My Pet World: A few tricks to stop your dog from crying at night
Of course it took a half a century for me to realize that my father was correct. The same thing applies with your bird -- you want him to be able to grow up and learn that being by himself is not a horrible situation. However, he is not going to learn if you are around him 24/7 the first two weeks after you take him home.
Birds can handle random events better than any life form on planet earth -- just look at what wild birds go through on a daily basis. One day there is rain and wind, and the next day there is sun and blue sky; then there is food and then no food; predators then none. A bird can take just about anything life throws at it, and when it is over, it flies on top of a telephone pole and sings away as if nothing happened.
This perfectly natural scenario is how you want to raise your bird. He has to learn that there are times he gets to come out of his cage and play with you, and other times that his human mates just walk past him without acknowledging him.
He has to grow up and learn that coming out of his cage and playing with you is a random event he does not control. It just happens like a sunny day happens, and when it does not happen, it is not the end of the world. He will just happily stay in his cage and play with his toys.
If you were to spend all your time with him, the first time you wouldn't be able to play with him will make him very confused and unhappy. This is what causes many pet birds to become incessant screamers and show neurotic behaviors. Pet keepers just need to see the world from the point of view of the animal to understand why it does what it does.
I understand you love your new pet and want to devote yourself to it, but parrots live a long time, and his life will be a happier one if the first lesson he learns is that being alone in his cage is not a bad thing. He can only learn this from you.
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(Marc Morrone has kept every kind of animal as a pet possible for the last half century and is happy to share his knowledge of pet keeping with those in need of it. Although he cannot answer every question individually, he will publish those of general interest. You can contact him at petxperts2@aol.com; please include your name, city and state.)
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