Tantrums... how do you deal with them?

[Dbeguy]

Since we know that our feathered friends are essentially toddlers (and toddlers have tantrums) it seems important to learn how to deal with them. The logical thing to do seems to be going outside (where you cannot hear them) and letting the tantrum blow itself out. Goodness knows that we wouldn't want to reinforce this bad behavior with attention.

That's all well and good when a bird is throwing a fit INSIDE his/her cage. How do owners deal with a fully-flighted parrot that acts out while in your house. Without supervision I'm sure a vengeful and angry parrot will vent on electrical cables and possibly other very dangerous items. Putting a bird in it's cage as punishment seems to be a no-no.

What can an owner do?

[cml]

That's all well and good when a bird is throwing a fit INSIDE his/her cage. How do owners deal with a fully-flighted parrot that acts out while in your house. Without supervision I'm sure a vengeful and angry parrot will vent on electrical cables and possibly other very dangerous items. Putting a bird in it's cage as punishment seems to be a no-no.

What can an owner do?

They cool off quite quickly.
My fellas have never started biting on stuff out of anger, but it my living room is parrot proofed, so I am not too worried.

You NEED to proof the rooms you expect the parrot to be in, and making sure electrical cables are secured is a top priority, often overlooked by many websites and guides on parrot proofing.
redid our living room to parrot proof it further a while ago.

The list is long on what you need to do, but Ive done (amongst other things):
Removed all ornaments, trinkets etc: this is easy to do.
Make sure all plants are parrot safe: as above, google for lists.
Secure all electrical wires: see here for some tips: http://theparrotforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=10471&p=71745&hilit=Parrot+proofing+your+house#p71745
Make sure the parrot cannot fall down behind stuff: Ive put up boards behind the sofa, ontop of shelfs etc, this is a big one and takes time and effort, but its essential.
Screw wall hangings into the wall: see the link above.

There's tons of more stuff, like covering the TV when they are out so they dont poop into the air vents and destroy the circuits, having boxes for all stuff you want to put away before they get out etc etc...

[KimberlyAnn]

Oh the tantrums are super fun! Especially when you have no control over what time the trash man comes, but you still get a full on talking to from the bird while she bites at anything and everything in her path.

My advice is to do what cml said first. I did it for another reason...I don't live alone. People are not aware of "things" as I am. So rules are in place on what can be left out. Cords are protected. Decorations are light and can be knocked down...or so heavy and low to the ground that the bird would have to gain super powers to move. This gives me or anyone else a few extra minutes to save the bird before she gets through the bird proofing. I've seen her jump on my mom's shoulder and snap the chain of her necklace in half very quickly. I bet she could chew through a cord protector pretty quickly...even quicker when she knows it's forbidden. No matter if you are in the room or not, one quick bite to a cord... :'(

But this is what I do for tantrums. I give her space and acknowledge that she's upset by talking to her. I don't know if that's right or wrong, but for Emmi it works. She starts out with this robotic gravely voice, talking and nipping at everything very quickly. She's got A LOT to say! Lol She's angry and EVERYONE is gonna hear about it! I just say, "You sound really mad Emmi" and stuff like that. She calms down pretty quickly and I wait for her to come to me. She still might have some robotic duck sounds left in her to show me JUST HOW MAD SHE WAS! But she's on her way down. If I don't talk to her, she seems to throw a bigger fit and be angry for much longer.

So yes, I'm giving it attention. I have not seen a rise in the amount of tantrums she has and all of her tantrums have been for good reason, even if I take something away. She can be mad, but it does not mean she will get it back! Haha!