"Maul your bird?" Many of our customers may have heard Terry, Shari or any of the other employees mention this at one time or another. Having recently purchased my third bird, a Jardines Parrot from Parrot Island; I've now learned exactly what it means to "Maul your bird." I admit, this term may conjure up connotations of rough, forceful handling of a parrot; however, this is far from what we recommend. I am very new to the world of parrots, and am thus limited in experience. I can, however, notice a huge difference in the amount and variety of handling my three birds allow and tolerate. My flock consists of Jeep (Lesser Jardines Parrot), Xena (Maximillian's Pionus) and a three-year-old Budgie that has an ever- changing name.

Jeep, who is the newest member of the flock, allows me to do almost anything to her. I can lift each of her wings, lay her on her back and play with her beak or feet anytime I wish. There are times when she is only tolerating this form of handling. The process I followed to get her used to this type of handling was very simple and really helped to solidify the bond we share. When Jeep first arrived in the store I took things a little slow.

I allowed a few days for her to get used to me (and for me to get used to her). After our initial warm-up phase we moved on to the ever-important step-up command. Remember to always consistently "tell" your bird what you are going to do - before you do it. Once Jeep had a good grip on the 'step-ups' we moved on to playing with her wings, feet and beak. I would start all sessions with a few 'step-ups' and plenty of positive attention, and then I would gently lift each of her wings one at a time. I would never pull on her wings or use much force. I would also pay attention to how well she was tolerating this handling. If she appeared stressed by the situation I would back off. I would lift each wing a couple of times and then work on her beak and feet.

There are many advantages to playing with your bird's beak and feet:

1. Veterinary appointments and nail trimming can be much easier on you and your bird, and
2. It can help with possible biting if the bird has learned it can get affection from beak caressing.

When I played with Jeep's beak and feet I would simply run my fingers over every inch of them. I would pay special attention to the nails when caressing the feet. From time to time I would even use a nail file on them to get her used to having this done. The last part of our handling sessions would be laying her on her back. This is something we are still working on. I don't force her to stay on her back; but work within her comfort level. Over time she has become more tolerant of this exercise. Of course this was all fairly easy with Jeep because I caught her at a time when she was almost completely compliant. This was not the same with Xena or my Budgie.

Xena came to me when she was about 12 weeks old (a few weeks older than when I started working with Jeep) and I didn't start with the "mauling techniques" until she was at least 5 months old. By this time she was no longer as compliant as a younger bird. I follow the same routine with Xena as I do with Jeep; however, she does not tolerate this handling nearly as much as Jeep does. I have noticed that the more I work with these techniques, the more comfortable she becomes with them.

Now that my birds have become comfortable being mauled I cannot stop working with them and expect them to allow this sort of handling in the future. This is something I will have to work on regularly for them to retain. I have found that keeping our training sessions short and giving an overabundance of praise helps with this type of handling. Remember to never force your bird to do something it is afraid of or does not want to do; rather, work slow and within the parrot's comfort level. Over time one can be surprised at what their bird will let the handler do.

If you have any questions regarding any of the techniques presented in this article, the employees at Parrot Island would be happy to help.

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Additional Behavior articles:

• The Importance of Cage Dominance
• Train, Don't Nag
• Merlin vs. His Hormones: One Bird's Story
• Can That Bird Talk?
• Parrots and Noise
• Ambient Learning and Birds
• One Method of Introducing New Things
• Scooter See, Scooter Do!
• Checking the "Status Quo"

• All Articles
• Introduction to Parrot Island
• General Care of Pet Birds
• Safety Articles
• Diet and Nutrition
• Veterinary Health
• Special Interest
• Species Specific
• Recommended Reading