One person bird and some other complaints.

[Tule]

My parrot has developed into a one person bird. I know exactly why this is, it's because I'm currently living at home in a house with two cats and an english setter (bird dog). This means it's basically impossible for me to get him out of my room. I am also the only person who goes in my room.

Now, he loves me. He'll be two in May, and is very grouchy and testy sometimes. Usually he's calmer at night and will let me take him over to the bed to watch TV and get some love and attention.

 

I've had birds since I was young, in elementary school, but always only small birds like cockatiels and a lovebird or two. I'm now nearing the end of highschool. Young for entering into a lifetime friendship with a parrot maybe, but I wanted to take my bird lifestyle to the next level. Anyway, I've run into a few problems that I want some advice on.

 

One is the one person bird problem. I'm wondering what is the best way to get him to be more social and accepting of other people. Whenever I have friends or family in my room, he gets very upset, won't let them near him, etc. I'm pretty sure that the only thing I can do is to have him slowly get used to one person at a time and hope that eventually he will apply this to everyone he meets, even strangers. However, what is the best way to go about doing this?

 

The second is his grumpiness. Because I go to school, I'm gone for a large part of the day. Parrots need and want plenty of time with their people, and as of right now unfortunately he's getting the short end of the stick. Could this be part of what's making him so unruly? Or is it just his age/personality? Sometimes he can't wait for me to come over to pet and scratch him, but either he'll end up getting annoyed and start biting, or he will have this behavior right off the bat. Obviously once this starts I leave him alone and go back to doing my own thing.

 

And the third, is he is very skittish around new objects. He'll move away from them and start growling, even if he feels they're too close (this happens with people as well) he will jump off his cage onto the floor. I hate this behavior, it has caused him a lot of problems including bruises on his beak and bending of major wing feathers to odd angles that are very painful for him. It's upsetting for me for him to be so frightened and in pain. I have tried getting him used to new things like toys, but I am also not sure how to do this. He loves cat toys, the balls with bells in them, but when I recently got him a new batch (he likes them because he loves to get the bell out), he freaked and jumped off his cage when I tried to give him one. They have now been sitting on the floor of my bedroom for weeks, and he has the same reaction every time I try to bring them closer.

 

 

Lots of patience is needed, but are there any specific methods I should implement to help with these? Thanks a lot.

[judygram]

He definitely isn't getting the attention he needs and that could account for a lot of his grumpiness, a grey is a flock animal and needs daily interaction with you, his flock. Actually he should be in the part of the house where everything takes place like the family or living room, I assume you still live at home with your parents, and not be stuck in your bedroom where you are the only person who comes in there.

A lot of greys are one person birds or at least have a favorite person in the household and since he is not getting the attention he wants or needs he is jealous of the time you spend with any friends or family that do come around, he wants your undivided attention hence he acts up in the presence of others.

All greys are skittish of new things to some degree, some more so than others, new objects are seen as something out to get them so they have to be introduced in stages, even moving furniture around in a room will scare them. It does help to tell him before hand what you are doing and talk to him all the while you do it, you will be surprised how much he will understand. New toys even if they are what he usually likes to play with have to be introduced slowly, put them where he can see them but not close enough to freak him out, then bring them closer the next day and closer until one day he accepts them, you just cannot dump new toys in front of him and expect him to play with them.

I fear things will get worse for you as you finish high school, if you are planning to go to college where will this leave this bird for college can be very stressful and time consuming and the amount of time you have to spend with your bird will be even more limited.

[Tule]

I'm not planning on going to college right away, so I don't have that as a problem yet. I know he should be somewhere more active, but as I said it isn't possible because of the other animals in the house. It's possible that I could section off a room where my parents spend a lot of time on the computer to put him while I'm gone, but I worry that they won't be vigilant enough and the dog will get in. That would be a complete disaster.

 

Since this next semester I have more release periods, I'm going to be spending more time with Tule and hopefully he'll appreciate it. :] He's such a sweetheart.

[Barbara2]

If he is in a big and sturdy cage, the dog shouldn't be a problem. I have two big dogs that are actually part of the "flock". My grey would rather be with them than with little kids. When he is in his cage, the dogs visit and it seems to be a mutual tolerance. I don't leave them unsupervised when Neo is out of the cage.

[Tule]

The thing is, our dog is made to hunt birds. And he will. I expect that Tule could hold his own against the cats, they're babies. But my dog is big, and ready to snatch any bird he can. I'll talk to my parents about it tonight and see what they say. When we got him that was our original plan, but for one reason or another it never came about. The cage in my room is giant, but I'm not going to move it into another room every day. He'd be in a smaller cage that my cockatiels came in. Another thing I really need to do is bathe him, but I haven't found a way he likes. And he needs his nails clipped, they're tiny daggers.

[Dave007]

Bluntness---To be honest, you have a lot of problems which can't be changed until you change things. The one person thing--as Judy said, the only way to change that is to have your bird among the other people in the family. Not part time, full time. Being in a room by itself with only partial contact

Your hunting dog--The dog has instincts that are ingrained. He's a natural predator. Can't change that. Your bird is definitely a prey animal. All parrots are. AND your bird has a natural buit in reaction to predators if aggressive behavior is around.

Comparing to past birds--the other birds you had could easily be happy and survive because the birds you mentioned can live in a cage with little problems. Greys need to be out because they can eventually become introverted and become pluckers or cause themselves other injuries.

Your friends and family---again, less contact with the everyday goings on in the house will make it very difficult for that to happen. Getting your bird into the mix with the whole family is the only way that might happen. The older he gets the more difficult it will be for him to accept anyone. Personalities form from a very young age and are permanent and many stay like that. That has to be done on a full time basis.

Toys--many greys won't accept new things for quite a while and that includes many other things besides toys.

Living in cage most of the time---doing that can cause a grey to become cage bound and that's not good nor is it natural. Greys need lots of time away from a cage. They need a playstand to hang out on.

*****Young for entering into a lifetime friendship with a parrot maybe, but I wanted to take my bird lifestyle to the next level. Anyway, I've run into a few problems that I want some advice on.**

Your age---there's lots of things in the future ahead of you. You may not know those things but they're definitely there.

*****And the third, is he is very skittish around new objects. He'll move away from them and start growling, even if he feels they're too close (this happens with people as well) he will jump off his cage onto the floor. I hate this behavior, it has caused him a lot of problems including bruises on his beak and bending of major wing feathers to odd angles that are very painful for him. It's upsetting for me for him to be so frightened and in pain. ****

 

 

You said it yourself. Lots of damage to different parts of the body which more than likely will escalate the more he stays by himself. Aggressive behavior, growling, biting. He has no idea what's gonna happen next and he'll protect himself in the only way he can.You also said it yourself----any problems arise and you walk away. AND because of your situation, nothing is being done to ease those problems and they'll only get worse. That's not good for you and even worse for your grey. That's no way to address these problems.

Patience has nothing to do with your problem. Total heavy duty involvement is absolutely needed here. There are no other methods. The bird can't change what's been created. The grey had nothing to do with it. In a smaller cage?? Greys need large cages in order to live properly, especially if the bird is gonna spend lots of time in that cage.

As upsetting as it may be,my advice to you is to strongly think about rehoming your grey. If you love your bird, that means that you want the best for him. Many people have rehomed their birds with less problems than yours because they realize that their bird could be happy in a situation that would be productive and more natural for their grey. Many people can't provide that. I've seen this scenerio many times. Taking care of a grey takes lots of constant long term involvement.

People here can tell you just how much involvement is needed. It's a lot. For many people, greys have changed their lives once they got their grey.

Sorry, but you wanted the truth. Think about your bird's happiness. Right now, your bird isn't happy.

Edited March 2, 2011 by Dave007