Aviculture 101: companion bird basics

 

Aviculture is not falconry. It is not agriculture. Aviculture is the fair art and science of keeping companion birds. COMPANION birds. What does this mean? Birds that are not intended and cannot be used as food for human consumption (those birds are the birds of AGRICULTURE). Aviculture birds are also not raptors, that is, birds of prey. Birds of prey do not like human companionship. At best, they will tolerate it sometimes in a symbiotic relationship that benefits them known as the art of falconry.

 

Falconry is NOT aviculture. A great little book on falconry is “Falconry” by Mark Shields and Duncan Blackwater (Compleat Anachronist, volume 122, Winter 2004, available in the publications section of http://sca.org)  I encourage anyone interested in falconry to buy it. It will show you very clearly how and why a falconry bird is NOT a companion bird. You may also email laurelarockefeller@gmail.com for some more information on how and why raptors are different from companion birds.

 

But what makes a companion bird a companion bird?

 

Companion birds are, naturally suitable for COMPANIONSHIP. Though people will keep some pretty unusual birds as companions—like ducks or chickens (birds that belong to agriculture)—and there are menagerie birds that, in medieval times, were the precursors to our zoos and considered at the time companion birds (peafowl being the most common example), companion birds almost always belong to three orders of birds:

 

 

Of these three orders of birds, only some Passeriformes and some columbiformes were domesticated. In other words, we have species of pigeons, doves, finches, and canaries that exist only in aviculture and not in the wild. By creating hybrids of wild species and manipulating color mutations, we have created new forms of these birds, altered them genetically just as we have with dogs and cats.

 

But if you notice, there is a third order of birds up there in aviculture not mentioned as domesticated. That is the most popular in aviculture: the psittaciformes: PARROTS. Parrots are NOT DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. Though we have kept them in captivity for thousands of years, we have not altered them sufficiently from their wild selves to have domesticated them. You simply cannot take the wild out of parrots. Selective breeding can produce color mutations. There is now a blue mutation in Quaker parakeets and Fischer’s lovebirds. There are lutino mutations in several species—from cockatiels to budgerigars (what Americans misidentify as “parakeets”) to Alexandrine parakeets to several kinds of lovebirds and beyond. Pied and albino are two more common color mutations. And there are other species specific mutations like pearls among the cockatiels and white scarlet macaws which are white and blue.

 

But changing the color of the parrot only changes the parrot’s ability to fit into a wild flock. Nothing more. Instinctively, our companion parrots are no different than their wild counterparts. The difference is all in our rearing. Which is why a handfed bird, properly socialized and well treated with her or his communications carefully attended to will tend to be a happy bird (note the words “docile,” “tame,” and “friendly” are not used—these are often bird specific and of the those of the individual. No one can force any bird to decide to be these things. Only love, compassion, and understanding can win them).

 

How we treat our parrots is important because, like us, almost everything they know is learned after they hatch. Very little about a parrot is inborn. Even flight has to be taught to them, for the most part, by other birds. 6 year old cockatiel Mithril mostly learned to fly because she had a friend (now her husband), Aragorn, to teach her. All that instinct told her when she fledged was to flap her wings—which only makes her go UP. It takes other birds to show a chick how move the wings and tail together to turn and adjust so she can go FORWARD AND UP and TURN. This is not something a baby cockatiel knows how to do from the egg. She needed another cockatiel to show her, just as human children need adults to help them learn how to walk and to guide us through the tenuous process. Like us, it took her a long time to master—close to a year before she was flying as precisely as Aragorn was. It’s for this reason that you want a handfed parrot that is treated kindly and given a lot of love and tenderness. Only such a bird will learn to humans as friends instead of as a predator. Befriending a human is LEARNED and is CONTRARY to their instincts. The window for that learning has to be EARLY and the parrot MUST NOT experience ANY trauma at the hands of humans—like poking from children or abuse of any kind.

 

Remember that parrots have VERY LONG MEMORIES AND HOLD GRUDGES. It’s easier to un-tame a gentle parrot than to tame one, to make one resentful and angry than to calm one. TRUST IS THE KEY TO COOPERATION AND LOVE—NOT VIOLENCE. 

 

So if you are thinking about getting a bird here’s some guidelines to follow:

 

 

 For those able to get to Columbus Avenue in Manhattan, The Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine at 88^th and Columbus Ave has a model aviary setup for finches and canaries.  They have zebra finches, Gouldian, and about 10 more species this author does not recognize in an aviary in their window. If you are in Manhattan, please go see it! I also highly recommend their veterinary services. They have some of the best avian veterinary services in New York City—speaking from over 5 years experience taking my birds there. There is no finer clinic in my experience and 28 years of aviculture than the doctors and vet techs as the Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine. LVT Lorelei Tibbetts is the only person in the world that Aragorn (this author’s elusive male cockatiel) actually LIKES.

 

 

To put it simply without spending the 3000 words needed on cockatiels, cockatiels are a big cockatoo in a little cockatoo body. They have all the big cockatoo traits in a small body. This examiner’s albino cockatiel, Mithril, has often been compared to her late sister umbrella cockatoo friend, Cuddles, from the Known World Aviculturists Guild. The same instincts and behaviors of the umbrella cockatoos exist also in cockatiels. You would not hand an umbrella cockatoo to someone without any knowledge of parrots. But then, umbrella cockatoos are big enough to do serious damage to a person who handles them recklessly. People instinctively feel caution when they are around a 900 gram parrot. But that same instinct does not exist around an 85-95 gram cockatiel, even though both species have most of the same traits and it is mostly size that separates them.

 

Cockatiels need very large cages (no less than 2 1/2 feet on two sides), lots of natural perches (a mix of java and grapevine perches are preferred), a play gym for outside of the cage, lots of natural toys (along with any plastic toys if your bird enjoys them), and a parrot safe environment where all windows have screens with no holes, ceiling fans are off, and access to exterior doors are removed. We will discuss diet for cockatiels in a future edition, so keep reading and watching for that.

 

 

 

If a Quaker is not an option in your state or if you just want an old world species, I recommend the Alexandrine or Indian ringneck parakeets. Both of these Psittacula parakeets have very clear voices and are easy to teach. The Alexandrine is the biggest of these birds and even with the Indian ringneck. Indian ringnecks are about 165-200 grams and 16 inches long and Alexandrines are from 250-300 grams and 24 inches long. Because they are so big, Alexandrines and Indian ringnecks need a cage no less than 2 1/2 feet by 2 1/2 feet in two dimensions.   As with the Quakers, Alexandrines and Indian Ringnecks have very clear voices and are quick to learn human speech. They are loving birds and quite playful and have been great companions for literally thousands of years.

 

Though some guidelines disagree as to which bar spacing is optimal, in this examiner's experience and working from multiple guides, the consensus seems to be the following: 

 

 

Small birds (birds up to 70 grams) Canaries, finches, parrotlets, lovebirds and budgies etc. need cage bar widths of ½” or 5/8”.

 

Medium birds (75 grams to 600 grams) cockatiels, Quakers, Goffin cockatoo, Timneh African Grey, Congo African grey, Psittacula parakeets, blue fronted Amazon, mini macaws etc. need cage bar widths 5/8”, ¾”, or 1”.

 

Large birds (over 600 grams) scarlet macaw, blue and gold macaw, umbrella cockatoo, palm cockatoo, Moluccan cockatoo, etc need bar widths of 1”or 1 ½”.

 

With all the finches and canaries, the birds must have plenty of space for their toys, their nests, and to fly around FREELY in their aviary. With these birds you are NOT letting them out of their cages. Flight is essential for these birds to maintain proper health. A simple way to avoid egg binding (which is lethal) is just to give your finches a big enough cage so your hens can fly enough to keep all her muscles strong.

 

Likewise, too small of cages where your parrots cannot fly or climb around enough is responsible for diseases often referred to as “caged bird syndrome.” Cockatiels are especially vulnerable to this. In the wild, cockatiels are in constant motion as they forage in a dessert environment. They are migratory parrots that NO AMOUNT OF WING CLIPPING can control. I also advise against wing clipping any cockatiel under the age of ONE FULL YEAR so that your juvenile cockatiel can develop CONTROL over her body. Mithril took an entire year to learn how to fly properly after first starting to fledge around age 10 weeks. It simply takes that long to develop the brain-wing-tail connections. Or, put another way, one year for a cockatiel is only equal to three of ours. It takes human children a little time to master walking and running. It takes cockatiels some time to master the kind of extreme turns that their flocks engage in to avoid falcons in the wild.

 

Cockatiels need large cages and lots of time out of their cages. Mithril and Aragorn have one with a ¾” wide bar spacing that is 48” wide x 32” deep x 72” tall on 6” legs with a powder white ceramic protective finish to prevent it from rusting. The cost: about $600 plus perches, seed cups, sleeping swing, cage cover, and delivery. 

 

No, a proper cage is NOT cheep, but a proper cage will last for decades of everyday use. With 2mm thick bars, no amount of beaking by these birds will destroy it. It is designed to hold up to a large macaw or large cockatoo’s beak.

 

This is also the correct size of cage for a large cockatoo or macaw and follows the 2 1/2 ft on two sides rule I suggest for cockatiels for their optimum health and happiness. It may be controversial and difficult for a lot of people, but in all fairness, it is what cockatiels NEED.

 

NEVER SKIMP ON THE CAGE SIZE. This is YOUR INVESTMENT ON THE PRIMARY SHELTER FOR YOUR BIRD. It’s where your birds will base the rest of their lives in your homes. MAKE IT COMFORTABLE FOR THEM—not a cramped place of torture where they are claustrophobic and lose their sanity. Too small of a cage and inadequate time outside of it and with you, along with too few toys are key reasons that parrots lose their sanity. It leads to biting and destructive behaviors. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY PREVENTABLE.

 

If you ever need help finding a cage, your local bird club is always there to help you find the right one for your species. You can always also email this examiner for suggestions. I’m here to help you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But aviculture is a funny business. Today the money is not in selling birds identical to those in the wild (true normals) but in those in fancy colors—in color mutations. Lutinos, cinnamons, albinos, pearls, cobalt blues, opaline, misty, the list goes on and on (see Bird Talk’s “Color Me Different” for more about mutations and the market place). The result is that true normals stop being bred in favor of the mutants that sell in larger numbers. Over time, as the mutants develop health issues due to too much inbreeding, there stops being any true normals left to breed with to counter the genetic faults with. The backup for aviculturists always lies with the potential to poach a few wild birds for breeding stock if necessary.

 

But what happens if we allow the wild birds to perish? What if we do not stop def-foresting our rain forests? Even species that do not directly live in the rainforests are devastated by what we do thousands of miles away. Every tiny change in the climate affects them very deeply. It keeps the rains away from the interior of Australia, worsening the drought. Bird Talk reports that now there are entire flocks of budgerigars without ANY FEMALES in them because of the severity of the drought. Females are more sensitive to extreme heat than males are, yet there are limits to what even a budgerigar or a cockatiel, as adapted to the interior of Australia as they are can endure. If we want a family bird for our grandchildren to enjoy, we must also ensure there are still parrots in the world living wild and free around the world.

 

It’s not just about deforestation, poaching for the pet trade is a major problem. In a future article we will talk about the threats facing wild parrots and what you can do to help. 

 

Last, in defining aviculture, remember that aviculturists are not pet keepers. They do not regard their birds as property to be used and abused at will. Aviculturists are STEWARDS to their FEATHERED COMPANIONS. It is the aviculturist’s duty to try to understand their birds and alter their bird’s environment to her or his needs, not the bird to the human’s need. The aviculturist understands that the bird is not a toy, not a puppet for humanity’s amusement. Aviculturists understand the long term, very time consuming commitments involved with keeping their chosen species and are willing to make those sacrifices, often for the rest of their lives, in order to secure the well being of their birds. In many cases this means NEVER being able to leave town overnight or for more than three days at a time for the rest of their lives or paying hundreds of dollars per month or thousands per year for food, toys, veterinary bills, and other needs. LET IT BE SAID AGAIN THAT KEEPING BIRDS IS EXPENSIVE. If you want healthy, happy birds that will live anywhere near their normal life spans, it will cost a lot of money. A typical vet visit for two cockatiels in New York City with exam and regular health screening lab tests easily runs this examiner from $400-800 FOR HEALTHY BIRDS. That’s with an office visit fee of just over $100 per bird plus the extra fees for whatever lab work needs to be done. Tests for such things as Psittacosis and yeast infections. Though parrots don’t normally need shots, they do need regular screenings for illnesses from routine physicals. That costs money. Most people do not think about the cost of veterinary care incurred by parrot sanctuaries. If it costs over $200 for a regular checkup for just two cockatiels, just imagine what it costs your local sanctuary for a house call for a vet to check on 50 to 500 birds? NOT CHEEP.

 

This then is a bit of advice for those who are thinking about getting a bird and don’t know if they can handle the commitment: donate to parrot sanctuaries. If there is one in your metro area, VOLUNTEER AT ONE. Most sanctuaries are happy for your help with your two hands. At a parrot sanctuary they will teach you how to be around birds and how to appreciate them. And the best part: they don’t come home with you. You get to be around them without dealing with the screaming or the biting or the feather plucking in your own home. Like a grandchild or niece, you can leave the kid to someone else’s care when you go home.

 

By supporting rescue-rehab clinics for wild parrots and by supporting parrot rescues at home, we can make a difference for abused parrots. For those who love parrots and are not in a position to become a serious aviculturist, the best thing you can do is support these institutions and save many feathered lives. Watch this examiner’s work for more information or email laurelarockefeller@gmail.com for suggested resources right now.