Where can I find general parrot help, aside from here?

[chiddler]

The thing is, I have a lot of questions and issues with our bird. I'm not sure where to ask.

Forums are helpful but I need a dialogue to occur simply due to volume of things that need to be addressed. (via internet, or otherwise)

Thank you.

I should add that I need help asap. The bird is being borderline mistreated.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

An local avian behavorist or vet? A local breeder?

[Michael]

You can try us here if it's something we'd know about. Otherwise it would have to be a vet, breeder, store, etc.

[chiddler]

Please excuse my stupidity in this regard, since I've never really owned a pet nor really interacted with a vet.

A vet would know how to properly care for parrots? My image of a vet is a strictly medical position, is it not?

[Michael]

Ok, I think I'm starting to get the picture here. You got/inherited a bird and don't know where to begin. Is that right? Then what you need is to buy a book about caring for a parrot and perhaps another book more specific to the species or category of parrot you have. That's where you start. Then you can ask specific questions here.

Some people have vets that are just animal lovers and are very helpful on a personal level. Unfortunately many vets are not like that or too busy so it's not always an option.

[chiddler]

Not exactly.

I'm a college student living away from home and my father purchased a conure. On occasion I would look online to find out answers to questions I have and the more I read, the more I realized that owning one is a rather large responsibility. I never knew that they were such intelligent animals.

I'm home on the weekends, and all I see is my dad traumatizing it. Thus, there are many things I need to know on how to have it behave properly so that it doesn't anger the father unit.

I really hate that he purchased it. Sure it's cute and all, but nobody has a clue how to take proper care of it and it's just beyond sad.

I do not have time to read books about a pet I see a few times a month because I have a very heavy load of classes.

Thanks for your response!

[Kathleen]

Working with a bird using positive reinforcement techniques only encourages the behavior you want. You can never completely eliminate behavior by punishing this bird. Instead, it will just become afraid of you. I have no idea what "traumatizing" entails but that is a strong word and so I can only use my imagination.

You can't just "have" it behave properly so your father doesn't get mad. You can control some of the things the bird wants and reward the bird in exchange for doing what you want it to do, and I think with a little patience the situation might improve. But you can't control this bird.

[Suzzique]

Did your dad buy the bird for you or for himslef? Meny people buy birds not knowing the kind of work that goes into them or that they are loud, messy, distructive ect. Two days a week working with the bird is not going to make things perfict for your dad the rest of the time or over night. Sense he is the care giver he has to be the one to do what is right. If your dad is not willing to put in the work that is needed then things are just going to get worse not better.

[MandyG]

I agree that it has to be your dad that is doing the work and learning about the proper way to care for a parrot. Building trust takes a lot of time and dedication, especially after this bird has learned that your father = traumatization. Building trust with a new bird is hard enough, but building that relationship with a bird after it has been traumatized by a certain person will take a lot of time and patience if it's even possible.

If your father is willing to put the work into this bird if you point him in the right direction then we can suggest books, videos, websites, etc. for him to look at. If he's not willing to to take the time to learn and to put in the effort to improve this bird's quality of life then no amount of training you do when you see it will help.

I'm home on the weekends, and all I see is my dad traumatizing it. Thus, there are many things I need to know on how to have it behave properly so that it doesn't anger the father unit.

If the bird needs to behave correctly or it will anger your father then this sounds like a very bad situation for the bird. Birds don't learn how to sit and be quiet and be well behaved like you can train a dog. They are individuals and highly intelligent. You need to learn how to co-exist with a parrot and let it just 'be a bird' and the owner needs to be the one to learn how to modify their own behaviors to create the optimal environment for the bird. Yes, you can 'modify' behaviors through training such as decreasing biting or screaming, but in the end the bird is still a bird. You can't expect it to sit nicely and quietly in it's cage.

Is your father willing to learn about properly caring for the bird? Is he wanting to give the bird what it needs to have a healthy and happy life? If so, I'm sure there are a lot of people on here that can give him a lot of information or point him in the direction he needs to go. We're more than happy to help if somebody is willing to learn.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Could you buy your father some good books about training birds? Or is he sure he's right about what he's doing? Does he have a vet for the bird?

Folks are right, there is only so much you can do.