TGF WEBINAR: Parrots & Resilience: Overcome, Adapt, Thrive

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Presented by Shauna Roberts and Julie Murad. 

Why do some parrots adapt and thrive through major life changes while others struggle?

At The Gabriel Foundation, parrots and other companion birds come into our care from remarkably diverse circumstances and at every stage of life. Some have spent decades with one caregiver. Others have experienced multiple homes, medical challenges, shelter or zoo transfers, abandonment, the death or disability of a caregiver, or other significant disruptions.

For more than three decades, some of our greatest teachers have been the birds themselves.

In this webinar, Shauna Roberts and Julie Murad will explore resilience in parrots through the lenses of animal welfare, behavior, learning, and compassionate training.

Resilience is not simply expecting a bird to “get over” a difficult experience, nor is it about toughening an animal up. It is a dynamic process shaped by an individual bird’s experiences, relationships, environment, learning history, and ability to cope with change.

Thoughtful training can help prepare parrots for both predictable and unexpected experiences. By clearly defining and teaching useful behaviors, building fluency, supporting behavioral flexibility, and carefully introducing change, we can help birds develop skills that make future challenges more manageable.

We will also look at resilience through the framework of the Five Domains of Animal Welfare:

Nutrition: Access to fresh water and appropriate, nutritious food.
Physical Environment: Safe, comfortable housing, appropriate temperatures, and opportunities for rest.
Health: Prevention, recognition, and treatment of illness, injury, and disease.
Behavioral Interactions: Opportunities to explore, play, make choices, interact, and express species-appropriate behaviors.
Mental State: Supporting positive experiences such as comfort, security, interest, and enjoyment while minimizing fear, pain, distress, and boredom.

Animal welfare asks more than whether an animal is simply surviving. It asks how that individual is experiencing the conditions in which they live.

By combining behavioral science, compassionate training practices, and attention to welfare, we can better support parrots as they recover from adversity, adjust to change, learn new skills, and build the capacity to thrive.

Resilience is not just hope. It is something we can actively support.