Places You Take Your Birds.

[GlassOnion]

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[kaylayuh]

You don't call! Are you kidding me? You just show up and waltz right through while everyone's jaw is dropped.

If you "ask" they'll always fallback on the conservative approach of telling you it's just better not to bring it but when you're already there people just melt away at the sight of a cute little birdie.

I'll keep that in mind for other places I plan to go! The lady didn't say I couldn't bring him, she just said she didn't know. I took her not saying no to mean it's fine.

[Michael]

ALWAYS be prepared to be asked to leave. Don't take birds to places you couldn't afford to be asked to leave. Basically bring them when you're just out and about having fun without certain need and don't care. But then it's very unlikely anyone would give you a hard time anyway but if they didn't you can be courteous and accept their request.

Also, bring paper towels and things for cleaning up after your bird (unless it's a la natural aka outside). The last thing you wanna do is have your bird poop all over the place and turn places unfriendly toward other parrots owners over it. I'm always careful to try to prevent or clean up their mess but then again I do the same at home so it's typical for me. If I got some place for more than an hour, I'll often bring a Parrot Training Perch along with me and put a newspaper underneath it and just let the parrots chill on there. Heck, I even bring my battery vac if I'm driving and can afford the weight. They shed feathers, and one flap of the wings sends all their crumbs and chewed up wood bits flying all over the place. Between a vac and paper towels it's possible to clean up after them under any circumstances.

[kaylayuh]

We're really only going because I want to take a look around and maybe buy some produce, so it's not a matter of needing to be there. If I were going to the doctor's office or something, I wouldn't bring him. But for something like a farmer's market, if they ask me to leave, it's not a big deal.

That said, I always take tissues with me to clean up after him. I've noticed that he doesn't really poop if we're out for walks, though. Is that normal? The other day, I had him out for abour 45 minutes just walking around, and nothing. I'm not sure if it's because he doesn't know where to go or because he's a little nervous about his surroundings.

I also find that he very rarely tries to leave my shoulder. The one time I brought him down for someone to pet, he realized pretty quickly that I wasn't petting him and someone else was. Once he realized that, he tried to bite and I felt pretty awful as it was a little girl trying to pet him. I'm a bit weary of allowing people to try to pet him now as I don't want someone to get bitten. Since he's a rescue, I'm not sure if he's just unfriendly towards children or other people in general. The rescue did say he didn't seem to really like men but he did tolerate them. He supposedly did reach out programs, so I'm not sure what the deal is.

[Michael]

I always hold my parrot's beaks when I let children pet them. If the parrot bites the child it's both bad for the child but the parrot as well. You don't want your bird to learn that biting makes people bug off so it's best to prevent it in the first place. So even when I pet my parrots at home myself, I hold their beaks so they get used to it. Then when I let others, I hold the bird and tuck the beak in my fingers so that there's no chance the other person gets bit. Worst case scenario the parrot will nip me because I'm closer.

This also prevents people from fidgeting. Some people bring their hand in and quickly pull away every time the parrot moves. This also is bad because it makes the parrot nervous cause the person is abrupt and the person is nervous because it doesn't understand the parrot. By holding the parrot, showing people how it likes to be pet, and then letting them do it, it's a pretty positive experience for the parrot because it does get to enjoy petting the way it likes but from other people. If needed, I can make a video some time to illustrate how I do this but I realize my bird's beaks are much bigger so I'm not sure how relevant it is for a tiny bird.

I even did this with the Jardine's Parrot I was playing with at the bird store. After I got it used to me and stepping up, I began holding its beak whenever I'd pet it. It didn't take long for it to accept it and then I was able to show it off to other customers and children who were too afraid to pet the unrestrained birds otherwise.

[zazanomore]

I always hold my parrot's beaks when I let children pet them. If the parrot bites the child it's both bad for the child but the parrot as well. You don't want your bird to learn that biting makes people bug off so it's best to prevent it in the first place. So even when I pet my parrots at home myself, I hold their beaks so they get used to it. Then when I let others, I hold the bird and tuck the beak in my fingers so that there's no chance the other person gets bit. Worst case scenario the parrot will nip me because I'm closer.

This also prevents people from fidgeting. Some people bring their hand in and quickly pull away every time the parrot moves. This also is bad because it makes the parrot nervous cause the person is abrupt and the person is nervous because it doesn't understand the parrot. By holding the parrot, showing people how it likes to be pet, and then letting them do it, it's a pretty positive experience for the parrot because it does get to enjoy petting the way it likes but from other people. If needed, I can make a video some time to illustrate how I do this but I realize my bird's beaks are much bigger so I'm not sure how relevant it is for a tiny bird.

I even did this with the Jardine's Parrot I was playing with at the bird store. After I got it used to me and stepping up, I began holding its beak whenever I'd pet it. It didn't take long for it to accept it and then I was able to show it off to other customers and children who were too afraid to pet the unrestrained birds otherwise.

You let strangers pet your birds?

A few weeks ago, my step-sister's small dog bit someone, and he had to be put down.

Truman's beak is pretty big. And I'm sure he could do some damage. I wouldn't even risk it.

[Michael]

Nah, he's way more harmless than Kili. Except when put in a desperate fight/flight situation with no flight as an option, he never bites at all. Kili can bite just because she doesn't like how you pet her and other things. But even then, these two don't bite people when I take them out. They really are great about it. Even when I don't control what happens, they don't bite. There have been so many times when I may be just far enough or looking the other way that a kid runs up and pokes a parrot or touches its tail and my parrots won't even bite them. Or kids will ask to hold them and I let them not intending to let them pet them and they just do and the birds still don't bite.

At home, Kili can be really vicious but when I take her out she's really good. But like I said, I still take the precaution of holding their beaks normally. This prevents them from biting and if they got loose, they'd bite me first. It makes everyone more confident and ensures the kids pet them in a way that is reinforcing to the parrots. Really I haven't had a problem and this has only made them more social.

[kaylayuh]

I usually pet his beak, so I didn't even think about holding his beak while letting her pet him. He was "asking" to be pet which was the most confusing part about it. He'll put his head down and kind of twist it so you can pet just the right spot on his neck.

I'll definitely have to try that the next time someone tries to or wants to pet him.

[patdbunny]

If your bird's super well socialized and you're sensitive to its moods, interacting w/ strangers can be safely done.

michael 5.jpg (42.29 KiB) Viewed 5231 times

[Chris&Akilah]

So is it ok to NOT want to take your parrot anywhere crowded with non-parrot people? I sure don't, I couldn't handle the attention. I guess for that reason I can't really say, but to me it seems pretty risky. People can be jerks

ps. would a parrot really get put-down like a dog for biting someone, has that ever happened?