Ducky and the latest batch of babies performing community service.
My daughter and I volunteer with a local cat shelter, Friends of Cats - FOC.
We take Ducky and any babies to events to socialize.
This picture was taken at a Farmer's Market.
Hopefully, you have gotten your bird from a source that's already socialized your new bird very well. Regardless, you must socialize the bird or continue to give the bird new experiences. A little fear is not a bad thing. Don't be over protective; but keep in mind - don't terrify the bird.
I know you think you're doing what's best for your bird by removing him from the scary experience - "Oh, it scares Polly! Poor Polly! I don't want Polly to be scared!"
In the bird's mind it's, "Oh! That's scary! Oh! My owner says we need to hurry away from the scary thing; therefore, this scary thing must be dangerous!"
Lesson learned is next time the scary thing is encountered, the bird will react with more fear because you've taught it that the thing was dangerous.
On the other hand, if we do not remove them from the scary thing:
Human - "Oh, it scares Polly! Well, it's just a stuffed animal that's not harmful to Polly. No reason to remove Polly away from the toy." Human to bird - "It's ok Polly, it's just a toy." And we help the bird understand it's not a dangerous thing, and we expose the bird until it relaxes.
Bird - "Oh! That's scary! Hmm. . . But my owner doesn't seem scared. Hmm . . . my owner's being very calm about all of this. Hmm . . . my owner not afraid of this thing. Hmm. . . I think I'll touch it with my beak and see for myself. Oh! Hey! It's kinda squishy. I guess it's nothing to be afraid of!"
Lesson learned is next time I see this thing it's not scary and might be in need of further exploration.
I'm a strong believer that the animal takes cues from us as to how it should react to its environment and new things. I notice in both my horses and my birds, the more I help them overcome a scary experience, the more trusting the animal is of me. When I first got my grey arab, he really had a hard time listening to me - he was a very reactionary horse. I discovered that when I helped him overcome something scary, his behavior immediately changed afterwards and he was much more compliant when being ridden.
For birds, the amount of fear I like to see is when the bird stands really tall slightly leaning away from the object, looks concerned, may be moving its head around to see where it can flee to, wings may be flicking like it wants to get away; but there is no actual movement to get away from the object. Any actual movement away from the scary object is too scary.
It's about nuance and a "feel" for the animal. SOCIALIZE, BUT DON'T TERRIFY YOUR BIRD.
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