by Pajarita » Thu Apr 02, 2020 10:44 am
Well, companion or aviary species is not a scientific classification but an avicultural one. Companion parrots are the ones that bond so deeply with a human that, given good husbandry (diet, light schedule, constant company, etc), do very well on their own with their human and can live content lives in captivity. Aviary species are the ones that even when they are hand-fed and imprint to humans, the bond doesn't last past the sexual maturity when they pine for a mate and/or companions of their own species - they can also do very well in captivity with the right husbandry and as long as the human has expectations appropriate for the species. It all goes down to imprinting (the process where a baby learns what it is -in terms of species- and with whom they can reproduce).
See, birds 'learn' they are birds and who to mate with when they are babies and, although we do know that the window to learn this is actually quite small and that it happens very early, we do not really know at what age this happens with any parrot species. There are two different types of imprinting in birds: sexual and filial. Filial is the one that 'bonds' them to their own species and sexual is the one that 'teaches' them what is an ideal mate. Companion birds, if raised correctly, have both oriented toward humans so they not only think that humans and themselves belong to the same 'family' but they also often want to have sex with their owners. African grays are famous for their deep imprinting to humans and is very difficult to get them to bond with another gray - even when they live together all their lives (I took care of a brother/sister gray pair for 9 months and even though they had been together all their lives, they never bonded with each other preferring their owners, instead). But, for some reason, it doesn't happen with aviary species. Even when the babies are taken from their nest and hand-fed by humans (who they learn to trust and even love), they are never happy once they reach sexual maturity. People think that all parrots are the same but they are not - not even within the companion/aviary classifications. You have aviary species that are intensely flock-oriented (like budgies and cockatiels, for example) and you have some that are deeply pair-oriented (like lovebirds and kakarikis, for example). And you have companion species that is almost impossible to make them bond with another of their own species even when they are of the opposite gender (like African Grays, for example) and you have others that are super easy (like amazons, for example).
Cockatiels happen to be very flock-oriented so, to them, the ideal situation is to keep them in a small flock (3 male/female pairs is the minimum for a 'flock' - I had a flock of over 30 of them for years) BUT given the difficulty of having the necessary infrastructure to keep 6 cockatiels healthy (they need to come out to fly for hours and hours and a VERY large flight cage for the rest of the time), a mate goes a long way toward relieving the unavoidable anxiety and stress of captivity (undomesticated animals are ALWAYS stressed out by captivity and this is not my opinion but a scientific fact and nothing anybody can do or not do can change this).
The problem with keeping a lone aviary species as a companion is that, eventually, the relationship changes for the worse instead of changing for the better as it happens with companion species. The longer you keep a companion species, the deeper the bond will be (think a couple that gets along well and has been married for many years) but the longer you keep a lone aviary species, the more stressed out the single bird will be and, eventually, it will slowly become more and more aloof toward its owner (like a couple that was never really compatible and, as time goes by, the gulf between them widens and widens). It takes a gradual protocol to get a parrot of a companion species used to a new parrot but, when it comes to aviary species, all you have to do is put them in the same room for a week in separate cages and, when you let them out, they gravitate toward one another and accept each other almost immediately. Why? Because they have no doubt about what they are (no confusion as to whether they are birds or humans) and they know what a 'proper' mate is supposed to look like. Why is the imprinting different in aviary and companion species? Nobody knows. But, most likely, it's because it either happens super early for aviary species (earlier than we can take them away from their parents) or because there is an instinctual aspect to it (like it is in cuckoos, for example).
Now, the other difference is the capacity for the bird to be trained. Parrots do not understand the concept of obedience or subservience because they did not evolve to live in a hierarchical society so there is no need for them to have a genetic trait that makes them follow the orders of another individual or pair. Parrots have no alphas, no leaders, no followers, no nothing - they are all perfectly equal and they all make decisions for themselves. Of course, there are stronger, bigger, younger and/or smarter birds (which get the most food and the best mates/nesting sites) and weaker, smaller, older and/or dumber birds in every flock but the latter do not 'follow' the former, they simply do not reproduce as successfully (natural selection). And that is why giving them rewards is the best way to train them - why? because ALL animals are food-oriented (survival). Personally, I do not find this to be an absolute because I do not reward my birds with anything but praise and do not hold training sessions, use a target or a clicker but they've all learned and obey a number of commands. I only have companion species at this point in time and because the greatest majority of them have bonded with me, they are eager to please me (and this IS an ingrained trait in parrots as they are mostly monogamous species that mate for life and care deeply for their mates). I simply use my praise as a high value item while trainers use food. And here is where the difference between companion and aviary species becomes manifest when it comes to training. As the aviary species matures and wants a mate of their own species, the importance of the human's praise and love will dwindle even if the bird is kept under perfect husbandry. Of course, you can continue keeping the bird responding to commands by sheer hunger but that's animal cruelty and make no mistake about it!
If you want a bird that will remained bonded to you and will not only learn but remain performing without undue stress, you need to get yourself a companion species. Of course, they are more expensive than aviary species and the reason for that is that aviary species (precisely BECAUSE they are aviary species) breed very easily and prolifically while companion species don't. Abundant supply means cheaper 'merchandise' while scarce supply means more expensive - it's as simple as that.