BONGO BIRD
Good Psittizenship
You asked what are "good psittizenship" (good parrot
citizenship) behaviors?
Simply put, "good psittizenship" is a synonym for the
well- behaved parrot. Now it's important to stress that what is well-behaved for
me may not mean EXACTLY the same thing to others but for my purposes a
"good psittizen" is a well-behaved parrot that lives in my home
........ or your home.
"Good psittizenship" is not some formula for behaviors
that can be laid out and followed step by step rather it's individual to
each parrot and each caretaker involved in teaching appropriate
behaviors - although there are some generalizations. What one might think of as
a concept that involves our teaching parrots those behaviors which allow
them to thrive and flourish in the environment we provide.
When we set them up for success that is not to even slightly imply that good
behavior springs willy nilly from some internal fount of knowledge inside the
bird. Like most things in this life, good behavior needs to be learned. In
other words it's something that is taught. While we humans may prefer to think
of good psittizenship behaviors as following the rules of our household, the
well behaved bird is the one who has been taught, learns and repeats
those behaviors which get it the most access to positive reinforcement. It's
both that simple and that complicated.
How can we set them up for successful lives with us? By thinking about
what we want the bird to "do". To that end, good psittizenship
behaviors could include:
- a bird that will step up most of the time under differing and sometimes
difficult circumstances.
- a bird that will "station" (go to a specific perch and stay in that
defined area) when cued or to numerous different perches through out
the home.
- a bird that doesn't chew the wood work, clothing, appliances or damage
furniture.
- a bird that lives in harmony with other non humans in it's environment (
always a work in progress as the dogs and birds tend to "rat" each
other out).
- a bird that comes to a specific station when so cued.
Certainly it's possible to have fewer OR more behaviors listed and still in no
way remove the essence of a parrot being a parrot. They WILL vocalize. They WILL
enjoy themselves. They WILL have fun and, in our particular case, they
WILL fly. Yes, I know that "enjoy" and "fun" are labels but
they are easy to operationalize using the bird's body language and the twinkle
in their eyes. :>))
It is also important to remember that there are always at least two parties
involved in any interaction and often more. Each party, regardless of species
has inputs to the exchange.
On the one side we have the contribution of the parrot which might be stated as:
- to learn (which they would be doing anyway with, or without, our conscious
input)
- to be the best parrot it can be given the individual circumstances.
- to enjoy life.
On the other hand we as parrot, or other animal, caretakers have certain
responsibilities towards those species who reside with us:
- To communicate our intentions with clarity. Clear, consistent reinforcement
for those behaviors we want to see more of which includes having a well
defined picture of the behavioral end product no matter what it is we want to
train. Establishing explicit contingencies so that your bird knows that IF this
event happens THEN that will occur or he'll get that. It's up to us to give the
bird the opportunity for sufficient practice through repetitions and
positive reinforcement.
- To respect each bird for who, and what, they are given their previous
learning history. That means teaching behaviors not "grabbing"
them by force or coercion. An example might be, making sure that the bird has
both feet securely on your hand/arm before moving away from the perch - not
being half way out the door while the bird is still in the process of stepping
up. Respect also includes learning to understand a bird's body language
such that you are NOT forcing behavior on a bird. On occasion, sometimes a bird
just doesn't want to be petted, cuddled or shoved off to someone new. It
also means seeing and hearing what your bird is telling you with it's
vocalizations since not all vocalizations have the same meaning. Respecting the
bird means casting a fine eye over our own behavioral actions and reactions as
well.
- To continually work on increasing our own observation skills.
- To provide an enriched environment chock full of choice and options that lead
to behaviorally healthy parrots.
- To accept the fact, ethically and morally, whether we like it or not we are
responsible for those birds in our homes or rescues.
- To arrange the environment in such a way that they are set up to succeed.
- To use positive reinforcement to enrich their lives.
- To provide a safe learning environment.
- To ALWAYS use the most positive least intrusive methods to change behavior.
- To be well-informed about the individual species we live with as well as
parrots in general as Applied Behavior Analysis is applicable to all
species.
- To be aware, always aware, of the environment surrounding our birds for
not only safety hazards but teaching openings, and for us, learning
opportunities. Look at your bird as a learning machine as that is exactly what
they are either free range or in the home. They take away something from
every interaction we have with them - as do we. Parrots can also be
teachers par excellence if we are willing to learn from them by increasing
our own observation skills.
Every family has rules or guidelines. It's up to us as
teachers/trainers/mentors/caretakers to set the standard and provide the best
possible life for them. Notice throughout I have not referred to anything we
"don't" want the bird to do only what we would like the bird to do. A
good psittizen doesn't require excessive screaming, biting or other
mal-adaptive behaviors to get reinforcement because it leads a confident and
resilient life getting more than enough reinforcement through it's
partnership with a caring and compassionate caretaker.
There you have the short answer of what I consider "good psittizenship"
to be for me and my birds and how we go about attaining it.
Lee
