attentive in every room we go to. I have a spot in every room where his cage sits, even in the bathroom. I also let him out of the cage as often as I can, and he seems to want to sit on my shoulder or head,which at least keeps him safe from the cats (three oblivious ones) But, there are times that I need to leave the house, and I can tell that he is unhappy to be put back in his cage in the dining room. I've been leaving the tv on and even bought a "parrot sitter" tape, but he still sounds miserable and pathetic.

Over the last few months, I have neglected to do a lot of things because I'm worried about this bird. My husband thinks I'm crazy and has warned me not to get too attached to him. I believe very much that it's wrong to keep a bird as a pet, especially such a smart one, and there's a lot of history to the situation, but right now, I'm completely stuck. I have no perspective since I'm right in the middle of this. One idea I had was to find him a buddy, so I won't be his only "flock". Does anyone have any insight on this? I am not very familiar with parrots, having always had cats.

 

[Aiming]

Hi tendrini,

yes, parrots are flock birds and they would need at least one companion, otherwise they really suffer and get really loud (as you've experienced) calling for their flock; also, it could happen that the bird gets so depressed that it starts plucking out its feathers. :(

So an option would be to either get him a companion or find a good new home for him, where he'll be in company and well cared for.

Should you decide to keep him, make sure to inform yourself well about this type of bird and how to care best for him - there are many sources to learn from on the internet.

 

[Laura]

Anart has been a parrot rescuer for years. Perhaps she will chime in on this one.

 

[Richs]

I understand and sympathize with what you are going through. We have had two dogs who were together for about 11 years and were inseparable. This ended with the death of the slightly younger one a few weeks ago. Now, the one who is left is very unhappy and uncomfortable if left alone for more than a few minutes. We try to always have someone with her but this is not always possible.

The suggestion to get another parrot to keep company sounds good and the idea to find another home for it might work too. They are definitely in need of company!

 

[Buddy]

I don't have anything to add to this advice already given, but I do hope there's a beneficial outcome. I've always felt bad seeing any caged birds, especially parrots.


About a year ago I read an inspiring lonely parrot story I could share with you, though.

The captain of a pirate ship was about to disembark to shore where his ship had recently arrived. He told his captive parrot that this island was where the parrot's family lived and that if the parrot's family was found, he would pass along a message to them if the parrot desired. The dejected parrot said to just tell them he (the parrot) lived in a cage.

Later, during his explorations of the island, the captain came upon the parents of his captured parrot and told them that their 'son' was doing fine living in his cage. The captain was about to ask if there was a message to pass back to the son, but before he could form the words, the father parrot, just completely fell over sideways, hit the ground and lay there unmoving, apparently dead of shock or something.

Seeing the unmoving father parrot, the mother parrot took off flying up and away, completely disappearing from view.

The captain shrugged his shoulders and returned to the boat. He told his captured parrot of the visit with the family. His parrot asked if there was a message from his parents.

The captain answered "No, no message." The parrot was depressed, but asked: "What happened?"

The captain answered "Nothing. ...all I saw was that your dad died of shock, falling over and hitting the ground. Then your mom took off flying through the trees, who knows where".

Hearing that, the captain's parrot fell over, hitting the bottom of the cage where he lay still. Seeing this, the captain became alarmed. As soon as he opened the cage to retrieve the parrot, the parrot jumped up and flew out, high into the sky, rejoined both his parents and all three lived happily ever after.

 

[anart]

I have recently sort of "inherited" my teenage daughter's parrot - a four year old green cheeked conure. He was living in her bedroom, but she seemed to realize that he was really bored and lonesome since she was gone most of the time. Now, his cage is in the dining room so he can be part of what is going on in the household.

It's good that you moved him to the dining room. Isolation can and does drive parrots to insanity. This is a complicated subject because bird behavior can be affected by so many things - and conures can be LOUD! They can also be fantastic companions. Caged birds, in my experience, should always be in the most active room in the house. They are startlingly mentally and emotionally active, they need stimulation and attention.

The problem is that I can't bear it when he squawks, which is quite a lot. My daughter says he is trying to contact the flock, and from what I've been reading about parrots, this makes sense, as they are very social creatures. I've noticed that when I am where he can see me, he is quiet, but if I leave his sight, the squawking begins - very high pitched and sharp, and it is almost physically painful to hear.

The fact is that you are his flock. You and your daughter have become his flock, so as flock creatures, he needs company. When you are out of his sight, he screams to get attention/affection/interaction.

So, I've been carrying him around the house with me in a smaller cage, all day every day. He seems to like this, and is quiet and very attentive in every room we go to. I have a spot in every room where his cage sits, even in the bathroom. I also let him out of the cage as often as I can, and he seems to want to sit on my shoulder or head,which at least keeps him safe from the cats (three oblivious ones) But, there are times that I need to leave the house, and I can tell that he is unhappy to be put back in his cage in the dining room. I've been leaving the tv on and even bought a "parrot sitter" tape, but he still sounds miserable and pathetic.

Unfortunately, parrots shouldn't live in cages, so, he likely IS miserable - that's just the fact of the matter and we as the humans who live with them must take steps to make their lives as pleasant as possible. Your taking him from room to room is a great idea and very helpful and healing to him, but it sounds like it's not the best long term solution - or - maybe it is, if it's easy for you to do. Actually, since you have cats it might be the perfect solution - it keeps him safe and keeps him involved in what is going on in the house. A lot of toys to chew - wood especially - tends to help as well.

It really comes down to the fact that he - like most creatures - needs attention and you're giving that to him. When my birds get unreasonably loud (I have one African Grey who does this specifically to me - and because I react) I do occasionally use a water bottle to squirt the bird - just to give them a clue that it's not acceptable to shriek at that volume when I'm only ten feet away. They're very much like children - very active minds and short attention spans with the ability to really act out when they're unhappy or lonely and it's okay to let them know when they cross the line with a little squirt of water!

Over the last few months, I have neglected to do a lot of things because I'm worried about this bird. My husband thinks I'm crazy and has warned me not to get too attached to him. I believe very much that it's wrong to keep a bird as a pet, especially such a smart one, and there's a lot of history to the situation, but right now, I'm completely stuck. I have no perspective since I'm right in the middle of this. One idea I had was to find him a buddy, so I won't be his only "flock". Does anyone have any insight on this? I am not very familiar with parrots, having always had cats.

Well, you're not crazy and you're already what your husband likely thinks is 'too attached to him'. That's good for him, since you care and will try to make his life less stressful! Since you have cats, I wouldn't recommend getting him another parrot. It's a recipe for a very ugly end - cats can't help being cats and unless they are declawed, they can kill the birds with only a scratch due to the bacteria in their claws. Plus, there is no guarantee that the bird will get along with the new parrot. Does this bird happen to have a mirror in his cage? If not, you might want to consider it. It's not the most healthy alternative, but it might help. Also, a LOT of wooden toys to chew make a difference, he needs activity.

Also, when you leave the house and he gets so upset, consider placing a dark sheet over his cage when you leave. It can take some getting used to, but it usually calms the bird and they end up napping while you're out and are thus not quite as stressed by the whole experience. It sounds like he's a really social bird, which is good, but it does take time and effort to keep him happy. I'm not sure if this is much help, but if you have more detailed questions, feel free to send me a PM.

 

[D69]

Wow I didn't realize that parrots might need so much attention !
I have never had one.

 

[tendrini]

Thanks to everyone for your responses. I feel kind of silly posting about this parrot when all the world is such a mess, but he's really a family member so I guess he counts.

Bud - loved your story. Reminds me of a scene in David Attenborough's "Birds" documentary where all kinds of tropical animals are being floated up a river in cages. Very disturbing image. At one point, the camera focuses on some captured parrots who are trying to figure out the lock on their cage. As we watch, they open the latch and all fly away, and you could just hear the audience think "Yes!".

Anart - I appreciate your expertise. My biggest problem is that there are only three people in our household, and I'm the only one who is around the house very much. When I can't be here, I know it's distressing. If I can figure out how to do it, I'll send you a PM with some questions.

Drygol - Parrots are really smart and need all kinds of things that dogs and cats don't. It seems to me a terrible thing that they are sold in pet stores. I suspect that there are many who live in neglect, judging from the number of parrot rescue organizations and the sad stories of birds in their care.

 

[1984]

Anart - I appreciate your expertise. My biggest problem is that there are only three people in our household, and I'm the only one who is around the house very much. When I can't be here, I know it's distressing. If I can figure out how to do it, I'll send you a PM with some questions.

Hi tendrini - if you haven't already discovered this: to send a PM to anart, at the top of your screen you will see:

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[alphonse]

We live in South-East London, in a leafy suburb and flocks of wild parrots and parakeets are now abundant, and we see more of parrots in the garden than than Magpies or pigeons. They particularly like the pear tree and one of the cats is kept bemused for hours staring at their pretty feathers flitting from tree to tree. Luckily they don't fly low or graze off the ground so they keep well out of her reach.

BBC news ran this story - no one really knows the origin of the birds but estimates in 2004 put their numbers at around 20,000!

al

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3869815.stm

Wild parrots settle in suburbs
By Sean Coughlan
BBC News education


The number of wild parrots living in England is rising at 30% per year, says an Oxford University research project.

Parks and gardens in the leafy London suburbs have been adopted as a preferred habitat by birds that are native to southern Asia.

In the Surrey stockbroker belt, a single sports ground is believed to be home to about 3,000 parrots.

The rate of increase, helped by mild winters, is much greater than had been expected.

The findings have also been echoed by a large number of e-mails from BBC News Online readers, who have reported how parrots - particularly parakeets - have now become familiar sights.

Parrot hotspots

These hundreds of e-mails, including photographs, highlighted hotspots such as west of London, Surrey and parts of Kent.

Parakeets in King George Park in Ramsgate
Parakeets in King George Park in Ramsgate, picture by Mark Jobling
But there were also parrots reported in inner-London, including parks in Peckham, Brixton, Greenwich and Kensington.

And a few parrots had been spotted in East Anglia, the North West and in Scotland.

There were also sightings from readers overseas, reporting urban parrots in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Spain and the United States.

E-mails from readers also offer a range of theories about the arrival of parrots in Britain - including that they were brought by Jimi Hendrix, that they escaped during the making of a film and that they were released from aviaries damaged during the great storm of 1987.

Researchers have been tracking several varieties of parakeet, originally from countries such as India and Brazil, but which are now surviving in ever-greater numbers in southern England.

The findings, from Oxford University's Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, give a glimpse of exotic creatures in unlikely places.


Last summer, there were areas of woodland that sounded more like equatorial rain forest than suburban parkland.
Adam Tandy, Richmond
Alexandrine parakeets have been spotted by Lewisham crematorium and orange-winged parakeets, native to the Amazon, have now set up home in Weybridge.

South American monk parakeets have formed a colony in Borehamwood and blue-crowned parakeets were observed in Bromley.

There have been reports that there could now be 20,000 wild parrots, including parakeets, living in England, with the largest concentration around London and the South East.

The population boom has been put down to a series of mild winters, a lack of natural predators, food being available from humans and that there are now enough parrots for a wider range of breeding partners.

In particular, they have been observed in growing numbers in the outer suburbs and the Home Counties, with trees in parkland and sports grounds becoming their homes.

Rugby fans

Esher Rugby Club's ground was observed to have had a parrot population that grew from 800 to 2,500 in the space of three years - and researchers estimate there might be 3,000 living there.

Richmond parrots
In an English country garden? Four parrots in Karen Smith's garden in Richmond
Project Parakeet, led by researcher Chris Butler, has been examining the growth of the population of wild parakeets - with the aim of finding whether the current sharp increase will continue.

If it does, there are concerns that wild parrots could become a pest to farmers or threaten other wildlife.

Grahame Madge, spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), says parakeets are bigger and bolder than some of their native rivals - and "are quite capable of evicting other birds".

They also like fruit and he says that if they moved into fruit-growing areas, it would pose problems for farmers.

Heathrow flights

At present, the RSPB says parakeets are particularly concentrated in the west London, south-west London and Thames Valley area - and this has given rise to the urban legend that the birds originally escaped from a container at Heathrow airport.


We have a flock of sometimes up to 20 green parakeets flying around the neighbourhood. You wouldn't believe it unless you'd seen it with your own eyes
Nigel Pettinger, Bromley
But Mr Madge says there has never been any proof of this theory.

Escaped parakeets have been spotted nesting in this country since the 19th Century. Even though there was a wild population in the 1960s, the numbers remained very low through to the mid-1990s, when the population appeared to start increasing more rapidly.

Birdline UK's Parrot Rescue, which looks after abandoned birds, says parrots are now acclimatised to conditions in this country and are quite capable of living and breeding here.

But this is causing problems for other native birds, which are being pushed out by the growing numbers of parrots.

 

[Roger]

Tendrini, anart and all : a little cute Parrot story; I have a Yellow Nape Amazon, quite large which was acquired in an unusual way in 1992. My Son and Daughter-in law have been breeding birds since the mid eighties and are very successful at it, having approx 60 pairs, but parring down now to more of a store type business. They came across a family who had to move and had 5 birds, which they kept in a very well lit back room of there house. I was asked if I wanted a bird as a pet, but rapidly declined as at the time I didn't particularly care for a flying friend ( nor did my wife )..But as usual I went along with them anyway to help move cages, etc. While there, you couldn't help but notice one parrot separated from the others. Anytime anyone including its family would come near the cage, he would growl like a dog and sometimes snap at them. For some crazy reason I approached the cage and she would calm down. While the negotiations where going on in another room between my son and the seller, I couldn't help but open the cage door ( as for some reason I was never afraid of any animal) and good old Fred, they thought it was a male, walked out on the limb of his cage, jump on my hand, walked up my arm, put her head in my neck, nestled and started to coo and cry like a baby. The former owners almost had a heart attack, but from that moment on, Frederika was mine...Since taking her to the vet and finding out its a female, she stays with us and gos with us everywhere. My son put a sign on the cage which reads "spoiled rotten amazon" and how true it is. She doesent take to strangers until she feels that she knows them and believe me she is the best Watchdog you can have. With an amazing vocabulary, love of opera and classical music ,eating all especially Italion food, she a great companion. Our two cats where terrified of her, but she grew on one (the Siamese) as a mate. She would call her all the time and play all day long. When the Siamese died, Frederika was devastated, and it took her a little while to get over it . I really believe that as smart and loving that this bird is, she will be an excellent 3D candidate. If love and care is given to any sane animal, they will respond in kind. best regards Roger

 

[Franco]

Hi Tendrini,

We have a 1.5 year old ducorps cockatoo, he/she also doesn't like it if you leave him alone in a room for a few minutes and will scream, he is ok if we are in the same room.

Have you given the parrot lots of toys to play with, this is mostly how we keep him busy.

Also if we put the parrot in his room/cage where he sleeps with toys, hes normally fine to be alone, but if he can hear us talking, he gets upset.

Doesn't seem to care if the tv or music is playing but if he can hear our voice he might start screaming.

Our wakes up at around 10AM and spends all day with us usually ontop of the LCD screen (warm), on his pirch in the lounge or running around the lounge.

We have a cat too but she wouldnt do anything to the parrot.

I know the screaching can be annoying, but i think it's best to ignore the parrot if it is throwing a tantrum, this can go on for 30 - 60 minutes.

But ours learnt that we wont come or it wont get attention if it's screaming for no reason.

Also make sure the parrot isn't hungry/thirsty, if it's in it's cage i assume it's not.

As long as our parrot can see us and has toys, lots of toys, he rarely screams now.

Different species of parrots are different though, i'd search online for forums that deal with that specific breed.

Example, African greys dont usually like to be cuddled that much, compared to say out species where you can treat it like a baby, it will lay on its back and you can tickle its tummy, the African Greys my girlfriend used to have wouldn't be comfortable with that kind of intimacy.

I have seen some great looking training programs for parrots online also, similar to dog training, using rewards and clickers, you could take a look at that if it got really bad.

 

[Gonzo]

Hi tendrini,
I don't know why, but I seem to have a special place in my heart for birds and was deeply moved by your plight as well as the caring responses.

Although my brother had a budgie when we were kids, that flew around freely and only slept in his cage, I fell in love with exotic birds as a youngster growing up, watching the tv show, Baretta - the undercover cop with a cockatoo named Fred. Although I thought it would be pretty cool as a kid to walk around with a cockatoo on your shoulder all day, I never did own one as I couldn't stand the thought of taking something from the wild that really epitomizes freedom and caging it, or worse, clipping its wing. It just seemed so wrong.

However, perhaps you could consider that you are actually rescuing this bird and trying to provide it a meaningful, stimulating and loving existence as much as is possible.

I trust Anart will be able to address your questions and concerns and wish you well on this noble venture that will undoubtedly teach you as much about yourself as about parrots.

A few years ago I saw a documentary called "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill". Really quite an amazing story and the birds were simply awesome.

By the way, I didn't think one can get "too attached" - funny how one person's sense of attachment can be another's normal behaviour.

Wishing you and your menagerie well,

Gonzo