Cinnyminis

Update: He is fine. The wheezing cleared after a few hours.

Echo is an 18mo Orange wing. He hasn't had a shower in awhile, but since it is winter, I decided to give both my birds a good soaking this morning. Echo just stood under the stream of water from the shower, drinking, flapping wings, etc. He seemed to enjoy it. However, immediately after, he sneezed a few times and now is breathing little loud, sorta wheezy. Did I do something wrong? What should I watch for? Beth

Radar, 23 months, has been such a handful this summer. I rearranged the furniture and moved his cage closer to my orange-wing, and he became super aggressive. I have never allowed him on my shoulder because his beak is sharp, and I am glad, because he bit through my top lip a month ago. I moved all the furniture back and started spending some extra time with him and things have calmed down a bit. He still flies across the room to Echo's cage several times a day, and flies to my bedroom too, but its more manageable. I still have to approach him carefully though because his fist inclination is to bite. I am working on filling his cage with toys and activities, along with treating him to pistachios when he doesn't bite. One small step at a time! Beth

I am intrigued about this Felix training!!!!!!!! I want more info!!!!!!!! Beth

A few weeks ago I posted about Radar being very aggressive towards everything, including me, and especially towards my orange wing amazon, Echo. The aggression started when I first brought trunks of books temporarily into my living room and he didn't like them. He started plucking his chest feathers and getting nippy. I realized the problem with the trunks and moved them, but too late for his liking. Then came rearranging the living room, putting the cages somewhat closer (8 feet apart instead of across the room). The birds seemed to be making friends, but then something happened and they were screaming at each other and lunging every chance they got. Radar bit through my top lip one day when I was separating them. Fast forward two weeks- I have come to the realization that Radar does NOT like change, in any fashion. The living room has been moved back to it's original position, with his cage in his favorite corner by the windows, and Echo's cage across the living room, a full 12 feet away. Although I do have to watch carefully, there has been only one bite incident since moving him back, and both birds seem happier. I will be buying both birds new toys next week, so hopefully that will help too. As a funny- Echo has had the same toys in the same spot for a few months. I decided to move the toys today and the look of confusion on his face was priceless. He just stared in disbelief and started meowing like a kitten. He is so confused that the tis have been rearranged, but is happy all the same. Nothing reallybothers that bird- unless of course, Mommy is in the room and she needs to be defended! Beth

Well, yes and no. I moved the furniture around so they had more distance between cages. The peacefulness lasted a few hours until Radar flew onto Echo's cage. (Radar is fully flighted at the moment, Echo is not). I have figured out that as long as Radar is flighted, they can no longer be out at the same time. Secondly, Radar is still being very aggressive to everyone. Yesterday he flew onto Echo's cage, grabbed some corn that was on the top of it, leaned over so Echo could see him eat it, and flew back to his cage. Another new development is that the ires are yelling at each other and having arguments. No specific words, just very heated exchanges of noises and cage rattling. It's actually quite funny to watch because it is obvious they are arguing. I will be getting Radar clipped in a few days, so hopefully that will prevent him from flying onto Echo's cage across the room. I have also been very on top of the kids about yelling at Radar for any reason. I notice they yell when he flies to Echo's cage, when he flies to the hall, etc. They mean well, but all it does is make him more aggressive. Beth

Radar can seriously injure Echo with his beak. They are mismatched in size, and I would be afraid of losing one, traumatizing both, and having massive vet bills if I let them work it out themselves. .

Thanks Dave. We have had Echo for over a year. Radar always gets served first, let out of his cage first. etc. He is the alpha bird. Unfortunately that day the birds were arguing, my 10 year old just started waving her hands wildly at them and it scared them... but they blame each other and not her. I have a perch that I tried to pick Radar up with, but unfortunately, they re both terrified of the perch and will take off in flight to get away from it. I rearranged the living room today and the cages are completely separate from each other and both birds are happy so far. Hopefully this will help in calming them down.

We have two birds. Radar, age 22 months CAG, and Echo, age 14 months(orange wing amazon). Since we bought Echo home, they have never gotten along. Usually, the cages are on opposite sides of the room. Radar up until now has only been curious about Echo, but Echo wants nothing to do with Radar and screams when he gets near and tries to bite him. A month ago, I rearranged the furniture in the living room and the cages are now separated by 5 feet with a wooden buffet between the two. They seemed to be more curious about each other, getting closer and closer with no issues. Radar was able to preen echo's head (I was holding him and very vigilant), and echo preened Radar's tail feathers. They are usually out at the same time and avoid each other's cages. Radar is fully flighted at the moment and has started flying over to echo's cage. Because they usually fight, we usually get him back to his own cage immediately. Last week, Radar started hopping onto the buffet and going towards Echo's cage. Echo would start screaming... One day, My 10 year old daughter was there and the birds were too close. Radar was lunging and hissing, Echo was screaming and posturing. Sarah started yelling at the birds and moving her hands wildly near them to get them to fly or move away. It only escalated the scene. Both birds were frightened but blame each other. Now, Radar hops on the buffet, scoots himself to Echo's cage, and starts hissing like a cat screaming NO NO. He is impossible to pick up, bites whoever comes near, and usually requires me grabbing him from behind to lock him back up. Yesterday,he stepped up just fine for me, but as I put him back on his cage, he lunged and bit my top lip, cutting it and likely leaving a scar. His aggression is spilling over into everything. He will be sweet one moment, and then start yelling NO or GO and bite my arm. We have not been yelling at him at all with the exception of the kid in the episode mentioned above, and the hostility started a few weeks before the cages were even moved and has just escalated. I am aware now the cages are too close and will have to rearrange them to get the boys more distance between them. I am so frustrated with Radar and his hostility. I certainly do not want to be bitten on my face again! What can I do? Beth

I was worried about adding Echo to our house, unsure if he would be a good fit. Turns out, after almost a year, he is the funniest thing around! He dances on command, screeches so loud you can hear him out at the street, and loves everybody. He is like a puppy who just wants to play. Best decision ever!!

Radar has been having behavior issues for about a month. First, he is 1.5 years old. I am typically the only one he will let pick him up from his cage, but if he is on the floor, he will let others pick him up. A few weeks ago, I brought 4 big blue trunks into the living room to put books I was selling into. For lack of space, I kept the trunks in the living room. Radar thought they were evil and he was afraid if the came too close to him, but he seemed to adjust. Shortly thereafter I thought he was molting because I saw feathers everywhere. Maybe it was a small molt if there is such a thing, but this week I noticed he had almost plucked a spot on his chest completely. I moved the trunks out of the room the same day. During this time, he started almost making a game of puffing up and huffing at me, while trying to bite me when I pick him up. I usually just keep my hand there, take a bite or two, and he then will step up. It has gotten to the point where he bites just about every time I go to pick him up. I made the mistake a few weeks ago, just once, of yelling HEY! at him when he bit me. Now, he bites and puffs out and yells hey! at me. He wants me to scratch him, but he usually winds up nipping, and escalating until he draws blood. I have started telling him to be good, and when he bites, he goes back into his cage, and I try and remove all emotion from it, even though it hurts! So, what went wrong? Is he old enough to be hormonal? What can I do to fix this? Beth

Thank you Carolz7. I do run a diffuser with essential oils in it all the time in the room. I started that about 2 months ago and it has made a bit of a difference. I have tried everything with Radar as far as getting wet. A good friend of mine suggested this morning that I put him in my shower stall with both doors closed and mist from over the doors. That way he would be moderately safe and contained. I will try that next time as see how it goes. Beth

Radar leaned over in the direction of my Orange wing and said, "Hey Echo! Who's the pretty boy now? Hahahaha!" The kids have taught him to laugh evil like "Muhahaha" The other day he said, "Muhahahaha.. .mommmmmmmm" He sounded so evil and creepy! Beth

Radar is about 18 months old. He HATES to get wet, unless he is bathing in how own water dish, which does not happen all that often. My house has been cry dry this winter and the vet told me I had to spray the ires down several times a week. I have previously tried spritz bottles, the shower, and more recently, a sprayer/container used for gardening. Radar HATES every single thing. I usually have to corner him and spray him while he is screaming at me. This morning I decided to leave him in his cage and spray from the outside since he couldn't get away. (I know now that was a very bad decision!) When all was said and done, we were both bleeding and he was barely wet. I toweled him and stopped his bleeding right away, but in the process, he cut up my arm and hand. I would welcome any suggestions on how to handle getting him wet that y'all may have. Should I just let him stay dry? Beth

First, the mirror thing was 6 months ago, and he was checked immediately by a vet for all those issues. He was having that eye problem then too. It cleared up after about a week and has not returned until last week. He has not flown into anything recently either. The vet is over an hour away from us (the closest avian vet). I waited a few days and the eye issue is clearing up again. I did talk to his hatch mommy who said it sounded like he had a lash caught under his lid, or his eye was very dry. The humidity in my house is about 20% right now. His lid is no longer staying closed, it's just a bit droopy, ON OCCASION. He will be going to see his hatch mommy sometime this week, and if the eye is shut all the time again, I will take him to the vet. Thanks for all your concern! Beth