Baby has become very territorial of her cage and lunging at me rather than hoping onto me upon sight.
We are best friends so considering this is day 3, I have had enough and want my Baby back. He bite me intentionally hard enough to leave plug marks.
Reckon he is bluffing? Yet, he is going to bite if you try to get him to step up. Never been like this before... ever. When he lunges he puts his head down as if in shame and puffs his feathers and says 'come on girl, step up girl, good girl' same phrase but doesnt budge. Like he is in a trance or something.
I have been closing the cage with a 'see ya when you feel better punkin' and walking away sadly.
Buy A sunnie Kaela, they love you all the time,and no bluffing
Seriously though, Keep working on your birdie, s/he'll come around soon. Give him treats and play with him and stuff. Make it so he's gotta meet you half way
I agree with Athena, dont let the little monster get away with it. Dats tried that on me a few months ago and i just kept pushing my hand into her and knocked her balance so she had to step up. Or I grab her but shes already used to that.
Grrr...didn't we already go through this Baby? *sighs* Bluffing stage 2 huh? Well you know how the routine goes Mik...I'm sure Baby will be back soon...
Kai went through his first full on disastrous moult not that long ago.. I think he must have been 14 months old.. grr not good at remembering dates and times. should write it all down.
Angie --------- Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins. {Pro 10:12} ----------- God Bless
True bluffing usually happens at around 12-14 months... so you may be experiencing that. The before "bluffing" is usually a baby figuring out what it can get away with.
Mik, just scoop him. You can slip your first two fingers on either side of his head, and use the rest of your hand to lift the body. If you hold UP with your fingers he cant bite you, period. Not possible. A few times of doing that and he'll realize you are gonna hold him, so he can either step up or be grabbed.
I have a pic of Maz held like that somewhere, let me know if I need to dig it up.
Of course, you may end up with a silly bird who likes to be grabbed, but thats kinda fun. You should see Mazzie clinging to the side of her cage cooing her butt off while we hold her gently in one hand and pry her toes loose with the other. She'll step up but she gets such a kick out of being grabbed. We can carry her around in our hands like a toy ya know
*lays in the floor and sobs* No, No, ya'll dont understand, he is my best friend and wants nothing to do with me.
It is absolutely bluffing but he isnt bluffing. Reach in for a step up and your going to get violently attacked. This is and always has been a very vicious bird.
So now I pretend not to notice the bluffing by making him come to the door to me and offer my forearm, which he got a good taste of this morning. Today this took like 2 minutes of coaxing. Still annoying though but he cant fight wanting me but for so long and gives in.
Then he and I were playing and BAM out of nowhere he ran up and got my arm again. Put his head down after and walked backwards making like a growl noise.
He is 11 months old so he is on target but I hope it passes soon. I feel like Im dealing with a bird a dont even know.
When he is bluffing in his cage, he does the same thing: head down, growl noise and feathers puffed. He is NOT BLUFFING though. He has full intentions of biting and really wants me to take him seriously.
As they mature they leave their parents, to find their place in the flock. Those who handfeed their birds "in order to form a strong bond" often find that the backfire when the bird hits maturity is huge. Even when you don't handfeed, you can get the same backfire, just a bit smaller.
Yes, he does want to bite, he wants to be his own bird, not your baby. He wants to be, for lack of a better term, a teenager. This is where your loving guidance and your drilling the important things into him all this time come in. He must continue to step up, or he will be scooped up. He must not bite, he has not been allowed to do so and he doesn't get to change that now. He's looking for that new set of ground rules that go with this age, and its your job to provide them.
Give him new freedoms, but do not give up the basics. Perhaps he needs a bigger cage, or just a cage move... he might consider his cage to be his baby area, and wants something more. You could move the cage and rearrange it all the way, so it feels new to him. Give him a new area to play in, but ONLY after he's stepped up to you. He has to earn his rights. You had to earn his love, now he has to earn his privileges from you.
Its not easy, but if you are very firm, and work hard, it does pass pretty quickly. I think Buddy was a brat for about a month. It wasn't a fun month, but he came back to being my little man... and has stayed that way.
You are like me... direct and compassionate. I appreciate that. Please, walk me through getting my little man back.
So far I am doing as you said, with the exception of using a step-up stick (small perch) for when Im in a hurry and no time for negotiations. Oddly, he hops right on that. grrrr
Mikaela,
I'm so sorry to be reading this! I so know how you feel. (And it's VERY strange to hear you refer to Baby as "him") I wish I could help you along as you helped me. I know this probably won't help any, but my sister has an Amazon and said she's read when they reach sexual maturity sometimes it's years before you get the bird you once knew back. I think she said sometimes you can't even get them out of their cages. But I do feel your pain! And have felt it for many months! I'll give you all kinds of hugs and shoulders to cry/vent on!
Have you tried bribing him with food? Just sit in a spot where he can see you from the cage and eat or drink something. This is how I brought my guy around they can't pass up something to eat. It might take a few days to work. Also keep in mind is breeding time for most birds he could be hormonal.
I just did this 3 weeks ago Mazzie, when I moved them to the outside lania. He loved the new cage design and LOVES living outside.
Still recommend me tearing it apart? Just to show Im higher in the pecking order? Is that for boredom?
Hey, whatever you say... I'll do handstands with no shirt on in the street to get my baby back. Actually, I'd do that for a 5 dollar bet too but thats neither here nor there.
Well he turns a yr on Mothers Day so it is most likely bluffing. Thing is, my bird doesnt bluff. Ya'll know Baby has always been very wild like... vicious.
She strikes out with such force. I never bleed though so he obviously is holding back but he still leaves marks.
He is very boy like now. Even has the pretruding forehead, at this point.
Im flip flopping from he to she I see. Gonna take some time.
natalie xxxx
should write it all down.