Night of the living... husbandry?! - Zombie practice in aviculture

 

It's been a while, and for regulars here, sorry, life has just been a handful of late.

I was thrilled this week to see a published paper beginning to assess the welfare benefits of circular aviaries, a great idea I've promoted for some time to anyone who will listen, and I'm excited to see what evolves from these works.

 

This week, the Aviology blog passed a major milestone (for a niche aviculture blog anyway!) by passing the 20,000 readers mark. It has taken a few years and the odd cage rattling (mind the pun), but in the main, reception to the blog has been wholly positive, with many new friends being made over the years having got in touch to discuss various topics. The idea that people would take time out of their day to read my work is humbling... Aviology:AI free since 2017 - here's to you and the future brave readers! 

On that note, to celebrate in some small way, I thought it worth putting together a post to talk briefly about Zombie practice, a theme I've touched on every so often but never described. That sounds a bit like folklore husbandry I hear you say, and to some extent that is true, but whilst there is some overlap, there is a critical difference between the two.

Folklore husbandry, a term becoming more popular as the years pass, refers to husbandry practices not rooted in scientific evidence when evidence is available. Snake oil remedies for cage birds is one prime example, many magical tonics are available commercially for a wide range of situations, but seldom do they contain any active ingredients or have any quantifiable veterinary effect. Using these is considered folklore husbandry because it is used on faith alone, with no data or case studies to back it up.

Zombie practice is usually what occurs as a result of folklore husbandry over time OR situations where systems are not updated over decades and their original creators no longer give input or context.

 

Gimme blooood!...

 

First let's chat about the first instance, which is usually seen more in private aviculture because in that situation there is less of a drive for formalised systems and actions are often more spontaneous, and I suppose, of less consequence to the wider world, but of significant consequence to the birds kept. Zombie practice occurs here when folklore husbandry is enstated, but then matched up unquantifiably with some level of success. Others, looking for success with their own species often emulate that practice in the hopes that they will have the same success, if they do, it is assumed to be down to the folklore, if they don't, they continue to cling superstitiously to the folklore in the hopes it will work eventually. Because many folks in private aviculture do not come from a science background, they often miss out on the critical thinking skills that would empower them to ditch the zombie practice and work on real success they can understand, and share with others. Let me be clear here, this is not an assumption about all private aviculturists, I am one myself, but there is a fair sized fringe that do work in this way, they will often refer to themselves as “old school” or similar, which doesn't really mean anything because there were superb private bird keepers in the past, as there are now (I've talked briefly about this somewhere, you will find a link at the end if you're interested).

What harm do these snake oil remedies and folklore practices do you might ask? Well, the scope is too wide to say for the birds, but in honestly, it does a whole lot of harm to the private keeper, it wastes their time, it wastes their money, it robs them of the true joy of success, if these resources are rerouted to meaningful welfare improvements that are observably improving the birds quality of life, the keeper too can thrive.

Secondly I'd like to touch on what some have considered the more insidious of the two, because it often manifests in an organised form and can last decades unchallenged. That is the instance of zombie practice in professional aviculture settings.

I myself have learnt via many mentors and backgrounds, but never myself subscribed to any “school” of thought, to me, the welfare of the bird in question is the “school” and I am both the student and the servant of that “school”. That's my view for what its worth, which will hopefully help you see my perspective.

One theme I have seen over a couple of decades in professional aviculture, at least in the UK, and every so often globally, are these “schools” or “lineages” of keepers, that route their training and discipline back to often one single source, many of those sources being now many decades old themselves, with the original minds and situations behind those practices now long gone and to some degree lacking in connection to modern aviculture. Although well intended, this kind of zombie practice has marched on through several generations of keepers, sometimes watered down each time it is passed on, and the original understanding, situation and any science behind it lost to time. In this sense this zombie practice comes not so much from folklore, but more a loss of definition and relevance over time, like an ever fading photocopy, losing parts of the original every time it is copied.

 

There's a theme to these images, but not really sure what, anyway...

 

The saddest part is that many of the original progenitors of these initial ideas were on the cutting edge at the time and today, would likely have changed their opinion and position in light of what we now know, just as we will find ourselves questioning our practice 10 years away. Yet it's still common to see 50 year old practice held up proudly as some sort of badge of honour, even when science now suggests otherwise. This is zombie practice in action.

A nice metaphor for Zombie practice in this setting is a headless cockroach, you can remove the head from the body and it may continue to live for a time, but it's usefulness becomes limited and it can certainly not be considered a cockroach any longer in the functional sense of the term. When honest critical thinking ceases, the cause is doomed. This is also true in many professional instances; when practice is taught as discipline without understanding, a timestamp is placed on the usefulness of that knowledge.

So, that's that; it might be that you have encountered this sort of situation in your work with birds, and its easy to want to buy into, to want to “belong” to something that will give you security, a group, a society, a particular school, but the truth is that great ideas and revelations come from everywhere, as do bad ideas and bad practice. Be fluid and free.

 

The key to selling snake oil (or mystery bird tonics) is usually confidence... the bad kind.

 

What can I do to resist falling prey to zombie practice I hear you cheer!

Thankfully that part is pretty simple, you just need to;

1. Commit to the idea that a majority of what we should know about birds in human care is currently unknown, speculative or unadressed, and that is OK and normal.

2. Know that your obligation to your birds is to reactively research when presented with a problem rather than delve into the security of how little written information is currently available.

3. Be clear in your objective, don't get caught up in aimless or purposeless pursuits. Write down the problem, then establish what you need to answer the question at hand and seek it, if you cannot find anything helpful within known literature, plan how you might obtain your answer practically via observation or data collection.

4. Strip back anything of no use to that cause. Do not yield to what you would like to be the case even if it has been repeated for many years.

5. Not give up, you might be on to something new and better (or not, but let's say you are).

And to be honest, that's about all I'd like to say about Zombie practice for now that I've not already touched on elsewhere and leave you with a quote from a great scientist and philosopher who whilst they were not talking specifically about our field, their thoughts when asked what two things they would say to the people of the future echo wonderfully with what I m trying to convey here.

“I should like to say two things, one intellectual and one moral.

The intellectual thing I should want to say to them is this: When you are studying any matter, or considering any philosophy, ask yourself only what are the facts and what is the truth that the facts bear out. Never let yourself be diverted either by what you wish to believe, or by what you think would have beneficent social effects if it were believed. But look only, and solely, at what are the facts. That is the intellectual thing that I should wish to say.

The moral thing I should wish to say to them is very simple: I should say, love is wise, hatred is foolish. In this world which is getting more and more closely interconnected, we have to learn to tolerate each other, we have to learn to put up with the fact that some people say things that we don’t like. We can only live together in that way — and if we are to live together and not die together, we must learn a kind of charity and a kind of tolerance, which is absolutely vital to the continuation of human life on this planet.”

~ Bertrand Russell

 

Till next time, stay birdy,

C.

 

If you would like to read another post along these lines, this is a good start...

Unexpected musings on the nature of excellence in Aviculture. 

and you are also interested in the quirky world of circular aviaries, here is an older post that is quite hard to access these days due to the way Blogger is set up.

MMM... DONUTS! - Thinking outside the boxes : Have we overlooked a major new aviary design?

If you've made it this far and are still excited to learn more, you might be interested to know that we have set up a facebook group to help push forward thinking birdkeeping and discuss challenges and ideas. You can find it by searching Aviology: aviculture 2.0 on facebook or use the link HERE.

Bird Keeper Green Flags - Good traits in aspiring professional bird keepers

My last post was pretty full on, and I highlighted some of the most problematic attitudes in bird keeping today. Many got in touch to share their thoughts on this and as a result, I thought it would be interesting to write a follow up article aimed at the younger up and coming bird keepers (or maybe some open minded current keepers), that rather than just sharing the negative traits one can develop, throw out some positive ones to look for and aspire to. So here goes...

Being a zoo bird keeper as a profession (and doing it well) is a demanding and sometimes unforgiving career and certainly not for the faint hearted. It requires a level of dedication and interest that would tax even the most enthusiastic of general keepers. The main reason for this is that birds are so fragile, unpredictable and ungiving in their habits that they could easily put off a novice keeper dipping their toes into the world of career aviculture. Couple this with the need for astute and informed, species specific observation skills and a nutritional grasp wider than most other taxa and this route becomes a pretty intimidating prospect.

 

As this post is more about us and less about birds, today I'll just include some cool species. All are connected to the article somehow, 10 points for Ravenclaw if you get it by the end.

 

Professional aviculture at least from my perspective is in a state of flux, a genuine push toward better welfare standards after decades of foot dragging is resulting in a conflicted environment, where often the costs of improving welfare to an acceptable modern standard can be sudden and overwhelming, leading to collections having to prioritise species or in some cases collection plan and reduce bird species so that better welfare can be provided to the remainder of the collection. Graduates either studying to move into industry or ready to work are usually well educated and versed in welfare and behaviour, and have the best intentions, but lack the historical understanding to see where aviculture has been and where it is heading. A level of resilience is required if a student of the avicultural arts is to survive long enough to learn how to function within the modern zoo ecosystem whilst still maintaining their sense of optimism and drive.

It's maybe not a surprise then, that in these challenging times there seem to be fewer young aviculturists stepping up to the plate, and those that do often change direction into different taxa or move out of professional bird keeping altogether. It is sad to say that in my experience more promising young bird keepers have moved away from aviculture than stayed the course.

Over the years I've interviewed, worked with and mentored many aspiring bird keepers and as such seen those that thrive and those that don't and so I thought it may be useful, particularly to students looking seriously towards a career in professional aviculture, to compile a list of my "green flags". These are outlooks, qualities and behaviours that generally indicate that a keeper will develop into a "good egg" (you older readers will know exactly what I mean here).

 

 

Disclaimer: These are just my own thoughts, and don't mean you will always get that job or placement you are aiming for, but they will help you understand what it takes to move forward in an upward direction.

 

Calm

First thing on the list is your demeanour. Being a calm, centred person is very helpful when working around birds day to day. Some bird species may seem very excitable and loud, but that does not mean that they require their keeper to be. For many smaller species if you are loud and boisterous you will at best spook them into avoiding you and at worst cause them to panic and seriously harm themselves. Learning how to remain calm and non reactive will go a long way towards helping you develop understanding with the birds you care for and enable you to observe them easier and recognise any developing issues earlier which they may otherwise mask. When I encounter someone who is not immediately excitable or distracted constantly it assures me that the birds are likely to be safer around them.

Observant

On that note, observation skills are critical in aviculture, more so than any other taxa. Birds get sick fairly often, have complex social needs and plenty of windows for chaos to develop quickly. It is true that birds "die all the time" but I would wager that many of these deaths are avoidable with a good understanding of species specific behaviour and a bit of proactive common sense and observation. There have been times in my early career when I've noted something, thought I'll "keep an eye on it" and found an unsalvagable case develop days later, and the kicker is that almost all situations are different, so being flexible and observant can help you make the right calls and communicate situations effectively to your colleagues each time. It's better to raise a concern that may be fine than overlook one for fear of sounding silly and it turn out fatal. When I encounter keepers who notice small and seemingly insignificant things about a bird it rings bells.

Willing (and able to learn (and research!))

This one is pretty specific. We often say we are willing to learn, but what I mean here is not only to say it and expect to be taught, but be able to self motivate yourself to learn independently and do the research needed to maintain your birds well, and keep doing it, forever. What is key here is not only to research what avicultural literature may be available but also to scour every source you can on the natural habitat, behaviour and needs of that species. Legacy aviculture has its merits and can still offer a lot so should not be ignored, but you should also remain aware that it is a minefield of folklore practice and welfare snake oil and some good people out there still promote very erroneous practice with great confidence. The truth is that whilst you may have mentors who are willing to guide you, the only real way to make productive moves forward is to develop yourself, by yourself, for yourself. Sounds harsh, and certainly not what many young keepers will want to hear, but nobody is coming to save you. You are going to build yourself into a solid keeper or fail. It's something I wish I'd learned way earlier in my career, so here it is, a gift to you in the hopes you make good use of it. If your friends and colleagues tell you otherwise, you need better friends and colleagues. Self motivated, alert and interested keepers are always a green flag, especially those who are aware of innovative and developing areas in modern aviculture.

 

Healthy

Simple really, nobody will say it because it seems a trifle unfair, but you need to stay healthy and aim for what is optimal for your body type. Nobody will judge you for not doing this, but if your physical and mental performance bottoms out because you are not taking proper care of yourself your team will notice when they have to draw up the slack. Drink enough water, eat properly, exercise, simple stuff but not always obvious to younger keepers and it's in your personal interests to be healthy too. If someone comes to an interview and has a healthy home life, enjoys walking, sports or similar, I can infer from that that they are likely disciplined enough to be staying fit and able to carry out their duties well at work.

Honest

This one is easy to say, not always easy to live by. Be honest about what you are doing, what you are seeing and what you are thinking, but try to present this in a diplomatic way wherever you can. Often in this line of work, the phrase “never attribute to malice that which can be easily explained by ignorance” is a reality. Birds are complex, there are thousands of species, all very different and no one of us can ever know all we should know about them, they keep their secrets well even with your best research. Speak up if you are concerned or have useful ideas and be honest about what you are doing and if there are problems make sure to carefully articulate where you may have misunderstood. Don't run to blame someone else, aim to resolve a situation and avoid it again in future with clear, calm communication. Young keepers who are honest about what they do or don't know fill me with confidence, over-hyping yourself in an attempt to impress could result in a colleague overburdening you with a task you are not ready for and this could come at the cost of the birds, an outcome nobody benefits from.

Self Aware

Self awareness is key to good development not only as a keeper but as a person. Knowing your weaknesses and your strengths will help you not only plan better but also assist you in recognising where you fall short. At first our ego thinks “how do I fall short?!” but the truth is that we all do, sometimes in big ways, sometimes in small ways, but it's in your interests to know where you have room to grow rather than crawling blindly (and maybe arrogantly) through life thinking you are already perfect and “enough”. Dedicate yourself to growing so that you can better serve your birds, they deserve it and so do you. Rookies who show clear self awareness, demonstrate a path of self guided growth and a maturity score high for me, these are the foundations of a solid reliable keeper in future.

 

Objective

This one is tough in practice, as no matter how objective we think we are we are often not. Emotion gets caught up in our work (and should, otherwise why are you here?) and we regularly have to make uncomfortable decisions or sit with situations we are not happy with. What is critical to a good keeper is firstly how they view it objectively and ask is this hurting my feelings or ego more than is sensible. Are my views on this causing welfare to be compromised, am I getting in the way of myself here? Euthanasia decisions in particular never feel “right” emotionally, even when you are 100% doing the right thing, and if they still feel wrong ten years down the line, you're doing well. Dulling your senses to important decisions like euthanasia is not only a bit cowardly, but will also impact your ability to make objective welfare decisions in future. Stay sharp, it's not easy or comfortable, but it's correct.

Unentitled

I'm not going to dive deep here, as this attitude is thankfully uncommon, but I'd be lying if I said I had not seen is a few times, particularly in new keepers and work experience.

The truth here is that in spite of what a college or university may have told you, or what you may have told yourself, no one zoo or institution owes you a free education, a free job, a free interview, cripes they don't even owe you a chance at a placement. You have to come ready to go and be willing to get your hands dirty and get tired, it's tough, but it's true. If you want to work with birds (or any taxa to be honest) having an entitled attitude is the quickest way to push away anyone who might have any interest in helping you. Remember, all the keepers you see were in your place once, they may have grown on well, or gone a bit wrong, but what unites them all is the graft it took to get there, nobody handed it out to them (in 99,9% of cases anyway, and you should not pin hopes on being that 0.1%!).

Resilient

Resilience is a bit of a gross word to me, as it's become a bit of a corporate buzzword used to normalise pushing staff beyond reasonable limits, but in this case, it is the right term I'm looking for.

What I'm getting at here is that you need to be able to get back up again when you get knocked down. Birds need you every day for their husbandry needs, so this part of our role is unavoidable. It's why we work weekends, Christmas, Birthdays etc... It's the path we choose, and biology cant change the needs of the birds to suit us.

It's going to be tough, and if you follow the bird keeping route, probably tougher than most keeper roles. You need to learn a huge volume and still be honestly happy with being “a fool” when it really comes down to it. You need to work your damned hardest to breed a species in need of conservation only to have a chick die days before fledging. You need to say goodbye to that bird you spent a year training when their health suddenly goes downhill. The next day you need to get up, get on and care for the other birds as if it never happened.

This is probably one of the toughest parts of not only bird keeping but keeping any animal. In my experience only exposure really builds genuine resilience in a keeper, going through those situations and learning ways to guide yourself through and maintain your core energy day in day out. Focussing on other tasks that can keep things moving forward whilst you process something is key, but like all things, it's likely you will in time, find your own ways to becoming more resilient, whist still maintaining your “fire” for the craft.

 

 

I'll leave it there for now, as that is a lot to take on board and think about if you think about it seriously, and although there are probably more green flags I could share, these core ones should help anyone who is feeling a bit lost and in need of a little encouragement.

My takeaway advice would be to write down these points as bullets and honestly ask yourself where you could improve on those areas. If you are strong in some areas, great, move on to working out how you become even stronger, better still maybe reach out and help others in your life that find this hard, they may too be searching for growth.

The biggest green flag of all is that you are here, you desire to develop enough to have found your way to this article, read through it and are now making a plan, or adding to an existing one. You would be amazed how many keepers are not that proactive when it comes to their career development. If you start off strong now and continue with a good mindset, think of where you could be 10 years from now.

I hope this has been of some help and best of luck out there, it's tough, but birds are awesome.

#staybirdy

C.

 

 

NEWS: If you've made it this far and are still excited to learn more, you might be interested to know that we have a facebook group to help push forward thinking birdkeeping and discuss challenges and ideas. You can find it by searching Aviology: aviculture 2.0 on facebook or use the link HERE.

I may see you there!

What comes first, the chicken, the egg, or you? - Thoughts on problematic approaches in bird keeping.

 

In the grand scheme of modern internet culture and wider life, things can get er... complicated.

I haven't really sat down to write over the summer, I've been busy working on myself with the sudden realisation that in a few more years I'll be ancient (in keeper/dog years!) and I don't want to be any more of a worn out old Birdman than I have to be. A lot has been on my mind both personally and professionally and I've had plenty of time to think about a whole load of things.

One thing that has been on my mind more than anything has been "why do we do this?" and more so all the unusual types of keeper I have encountered through the years that have confounded and baffled me.

In the past I have had so many conversations with all sorts of fellow bird keepers, both private and professional and so many seem to have encountered similar, yet it's rarely addressed anywhere in any meaningful way.

It occurred to me that maybe there's a whole load of keepers out there that could do with the comfort that they are not alone and there are (in my opinion of course) right ways and wrong ways to look at keeping.

Palm Cockatoos mating at Leeds Castle in England, UK - This will add up later, but who doesn't like the idea of more Palms in the world?

 

This post will be less of a husbandry critique and more of an analysis of the internal qualities and maybe a few of the "deadly sins" of caring for birds in general.

To be clear, this is aimed at nobody in particular, but a coagulation of decades of casual observation and moments that gave me, to use the modern parlance "The ick".

To start out, for those who have maybe been taught by or worked with me in the past, one of my often used mantras is relevant here - "Some people like being keepers more than they like keeping". 

What this means boiled down, is that some are motivated more by the idea of being a keeper rather than what it means to keep birds. In that sense I've been able to see the transition since the 90s from self focussed keepers attending authentic social meets to network with others to a more modern social media led culture where keepers are not only spending a huge amount of time on social media, but having to actively promote themselves like their own demented PR agent within their industry or circle, either for professional advancement or more nefariously just social clout. It's an unusual trend which is not going to go away, but it has led to a hundredfold increase in the sorts of "being a keeper" behaviours rather than "keeping" behaviours, if that makes any sort of sense at all.

Now being honest, this is fairly harmless in the main and seldom do any animals suffer from this sort of behaviour except in extreme circumstances (and I trust you will know those instances when you see them right?), but it does propagate a culture that leads the person on the street and young potential keepers with very skewed ideas of what it is to be a good bird keeper.

Anyway, that baseline set, let us crack on with a list of little red flags that always concern me when I see them, because you didn't ask for them, but you're here, so let's go.

1. Anthropomorphic projection

Oh boy, the cardinal sin, the Elephant bird in the room.

 

Anthropomorphism

/ˌanθrəpəˈmɔːfɪz(ə)m/

noun

noun: anthropomorphism

the attribution of human characteristics or behaviour to a god, animal, or object.

 

Any sensible keeper knows that their birds are birds and not people, but you would be amazed how often I see people wildly attributing human characteristics onto their birds, both at home or at work.

Sure, we spend a lot of time around our birds, but the focus of all of our interactions HAS to be based around their natural behaviour and not ours. As humans I find in absence of knowledge we tend to transpose what we do know onto a situation, which I suppose, often leads to this crime of ignorance and sometimes just indulgence.

One of the most offensive spectacles I witness regularly is keepers engaging in physical behaviour that is socially inappropriate for the species they keep on the basis that the bird enjoys it. A common example of this is when individuals have raised a bird for whatever reason and then insist on continuing to be its "parent" for the rest of its life - Yuck. If an individual was raised the natural way it's real parents would quickly push it to independence for it's own good so that it can socially function amongst it's fellow birds, and if it were to encounter it's parents again in later years, it would likely not behave like a perpetual chick, yet these sad dysfunctional animals continue to appear on social media and real life, being endlessly coddled by a human for the keeper's own one sided benefit - this doesn't help the bird at all.

 The second common issue I often see here is situations where people engage in courtship behaviours with birds, again often hand reared ones, which for similar reasons to "parenting" are misleading for the bird and will likely lead to more and more problematic behaviours. Once more this is a sin of ignorance, indulgence or both, and is a bloody horrid thing to do to your birds (which I know of course you don't do right?). Classic example here is parrots, the amount of times I see keepers touching birds in areas of the body that are considered socially as "mate areas", for context here there are a similar set of areas in humans, consider a stranger approaches you and puts their hand on your shoulder, that would instantly be recognised as a neutral, friendly interaction, but if for instance, they placed their hand on the lower part of your back, that is of course an instant sign of something else entirely. The same is true for birds, and by touching them in certain ways, we are sending certain messages and writing social cheques we have no ability or intention to cash. Generally speaking, in parrot culture, heads and feet are "friend zones", this is where flock mates would physically interact with the bird via preening, but under wings, under the tummy and vent, and in females in particular touching the back are all very much "time to get fruity" zones, and engaging any parrot in this way makes a suggestion that the bird will take literally, which if you consider the long term and constant physical and behavioural nature of parrot pair bonding, you are in absolutely no position to fulfil, nor should you. Kissing your bird anywhere, particularly on the beak, emulates pair co feeding or parental regurgitation feeding and is also wildly confusing and in many cases pretty stupid.

To add onto this, another non physical consideration is that birds communicate much of their intention vocally or via display, which means at times, you can be unintentionally sending mixed or erroneous signals to birds by participating or mimicking those behaviours. One fairly famous example that is often seen is a Shoebill stork "bowing" and that human visitors need to bow back. This is courtship behaviour, not the kind of human respect gesture we might expect. To that end, every visitor is not participating in some cute social custom, but merely entering a bird's territory, proposing pair courtship, and then leaving... endlessly. The same is often seen in birds like cockatoos where their flamboyant "dancing" is seen as an expression of musical joy, but again, this is often part of wider social displays that MEAN things to the bird that you can't necessarily detect. It is no coincidence that these flamboyant displays in so many species can often end in confusing and hormonal aggression towards the keeper or a bystander, because what is being sown here is just that, confusion.

 

A Summer Tanager interacts with it's reflections to no productive end. In a way we can think of misleading interactions with our own birds to be just as confusing and frustrating as this mirror.

 

Just to touch on the keeper aspect here (and this may trigger some folks so hold tight) there are two kinds of people when it comes to this, those who just don't know any better and are doing their best with what they know, and to them my suggestion would be to study up on the natural behaviours of your species so you can really learn how to understand your birds and their needs; this is truly the closest you can get to actually “speaking” to your charges, so much of their communication is non vocal, so its worth doing for you and your birds.

The second type do it because it they know better but it makes them feel good either to have another organism socially crippled and dependent on them OR because of the extra social attention it gleans for them to have a “relationship” with such a wonderful animal.

My brutal advice to them would be to get a grip, you are a grown ass human and know better than to cause unneeded confusion and social stress to your birds, they deserve as well adjusted a natural life as you can offer them no matter their background. Ask yourself honestly, is this for them? both of you? or just you?

And no matter what someone told you, or who else does it, you are responsible for your birds, the buck stops with you. You are the only one who can steer positive changes in their lives.

Don't get me wrong, I know that there are so many hand raised (intentionally or not) birds out there that have unique living situations and may be unable to live a life that we would consider normal for their species, but the keeper should never be adding to the already complex social burden these birds carry, we are there to help, not hinder and frustrate.

Outside of behavioural situations, anthropomorphism can creep into our husbandry routines, applying human preference and logic to an animal that may need or prefer something else entirely, or to counter may need you to be the tough guy and not allow them to live certain ways. I won't dwell here because in honesty it's a massive sub topic and if you'd like to read more along these lines I wrote a post earlier in the year on “dropping the chop” and how we can erroneously enforce our own preferences onto bird nutrition, so go check that out later if you like.

So all that said, lets close off on anthropomorphic projection, I think that the gist is there and you can see why understanding species behaviour is so important to know how to act right around birds, and indeed what a good keeper's place is in their bird's life. You're essentially a mix of bird butler, maid, nurse and agony aunt, and that's it. Oh the glamour.

2 – Social media

This one is simple – keepers often get really into generating virality to the point that they will obtain birds they cannot adequately care for, or manufacture fake situations to get attention from strangers online and or make extra cash. I have a few friends who keep birds and also have popular social media channels, but what they all have in common is that they are simply sharing things that their birds do, work they have done with their birds or helpful advice for other keepers. They keep birds first and broadcast socially second, not the other way around.

Some folks, in particular, more professional zoo circles tend to fall in love with the idea of being a bird keeper to the point that it almost becomes a cliché, with the image of the modern bird keeper being a khaki clad, key jangling, hosepipe coiling bag of joy, but miss all the underlaying qualities that define a truly great bird keeper, most of which require none of the above (although if you like khaki that much, you do you). 

 

Here's a Dollarbird, it has nothing to do with anything, I have just been thinking about them a lot lately, and now so can you, you're welcome.

In my experience a good fellow bird keeper cannot be easily defined by their appearance or even their initial conversations, to get a good feel for a keeper you need to see them amongst birds in a natural context. A real bird keeper can be easily judged by the fruits their birds bear rather than what they say, show or do on social media or in a conference hall.

Social media has it's place in life, but the answers to bird keeping are not there, they are out in the aviaries and the wild world.

 3 – Prioritising the wrong things

As a third and final bugbear, rubbish time management and blinkered process.

This applies to all keepers, probably more so to keepers who are working, but let's be honest, we all want to make the best of the time we have so that we can use it wisely and actually do the things we and our birds enjoy. Having good levels of discipline are critical to being a good keeper of any species and sometimes this can go so far that routines become so ingrained in our minds that we just continue them as we always have or cross transfer husbandry and practice to other species which may not require the same level of attention, or need different care.

One trait which seems common in all types of bird keeper is tidiness, sometimes to an alarming and almost pathological level, and being pragmatic, what is important to birds is good hygiene and avoidance of excessive pathogen pooling; not the shape of some topiary or the alignment of boxes in a hallway. Now of course when you have time for both, you can do both well, but I have known keepers who if given only 10 minutes to do one task of their choice would rather sweep the hallway or coil a hose perfectly than maintain some internal aspect that has a direct impact on their birds. Birds needs always have to come first, and performative human concepts like boxes being lined up have to come second. This root thought process is the issue, here not really the tasks themselves, but you get the idea.

 

Possibly the only documented time a bird has concerned itself personally with coiled hosepipes.

 

Once again we are often working with what we know and subconsciously lean away from the unknown and into the familiar, but that dovetails ultimately into the conclusion of this well intended brain dump.

WHY?

Why am I continuing these routines this way?

Why am I doing this specific task?

Why am I encouraging this behaviour?

Who is it benefiting?

Is it benefiting anyone?

What could I be doing that would work better?

If this process is actually unneeded, how could I spend this time enriching my birds life more?

Have I drank enough water today?

Jokes aside, in my experience the keys to moving forward are almost always being honest with yourself, being focussed on your birds, stepping to one side, remaining humble... and asking... WHY?

Stay Birdy.

C.

If you enjoyed this, I can write more along these lines, it seems like there are a lot of lost bird keepers out there looking for some guidance and a like minded voice but there seem to be very few outlets for this around that are direct and open about what good bird keeping entails for both birds and keeper. Let me know if this was useful to you.