What Is An Expert?
Merriam-Webster defines expert as "one with the special skill or knowledge representing mastery of a particular subject." (Italics, mine.)
That's all well and good, but who do we consider experts to be? Is an expert someone who is published? Is he or she someone we seek advice from because they work in the field?
Just because someone is published, whether in a magazine OR through writing their own book does NOT make them an expert. I'm not sure (not being an expert in the field) just how people go about being published. I assume they make themselves known in the community of the field they're interested in and after a while, if they haven't made too many mistakes, they start writing articles. I think it may be that since they're "known," they become published just on their name alone. The content of their articles sometimes doesn't make a bit of difference.
Is someone an expert because they work in the field? It depends. Someone may have worked in the field for years without really mastering it. I know myself, I worked in an Investment Department for 8 years and I still really don't understand how the stock market works. People were constantly asking me for stock tips because I worked in that field. I couldn't advise them and didn't pretend to be able to.
So...what is all this leading up to, you ask? Recently, PEAC very reluctantly started to use the Internet as a form of advertising. I have been very hesitant to use this vehicle simply because ANYONE can be an expert on the Internet. And there are a lot of people out there that truly believe that just because someone takes the time to answer their question, they must know what they're talking about. So how do we weed these people out?
Before we answer that question, let me just say I DO NOT CONSIDER MYSELF AN EXPERT!!! PEAC's monthly seminars, which I teach, are researched extensively through material written by what I consider to be experts in the field. The only thing you will be getting out of our seminars (besides a good time) is the benefit of my research and some anecdotal information on the mistakes and successes that we've had throughout the years.
There is an extremely popular book that has been around for several years on teaching your parrot to behave. Several people have told me that they use this book as their "bible" for behaviour problems. As a parrot owner novice, I too, consulted this book extensively. Since I didn't know anything at the time about caring for birds, I believed that the advice in the book was accurate. My brand new baby parrot was starting to go through what I now know is a "teething" stage. Baby parrots like to explore things with their mouths, and if you don't understand this, you may think they are going to start biting. The advice in this book for biting is to throw or drop the bird to the floor when it bites you. So, being the good parrot owner that I thought I was, I dropped the bird to the floor and ended up with a semi-conscious bird. That was the last time I ever dropped any bird to any floor for any reason. Fortunately, this action did not have the detrimental effect on my relationship with my bird that it should have.
So how do we find experts? Are they the authors in the bird magazines? Not usually. A few weeks ago, I received an email message about a pet carrier made of wood and galvanized steel. A woman bought it because it was profiled in an article in one of the major bird magazines. The woman's conure allegedly suffered zinc poisoning from extensive use of the carrier. All other areas of her home were checked for other toxicities and came up zero. This woman then learned that the magazine does not actually submit toys, carriers, cages, etc. to independent review. It only uses manufacturer's information to prepare the articles. The most frightening aspect of this story is the fact that most people in the country use this magazine as their number one source of information on bird care.
If you have a medical problem with your bird, where do you turn? A lot of people turn to pet stores. They sell birds; they must know what they're talking about. Right? WRONG! Most bird stores (especially the chains) hire people off the streets who are not required to have knowledge of the animals they are selling. They're trained on the job by employees just like them who also applied for the job and may or may not have any knowledge of the animals and were trained by previous employees who were hired... Well, you get the idea.
There is now something called Certified Avian Specialist. A person wishing to become a Certified Avian Specialist is required to take an open book test and a four-hour course and another open book test. I am a Certified Avian Specialist. Does this mean that I know everything there is to know about Aviculture? Of course not! I'm constantly learning. Do not EVER let this certification fool you. Just about anyone who applies to become certified, will become certified. The courses are geared to the retail industry. And while the designation doesn't mean a hill of beans, it's at least better than the employee getting his training from another employee who got their training from a previous employee and so on and so forth.
So whom DO you seek medical advice from? The correct answer is "My Avian Vet." They can usually be considered experts in their field. Notice we said AVIAN vet. So, what qualifies a veterinarian to be an avian vet? Twenty-five percent or more of an avian vet's practice should consist of clients with birds. An avian vet should also be a member of AAV (Association of Avian Veterinarians) and attend their conferences to keep abreast of the latest developments in the world of avian medicine. Don't assume that because a vet sees a few birds every once in a while or is listed in the yellow pages as a bird vet, that they are experienced avian vets.
Who do you consult if you have a behaviour problem with your bird? The correct answer is "An Avian Behaviour Consultant." The answer is not, "My Avian Vet." While your first step in working with behavior problems SHOULD be to consult your avian vet, if the problem is found to be of a psychological cause and not a physical cause, your avian vet should then turn you over to a competent behaviourist. Avian vets may be very knowledgeable about birds in general; however, they may not be able to give you good behaviour advice. Their expertise is medicine. Another incorrect answer is "My pet store." Your pet store can be one of the worst places to seek advice for behaviour problems. Beware of any advice that could be financially motivated.
Chris Davis once defined an avian behaviour consultant as one with knowledge of "birds and human companions in domestic environments." The operative words here are "domestic environments". Pet stores are not "domestic environments", therefore, not good places to seek behavior information. Besides that, remember the employee teaching the employee teaching the employee...? Your vet may have birds of his or her own, but that makes them as much of an expert in avian behavior as it makes you.
Should you consult a bird trainer for help with behaviour problems? I wouldn't! Bird trainers teach birds tricks. They can be knowledgeable about certain aspects of keeping pet birds and can be very helpful with trick training, but behaviour information? I wouldn't trust it.
So how do you know an "expert" in avian behaviour when you see one? My feeling is that an "expert" is someone who you feel you can believe 99.9% of the time (after all nobody's perfect) and who's methods work for you and make sense. If you consult an avian behaviour consultant and something he or she tells you doesn't feel right, don't follow their advice. Layne Dicker says that an "expert" in avian behaviour should "base their advice on strong understanding of wild bird behaviour, companion bird behaviour, experience and logic." If you ask them why they suggest something and their answer is "Because I said so," run for the hills.
A quick fix is usually what you'll get if your behaviour consultant is a pet store. Quick fixes do not work. They only treat symptoms, and you want to cure the disease. And some of them are just downright detrimental to your relationship with your bird. Behaviour problems do not develop overnight. I know it may seem that way, but believe me, they were worked up to. Parrots are very long-lived creatures. It took time to develop the problem; it will take time to correct it properly.
There's a lot of advice floating around out there. Some of it's good, a lot of it's bad. You can't believe everything you read. Hell, you usually can't believe 90% of it. So don't get fooled. Go with your best instincts. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it.
Bonnie
Kenk
Executive Director
Parrot Education & Adoption Center
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