Giving Baby Parrots the Intimacy They Need

Birdkeeping Naturally by EB Cravens

You know the one thing about living in a tiny cabin in the woods, which also serves as nursery when breeding season rolls round, is that one has the unique experience of sleeping with chicks on the first night they are taken away from parents and nestbox.

I mean, this is a real toughie! Here we have these four, six, eight-week-old neonate psittacines that are totally aware of their existence within mom and dad's care, and here I go, lifting them out of the darkness and exposing them to daylight, and music, and the sound of human laughter.

Is it little wonder birdkeepers are seeing more and more dysfunctional parrot behavior from birds not yet ready that are given this type of treatment? The point is, what are these baby psittacines giving up when I take them from the nestbox for hand-rearing, and how can I best offer quality substitutes for the lacking input? The object is to make the chick's transition as smooth as possible... Some of the things lost when baby parrots are pulled are the chunky, seedy, perfect temperature and taste foods fed by the parents. Others are the wood box enclosure around them, the sounds of the aviary Rock nearby, the daily dawn to dusk routines of parent care. These are all pretty much irreplaceable with our modern avicultural techniques.

The most important factor given up by the chicks on pulling day, however, is the touchy-feely intimacy they get from their moms, and hopefully when the babies are left in the box for extended weeks as we do, their dads! Intimacy ... that closeness and warmth of another living creature. I used to believe it was sufficient to use soft, fuzzy teddy bears to stay in the nursery baskets with my psittacines; still do, but truth is, if it is not warm and it does not move, its value is not intimate. Siblings in a clutch can also provide some companionship; yet they lack many of the traits of the parents when it comes to caring for, sitting on top of, etc. the babies. So it falls to me, the keeper to provide nurturing, security-creating intimacy. And the best ways are to emphasize those actions which mimic the parents and provide a common link between living things. Here are my favorites:

1) Resting my hand on the baby's back in a gentle, but firm pressure akin to the weight of mom. Chicks often tremble soon after pulling from the box, and this method done with great patience for 5-10 minutes will cause them to calm and relax quietly. Sometimes a whole clutch of Conures will burrow under one hand, larger birds I may have to use two hands to make spots for them all. Do not be surprised if a little mouth grabs your finger and falls asleep with it in his beak!

2) Beak scratch and click. Chick touching begins with the beak where parents feed, and fingernails best simulate parent beaks. This is the way to prompt feeding response, to teach about nibbling of harder foods, etc. Clicking the edges of upper and lower mandible with my nail is a favorite of babies.

3) Use a wet warm cloth or clean paper towel pinched on both sides of beak to clean up youngsters and watch them bob and push faces deeper into the comfort. It's the one thing I do which is better than mom and dad!

4) Baby parrots still skittish from the trauma of being taken from their birthplace react very well to a hot breath right up next to their face and beak. It seems to calm them and says, "I'm alive and close by, and you are safe."

5) Mimic sounds that the parent species make are often better accepted by young chicks, and better understood, than an alien human voice talking to them, even if in baby talk. Try whistling or clucking to duplicate dad's normal vocalizations and watch how the chicks start answering.

6) Once babies are progressing and do not mind being lifted out of the basket often, we place them on our chests for an intimate nap or preen session. Our breath going up and down is soothing to chicks.

7) A slow eye blink is a communication understood by even young fledglings. Stare them close in the eye and slowly blink once; then see if they answer. I have used eyelash blink caresses with some of my shyer chicks. Very intimate.

8) Soft kisses with the barest of tongue touches are magic for soothing skittish baby psittacines. Please be advised that this is a method that can only be used in the most healthy of homes with well-feathered chicks. I have never experienced any problems, but one should make one's own judgment about kisses.

9) Feather grooming must be done for birds that have quills that need flaking off. This is a huge and total job for aviculturists who insist on pulling chicks at early date; while for us there is little of it at all because birds are 60-90% feathered when we pull. Use fingernails and gently pinch and vibrate up the quill.

10) As fledglings grow more variable, intimacies may be taught -- caressing beneath wings, foot and toe squeezing massage, lots of face preening with soft rubbing of eyelids and nares and squeezing beaks.

11) Tool preening comes in handy at this stage -- chopsticks, toothbrushes, plastic pointers all can perform gentle intimate touchings not possible with fingers alone.

Remember, the finest little intimacies with baby parrots go on in the dark, so be aware of when you are rushing to bring neonates into lighted situations. Intimacy is about building trust and secure feelings in chicks in the new environment outside the box and away from parental care. It must be done slowly to avoid any stress or trembling in the birds. Tis my experience that many breeders tend to pick up, lift and move baby psittacines too abruptly. We move them ever so slowly at first so there is none of that "elevator going down" feeling; and always, always make sure both feet are supported on your hands or the towel before lifting. Dangling feet of a still insecure chick is a beginner's mistake!

With aloha, EB.