Funiest Bird Tantrum I've Seen In a Long Time!

[Birdman666]

Okay, so everyone was very vocal and active tonight, and the most wound up one of the bunch was Kiwi...

She's been here for about a week, so it's right on schedule for her to begin to "assert herself" and push boundarires...

So, Kiwi, Tusk & Lila were on the living room playstand together. Tusk and Lila were hanging out by the food bowl, and Kiwi was going from one end of the other bouncing from food bowl at one end to toy, to toy, to toy, to other food bowl, and back, all the while vocalizing non-stop at the top of her lungs...

And everything was fine UNTIL Lila dug a walnut out of the food bowl, and Kiwi decided "THAT'S MINE!" And rather aggressively tried to take it away from her.

Well, I immediately put an open hand between beaks, and picked up the walnut, and gave it back to Lila. Princess Kiwi was most displeased! And she let me know by pinching my fingers.

Okay. Game on. Step up.

Now, we're really getting upset. I love my playstand time, and I don't want to go down. So three (mind you, closed beak - how good is that? Just touching me with the tip of her beak) lunges at my fingers trying to get me to back down from my step up request. (Not happening!) So, she backs up along the cargo net... until she runs out of cargo net...

The cargo net is held up by three C links... So I start undoing the C Links. With each one, she runs forward, and is rapidly running out of room. Once the third one goes, she has a choice, step up, or run up to the hand holding the C link. (Either way, that's step up.)

So, lesson number one is reinforced. No aggression, no refusing to step up.

And back to her cage door she goes. NOT AT ALL HAPPY ABOUT IT!

I set her down on her cage door, and turned to leave. AND SHE SHOUTS AT ME AT FULL AMAZON VOLUME, AND IN PERFECT HUMAN:

"HEY! YOU GET BACK HERE RIIIIIGGHT NOOOOWW!"

It was all I could to to stop myself from falling over with laughter. Obviously she witnessed someone's child acting up, and being disciplined, and picked up that particular phrase IN CONTEXT...

 

[RavensGryf]

That's funny . Even the good ones need a little reminder now and then don't they?!

 

[Birdman666]

She's never even tested the boundaries before. She's just exploring and learning. It's all part of the normal boundary setting process.

Even funnier, THE BIRDS reinforced the point. She and Lila and Tusk have all been hanging out together. So, a short time after this, I took Tusk and Lila back to Lila's cage, which is directly across from Kiwi's cage...

After about five minutes she decided to go over and join them. BUT they had the high ground so to speak. NO YOU DON'T, YOU'RE STILL IN TIME OUT... GO BACK TO YOUR SPOT!

THE BIRDS THEMSELVES ENFORCE THE BOUNDARIES AROUND HERE...

At the moment, all is forgiven and the three of them are hanging out together again. (The three of them are destroying a cardboard box.) So, point made, and taken.

 

[GreatBlue320]

You described the whole scenario so well I could picture the entire course of events in my mind! Hilarious!

 

[Birdman666]

You described the whole scenario so well I could picture the entire course of events in my mind! Hilarious!

Yeah. It was a pretty funny scene...

I still have no idea all the things she says, she's quite the talker, but I never expected "HEY! YOU GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" Talk about a sense of comedic timing...

One of the things that works with my flock is the way they interact with each other. They really do keep each other in line, for the most part. She crossed the line trying to hog the food, so she got shunned for a little while.

Play nice you get to play. Don't play nice, go back to your cage... we're not going to play with you anymore.

And of course, she can't stand being left out of the fun, so she dropped the attitude rather quickly.

After awhile, she slowly crept back onto Lila's cage, and they let her chew on/destroy the box with them. Communal shred fest... which was great fun.

One simple lesson.

One of the reasons rehab birds did well in my home is because the birds themselves reinforce "the rules."

It wasn't just me. In fact, sometimes it wasn't me at all...

Coming into a situation where we have an existing flock STRUCTURE, we just fall into line.

 

[LoveMyConlan]

ROFL. I would have dropped to the ground laughing smart girl

 

[Scott]

Great story! Excellent tale of how parrots adapt flock-behaviors within captivity!

 

[Taw5106]

Love your flock and flock stories. I try to keep a straight face but it doesn't happen all the time. Like when Canelo (the bulldog) was standing by Buddy's cage refusing my command to get into the bath tub, standing like a statue, not budging. When Canelo ran, Buddy starts laughing, Husband and I both started cracking up. Impeccable Amazon timing, lol.

 

[mafiadanes]

That's too funny! Now, how do you handle that? Do you have to hide your laughter from Kiwi like you would a toddler? lol Good story.

 

[Birdman666]

That's too funny! Now, how do you handle that? Do you have to hide your laughter from Kiwi like you would a toddler? lol Good story.

I turned my back to her... so she couldn't see how much that cracked me up.

Which also reinforced the "time out" even more. I'm completely ignoring you now. Not even gonna look at you stomping your feet and throwing a little fit...

Ohhhh how they hate that!

 

[SilverSage]

Works on kids too! Sounds like the birds version of "but I don't want to go in time out!" "I don't care what you want. You took a toy away, you sit in time out." Then turn your back and ignore the dirty looks and pouting which is the worst part of the punishment; when you ignore the tantrum!

 

[Birdman666]

Works on kids too! Sounds like the birds version of "but I don't want to go in time out!" "I don't care what you want. You took a toy away, you sit in time out." Then turn your back and ignore the dirty looks and pouting which is the worst part of the punishment; when you ignore the tantrum!

Yep!

You raise them the exact same way!

And the next time, they don't throw the tantrum, because, the last time they did that, and it got them exactly nowhere...

Reward tantrums they get worse.

Ignore tantrums, they stop.

UNLESS IT'S A LARGE WHITE BIRD THAT'S BEEN HELD TOO MUCH... THEN THEY GO ON FOR DAYS BEFORE THEY STOP... (CSBS! It's the worst!)

 

[Mariar]

I laughed so hard..what an awsome story!