I gave my 6-year-old Moluccan cockatoo to a rescue place last week, but I want him back. I am afraid of him, though. He has bitten me on the face several times and countless times on the hands. I think he thinks I am his mate. It's not enough anymore to give him a plate of food - even to set it on the table with us. He wants only me to spoon feed him and no one else. But he is very aggressive with me a lot of the time. He chases me around the house. If I am sitting on the couch, a lot of times he runs aggressively across the back of the couch darting from the couch to the chair. I end up putting him back in the cage. I realize he is at a hormonal age and a bit spoiled, too. He hates when I go to work but is aggressive during the summer when I'm not working. It almost seemed like last week he had himself worked up to the point where he didn't even know why he was mad anymore. He chased me for days. I finally had had enough and gave him up. I miss him but I am afraid of him. Help.

-- Joyce

IF I HAD TO PICK one species of parrot that generates more questions than any other, it would be the Moluccan cockatoo. At the risk of alienating Moluccan fans out there, I can honestly say this is one species I do not believe should be kept as a pet.

Parrots in general are wild animals, not domesticated ones such as our dogs and cats. Many pet parrot advocates would never support keeping other wildlife such as lions, tigers or eagles; however, because the parrot is more easily tamed we accept it and consider it to be an ideal companion.

In accepting these wild animals into our homes, we have to expect a bit of wild behavior to come along with them. All of us parrot owners are familiar with screaming, territorial aggression and bonding. But believe it or not, biting is not natural. Wild parrots almost never bite each other, and on the off chance that they do, they seldom if ever break the skin and draw blood.

Moluccan cockatoos, especially hand-raised ones, act even more erratically in captivity than other types of parrots. During the breeding season males often will break eggs, kill their chicks and sometimes even kill their mates. In the absence of another bird as a mate, they will attack their human "mates".

When trying to understand animal behavior, one of the questions we should ask ourselves is "how does this behavior apply to the species in the wild?" In this case, as in biting, it doesn't. Wild birds don't kill their mates and offspring. If they did, they would lose the opportunity to pass on their genes and ensure the survival of the species. This tells us that, somehow, we have created this abhorrent behavior in our captive birds.

Why is it so much more prevalent in cockatoos, Moluccan cockatoos in particular? If I could answer that, I'd be rich. I do know we need to do something for these maladjusted birds. We can't turn them loose, or surrender them all to rescues. That may make the household they left behind a much calmer place, but it doesn't solve anything for the bird. We can't, unfortunately, expect breeders worldwide to stop producing more. What we can do is learn how to interact with our parrots in a more positive and effective way.

Instead, concentrate on what your bird is doing. When he "runs aggressively across the back of the couch," for instance, is he biting, lunging at you, and screaming? When he is "mad," how is he expressing that? Without a solid behavior to work from, you can't know how to proceed.

When you say he chases you, I picture him running along the floor with wings out and biting your feet when he catches up to you. But how did all of this start? What you perceive as aggression may be a game he learned to play that has escalated over time. When he bit you on the face and hands, try to remember what precipitated the bite and how you reacted afterward. All of this information is important in assessing the behaviors.

Bites are something for which we owners have to take responsibility, because they are frequently the result of not paying enough attention to signs our birds give us. As a professional trainer, I never get bitten and this is because not only am I paying attention to the bird's body language, but also because I never force him to do something he doesn't want to do. Those are two important rules to remember. (For more on biting, read Biting can be nipped in the bud with training.)

Many people suggest teaching the bird "structure," giving it firm guidelines to follow and establishing a set schedule to keep everything consistent. Well, I say throw out the schedule. If animals, or people, learn to expect certain things at certain times, they will expect them and maybe even demand them. After all, think about yourself for a moment: when the news preempts the episode of "Friends" (insert your own favorite TV show here) you've been waiting for all week, you get cranky! My dogs want to get up at 6 a.m. on the weekends because that's how it's done all week. Once on a schedule, we expect it to stay that way and woe unto anyone who tries to alter it.

With cockatoos that already have behavior problems, sticking to a schedule is adding one more problem to the mix, not solving anything. I believe that we should keep things random for our animals so that they don't know what to expect. That way, when they don't get attention at a particular time they don't wonder what the problem is and demand loudly that they get that treat or cuddling now!

If you do take your cockatoo back, you'll need to overcome your fear. It's normal to be afraid of him after what you have been through, but it could interfere with retraining. Try to think of him as a brand-new bird with whom you share no history. Then you'll be ready to tackle the job of building a history of positive interactions. It will build confidence for you and it will show him what behaviors will earn him what he wants: the opportunity to spend time with you and get all those great head scratches!

Here's how you do it. Begin by keeping him in his cage. Offer him lots of goodies when you walk by so that he'll look forward to the visits. Reward him for sitting quietly and playing by himself and ignore any negative behavior by leaving the room. He'll learn over time that being calm is what will get him his treats and time with his favored person.

When you are ready to bring him out of his cage, work on training a fool-proof "step up". Every time he steps onto your hand, reward him with a favorite treat then immediately put him back in his cage and reward him again. Repeat as many times as he has the attention span for. If at any point you think you are about to be bitten, put him back in his cage, reward him (if he behaved) and end the session. It is always better to avoid a negative situation in the first place than to have to overcome it.

Do your training sessions a couple of times a day, once in the morning and again in the evening. He'll look forward to the chance to interact with you and earn his reinforcements. Once he is performing the step-up without fail and you feel confident, try it from a T stand or other parrot perch. Since he has a history of bad behavior on the floor, don't allow him down there. If he climbs down off the perch, pick him up and put him away. Since mealtime has been an issue in the past, feed him only when he's in his cage or on his stand, not on the table or from your plate. Reward him with tidbits of healthy food only if he is sitting quietly and calmly. If he acts demanding or aggressive, ignore him.

Start spending "quality time" together in small increments, remembering to always put him away any time you begin to feel nervous about his behavior. It will take plenty of time, and plenty more patience but you can rebuild a positive relationship with your bird.

If you have the time to retrain your bird, by all means take him back. But if it's highly probable you'll fall back into your old patterns, it's probably better to wish him luck in his next home. The decision to relinquish a bird is an incredibly difficult one for many people. We not only feel guilty about contributing to the "passed around parrot" syndrome but often a sense of failure. Fortunately, most reputable rescues will see that he gets the best new home possible. Good luck with your decision.

ParrotChronicles.com

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