HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Taming a 6month old cockatiel that was not 'hand fed'??
Date: Wed, 06 Jan 1993 08:59:35 -0500

Point of Enlightenment 
  AM> I've been wanting to have a cockatiel as a pet
  AM> for a while now... but am not sure if I should bring one of these
  AM> cockatiels home. Primarily because, they have not been hand-raised and
  AM> have a tendency to bite. They are all about 6 month old and look
  AM> healthy, however, I'm not sure if it will be possible to make them
  AM> "friendly".
 
While I'd suggest a hand-fed, human oriented baby cockatiel (my hand-fed conure
was a delight from the moment we bought him), a cockatiel can be trained to stop
biting and, if kept as an only bird and given attention, will bond with its
owner.  Neither of my two cockatiels were hand fed.  The first became quite
bonded to me, though she never liked being touched.  The second was her mate,
and was not human bonded.  He bit.  But when his mate died, I clipped his wings
and worked with him a little.  He no longer bites, and occasionally tries to fly
over to "check me out".  

The anti-biting training I used was simple.  I clipped his wings, took him into
the bathroom, and put him on my hand.  Every time he bit or pecked, I'd drop the
hand he was sitting on quickly, just a few inches.  It took only 3 ten minute
sessions to teach a five year old cockatiel with a history of biting that biting
was not permitted.  He has not needed any reinforcement.
From: jberry@brutus.ct.gmr.com (John Berry CT/90)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Re: Blue and Gold macaw
Date: 6 Jan 93 13:03:13 GMT
Reply-To: jberry@brutus.ct.gmr.com (John Berry CT/90)
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation




Do you let him out of his cage when you are there? I bought mine this 
"parrot tower" thing that he hangs out on when he's out of his cage. It
has toys and (anchored) chains that he can swing on. Mostly it keeps him
out of trouble. Whenever he flys off of it, I just plop him back on.
All in all, it limits the damage he can do by limiting his access to the
environment. I'm sure he would like free run of the place, but he doesn't 
get a vote.

I have found that yelling at mine is pointless. He just thinks its a 
challange/game and yells back at me louder. I can't win that kind of a
contest, so I don't try. I find that either:
 
1) distracting him into something else, or 
2) dumping him back in his cage (this is rarely required) 

work better.

I rotate his toys a lot, too. Some of them are real cheap (1''x1''x10'' 
strips of pine from the local hardware store that he can chew into pulp).

Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: oday@lobster.gsfc.nasa.gov  (Orin Day)
Subject: Re: Ouch!   A parrot's gotta chew...
Reply-To: oday@lobster.gsfc.nasa.gov  (Orin Day)
Organization: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center - Greenbelt, MD USA
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 22:37:27 GMT

In article <1993Jan7.163533.18924@tadtec.uucp> djb@tadtec.co.uk (Diana Bray)  
writes:

> All this talk of parrots biting reminds me to ask if anyone has the same
> problem(?) that I do & if so does anyone have any suggestions?  This
> isn't a biting problem, this is a chewing problem - the two are different
> I think becuase biting is with intent to hurt, but chewing isn't.

> ...but doesn't seem to have any idea that it hurts.  Will she ever learn?
>  Any advice? 

My Quaker chews on my finger sometimes, and he has learned the threshhold
of my pain - when he chews too hard, I say "NO!  Don't you bite me." and
he doesn't chew so hard.  I think he knows now that a chew becomes a bite
when he bites too hard.

An interesting sidelight - if anybody sticks their hand in or near his
cage, he says "Don't you bite me!" (before and after the bite, if he
gets lucky).  When he boarded at the vet, she wanted to know why he
told her "Don't bite me!"

> My wild but tame conure doesn't do this - he knows exactly that all human
> skin is tender.  I trust my conure with exploring my earlobes! 

Mr. Quaker knows not to bite the ear - he loves to look for things
in there - hasn't found anything yet, but he keeps on trying!!

--
************* "How about a little fire, Scarecrow?" **************
Orin Day, Code 664.1                    oday@lobster.gsfc.nasa.gov
Hughes STX/NASA       GSFC Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics
*******"Think that this is NASA's opinion?   NO, NO, NO!!!" ******
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: judy@lobster.hou.tx.us (Judy Scheltema)
Subject: Re: Blue and Gold macaw
Organization: Lobster; Houston, Texas
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 04:34:00 GMT

In article <1993Jan5.145950.8321@cs.uwp.edu> andrus@cs.uwp.edu (Bonnie Andrus) writes:
>
>Here it goes one more time.  I will try to post again.  I have a 7 month
>old macaw who is giving me some problems.  His behavior is starting to
>change.  He wants to be out of his cage constantly and has learned how to
>open it up.  I even put locks on it and he figured that out.  He has lots

Picking locks/clasps sounds like two of my crew who are junior "houdinis".
Both my Moluccan and Blue and Gold can open any kind of cage and/or
any other kind of clip/clasp or those quik locks like a lot of bird toys
come with to attach them to the cages. (Shaped like the  letter "O" with
a nut that closes the link.) They have been next to impossible to keep
in their cages while I'm at work. The only solution I've found is to
get either a padlock or an all-metal combination lock (probably more
secure since you wouldn't have to hunt the keys in case of emergency.)
Also, the locks can be viewed as a home security device to protect
your birds from possible burglers who know the value of our pals.

>of toys which he seems to have gotton bored with.  When he is out of his
>cage he is very destructive.  He goes for things like knobs on the tv,
>parts of the vacuum cleaner and has even torn up the toilet seat.  He is
>also starting to bite (pinch) me.  He knows what no means but I seem to be
>yelling at him constantly like a two year old kid.  Can anyone give me any
>information on macaw behavior.

My guess is that he is just wanting attention. My Blue and Gold will
sometimes  pinch when she's jealous of someone else having captured
my two available hands. I usually just put a finger on her beak and
tell her "No. That's bad" and go back to whomever I was playing with.
I do not reward her with attention when she does pinch. This has
alleviated most of the problem. Yelling at her is really rewarding
her behavior according to behaviorists I've read on the subject.
She gets your attention when she pinches you and you react by
yelling. Oh my, that's fun! -- from their viewpoint. (FYI, my 
macaw is 18 months old.) And from everything I've read, their 
mental age is probably about that of a three year old. (Comparable 
to the "Terrible Threes" in children? I've read articles by those 
who claim that to be their mental age.)

-- 
Judy Scheltema                |                       judy@lobster.hou.tx.us
P. O. Box 270249	      |                          uhnix1!lobster!judy
Houston, Texas 77277-0249     |
  
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: bmartino@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Bob Martino)
Subject: Re: New African Grey!!
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 18:02:14 GMT

For those Edgar Rice Burroughs fans, there's always....
     John (Grey)stoke    (Tarzan's real name)

.....OK, so maybe I *AM* the only one who is amused...

_________________________________________________________________________
                                    | "...for since the creation of the
      - that Bob Martino guy -      |  world His invisible attributes,
 bmartino@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu |  His eternal power and divine
                                    |  nature, have been clearly seen,
   God invented science.  so there. |  being understood through what
       ^^^^^^^^                     |  has been made        -Romans 1:20
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 "That's the whole problem with science.  You've got a bunch of
  empiricists trying to describe things of unimaginable wonder."
                                                  -Calvin
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: demetri@cgrg.ohio-state.edu 
Subject: misc stuff
Organization: OSU Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 02:27:58 GMT

Teflon/PTFE:  YES!!!!! (and might I say YES!!! again!) Teflon coated pans do
present a danger to birds (and not just cockatiels).  One should be very
careful when using them.  Birds have evolved respiratory systems that are
capable of sustaining them in flight thru thin air at high altitudes.  This
results in a delicate system, sensitive to a wide variety of airborne
toxins.  If overheated, teflon pans produce gases that can kill birds
in minutes.  Under normal use they are fine.  they only become dangerous
when allowed to "burn dry"... teflon drip pans (the little grease catchers
that sit under the burners) on the other hand ARE dangerous under normal
use.  (Just to increase the level of paranoia further) ...there are a
number of ordinary household air fresheners, hairsprays, starches. sizings,
etc., that can be deadly to your birds if they breathe them... There was a
good article in BirdTalk, or American Cage Bird magazine about household 
hazards. If I can find it in my back issues I will post the issue number
and/or pertinent excerpts.


Grey Names:  I've always been partial to the name "Zane" for a Grey.  (Zane
Gray).  Our Timneh is named Simon, as in "Simon says", the character
"Simon the Sound Man" on Sesame Street (for the uninitiated among you, the
character has a Grey-like ability to mimic all manner of sounds and uses
the sounds instead of the words they represent).  Also, the name Simon
means "to hear or to be heard".  By the way, we found the name Simon while
looking through Paul Simon's Graceland album for an appropriate African
name.  There's also Gandalf (but its been done) and Ajax.

Cockatiel Prices:  We got our male lutino for $45 from a breeder (I
DEFINITELY recommend going to a breeder...you can usually find them listed
in the want ads or advertised in your local avian vet's office).  The same
woman was selling her gray cockatiels for $25.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: andrus@cs.uwp.edu (Bonnie Andrus)
Subject: Free standing perches
Organization: University of Wisconsin - Parkside
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 16:01:21 GMT

What kind of free standing perch do you recomend for a blue and gold
macaw?  Actually, do you recomend them at all?  How do they cost?  Where
is the best place to purchase one?  Any information would help.

Bonnie Andrus   andrus@cs.uwp.edu


Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: ammg2052@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Aaron M. Moy)
Subject: More on Quakers
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 07:06:22 GMT


According to the Nov 91 issue of Bird Talk:

	Quakers are also called Monk parakeets because their blue/grey color
	is similar to the colors worn by monks somewhere.  Also, they are
	prohibited in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, and
	California.  There exist blue and yellow color mutations which look
	pretty cool.

Aaron Moy
ammg2052@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu                      Was that the phone...
"The Baby's Nest" Hand-Fed Birds               or the bird???
Urbana, Illinois
(217) 328-1838
From: jberry@brutus.ct.gmr.com (John Berry CT/90)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Re: Speaking of intelligence
Date: 8 Jan 93 17:00:34 GMT
Reply-To: jberry@brutus.ct.gmr.com (John Berry CT/90)
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation

Whenever you read articles about various types of parrots in Bird-Talk 
(or wherever), they invariably describe whichever type of parrot they are 
talking about as being "among the most intelligent" (of the parrots). 

Well, logically, its hard to see how they could All be among the most 
intelligent. 

So how do they determine that, anyway? Is there a scale somewhere that
someone came up with? Are they only comparing those breeds that are typically
kept as pets against each other, or against all the miriad varieties you 
can find in "Parrots of the World"?

Does anyone know how parrots stack up against dogs, cats, horses, etc?
(We know that they are more intelligent than most people...)

Are there any good parrot IQ tests?
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: nmr1248@venus.lerc.nasa.gov (NANCY RABEL (KC4IYD))
Subject: Re: Birds reaction to noises
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: NASA Lewis Research Center
Date:  6 Jan 1993 22:09 EDT  

In article <1i9s7pINNeuh@network.ucsd.edu>, judy <judy@nepac.ucsd.edu> writes...
> 
>Any other good noises for birds???

My tiel (Bernoulli) goes crazy anytime she hears running water, this includes 
when you flush the toilet, run the water to wash your hands and sometimes when 
I do the dishes. She'll start squawking and screaming til I come out of the 
bathroom or I'm done in the kitchen.

Also, she is a good watch-bird. Whenever she hears either my boyfriend or I put
the key in the lock she screams out to us to let us know that she knows that
we are coming home. Its  neat because now my boyfriend can't try to surprise me 
when I am home. :) But it a nice feeling when after a long day I go home
and Bernoulli is chirping away happy to see me.


  Nancy Rabel				nmr1248@venus.lerc.nasa.gov 
  Space Station Freedom                 --... ...--   -.. . KC4IYD
  NASA - Lewis Research Center          stamp collector, SF addict
From: au500@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Linda Zinn)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Favorite snacks?
Date: 8 Jan 1993 13:42:05 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: au500@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Linda Zinn)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


Are small quantities of people food harmful for parrots? I hope not,
because my yellow-naped Amazon has a couple of favorites. "Polly
wanna cracker" to Zack means "Give me a darn tortilla chip, NOW!"
But that's only his second-favorite. Pizza crust sends him into
ecstasy. I only give him a little bit <she says with a touch of
guilt, hoping she is not harming her li'l green pal>. I guess that's not so
weird. I once had a cat that was wild about avocado!

Does anyone else's bird have favorite snacks? 
-- 
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: yumei@wam.umd.edu (yumei)
Subject: Re: Bird Snacks Summary
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 12:51:20 GMT


     On the topic of leafy greens-my buggie, Spiker, really likes endives,
and I have not been able to get him to eat anthing else but that (yes, that
includes carrots).  Would endive leaves be bad for buggies?

     A few books on bird that I read  say that buggies love spray millet. 
Well, mine cannot care less about it. Anybody with similar experiences?

     The books also say buggies love cod-liver-oil-coated treats.  Spiker
does not like them either.  I had to empty the dish and put only the treats
in to force him take a bite or so.  Anybody with some advice on this, please
post or email me.  Thanks.

							Yumei

-- 
yumei@wam.umd.edu
From: twollnik@aud.alcatel.com
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Re: questions of macaws
Date: 5 Jan 93 17:57:39 GMT


From Mailer-Daemon@rockdal Tue Jan  5 12:00:22 1993
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 93 12:00:07 CST
From: Mailer-Daemon@rockdal (Mail Delivery Subsystem)
Subject: Returned mail: Host unknown
To: <twollnik@rdxsun11>
Content-Length: 3418

In rec.pets.birds you write:
>  i have wanted to get a large macaw since i have been about 15 years young,
>since then i have been working my way up starting with finches. parakeets,
>cockitiels, a red-bellied macaw (smallish), and presently cohabitate with
>a 6 year young molaccaan (sorry no spell checker) cockatoo.
> 
> i would apreciate any replys from any blue-gold, scarlet, or green-wing
>owners out there, i would like any information as to what type you own,
>what sex (if known, and if it was known before you aquired it), how old
>was it when you got it, how long you've had it, favorite food, any helpful
>hints and amusing stories about your bird/owner relationship. basically i
>just want to hear anything you have to say about your bird.

Mike, I was wondering if I could get copies (email) of some of the replies that you
recieved.  I am getting a green-wing in about 1 week.  He/She was born on November 11, and
is currently being hand-fed.  I will finish the hand feeding myself.

I am not experienced with ANY birds, but I believe that i will be able to handle the
JUMP to a Macaw.  I have to some source of information (breeder) who has offered
to help me with my adjustment to my bird.  I have been collecting information about the
raising/training/maintenance of Macaws....but I could never have enough info.

I would appreciate any information that you have recieved from replies.  I would be more that
willing to share my experiences with Taylor (thats what I am going to call it) once I 
take custody of him next monday.

And to anybody else out there that has any advice/comments/flames or something...please
get back to me also.

Thanks in advance....  Ted

===============================================================================
| Ted Wollnik Jr                       | Go Black Hawks !!!                   | 
| twollnik@rdxsun11.aud.alcatel.com    | Belfour for Vezina..Roenick for Hart | 
===============================================================================
| I used to think that - everyone was the same                                |
| Walking around all the time - thinking all the same things                  |
| But I know it's not true, just to look at you                               |
| I can tell you're not that way                                              |
|               - Redd Kross                                                  |
===============================================================================
| OFFICIAL:  Net contact for the Dallas Freeze (and the rest of the CHL ??)   | 
===============================================================================

yeah I know!! but at least it HOCKEY !!!!
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: Diana Bray <djb@tadtec.co.uk>
Subject: Ouch!   A parrot's gotta chew...
Organization: Tadpole Technology plc
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 16:34:29 GMT
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1.1d1

Hello and Happy New Year to everyone!

All this talk of parrots biting reminds me to ask if anyone has the same
problem(?) that I do & if so does anyone have any suggestions?  This
isn't a biting problem, this is a chewing problem - the two are different
I think becuase biting is with intent to hurt, but chewing isn't.

Ella is a hand fed blue fronted amazon.  It seems that a parrots way to
explore the world is to chew - fair enough, but this includes fingers
(mine!).  She starts off very gently, but then she gradually chews harder
& harder - especially if she comes across joints in fingers (ouch!).  I
generally twist my finger gently & she's forced to let go.  There doesn't
seem to be any malice in her chewing, she's just exploring, but doesn't
seem to have any idea that it hurts.  Will she ever learn?  Is this
common with larger birds?  Any advice?  

I'm curious if this is an Amazon thing - do any of you cockatoo owners
have this problem?

My wild but tame conure doesn't do this - he knows exactly that all human
skin is tender.  I trust my conure with exploring my earlobes! 

Please post or mail any suggestions or comments.

Diana.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: lavan@acuson.com (Diane Lavandowski)
Subject: Parakeets for  Sale
Keywords: parakeets
Organization: Acuson; Mountain View, California
Distribution: rec.pets.birds
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 05:30:32 GMT


For sale:  25 Parakeets - mixed colors - $175.00 or B.O.

Please call Mark LaVan at 408-734-1920 (Sunnyvale, CA)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: anurag@bnr.ca (Anurag Mehta)
Subject: Taming a 6month old cockatiel that was not 'hand fed'??
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 17:49:45 GMT

Greetings!

I went by a local pet store yesterday. This pet store is closing its
avian section and has some sort of a clearance sale these days. They
have a few cockatiels that are being sold for a *real* bargain price.
(~$25)!

I've been wanting to have a cockatiel as a pet for a while now... but 
am not sure if I should bring one of these cockatiels home. Primarily 
because, they have not been hand-raised and have a tendency to bite. 
They are all about 6 month old and look healthy, however, I'm not sure 
if it will be possible to make them "friendly".

I've a pair of budgies currently, and am having a fairly rough time 
making them give up their unsurmountable urge to bite!

Any suggestions/tips will be much appreciated.

-anurag
-- 
//Anurag Mehta		   //To err is human. 
//Internet: anurag@bnr.ca  //To really louse things up takes a computer.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: gleason@scf16.scf.loral.com (Robert Gleason)
Subject: Crows and Ravens
Organization: Loral Space and Range Systems, Sunnyvale, CA
Distribution: rec
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 22:52:07 GMT


I just watched the movie "You Can't Take it With You" by Frank Capra (1930's)
and noticed that one of the characters had a pet Crow.  I know Myna's (sp)
are bred as pets; but are crows and ravens too? Do they make good pets? 
Does anybody know where I could get one of these birds in the SF Bay area?

Thanks for the time,

Robert Gleason.
From: minehart@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Who's Earl Grey anyway?
Date: 7 Jan 93 16:58:04 -0600
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

Well, the subject line will say it all.  A couple of you thought Earl Grey
would be the perfect name for an African Grey.  Why?  I've never heard of an
Earl Grey.  

Jill.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: wiegand@rtsg.mot.com (Robert Wiegand)
Subject: Re: New Parrot Training
Reply-To: motcid!wiegand@uunet.uu.net
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 19:43:39 GMT

pat@chinet.chi.il.us (Patrick Louis Sugent) writes:

>  
>  Up to Christmas, I've only had experience with relatively easy
>going Cockatiels.  For Christmas, I was given a Temneh Gray Parrot.
>My problem is that I've been given some conflicting advice on how
>to properly "train" him.   He has not been hand-fed and currently
>has great fear of people and in particular people's hands.

>  The pet store I bought him from suggested that I take him out of
>his cage for 1/2 hour to and hour a day until he gets used to me.
>A book I bought said I should put my hand in his cage for 15 and only
>15 minutes a day until he gets used to it.  

>  So far, I've been following the book's advice with some success.  He
>no longer growls like crazy as soon as I put my hand in and he lets me
>get rather close so long as I move slowly.

>  Does anyone know (have time to tell me) if I am proceeding along
>the "correct" path?  

Sounds OK. Training a wild bird can take quite a lot of time, so have
patience and keep working at it. When you start working on hand training
him it might be useful to go into a different room. If they can see their
cage they are more likely to try to "escape" back to it.

>  Also, while I am at it, what are the advantages/disadvantages of
>having a Temneh Gray Parrot over an African Gray Parrot.  He was
>certainly much cheaper.  I wonder if this implies anything about
>his talking ability or his behavior.  The pet store said the only
>difference is size, but I am beginning to wonder if they really
>know.

As far as I have heard size and coloration are the only real differences.

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert Wiegand - Motorola Inc.
motcid!wiegand@uunet.uu.net            uunet!motcid!wiegand
Disclamer: I didn't do it - I was somewhere else at the time.
Newsgroups: rec.pets