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simoneaugie · Dec 16, 2007, 01:08 AM

I have quite a few parrots from Parakeet to Macaw, but have not spent enough time with them in the past 6 weeks or so. I just moved, and moved away from my friends who also keep birds. Parrots need a lot of one-on-one, as much or more than children do. One in particular is really suffering from missing attention. He has lived with us for about 2 years, but he was kept as an only bird for 19 years (and we expect him to live another 40.) For some reason, his neediness irritates me. He is the nicest bird ever, snuggly and sweet. He looks like Fred, the bird on Colombo. I have wanted a bird like that since I was small. Lately his creativity in getting my attention has been amazing. He let himself out of the cage and opened most of the Christmas presents. Then he chewed the pot off a plant, it was one of those styrofoam pots. He searched the house, looking for things he knew I would miss, and chewed holes in them. Before letting himself out, he ate big holes in all the curtains that he could reach. I expect him to be a smart little stinker, he is a bird. But now, I wish he would just go away. Ideas?

rpg219 · Dec 16, 2007, 02:48 AM

Put a lock on his cage. I have an African Grey and yes... they are SMART!! Poor baby, he is just wanting his parents' attention :) It could also be a derepression thing, taking out his anxiety on objects. Birds often get depressed after a move or any change of environment.

Some good info...
Parrotcare - Problem Solving
Birdmart.Com - PARROT CARE, FEEDING PARROTS. Find information about proper nutrition for you pet bird and why it is important. Read about the dangers of seed diets, how to convert your bird off a seed diet and what you should be feeding you parrot.

Be careful with him around plants... just in case here is a list of dangerous ones and ones that are okay... Toxic and Safe Plants/Trees for Birds - Household Poisons

sankan · Jan 1, 2008, 06:34 AM

Treat him as a child ignore the bad paise & reward the good
I have 2 african grey & meyer

simoneaugie · Jan 1, 2008, 11:01 PM

Hi sankan, thanks for responding. I think the main problem(s) with "Critter" is that he was raised as an only bird, he was abused, kicked, by his first owner, and worst of all, he is a Cockatoo! The different breeds behave differently don't they. I have a Meyer's too, and an African Grey. They came to live wiith me as babies and know that good behavior is rewarded. They communicate with me in ways I understand.

Well, it's not just one Cockatoo. I also have one I got as a baby... They just need more attention than the others. Or the attention they need is different. Both of the Cockatoos are awake at night. They call for me after I've turned out the lights.

mrssittingduck · Jan 4, 2008, 03:28 AM

You have to address the attention problem as if left untreated you may find that your bird will start to pluck through boredom and for attention, this can be an incurable and fatal problem, I would add more toys to his cage, foot toys and or puzzles for your bird, dangle some nuts and bolts in their with the nut screwed onto the bolt this you will see your bird trying to undo which doesn't take long once they figure it ;), you can buy puzzle toys for your birds online that will keep your bird amused, change his cage toys round regularly and let him ut more, buy him a playstation where he can come out and play with the toys,

Keeping him cinfined in a cage when he is used to coming out would be asking for trouble as already mentioned they don't like change, cockatoos are very smart birds with a craving for attention that they like to be the center of,.
Try taking him out in a dog travel box , this will help push him back close to you as when put in with a load of strangers they always prefer the familiar face ;)

Cockatoos by nature are very destructive birds, buy wooden toys and also put some willow branches in their and fruit tree brances for him to chew,.
Put your other birds in cages side by side so they learn to interact with each other, and have time for all of them, then when they are used to each others company try letting them out at the same time for a couple of minutes then return back to the cage, do this regularly and for long periods until they learn to play with each other...

Add toilet roll tubes to the cage as they like to shred them, and to make them look more attractive dip them in food coloring, this is non toxic and the colors encourage play,.
Birds don't intentionally chew things in things you will miss and a bird is like a child even an adult bird is still like a small child and never grows out of the 3 year old phase, make your house to accommodate him, move curtains out of reach, move his cage away from walls and curtains, don't let him perch up high as this is seen as a dominance figure always make him perch lower than your head.. remove anything you don't want chewed and anything that is dangerous.. remember your bird is and always will be like a 3 year old child!

Hope some of this helps you and hope you rekindle the joy you once shared with the bird...
Birds in my opinion are man and woman's and children's best friend, if you feel you can't rekindle what you once had and the bird still annoys you I think it would be best to maybe thinking about rehoming him to somebody who will find the joy you once shared with him

Best of luck
Katie
mrssittingduck forum administrator UK Birdkeepers Message Board (Powered by Invision Power Board)

simoneaugie · Jan 4, 2008, 03:44 AM

Thanks Katie, I am now inspired to do things for all of them. I forgot, somehow in the move we just made, how needy and precious they all are.

mrssittingduck · Jan 4, 2008, 04:12 AM

Glad to see my post inspired you :)
Birds are a joy to have around and will keep you amused for hours when they have the right resources to do so, I don't think I ever got a day of boredom from any of my birds and I have and have had quite a few various sorts, at the min in the house I have my orange winged Amazon, a senegal who is a rescue bird who plucks himself badly due to boredom he once had, this has become an almost incurable problem as he has been plucking for the last 3 years and so it has become a mental habbit which I am trying to break, now he has 2 tail feathers come through which is 2 more than he had when I got him :) hopefully his habbit can be completely broke and if not he has a home for life with good care.. and I also have a 10 year old meyers parrot in the house who is also a joy to have around he come from another owner who hasn't had him out of the cage in years and when I got him and he had interaction out of the cage he sadly realised he couldn't fly due to a freak accident when he was younger which was never treated.. I thought he already new he couldn't as I didn't know he hadn't been out of the cage in years... but at least he is happy and can still climb around even with a broken wing it doesn't hinder him..

I have him now because the owner lost the joy of what they once had , but he has now found the freedom he lost :)
I also have umpteen birds in the shed as I breed senegals, java sparrows and red turtle doves but have kept and bred and incubated and hand reared many many sorts of birds from small finch to the larger parrotlike and parrot

If you do need any more ideas on your birds you can contact me or visit our website the link to it is above on my other post.. a great bunch of people and all bird lovers/keeper and breeders...

Birds are tempremental and do require a lot of attention from us as you know...
Hope you can start to enjoy him again :)
Best of luck and have fun inventing games for them to play
Katie

rpg219 · Jan 4, 2008, 05:32 AM

Katie, I want to also thank you for the ideas and inspiration. I think I may be taking my mom's African Grey soon. She no longer plays with "Misty" and it is killing me when I walk in my mom's house and she starts yelling for me. I think that's the only time she is getting played with. So these little ideas and toys are great... I will be seeing you on your site, I am sure.

mrssittingduck · Jan 5, 2008, 02:33 PM

Your welcome, good luck to you and the bird..
Look forward to seeing you onsite and reading about your bird and the new toys :)
Katie

sankan · Jan 7, 2008, 02:06 AM

Your brave mine drive me mad. He kakes a very good smoke alarm! He learnt it when we had a dodgey toaster that used to set it off now we just don't need smoke ALarms at all he does the job especially when you've just gone upstairs to bed hell go off for 30min or more with it! Good luck

simoneaugie · Jan 7, 2008, 02:51 AM

Were you talking about an african parrot? African parrots that I have come in contact with are all morning birds. They are the first to wake up and the first to roost and get grumpy in the evening. Ten minutes spent as the total object of your affection and then a piece of apple at bedtime usually calms down the shouting after lights out.

When they holler in the evening, it's a natural thing. They like to nest together with the rest of their flock. If you're going up to bed, they want to know why they aren't allowed to come with you. "Where are you? I'm all alone here, helloooo!" Or, they might be competing with a TV left on. One of my Indian Ringnecks has a noisy fit if I do not either cover her cage or turn out the lights after 9pm.