IAABC 2011 Conference Speaker: Jamie Whittaker

Eric Goebelbecker on December 08, 2010

This is the second in our series of interviews with speakers from the 2011 IAABC Conference. This week I am talking to Jamie Whittaker, a member or our Board of Directors, former chair of the Parrot division, our conference director and, of course, one of our speakers.

IAABC:Who are you? What do you do for a living?

I started looking for myself in the 70’s and I’m still looking. I did find out along the way that parrots are a necessary part of life for me. They are my passion. The more I learn about them the more I realize that I am drawing from a bottomless well. I guess the answer to “Who am I?” is that I am a person with life long devotion to and passion for birds.

My husband and I own a bird store in the Houston area. We have had the store for over 20 years. I have taught classes at the store on parrot care and behavior. I do parrot behavior consultations in person at the store, at clients homes and I do telephone consultations.

IAABC: How did you get started in animal behavior?

My grandmother lived with us and we always had birds, mostly small birds. I used to help her with them and spent a lot of time watching them. I always found them fascinating and I loved their sounds. In the early 80’s my husband and I bought some pairs of canaries, parakeets and ringnecks from someone that was retiring from birds. It was originally supposed to be a hobby for my husband.

Once we started breeding and handfeeding baby birds, we found that there wasn’t a good way to connect with customers. We wanted a long term relationship with the customers so that we could help them if they had problems with their birds. We opened our retail store in 1988. In the last 22 years we have met many birds and many bird people.

IAABC: What do you enjoy the most about your work?

Short answer - the birds. Watching the birds develop and mature and learn about their world is just an amazing thing.  When I meet a new, adult bird and there is that “aha” moment when the bird realizes that we can work together - that moment when the bird realizes that we are both teachable.

I love it when people learn to appreciate their birds as birds. The highlight for me is when I meet someone that has had a parrot for years and they are just going through daily maintenance because they don’t realize that there can be more to birds than that. Teaching them about their bird and helping them to develop a relationship with that bird really makes my day.

IAABC: What do you enjoy the least about your work?

Birds that die. It is never easy to accept the loss of a bird for any reason. The most difficult losses for me are accidental deaths that could have been and should have been prevented.

IAABC: What do you do when you are not working in animal behavior?

Whatever I am doing there is likely to be at least one bird involved. I volunteer with several organizations, including the IAABC. I am very involved in the world of aviculture, I am the first vice-president of the American Federation of Aviculture and I am on the board of the National Parrot Rescue and Rehabilitation Foundation. I am on several bird Yahoo Groups. I have a group of friends that we see often - they all have birds too.

In my spare time, you can find me on Facebook and tending the farm on Farmville.

IAABC: What do you think is the most important thing people need to know about their companion animals?

They are not human, they don’t aspire to be human and they shouldn’t be saddled with the negativity that is often found in people. Companion animals should be celebrated and loved for what they are. Anthropomorphism is a problem with all companion animals, but when your pet can say “I Love You” it is a little more difficult to convince people that they are birds, not people.

IAABC: What do you think is the most important thing we should teach our companion animals?

I think all companion animals should have good social skills. I believe that pets are happiest when they know the rules of the house and they have a place in the family. Speaking for the parrots, most of them will have several homes in their lifetimes. It’s very important that those birds be able to move forward with good social skills so that they have the best chance of having a good future.

IAABC: What is your favorite aspect of animal behavior conferences?

The opportunity to talk to people and to hear presentations that will unlock one more piece of the puzzle about parrot behavior. Even if I don’t completely agree with the idea being presented, I can take information away from it. I love the energy of conferences, people are there ready to listen and learn. Even a casual conversation with another attendee can take you down a new pathway of learning.

IAABC: What was the last conference you attended? What kind of presentation do you prefer (live animals present, power point, whatever?)

I attend the AFA conference every year, I attend Parrot Festival in Houston every year, last year I attended Bird Clubs of Virginia and of course I attended the 2009 IAABC conference. I am a conference junkie, I admit it. I learn something new everywhere I go.

IAABC: Tell us about your animals at home.

We have several parrots at home, I say “we” because they are definitely a part of the family.

We have a double yellow head amazon, Jo Jo, he is 21 years old and we have had him since he was 2 weeks old. He is a character, loves to hang upside down and does an interesting acrobatic routine with one of his favorite toys.

Lovey is a citron cockatoo, he is 38 years old, he has lived with us for 20 years. He tells me good morning when I go in the bird room in the morning and when I leave he always tells me “bye bye, be careful - got your keys?” He sometimes comes out of the cage and does some woodwork remodeling in the bird room. I think he needs a little hardhat.

Aggie is our african grey, he is 16 years old and we have raised him from a chick. He was the first bird that we had that plucked his feathers. He is still fuzzy on the chest, but he is a wonderful and loving bird - to me. He tolerates my husband, but he is my best buddy. He frequently rings just like our telephone but JoJo says “I’ll get it” so we know we don’t have to answer the phone.

Nikki, is our grandson’s blue crown conure who is currently living at our house. Nikki is 9 and she is a great little bird, but our grandson is in college and working. She dances and she loves to give kisses.

Mir is a male triton cockatoo who came to us with severe plucking issues. . We have a game we play where I count - 1-2-ready Whee! and I throw my hands up in the air and he arches back and throws his little fuzzy wings out and puts his crest up. When I have a busy week and don’t play with him, he will come out of the cage and tap on the floor and initiate the game. Once he has my attention, he goes back to inside the cage and we play 1-2-ready whee! He talks a lot and he is a doll. We are still working on his feather issues.

Ferdinand is a 35 year old goffin cockatoo that was originally wild caught. He likes coming out to play, and he steps up when he needs to get from one place to another. He is also a phenomenal escape artist. I have a weakness for goffins and he is such an independent character.

Puddin’ is a female goffin, she is 12 years old, we raised her as a baby, she came back to us when the owner was moving as a long term boarder. It’s been about 6 years now and I don’t think they are coming back for her.  Puddin’ is very different from Ferdinand, she was handfed and truly enjoys being handled and playing with us.

There are the 2 male canaries in the bedroom Harley and Frankie. It has been over 20 years since we have been without a canary at home. They are so much better than an alarm clock in the morning.

We have several pairs of retired breeders at the house and they are all interesting individuals and wonderful couples. We always have some birds at the house that will eventually go to the store and find homes. Some just need a little more one on one in a home environment so that we can get to know them a little better and find the best home for them.

See what happens when you ask me about my birds?

IAABC: What would you most like to convey to behavior consultants and trainers?

I hope that we never believe that we have reached the end of the learning path. There is always another discovery a little further down the road.

IAABC: What would you most like to see in our work together?

A spirit of cooperation, the recognition that we can learn about the species that we work with by learning more about the behavior of other species.

IAABC: What’s the strangest consultation you’ve ever had (or the most challenging?)

So many consultations and so little time. One really stands out for me as strange. I had a customer that adopted an adult male cockatoo with screaming issues. Instead of consulting with me, they did an internet search and they were told to cover him. That didn’t work for long, and they were convinced that it was because the bird didn’t like having the light come in.

They came to me to explain their plan and to see if I had an ideas to make it work better. They were going to build plywood box around the cage with the whole front on a hinge so it could open. That way, when the bird screamed, they could close the box up and it would be completely dark and the bird would be happy. They wanted to be sure that there would be enough air for the bird without drilling holes for light.  Since then I have never been surprised at the solutions that people come up with on their own.

Not to worry, they didn’t build the box, the bird found a new home.