Re: [Freeflight] Re: baby damage.

["Kevin S." <kevmsharp@f7YJwhMdkM5eaWNillHSdnBD1zEZdl_G0nKieDdTnerKvGEKm2exzLLNuJCOducltpEO0AXmfoZ4R3GZCGA.yahoo.invalid>]

> while in  the wild parent birds do push their
> youngsters they
> also do give them  'care' feedings for quit some
> time after 'weaning' should
> have occured.>  
>  
> Too much anthropomorphism for me.
>  
> Wild animals, with the exception of higher primates,
> probably  don't get 
> feelings of abandonment like humans do. It's about
> survival for them,  and I have 
> learned over the years to give the baby birds that
> feeling that they  are 
> going to survive (comfort if you will) through their
> own confidence brought  about 
> by training good self-feeding behaviors at an early
> age.

Sorry, a wee bit out of sequence (still getting the
posts out of sequence.)  At any rate, I guess I don't
see "care" and "confidence" as diametrically opposed
-can't weaning at the proper rate also instill
confidence?  I would imagine so.  Seems like weaning
too early could also negatively effect confidence.  At
any rate, I don't think either has to be taken to any
extremes -no reason both care and comfort can't be
provided in a way that will instill confidence in the
bird (and both terms seem equally anthropomorphic,
don't they?)

All in all, we're puting our own labels on what we
imagine is going on in those little noggins of theirs.
 It may very well be accurate -who knows?  When in
doubt, seems like the safest thing to do is to look at
the natural behaviors and use those as a model.  Its
fairly well documented, and I have seen myself, that
young fledged wild parrots stick close to the parents
for some period of time.  During this time they
presumably learn how to avoid danger, what foods to
forage on, where to roost -and are periodically fed by
the parents even though they may be technically
capable of eating on their own.  How long this goes on
is hard to say, but it seems to be more the rule
rather than the exception.  Sure, penguins and
albatross sort of abandoned their young at the
appropriate time for penguins and albatross, but
unless we're keeping and training penguins and
albatrosses (albatrossi?)...

All anyone has to do is watch the common garden birds
around their home.  I'm sure we've all seen the local
cardinals, robins, chaffinches, etc. with newly
fledged young in tow begging for food, mom or dad
shoving bugs down their craws.  Its more or less the
same with parrots till the young are able to function
on their own.  -Kevin S.