CrazyGreyLover Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Hello everyone! I'm looking for help/ suggestions. Within the past couple of months, Bandit has started biting more. He used to be okay and it was only a playful nip when I would go into his cage to change his food and water, now he climbs to the top/ side of his cage and snaps at me (sometimes to the point of breaking skin). He's also not that great out of the cage. I try to take him out as much as possible when I'm home and he doesn't seem to like it anymore. When he's on his stand he'll start to either bite on his nails, pull a feather out from his shoulder or make noises to get attention. I don't yell at him or scold him when he does this because I'm afraid that if I acknowledge it, it'll get worse and he'll start to pluck. He always has toys to play with, I give him love and affection whenever I'm able to and he's never without food or water. He doesn't really seem to show any other signs of stress because he eats well and he still whistles and talks (a LOT). He gets showers regularly where he really only sits under the water but still seems to enjoy it. Last week I bought him a new food bowl that has a cover over it because he also started to throw his food both with his mouth and his feet. I wanted to also ask if anyone has tried using a hanging bottle for water because he throws his water too and if I'm not home, I don't want him to be without water. I thought this could be resentment from my not being home as much because of work but I'm sure many other CAG owners hold a full-time job (or multiple jobs), working 40+ hours a week. I would love to hear how you do it! I just hate to think he's upset or stressed and would love to hear from you all about how I can help him. Thank you so much for your time!! Lexy and Bandit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 He could very well be sending you a message about having to spend long chunks of time away from you. Have you always worked 40 hour weeks, or is this new? He could be in need of more stimulation. Perhaps when you leave for work you could play some music or birdie sounds for him to listen to. You could even call your answering machine if you have one during your work day to leave a little message for him! How old is he? Is he clipped? If so, then might be showing signs of anxiety or frustration by not being able to freely make it from point A to point B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I am retired but when I leave my fids for the day, a few hours, whatever. I tell them I am going bye and will be back. I tell them that they should be good and don't cause any trouble. My Congo repeats what I say and they seem to understand and are all right with it. I always talk to my fids and let them know what is going on. I have left my birds out when I have gone to the store down the street and they usually just sit at the perches by the windows until I come back. Greys/parrots are very smart and try hard to understand what is expected of them. Just tell them and show and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brat Birds Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Maybe some foraging toys are in order. Especially when you are going to be gone a few hours. This will help keep him busy while you are gone. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 At almost 2 years old, he is feeling his oats and exercising his will very strongly. The happens very often as a grey starts maturing and getting in to their terrible twos. You are going to need to pay very close attention to his bady language to avoid bites. They are masters of the poker face and the only indication is small nuances of their body language at the time leading upto a bite. There is a good thread here on body language. It may help you with this: http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?109373-Body-language-most-frequently-seen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGreyLover Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 He could very well be sending you a message about having to spend long chunks of time away from you. Have you always worked 40 hour weeks, or is this new? He could be in need of more stimulation. Perhaps when you leave for work you could play some music or birdie sounds for him to listen to. You could even call your answering machine if you have one during your work day to leave a little message for him! How old is he? Is he clipped? If so, then might be showing signs of anxiety or frustration by not being able to freely make it from point A to point B Thank you for writing! Yes, I've been working 40+ hours since I've had him. He's in the kitchen and for the most part, there's someone home and watching TV or something. He is three and a half years old and he has been clipped since he was a baby. I'll leave a little radio out for him, that's a good idea. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGreyLover Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 I am retired but when I leave my fids for the day, a few hours, whatever. I tell them I am going bye and will be back. I tell them that they should be good and don't cause any trouble. My Congo repeats what I say and they seem to understand and are all right with it. I always talk to my fids and let them know what is going on. I have left my birds out when I have gone to the store down the street and they usually just sit at the perches by the windows until I come back. Greys/parrots are very smart and try hard to understand what is expected of them. Just tell them and show and see what happens. Aww, I do too! Whenever I leave the house for work I say "I'll see you later baby, I love you!" and Bandit replies with "See-ya later!" but then proceeds to start yelling like he's anxious that I'm leaving and it breaks my heart. I'm just not sure why he gets like that, yet gets snippy when I'm around and trying to hang out with him or take him out of his cage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGreyLover Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Maybe some foraging toys are in order. Especially when you are going to be gone a few hours. This will help keep him busy while you are gone. Good luck. Thank you! I'm going to start making toys for him so he has something different more often. I've given him toys with treats in them but he never actually eats the treats but he'll take them out then drop them and stare at it for a moment.haha. He's silly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGreyLover Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 At almost 2 years old, he is feeling his oats and exercising his will very strongly. The happens very often as a grey starts maturing and getting in to their terrible twos. You are going to need to pay very close attention to his bady language to avoid bites. They are masters of the poker face and the only indication is small nuances of their body language at the time leading upto a bite. There is a good thread here on body language. It may help you with this: http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?109373-Body-language-most-frequently-seen Thank you!! I will read more in to that. He's three and a half years old now and he does occasionally make little whimpering noises then proceeds to try and regurgitate his food. I like to take him out as much as possible but I can only really pick him up when he's already out of his cage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Don't be afraid to correct the behavior! Biting is a NO! Birds need to learn what you expect of their behavior. If bitten, say NO BITE!, return to cage, and try again a few minutes later. When they do something " good", display happiness with the behavior. A bird is not going to chew their feathers just by you teaching them " right from wrong!" If you don't teach them your expectations, learn trust both ways... you will have a monster in the making! Do you have other family members willing to help? Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGreyLover Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Don't be afraid to correct the behavior! Biting is a NO! Birds need to learn what you expect of their behavior. If bitten, say NO BITE!, return to cage, and try again a few minutes later. When they do something " good", display happiness with the behavior. A bird is not going to chew their feathers just by you teaching them " right from wrong!" If you don't teach them your expectations, learn trust both ways... you will have a monster in the making! Do you have other family members willing to help? Nancy I do tell him, "NO biting!" when he bites me but this doesn't seem to change anything and will sometimes make him bite more. My family doesn't usually handle him because of the biting and they don't usually play with him but they will talk to him sometimes through the cage. When he allows me to go into his cage to change his food and water, I'm always sure to compliment him and thank him for being a good boy. The only time he really chews his feathers is when he's on his stand. He doesn't seem to like it and he gets into too much trouble when I just allow him to be on top of his cage because he'll start to chew the wall. Thank you Nancy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inara Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 (edited) Just another thought, if Bandit is in the kitchen, how busy of a place is that? If it is a busy hub, is it possible that Bandit is not getting enough sleep and rest? Greys also do well when they can have quiet solitary time at some point during the day, as well as about 10-12 hours of sleep at night. If he is mot getting enough sleep, and/or rest, combined with what Dan said about him feeling his oats, that is a recipe for a cranky bird. Also, if his cage is in the kitchen, that is not good for his health. When we are cooking, there are micro particles of grease and other contaminants that over time can affect respiratory health. On the beavioral side, there really are some good resources out there on positive training. Barbara Heidenreich (hope I spelled that correctly) has a good website that you might find helpful. There are mixed opinions on training our companions. Find a method that works for you and your bird. It is well worth the time and energy spent as it contributes to us living better together. In the wild, the paents and flock members would be teaching and modeling behavior so that the flock remains harmonious. We also must do the same, so that both our and our bird's frustraion levels are reduced. Wishing you and Bandit success, as often it is around this age that people get frustrated and rehome their birds. Hang in there we are all here to help. Edited July 31, 2014 by Inara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Aww, I do too! Whenever I leave the house for work I say "I'll see you later baby, I love you!" and Bandit replies with "See-ya later!" but then proceeds to start yelling like he's anxious that I'm leaving and it breaks my heart. I'm just not sure why he gets like that, yet gets snippy when I'm around and trying to hang out with him or take him out of his cage. Mine does the same. She gets super anxious when I get ready to leave for work even though she gets to stay home with mommy. Then when I am home, she's bitey, aloof, cantakerous.... I solve some of it with laps around the living room, seems to take the edge off of her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGreyLover Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 Just another thought, if Bandit is in the kitchen, how busy of a place is that? If it is a busy hub, is it possible that Bandit is not getting enough sleep and rest? Greys also do well when they can have quiet solitary time at some point during the day, as well as about 10-12 hours of sleep at night. If he is mot getting enough sleep, and/or rest, combined with what Dan said about him feeling his oats, that is a recipe for a cranky bird. Also, if his cage is in the kitchen, that is not good for his health. When we are cooking, there are micro particles of grease and other contaminants that over time can affect respiratory health. On the beavioral side, there really are some good resources out there on positive training. Barbara Heidenreich (hope I spelled that correctly) has a good website that you might find helpful. There are mixed opinions on training our companions. Find a method that works for you and your bird. It is well worth the time and energy spent as it contributes to us living better together. In the wild, the paents and flock members would be teaching and modeling behavior so that the flock remains harmonious. We also must do the same, so that both our and our bird's frustraion levels are reduced. Wishing you and Bandit success, as often it is around this age that people get frustrated and rehome their birds. Hang in there we are all here to help. Yes, the kitchen is fairly busy throughout the day but at night isn't busy. There unfortunately isn't anywhere else in the house I can put him. When I'm able to move out I feel like he'll be 100x's happier. It's just not that easy or feasible at this point in time. I will have to look up more about training, thank you. I would be more than willing to spend the time to train him but I haven't found anything that works. I will look her up though! I'm not one to give up on something that means this much to me nor could I just give him away. I really and truly appreciate your time and help!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGreyLover Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 Mine does the same. She gets super anxious when I get ready to leave for work even though she gets to stay home with mommy. Then when I am home, she's bitey, aloof, cantakerous.... I solve some of it with laps around the living room, seems to take the edge off of her. I will have to try that! I know when he jumps off his cage or wherever he is, I don't go to him and pick him up, I just reach down and tell him to come to me or have him follow me. He'll say "Come here, step up?" and I say "Yes, come here" and he comes to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 I am home most of the time and have a rehomed older grey and she gets cranky too. She went through a few months of wrestling her stainless steel cups out of the ring and flinging food and water. I first tried a method I read here on the forum to lay the cup on its side and used the blunt tip of the metal file to create a dimple on the inside that made a bump on the outside to help hold the cup in place. Then one day I found much heavier ceramic bowls on a ring. That solved the problem completely. There are also plastic ones on the market that have a locking mechanism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 Bandit is loving his daddy! He has a lot of potential! I am just concerned you don't have the family support, which really helps. Sophie hated the new pup that moved in. She decided to move in to sean's room.LOL! For the past week, Sophie flew into Sean's room. Sean understood. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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