New here! Just got my first Pionus
Hey everyone! I'm from Milton and I just brought home my first bird ever — a umbrella cockatoo named Rio. I'm equal parts excited and terrified. Been reading everything I can find online but there's so much conflicting info. Any beginner tips from experienced owners would be amazing! Looking forward to being part of this community.
Nice to meet you! Always great to connect with fellow bird owners. You're going to fit right in here!
Hey welcome! You'll love this community. Feel free to ask anything, everyone here is super helpful!
I've done a ton of research on this because my green cheek conure had the same issue. Here's what I learned: the most common cause is jealousy of a new person, pet, or even object in the home. What worked for us was getting natural java wood perches from a specialty bird store. I also started reading "The Parrot Problem Solver" by Barbara Heidenreich and noticed improvement within a week. It's a process but it gets better.
YES! This is exactly what I needed to read today. My umbrella cockatoo and I have been going through the same thing!
So I had this exact problem about a year ago. Let me share what I learned. The key thing is stuffing paper towel rolls with treats for foraging. A lot of people also recommend reading "The Parrot Problem Solver" by Barbara Heidenreich. My avian vet in Whitby also suggested checking for not enough quality sleep — they need 10-12 hours uninterrupted which can sometimes be an underlying factor. Good luck — feel free to DM me if you have questions!
Revisiting this thread because I have more info now. After talking to my vet, they confirmed exactly what people here said. This community knows their stuff.