There is absolutely nothing more important for the healthy emotional and intellectual development of a young parrot than abundance weaning and fledging. The term "abundance weaning" was created and trademarked by Phoebe Greene Linden of Santa Barbara Bird Farm. She has written extensively about it and subsequently the term has been adopted by bird behaviorists as identifying the single most important contributing factor to the birds' emotional and physical health. As opposed to "forced" weaning where the birds are on a specific schedule and, usually based on their age, the breeder decides when they ought to be weaned, "abundance weaning" leaves that decision to the bird. Supplied with a variety of foods ranging from fruit and vegetable tidbits to pellets that should be available all the time, the bird is continued to be hand fed. A properly weaned bird learns to trust humans through the actions of its caregiver. It gains self confidence, learns to accept different foods readily and is comfortable in a changing environment. While initially "abundance weaning" is exclusively needed for nutrition, eventually it turns into the need for emotional comfort.

Cage bound birds, which are suspicious of changes in their lives, who reject their caregiver, who become phobic or even feather pluckers most likely have not been properly abundance weaned.

It is a fact that in the wild, African Greys as well as Cockatoos for instance, are "abundance weaned" long after they have fledged. Two year old Cockatoos have been observed being fed by their parents and other relatives. Greys are being weaned and taught the "ways of life" for a number of years to prepare them not only to survive in a hostile environment, but also for the rules of behavior within their very own flock. Bobbi Brinker the noted breeder has instituted a system of "nanny birds" which helps her raise her babies. She has the reputation of producing healthy and well adjusted parrots.

At this point, it may be interesting to recount the stunning behavior difference between wild caught African Greys and captivity raised birds. While African Greys have the reputation of being feather pluckers, there has been almost no incidence of feather plucking observed in wild caught birds. While being trapped, caged and transported must represent a level of trauma to an intelligent and sensitive creature that is hard to imagine, these birds clearly came emotionally equipped to deal with that. While, on the other hand the birds bred in captivity, cared for, fed and never subjected to the tremendous stress of their wild caught cousins are historically more prone to becoming phobic. The answer seems to be that they are ill prepared to deal with the uncertain, ever changing circumstances of a life with a bunch of mammals that doesn't begin to understand them.. Something was missing in their upbringing--in all likely hood they have not been properly weaned.

There is another component in successfully growing up: learning to fly. Birds must learn to fly. Their sense of self confidence and emotional well being depends on it. They must be able to maneuver and land safely. Even though we may later clip their wings in order to protect them from injuries or escaping, they must fly first. Once we decide to clip them, we have to make sure to do that correctly. There are very clear guidelines on proper wing clipping which are based on bodyweight, size and general agility. Properly clipping is important and won't harm the bird's self esteem; doing so improperly can be devastating, physically dangerous and cruel.

Finally, "abundance weaning" is entirely the breeder's responsibility. There is no question that the bird's future behavior patterns, his/her ability to relate, the levels of socialization and emotional health are very largely dependent upon the first 6 months of its life.

The battle cry among all those dedicated to the well being of our companion-parrots is: "Don't buy an unweaned bird"--and for a reason. We all should know the difference between a good breeder who cares for the little creatures for whose future he is ultimately responsible and the bad breeder who cares only for the money. A good breeder will never sell an unweaned bird and the bad breeder should be put out of business.

Articles elaborating on the subjects above can be found in Sally Blanchard's Pet Bird Report and in a number of outstanding books about the upbringing and keeping of pet parrots.

This article is not intended to provide all the necessary information, rather, it is intended to stimulate the awareness that we must do our homework before buying a parrot!