Posted by Lisa Phoenix on Wed, 01/11/2006 - 19:05 :: General Discussion
Distressed by the horror stories on MYTOOS and other sites, prompted to get on my soapbox.
The larger toos are smart, sensitive, highly emotional birds who can make great companions, IF you're willing to work with them.
They benefit from lots of exercise, so keeping (or getting)them flighted and giving them flight space is important. There's really no substitute for this and it works wonders on rehab birds with a bitey history.
They also do best with some amount of OC training. My U2 loves to play basketball. They are capable of learning long sequences of behaviors and quite challenging "tricks," but even simple tricks can be good distractors and soothers.
There's nothing wrong with giving your young 'too lots of attention and affection, AND it's important to engage their birdbrains and foster independance. Sometimes you have to do a little teaching so they learn that puzzles and forage boxes, etc are rewarding. My macaw is happy just destroying stuff, but my too is the puzzle queen (she only destroys shoes, and i provide her with old ones for this purpose).
If you're willing to make the effort with these very labor-intensive bids then they can be the smart, affectionate bird of your dreams. If it all sounds like too much, then they are not the birds for you!
My U2 was my first "big bird." i adopted her when she was three and she's now in her late teens. She has found ways to befriend multiple rehab dogs and birds, and is the most socially savvy critter in the house. She has NEVER bitten, is trustworthy on my shoulder, does am/pm contact calls but has also learned to "whistle" and has a variety of pleasnat vocalizations, and will happily spend hours in my lap watching the telly or show off her latest behavior for visitors. Can't imagine life without her, and i would get another in a heartbeat.
The larger toos are smart, sensitive, highly emotional birds who can make great companions, IF you're willing to work with them.
They benefit from lots of exercise, so keeping (or getting)them flighted and giving them flight space is important. There's really no substitute for this and it works wonders on rehab birds with a bitey history.
They also do best with some amount of OC training. My U2 loves to play basketball. They are capable of learning long sequences of behaviors and quite challenging "tricks," but even simple tricks can be good distractors and soothers.
There's nothing wrong with giving your young 'too lots of attention and affection, AND it's important to engage their birdbrains and foster independance. Sometimes you have to do a little teaching so they learn that puzzles and forage boxes, etc are rewarding. My macaw is happy just destroying stuff, but my too is the puzzle queen (she only destroys shoes, and i provide her with old ones for this purpose).
If you're willing to make the effort with these very labor-intensive bids then they can be the smart, affectionate bird of your dreams. If it all sounds like too much, then they are not the birds for you!
My U2 was my first "big bird." i adopted her when she was three and she's now in her late teens. She has found ways to befriend multiple rehab dogs and birds, and is the most socially savvy critter in the house. She has NEVER bitten, is trustworthy on my shoulder, does am/pm contact calls but has also learned to "whistle" and has a variety of pleasnat vocalizations, and will happily spend hours in my lap watching the telly or show off her latest behavior for visitors. Can't imagine life without her, and i would get another in a heartbeat.