(For Greg's books see http://www.greg-parrots.co.uk or 0870 757 2381 for details of his consultancy work.)
In changing the behaviour of any companion animal, often the hardest aspect to address is getting the bird's carer, not the bird, to change their behaviour; specifically, how they manage and care for their bird. This article examines some of the causes of feather destructive behaviours in captive parrots and parrot-keepers' attempts to address the problem. The author has had good success in caring for birds which self-pluck and hopes a more objective, scientific approach will be taken in addressing this matter.While there may be some medical and dietary conditions which contribute to self-plucking in some birds, it should be remembered that all self-plucking and other self-harming actions have a behavioural component. This is simply because the behaviour involves the bird making a voluntary decision to damage its own feathers. So, while a bird which plucks may have abnormal levels of some mineral or vitamin, it does not mean that the bird is plucking because of that fact. Many, perhaps most birds, which pluck (particularly greys and cockatoos) also imitate human speech; but this does not mean that this behaviour causes plucking. All it means is that there is a strong correlation between mimicry and self-plucking: correlation is not the same as cause. While it is recommended that a specialist avian vet examines your bird's condition at least once a year, many people with plucking birds go through a whole series of expensive veterinary examinations yet find nothing medically wrong with their bird. Indeed, parrot carers can spend a lot of time and money doing this and make no progress at all. Where tests come back negative and the bird is in otherwise general good health, then it is reasonable to consider that the causes of self-plucking lie elsewhere. Despite this fact, many carers of these birds refuse to look elsewhere and continue to have pointless tests carried out on their bird as it continues to pluck.
While the condition of feathers on a wild parrot may vary from perfect to seriously tatty and one bird may damage another's feathers, no one has ever seen a wild parrot actually damaging its own feathers. Self-plucking remains an ailment of captive birds only. Indeed, feather destructive behaviours do seem to be correlated to the degree of captivity (confinement) which the bird is experiencing. So, birds kept in large naturalistic colony aviaries very rarely self-pluck. Birds kept in small environmentally poor aviaries sometimes do. But birds kept as 'pets', on their own and required to use a cage for long periods every day of their lives are at the greatest risk of self-plucking. It is in this fact that the answer to the problem of plucking in an otherwise 'healthy' bird lies. So, the more we can give our parrots as many of the behavioural opportunities in captivity that they would experience in the wild, the less likely they are to self-pluck (Fass-Holmes 2004).
Companion parrots are routinely subjected to the following eight practices, below. Yet, each of these practices run counter to the birds' real needs as determined by the bird's behaviour in the wild. After over 20 years of keeping parrots, in my view the use of any one of these practices alone is likely to increase the risks of feather destructive behaviours. Sadly, some parrots have been subjected to all of these 'management' practices. Where a parrot has experienced some of the management practices below, perhaps with a previous owner, these can induce behavioural problems; the most common are stereotypies and self-plucking.
1. Bird was hand-reared. The process of hand-rearing results in baby parrots being deprived of any interactions with their natural parents. Hand-rearing, compared to parent-rearing has adverse effects on the birds' behaviour. However, this works as a 'behavioural time bomb', with a delay of several years in larger parrots. This has been confirmed by research by others (Schmid, Doherr & Steiger 2005). The purpose of hand-rearing is essentially, that it has economic benefits for breeders and retailers. By removing fertile eggs from a parrot (for artificial incubation followed by hand-rearing) the breeder can force the females to produce more eggs per bird per year. The resultant partially human-imprinted chicks are very easy to sell in the retail trade as 'cuddle tame' babies. These birds are then bought by those naïve of the behavioural time-bomb which only explodes on maturity of the bird. Parrots, unlike some other species of birds such as poultry and ducks are all nidicolous species. This means they are born blind and helpless and remain reliant on their parents for an extended period before becoming independent with regard to feeding and safety. This period extends beyond the point of fledging when the birds leave the nest or the first time. Nidicolous birds also rely more heavily on learnt rather than innate behaviours. In the natural context, parrot chicks begin communicating with their parents while they are still within the egg, 2 to 3 days before they hatch. During the following weeks and months, the baby birds learn directly from interactions with their parents how to 'be' a parrot of their species. As nidicolous species, captive-bred parrots should never be hand-reared unless the parents have died or cannot raise their own young. Where, through death or inability of the parents to raise their own chicks, parrots will have to be hand-reared but this should be done using glove puppet mock-ups of their parent's heads. The chicks should be preened by the puppet and should establish 'contact calls' with it as the substitute parent. Also, the chicks should have no sight of humans until the natural point of fledging. In addition to adverse behavioural issues caused by hand-rearing, there can be adverse physical effects (Harcourt-Brown, 2004). Here, skeletal abnormalities of the leg bones can be seen. Also, some hand-reared birds fail to socialise normally with other parrots while they also over-bond to one human carer. Many hand-reared birds show aggression to other birds or humans, save for their 'favoured' person. But the key aspect of the effect of hand rearing is that the birds also fail to learn to cope with frustration in the normal way, including frustrated breeding behaviours. In this respect, the behavioural problems seen in h-r parrots are similar to the problems seen in dogs which have had to be hand-reared (due to death of the bitch).
2. Premature exposure to bright light. Hand-rearing is often done using commercial brooders under bright-light conditions. However, parrots are hole-nesting species and wild parrot chicks are never subjected to bright light until they fledge and leave the nest. Subjecting baby birds to bright lights even before their eyes have developed properly may have adverse effects on the birds' vision and processing of visual information.
3. Solitary confinement. Hand-reared birds are often deprived of social interactions with their peers and siblings. Again, parrots do not have a behavioural repertoire to cope with such social deprivation. Some may 'learn' to cope with this, but only by developing maladaptive behaviours which are self-rewarding such as self-plucking, self-mutilation or screaming.
4. Wing-clipping. Many parrots are still routinely subjected to flight deprivation by various forms wing-clipping. This denies them their most basic and instinctive predator-escape reflex action. As a reflex (not voluntary) action this behaviour is used whenever a bird feels frightened. It will spontaneously jump into the air to take flight and gain some height and distance from the perceived source danger. It will then be less fearful. Birds deprived of escaping fear will be prone to so-called 'phobic' behaviours; as would a human being or any other sentient creature subjected to a fear stimulus from which it cannot escape. The dire behavioural effects of wing-clipping should never be underestimated.
5. Excessive use of cage. Parrots are routinely caged, being confined to a degree which many birds cannot tolerate. Excessive caging occurs where a bird is required to be housed for many hours of the day in a cage which is so small the bird cannot fly. In terms of their behavioural ecology, parrots have no experience of being forcibly confined in such tiny places for hours on end; many parrots fail to 'tolerate' the degree of caging which they are 'required' to accept. Where a parrot fails to adapt to being in a cage, the bird will show frustration behaviours. These may manifest in many ways. They may include stereotypical movements repeated throughout the day (bird traces the same route around part of its cage) or self-harming behaviours including self-plucking, or over-use of a contact/distress call; what parrot keepers call screaming.
6. Problems establishing a close bond. As part of their innate behavioural needs, parrots need to be able to bond with another bird, or, failing that (in captivity) with a human being as a substitute. This bond should be such that the favoured person can be with the parrot for much of the daytime and can offer 'emotional' support to the parrot through mutual preening and interacting with the bird in a stimulating way. It also helps if 'pet' parrots can be socialised so that they interact with other birds and/or people in addition to their favoured companion. H-reared birds often over-bond to one person only and this can cause behavioural problems.
7. Frustrated foraging behaviours. A captive bird has food available at all times and never has to search for any of it. However, wild parrots spend many hours flying to and from feeding sites and feeding on a range of foods which require different skills in order to gain access to the food itself. Frustrated foraging behaviours (the need for the beak to be kept busy) can be a major cause of over-preening which can then lead to self-plucking (Meehan, Millam, and Mench, 2003).
8. Lack of knowledge of bird's behavioural needs. Parrots are often sold by people (pet shop staff, breeders and dealers etc) who have a poor understanding of the behavioural repertoire of the species they are selling. This problem is confounded by a lack of understanding of the scientific principles of behaviour modification. Furthermore, the birds are also often bought by people who likewise, lack this knowledge. Advice on companion parrot care is sometimes given by some professionals and well-meaning amateurs alike who also lack this knowledge. Without carers having some scientific understanding of behaviour, parrots remain at risk from (largely unintentional) inappropriate treatment. Where attempts are made to solve a bird's behavioural 'problems' without a good understanding of the science of behaviour, one is merely left with a trial & error approach. The consequences of this for the birds are likely to be very poor indeed.
In summary, where parrots are subjected to parental deprivation (hand-rearing) wing-clipping, over-use of the cage, environmental impoverishment (including inability to forage for some foods) and social deprivation, they are at greater risk of showing a range of behavioural problems including self-harming. Consequently, what is actually surprising is not that some caged 'pet' parrots self-pluck or self-mutilate, rather that despite the conditions many are raised and kept in, some of them do not self-harm. This is testament to these particular birds' incredible ability to adapt to the hostile conditions it finds itself in.
Changing a bird's behaviours
There are two aspects to changing a bird's behaviours. The first is to provide the bird with a general environment in which it receives suitable stimulation which allows the bird to replicate as many of its wild-type behaviours as is possible. The second aspect relates to the carer's relationship with the bird; specific behaviours and behaviour modification.
General environment and care.
While some wild-type behaviours cannot be replicated in captivity, the more a captive (especially plucking) bird does have the opportunity to replicate a range of its wild-type behaviours, the more likely it is to reduce, and even cease self-plucking (Fass-Holmes as above). The implications of this are of course quite significant. Parrots are routinely wing-clipped, caged all day, 'stand-trained' and generally severely limited in their movements. These practices tend to be done by default, often without actually thinking about the effects on the birds. However, such practices are incompatible with the birds' essential behavioural needs. Such commonly accepted conditions will need to be dispensed with if self-plucking and other behavioural problems are to be reduced in companion parrots. If these conditions are not changed, it seems likely that the problems of self-plucking will increase. So, parrots need to be out of their cages for most of the daytime, interacting with other birds and/or people. Plucking birds should be encouraged to take part in activities which are incompatible with plucking. While a bird is calling, or tearing up some disposable toys or foraging for some favourite foods, it cannot pluck at the same time, so these behavioural opportunities need to be provided, encouraged and of course rewarded. Many parrots appreciate the use of a roosting box within their cage and this gives them somewhere safe and secure to hide in. Parrots will never scream loudly while inside a dark box, so this can also help reduce noise levels significantly. The box should be positioned high up in the cage and be similar to a nesting box but with a large entrance hole. Wood shavings or newspaper should be placed inside with some destructible/chewable toys as well. Occasionally, a parrot may become aggressive around the box but the bird should be given the opportunity to have access to a box wherever possible. Many people find it hard to introduce new objects and even new toys to their birds, saying that they are afraid of new items (bird is neophobic). In most cases, it is not the toy the bird is afraid of; the problem arises from the method by which any new item is introduced to the bird's cage or immediate environment. Neophobia is an acquired trait in most parrots, caused by previous bad experiences of new items or actions. So, introduction of new items needs to be done gradually, at a pace which is comfortable for the bird in question.
Flying birds seem much less prone to self-plucking and flight greatly increases a bird's confidence; so flight should always be encouraged. Where a bird has been clipped, it should have its wings repaired by a specialist avian vet who can imp on donor feathers to the clipped feather stumps. This is done under anaesthetic and restores flight immediately. Alternatively, with badly damaged feathers, these can be pulled out (under anaesthetic) and re-growth will commence immediately. During a normal moult, parrots replace one to three flight feathers at a time and these grow 3 to 4 mm per day. The flight feather moult takes 3 to 9 months depending on the species and the quality of nutrition. If the bird is likely to pluck these feathers during growth, then some form of collar and disc may be needed to prevent the bird having access to its flight feathers.
In addition to the usual 'Step up' and 'Step down' requests, all flying companion parrots should be asked to accept a few basic flight requests from their main carer. Using positive reinforcement methods (see below) most birds learn these requests within 5 to 10 days, having 3 short sessions per day. They include the following:
'Stay'. Means please do not fly to me for the moment.
'Go'. Means please leave me by flying off me.
'Off there'. This is a safety request asking your bird to leave an unsuitable or potentially dangerous place and fly to a safe perch instead. It means: please fly off your present perch and fly to another suitable one; do not fly to me.
'On here'. Means please fly to me now.
Where birds are allowed to remain on someone's shoulder, basic training may fail. Birds should be asked to use the hand as a perch, not the shoulder. By this means, one can maintain eye-contact with the bird and properly read its body language, just as the bird can more easily read your body language as well. When we are interacting with one of our own species we do have them stood to one side or behind us. It may seem 'convenient' to put a bird on your shoulder, but the practice can cause many problems.
Changing specific behaviours
In order to change a specific behaviour, the bird's trainer or carer first needs to have some understanding of how to provide a bird with the motivation to carry out 'desirable' behaviours and cease carrying out 'undesirable' behaviours. The use of applied behaviour analysis (ABA) methods is the scientific method of behaviour modification. Here, the use of positive reinforcement where the bird is given 'rewards' for desirable behaviours is the key to changing a behaviour. It is important to avoid punishing or even admonishing a parrot for anything it may do. A captive animal is not culpable for anything it does and such treatment will only make matters worse. Also, carers need to ensure that they are not inadvertently reacting to the bird's plucking in an inappropriate way, and thereby reinforcing the behaviour themselves. Where plucking occurs in the company of a person who says something to the bird or remains in the room as it plucks, then the bird may perceive these as 'rewards' and carry on plucking. However, if the bird likes you, and every time you see it plucking you walk away from the bird and leave the room, once it makes the connection between plucking and its carer walking out on it, it will have some incentive to cease plucking. This method can of course only work provided other possible stimulants to plucking are also addressed by giving the bird a suitable general environment in the first place, including many hours out of the cage each day. Some birds only self-harm in the company of certain people, including their main carer. In these cases, one has to consider that for the welfare of the bird, that person should cease associating with the bird.
Many parrot keepers who genuinely care about their birds become deeply frustrated with their inability to 'cure' their bird of its self-destructive behaviours. They feel they have gone to great lengths, and often to great expense (at the vets) and seen no improvement in their bird's condition. Some people will recommend various sprays, supplements or a change in diet, thinking that this will somehow cure the bird of its behaviour; invariably, it will not. Perhaps the answer, in some ways is so obvious that we dare not speak it because it relates to what we have done to these birds. Many parrots self-pluck not because they are in captivity, but because they cannot cope with the conditions they are subjected to in captivity. Where parrots are caged all day, or hand-reared or wing-clipped or kept in the absence of a close companion, there will always be a significant proportion of them who will be utterly unable to cope with such dire conditions and experiences, that they will always be at risk of self-plucking.
If dogs, cats or horses were being subjected to hand-rearing, social deprivation, caging and greatly restricted mobility, many of these animals would also be routinely tearing out their own hair and self-mutilating. The answer for companion parrots is not difficult. In addition to a good diet and good veterinary care, they have to be given plenty of opportunities in captivity to replicate some of their wild-type behaviours; this is facilitated by good quality environmental enrichment. Without this, many will simply continue to show their utter inability to cope with what is 'expected' of them as caged birds and they will continue to self-harm.
Finally, it remains a basic tenet of behavioural work with companion animal 'problems' that the animal's behaviour is most unlikely to change until the behaviour of the animal's carer changes first. Getting carers to change their behaviour can be the hardest part of behavioural work in companion animal welfare. But where parrots can replicate many of their wild-type behaviours, then self-plucking stands a good chance of being prevented and even cured.
Greg Glendell BSc (Hons) 2007.
Greg works as the UK's only full-time companion parrot behaviourist.
See: www.greg-parrots.co.uk
References & further reading:
Chance, P. First Course in Applied Behaviour Analysis. Pub. Brooks/Cole 1997.
Fass-Holmes, B. Why do Parrots Pluck their Own Feathers? Parrots magazine, issues 78 & 79, 2004.
Friedman, S Living and Learning with Parrots Course; details www.thegabrielfoundation.org
Harcourt-Brown N. 2004. Development of the skeleton and feathers of dusky parrots (Pionus fuscus) in relation to their behaviour. Veterinary Record, Vol 142 No 2 January 2004.
Meehan, CL Garner, JP and Mench. JA. Isosexual pair housing improves the welfare of young Amazon parrots. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 81. 73-88 2003.
Meehan, C L Millam, JR and Mench, JA. Foraging opportunity and increased physical complexity both prevent and reduce psychogenic feather picking by young Amazon parrots. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 80, 71-85. 2003.
Schmid, Doherr and Steiger The Influence of the Breeding Method on the Behaviour of Adult African Grey Parrots (Psittacus erithacus). Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2005.
