Imprinting
© By Sybil Erden, Director - The Oasis Sanctuary
February 27, 2002, Cascabel, Arizona

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One of the biggest arguments within the Avian Welfare movement circles around the question: "What is the best place for domestically hatched exotic birds...in adoptive homes or free-flighted in Sanctuary with other birds?"

There is a faction within Aviculture which insists that every bird should be in a home... that they need human companionship.

Conversely, there is an element in the Animal Rights and Welfare movement which believes that all birds need to be in flocks with their brethren, either in Sanctuary or released.

While there are truths to be found in these polarized positions, neither is fully correct. One needs to look at the reality of breeding birds in captivity versus the hardwired genetic makeup of birds to get a more holistic picture.

Birds diverged millions of years ago from the line that ultimately generated mammals and, much later, man. Simply stated. birds became birds when we were still lizards. Avians are flock animals and the Psittacines and Passerines we keep in domesticity, in particular, are mostly prey animals. Their security, their ability to survive, is completely connected to their position within the flock. From birth, through bonding, mating and child rearing, until death, a bird has his or her position within the flock. The only time they are alone is when they are in a hormonal "fugue state" and sitting trance-like on their eggs....or when they are so injured or ill that they either are rejected by the flock or cannot keep up. Unable to protect themselves from predators, they are then doomed to death.

Parrots and other companion birds are non-precocial animals; i.e., like humans, they are born blind and helpless. And like us, while there is much genetically hardwired information provided, most of what they and we need to learn for survival is taught, first by parents and older siblings, and later by our society: in the case of humans, by schools and peer groups; in the case of avians, by flock members. From the moment of birth, birds are learning - learning things about their survival that we, as predatory mammals, cannot provide.

In captivity, most breeders either artificially incubate the eggs or pull the birds within days of hatching. There are two reasons for this. The first is so that the birds will return to a hormonal breeding state as soon as possible and provide the breeder with more "stock." The second reason is for imprinting.

Imprinting is a natural phenomenon... Example: A human baby is born. It imprints on the person holding and feeding it. It recognizes the voice. It sees the caregiver. It reaches toward this person for nurture, for security, for life itself. Animals, mammals and avian, all do this. We all recognize our initial caregivers as "parents". We want to be with them, and to be with others like them. We see ourselves as "like" them.

But when it is cross-species and done for commercial purposes, the natural order becomes subverted.

Is it surprising, then, that in order to make a "pet" goat, we bottle-feed it? Or that in an attempt to create a "domestic" bird, to overcome millions of years of hard-wired survival instincts, we would also choose to hand feed and imprint ourselves upon these neonates?

In the case of Psittacines, there is an unfortunate downside to the superficial benefits...

Although the birds are now bonded to us, friendly and fearless, they are still prey, flock animals, in need of the 24/7, constant social interaction provided, in nature, by the other members of their flock. For some birds this is less psychologically costly that for others. Amazons, for example, spend more time in a pair-bonded unit than with large numbers of other Amazons. As such, one other living being in their life can supply them with the nurture they need. However, cockatoos, in particular, are at the other end of that spectrum...needing true tactile, physical contact, almost 24 hours a day.

Add to this identity confusion is another problem which occurs regularly in captive-reared parrots. That is forced-weaning. Forced-weaning, the weaning of a neonate before it is physically and psychologically ready, is too often the norm in order to bring young birds to market earlier. While it is not uncommon for Macaws, Cockatoos and other larger parrots to find their way to pet stores at three months of age, when they are physically capable of putting food in their own mouths, in the wild these same birds would still be supplementally fed by their parents. African Greys are often supplemented by their parents for up to a year. The larger species can be supplemented for up to a year and a half. Part of this is simply to reassure and to nurture the young bird. Forced weaning, the deprivation of hands-on nurture, causes separation anxieties which can be seen as an over-dependence on the human caregiver. It can take the form of non-stop screaming, feather plucking or even self-mutilation.

Many, if not most, of the behavioral problems we see with the keeping of exotic birds comes from this confusion caused by human imprinting and the lack of parental nurture that the young birds obviously receive in the wild and need in order to develop healthy psyches.

Many of the domestically bred birds currently living in homes do not have any idea of what it takes to be a bird... It is a well-known fact that many cannot even successfully mate and breed. Many have never truly fledged, having their wings clipped before first flight. Is it surprising they are fearful of other birds and cling, baby-like, to their human caregivers? Is it any wonder that they scream in terror when left alone? That they pull out their feathers and tear at their skin?

Of course, given time, most of the birds entering Sanctuary can and do adjust to life with other birds, and ultimately select other birds as companions . But for many this is a very difficult and confusing transition, one that not all can successfully make. This is why "triage"...careful review on a case-by-case basis... is necessary to decide whether a particular bird needs to go into another human home or find it's way into Sanctuary.

While it is preferable that breeding cease until the problem of overpopulation of companion birds is successfully solved, we must recognize that many breeders will not stop the breeding of captive birds. That being the case, we must act to encourage breeders to let the remaining wild-caught birds fully rear their young, allowing them to become fully self-aware birds. It is their only hope....