Parrot behavior

[Calliegirl]

I don't know anything about exotic birds and cleaning their rooms daily has been added to my duties.

The friendlier Cockatoo is usually out of her cage when I clean and I've begun to hold her for a few minutes almost daily. I can tell she is becoming more comfortable with me as she has gone from just standing on my arm, to climbing all over me. I admit I'm a bit nervous holding her, I've seen the horrible bites from the other one.

I've tried to look up information on some of the behavior I'm wondering about, but it all seems to conflict.

One thing I'm wondering about is when I hold her, she has starting making a sort of quiet clicking noise. I don't know if this is good or bad; is she about to pluck out an eyeball? I'm guessing (hoping) it's something good, as she doesn't seem to want me to put her down and will keep running across my shoulders to the opposite arm when I try to.

Today she tried to climb on top of my head and then started pulling my hair. Was she being curious/playful or was she mad because I had just tried to put her down?
She also screamed at me one day when I was in a hurry and couldn't hold her. And yes, I gave in and held her.

Also, sometimes she'll sit on my shoulder, and then lean forward and turn her head and look into my face. Good or bad? I usually turn the other way since I'm not sure what she is doing.

These probably sound like silly questions, but like I said, I know absolutely nothing.

Oh, one more thing.
Sometimes she'll be sitting on the back of my neck and the other one will get upset and start screaming. This of course gets her excited, and she starts bouncing up and down and screaming and her head feathers will stand up. Which ends up scaring me. I don't know what to do when that happens. Last time I tried to get her onto her perch, but that just made her hold on to my neck tighter.

 

[Lord Snot]

You've asked a difficult question, it's often difficult to 'diagnose' behaviour without seeing it in context.

For the clicking - depending on the sound it can mean many different things. From what you've said about the behaviour that accompanies it, it is probably like a cat's purr - it means she is happy and content with you. Clicking can also be a threat, a kind of "I don't like that - stop or I will attack" but since it isn't followed by aggressive behaviour I doubt that. Clicking can also be a sign of a respiratory problem but then she would be doing it when she wasn't being handled, too. Might be worth asking the medical team to check her over, just in case?

I think the hair pulling is also a sign of a affection; she wants to groom you.

When she turns her head, she just wants to look at you. Don't worry, she isn't going to try and take out an eyeball! It can also be a pre-cursor to grooming.

The screaming could either be a flock call, if the two cockatoos get on, or it could be a kind of jealousy battle between the two of them. You have to decide if you want to join in the screaming as part of the flock, or if you want it to stop. You can imitate her call or make up your own by using a special whistle or even a word that you will only use to communicate with her when she screams. That will make her feel reassured that you are her flock member. Or you can just completely ignore her until she stops screaming, then when she is quiet give her a treat. If this is a rescue and she will one day go to another home, it might be best not to be in her flock. She will be distressed when she is separated from you. But if she's there for life then it will be nice for her to have that interaction with you.

By the way I am no expert on birds, I just studied them during my degree and I've tried to keep up with research since graduating. You will get more expert answers from a specialist bird forum. Also you can google "cockatoo body language" and it will bring up either text guides like this:
http://cmtk3.webring.org/l/rd?ring=birdbreeder;id=28;url=http://talkingboutbirds.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/cockatiel-body-language.html or sometimes picture guides that show you their posture and what it means.

 

[Calliegirl]

Thanks, that link was helpful.

They aren't rescue birds, but they will eventually be rehomed. Either when the elderly owner can no longer care for them, or when she gets bored with them. So, it's probably best not to be a part of the flock.

 

[mlp]

I wouldn't withhold attention or affection just because they'll eventually be rehomed - they desperately need the attention and affection in the meantime. Cockatoos are probably the species that suffers the most from lack of attention and affection - they, of all parrot species, are most ill suited to captivity and suffer the most from having been brought into the pet trade.

I live with eleven parrots, and there's a lot to be said in response to your post, but I'll do it later - I have to muck out the duck house while the weather holds.

 

[Calliegirl]

I don't plan to stop the attention I've been giving them, I'm just not going to join in on the screaming.

I talk to and sing to them while I'm cleaning. I've even played songs I thought they would like. Corky liked the candy man song that Gene Wilder sings in Willy Wonka, and Snowball likes the upbeat part of the welcome, welcome song from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
At least, I think they like it. Bouncing up and down means they like it, right?

 

[mlp]

Yes, they like it. Most parrots love being sung to. I make up little nonsense lyrics, incorporating their names.

There are different kinds of screaming. There are contact calls, which most birds do at least twice a day - in the morning and evening. In nature, it's a way of connecting with the rest of the flock, checking in to make sure everyone survived the night, and then again checking in before sleep time. They will also contact call throughout the day, if they're out of sight of each other (or, in a house, outside of sight of *their* human. I usually respond to contact calls - it's reassuring for them.

Temper tantrum calls I do my best to not respond to at all, but they're good at reading body language. Anything you do in response to a temper tantrum call reinforces that they can get your attention by throwing a fit, and that can create problematic behavior which is not in the bird's best interests in the long term. (A lot of parrots are rehomed for screaming.)

Most thoughtful bird owners have music playing for a good part/all of the day. Individual birds very much have individual musical preferences.

 

[mlp]

Some birds like to preen hair. Some birds like to pull hair because they are amused by the reaction they get.

Generally, it is best to not let birds with large beaks get close to your face until you get really good at reading their body language. They can do a lot of damage, including permanent damage. (There's an old joke among parrot people: Why do pirates only have one eye? Because they let their parrots ride on their shoulders.) They are not domesticated animals, and they will bite for a number of different reasons - fear, or if they feel they're being pushed, sexual aggression, to get someone away from the person they perceive as their mate, to get the person they perceive as a mate to move away from other humans or animals, etc. It's particularly difficult to read the body language of cockatoos; their moods can be very volatile.

I carry my large parrots perched on my forearm, with my elbow bent at a right angle. I don't like to have them on my shoulder, because I can't read their body language when they're up there, and I don't want to lose an ear or an eye.

 

[Calliegirl]

Okay, now I'm nervous again.
She starts out on my arm, but usually ends up on my shoulder.

 

[mlp]

This is a really good tutorial on how to hold parrots so they can't get on your shoulder: http://www.macawsaspets.com/How_to_hold_your_macaw_IGLM.html Anna is extremely good with parrots.

Rosebud, my greenwing macaw, and Socrates, one of my blue and gold macaws, were raised to perch on shoulders. It didn't take long to get them used to perch on my hand or arm instead. While both of them are extremely good about not biting when they're on me, I still don't like to have them on my shoulder - when a parrot is frightened by something, his instinct is to bite at the bird next to him, to scare that bird into flight and away from the danger. If there's a sudden loud noise or anything else that would scare a parrot, I don't want my eye or my ear to be the closest thing to his beak.

 

[Calliegirl]

Thanks, I'm going to try out what she said. Once Corky is on my shoulder, I have a heck of a time trying to get her off.