On 7/24/06, Samantha wrote:
Wouldn't you have a better behaved
> and socialized and loving and calm bird from all that
> bonding time by purchasing earlier?
I'd like to address the bonding idea with a short story. I
trust we have all seen (or seen pictures of), a row of
ducklings following their Mama. Even the term "Getting all
your ducks in a row" is understood by most people.
There was a documented study done on why this happens. One
of the interesting things that happened during the research
was that it was learned that a duck will instinctively
follow the first thing it sees in it's environment and in
the wild, that would be the mother duck. In the study, they
had participants who were wearing either red or blue or some
other colored boots and these boots were the first things
the new ducklings were allowed to see upon hatching.
It was discovered that no matter who wore the boots or how
many ducklings there were or what paths the participants
took, the ducklings that imprinted on the blue boots would
all line up and follow the blue boots no matter what. Same
for the other specific colors and ducklings.
That instinct is why it is important (if you can) to be the
creature that a young bird imprints upon as early as
possible and after that, it is a matter of training to get
good behavior. To the bird, you are it's parent and as it
grows up, if there is no other bird to mate with, you become
it's mate in its mind.
You become it's mate so strongly that it often comes to the
point of the bird even rejecting humans of the opposite
gender to yourself. Many parrots have had to be a major
decision point in whether a human relationship continues or
not because of the parrot not liking your fiancé or fiancée,
etc.
My parrot thinks I am just an odd shaped bird and is amazed
that I can change the color of all my feathers each day but
when I walk to the cage and "spread my wings" over him, he
runs to me for protection like a small child and it is
obvious he enjoys it. If I neglect him for very long because
I am busy with something during the day and he feels lonely,
he says, "Ya wanna come see your daddy? Well come on."
But then some might say he is my daddy instead. He
definitely rules the roost around here.
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