ABSTRACT
All bird behaviour originates from ‘wild’ behaviour, and can be either instinctive or learned. Companion birds need to effectively acquire learned behaviours that can make them socially acceptable as pets and companions. Companion birds face many challenges. These challenges are directly attributable to a lack of knowledge – and sometimes ignorance – of a bird’s requirements. The two most common presentations of chronic problems seen by avian veterinarians are malnutrition and behavioural problems. To understand bird behaviour it is necessary to go back and look at the behaviour of birds in the wild; after all, most pet birds are only a few generations removed from wild birds. Young captive birds need continued mentoring and behavioural moulding and require guidance for the establishment of a normal bird–human flock relationship. The first change in thinking on bird behavioural therapy came with the realization that drugs and physical restraint devices (e.g. Elizabethan collars) just did not work.
