When Bringing Home a New Rescue Parrot

               I want to first congratulate you on your newest addition to your family, and for you choosing to give an adult parrot a new home. Rescue parrots can be some of the best companion parrots. Now that you have brought your bird home, or maybe you are being a good caretaker and researching as much as you can before they come home, you are wondering what the next steps are. This does vary from bird to bird, and situation to situation, but I want to give you some pointers that I have found helpful when bringing new birds into my care.

               First, your bird should be quarantined from other birds no matter where they came from, their age, how healthy they appear, or if they have ever been around other birds before. Parrots are excellent at hiding illnesses, and sometimes the stress of the move can affect their immune system bringing on illness. You want to preserve your flock’s health by following proper quarantine protocols.

Here are some of those protocols:

·        Minimum 30-day quarantine for all new arrivals. During this stay, your bird should be vetted and disease tested.

·        Separate cleaning supplies, including sponges, rags, brooms, mopheads, etc.

·        The quarantine bird gets serviced last. This also includes letting the bird out and socializing with it.

·        When you leave quarantine, you should change your clothes, and ideally shower to be sure you are not transmitting diseases to your other birds. PBFD can be transmitted very easily.

·        The quarantine area must have a separate air-flow system then the rest of the house. A lot of diseases are transmitted airborne. If you have central air/heat throughout your house, you could be moving those particles all around the house. If this is the case, it is best to close the vents and create an air-tight seal with plastic. Bring in portable heating and cooling to the room. Remember to keep the door shut, and on the outside of the door, roll up a towel so it blocks the underside of the door too.

               I would give your bird a day to settle into its new house. There is the “old rule” that a parrot should spend a week or two in its cage when you first get them home, and it is something I usually do not agree with. But I do think there is value to not overwhelm your parrot by doing too much too quick. Having them spend a day in their cage to get used to their immediate environment, possibly new cage, and seeing you more and more often is something that is beneficial. When parrots feel threatened or are scared, they fight, flight, or freeze. If the bird is overwhelmed, or there is a slight change in the environment that is startling, they are more likely to bite you, fly erratically possibly resulting in an injury, and or they will freeze in fear. This can create a sour initial relationship with your bird that may set you back quite far depending on the individual. Sometimes one day is not enough though. If you have adopted a skittish parrot, one that is not very trusting of people, one that has less skills than other parrots behaviorally, then you might want to give them more time in their cage to settle in. On the other hand, some birds are just ready to go the same day if they are highly social, have a lot of skills, are used to change, or you have a very strong initial bond due to multiple visits with the bird before bringing them home.

A few tips when deciding when to let you parrot out of the cage include:

·        Wait for the parrot to consistently approach you when in the cage and want interaction.  If the bird is lunging at the bars, throwing itself at the bars, moves away from you, or hides from you while in the cage, it is best to give it another day. If you are finding that these behaviors are not improving, then I recommend reaching out to us for behavioral guidance.

·        Assess their skill level and behaviors you saw when visiting at their prior placement. When you visit multiple times before adopting, you learn about how the bird responds to you in an environment it is familiar with. When you start to see those behaviors, it is likely a safe bet to let them out. If you were unable to meet with your bird a few times before bringing them home, then you will have to read their body language to see how they are feeling.

Tips for letting your parrot out of their cage for the first time:

·        It is best to allow your parrot to come out of their cage on their own will the first time you let them out. Be sure that the environment is safe for them to come out and just open the door and leave it open. The initial time out I do not recommend using a treat to lure them out. If you are unable to get your bird out of its cage for two weeks or more, then reach out to a behavioralist for guidance.

·        Make sure the environment is calm for the bird. I recommend having all the household members be aware of the monumental event and ask everyone to stay calmer and quiet for the first time out. I do not recommend having the whole family, and even yourself, approach the bird asking for its attention and connection immediately. Allow your bird to come out and get familiar with its new environment before you ask for interactions. This can decrease the chances of the bird becoming overwhelmed and fearful.

·        Make it a positive experience. Intermittently give small sized food reinforcers to your bird while they are out to positively reward them for being out and showing desirable behaviors as well as simultaneously positively associating being out.

·        When your bird is showing that they are ready to interact with you more, keep initial interactions short and positive. You can always come back and interact with your bird soon.

Next, I recommend starting to train basic foundational behaviors to start gaining skills, confidence, and building your relationship together. Parrots need a lot of training not just for mental stimulation, but to decrease their fear, stress, and anxiety that comes with parrot caretaking. Parrots need to learn quite a bit of cooperative care behaviors like voluntary nail trims, restraint, going into a carrier, syringe training, stepping up, scale training, and so much more. We have plenty of online classes going over a lot of these basic behaviors as shown below. I recommend starting with target training, as it is used as a tool for step up training, syringe training, nail trim training, carrier training, harness training, flight training, and so much more.

You are going to want to start within the first week introducing foraging and playing with toys to your new bird. Foraging is the act of your bird finding food within its environment. It is a natural behavior that helps decrease excessive screaming behaviors, feather destructive behaviors, stereotypical behaviors, boredom, as well as increase independence, fitness, confidence, and so much more. We have made two online classes for your convenience on these two topics. For beginners to this topic, I recommend the Enrichment and Foraging Online Class, but if you are looking for over an hour of just different foraging ideas, then the Foraging Made Easy Online Class is the one you want to investigate!

               We also handmake parrot foraging toys to make foraging easy for you and challenging for your parrot no matter their size and skillset.  We offer toy bundles for maximum savings, as well as individual toys.

               Furthermore, I recommend listening to your bird and what they are communicating through their body language. Like I mentioned above, I would not push your bird past their comfort zone. Just because the previous caretaker can do a behavior or interaction with them, or they have done it prior, does not mean that they will want to or be comfortable doing so in your house, especially at the beginning. Be aware that they are communicating with us using their body language to tell us how they are feeling. Communication starts with subtle body language. If you are getting bit, that is not normal. That means you have pushed your bird far past their comfort zone. If you are wanting to have a specific interaction or behavior and the bird is communicating that they do not want to or are not comfortable, then try giving them some more time getting used to their environment or start training using small approximations and force-free methods.

               For you, create a support network of trusted individuals you can rely on. Ethical rescues are always your number one supporter and when you adopt a bird, you adopt them on your support team. They are there to answer your questions, bring reassurance, and be there for you and your new bird. Unfortunately, not everyone gets that person adopted into their support team. Reach out to trusted friends for guidance with navigating this new and exciting addition. Get in contact with your vet to start that working relationship. Most great vets are more than happy to have a quick phone call, or answer a short email, regarding any concerns you have with your newest addition. I would also like to personally extend my arm out to you to be a person of support in the ways you need me to. Whether it is just venting, asking questions, or wanting to start training, I have over 10 years of professional training experience with parrots, 20 years caring for parrots, 6 years working full time at a large parrot rescue with 450 birds, and I have had the absolute pleasure with working with thousands of clients, rescues, and zoos in my career.

               Speaking about your vet, I recommend that every bird should go to the vet UNLESS they were disease tested, had a physical, and they had bloodwork done within the last year while at their previous placement. You want to be sure that your bird is healthy so they can thrive, and so behavioral concerns do not arise. When I have clients talk to me about a parrot becoming “aggressive out of nowhere” my first recommendation is to go to the vet to rule our illness, chronic pain, and vision issues. It is also great to have a baseline in their medical history so when your bird is feeling unwell, the vet knows what their normal is. It is a good idea to have a general understanding of your bird’s health. I cannot tell you how many times I have had a seemingly “healthy” bird on the outside go to the vets and through x-rays we find broken bones, organ dysfunction, nutrient deficiencies, and diseases. I have an entire blog dedicated to the diseases that I recommend testing your bird for no matter where they came from or how healthy they seem outwardly. Remember that parrots hide their illnesses very well because they are a prey species, and a large flock species. They do not want to look like an easy target to predators, and they do not want their flock to kick them out or kill them when they suspect illness to preserve the overall flock health.

               Thought this is a very exciting time, there is also a lot that goes into it! Below is a printable guide that you can use to remind yourself of these main topics discussed while you are experiencing the joys of a new companion in your care!