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Terrible 2s?

Discuss the methods and techniques of clicker training, target training and bonding. These are usually the first steps in training a young parrot.

Re: Terrible 2s?

Postby seagoatdeb » Fri Mar 11, 2016 5:57 pm

Well although, hormmonal will be part of it, I guess the point I am tryng to make is that there is also what happens at certain ages in a developmental way that needs to be handled properly with a young Poi. The first few years of a Pois life, stays with them, and so if they need to be rehomed at some point they have a good stable upbringing. I have probaly looked at all the same research as everyone else, but I hve had a lot of experience with Pois, mostly Red Bellys and Senegal and older Meyers but now I am seeing with the two unrelated baby Meyers and how different they are from the young Senegal and Red Bellys I have seen and worked with.

So my point is that we have to be carefulll to not attribute too many things as hormonal and see when it is a need that needs to be appproached in a more behavioral way. Sure they feel some hormones, and some will even pick a mate quite young, but they are not ready to breed for a couple years and the behavioral things right now area lot more important to address. With any resucue
Pois i have worked with it is easy to get the hormons in balance and adressesing the behavioral is what takes the most work.

I am trying to think of an example to give to make my point understood, With Gaugan, My 17 year old Red Belly, she really wants to chase all other birds and people away from me when she gets hormonal. That is a big instinct in her. So I adrress it with diet and lighting schedules, but that would not really keep her being the well adjused parrot she is on their own. I play fight with her when she is feeing agressive and hormonal, and make her extra chewing toys and destroyable toys. as she finishes hormonal times, I make her more puzzle toys and challenges and go on more outings. My guide of how well she is doing is her energy level, her ability to interact well with others, how happy she seems, etc.

With the two Meyers, the one my daughter owns and mine they are very different kinds of parrots even though they are only 7 weeks apart in age. My daughters Meyers was hand raised and was the oldest of the clutch of three males. They were kept seperate from the breeders pet birds.....As the older Poi he was used to always getting his way. He is also on the larger side of the Meyers size. Then he went to a home where there was a young GC conure and again being the stronger bird he was used to getting his own way. now that there is a older female Senegal in that home, he is having a hard time. Sure some of it may be hormonal, but most of it is he is no longer the bird that can get his own way as often. He is bonded to my daughter but is getting so upset that he sulks and will even refuse attention from her sometimes. My duaghter is expereienced with parrots and will work through it. the way she works through it when he is this age will really do a lot to determine how well adjusted he will be.

My Meyers was raise to be a show bird and he would have been a breeder later. he did not get a lot of early socialization with humans. he was then shipped across the country and kept up with the parrots that the breeder had as pets. He is also a smaller Meyers, I had to socialize him to humans, but he is the type of parrot who was always chased around by the other parorots and had to sneak in to get what he wanted. he trys to avoid confrontations. He need to be handled much different than my dughters Meyers, and we will see what happens when they get more hormonal.

So pois can be very well adjusted birds but it comes from satisfying thier needs with more than just nutritiion and lighting schedules.
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seagoatdeb
African Grey
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 1257
Location: Kelowna, BC Canada
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Red Belly Poicephalus and a Meyers Poicephalus
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