aunali9 Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 hi guys, my parrot (who used to be named echo till my mother decided his name must be changed) does some funny things which i cant figure out and am having trouble understanding: he is 4 months old now, very gentle and loving, has never been aggressive towards anything except some toys, gets bathed weekly, and shows no signs of illness. eats well, poops well, sleeps well etc 1) he doesnt go into his cage at all. unless he is exhausted to fainting point. he fights to get out. and the second i open the door he literally runs out. ALL his toys are inside. he will play with them if they are outside but gets aggressive with them if i hang them or place them inside. i even got him a new bigger cage thinking maybe there wasnt enough room for him in there. since the last one week ive just let him fly free around the house (after double checking every possible hazard) and since the last 2 days he has been returning to his cage only to take a couple of bites of his food or drink some water. then he's out again. now while i can comfortably give him 4 or 5 hours a day out of the cage, i cant leave him out 24/7 because i live alone and have to work and study and go out at times! i have to con him into getting inside or lift him up gently with his wings closed about him WHILE covering his head at times if i have to leave in a hurry or he just hangs on to the side of the door way into his cage with his beak! i have changed the location of his cage around every inch of the house, taken great pains to change/eliminate sounds/ moving objects, not use my tv at all etc etc etc. 2) now when he IS in his cage: except at night when he is sleeping, he is always crouched with his head in the corner of his cage between the wall and his food bowl, kicking away at the food bowl with one foot, then he will go to the water bowl on the other side and do the same thing with his other foot. personally i would do that if i were a parrot if i wanted to sharpen or file my nails, but he did that even when they were weapons, and he still does that even after i have filed them down a little so he stops drawing blood on my wrist. on very rare occasions, probably only ever 5 or 6 times, ive seen him doing that out side the cage too, but again saw no connection to his behavior in the cage so i couldnt draw any conclusions. he looks like he is digging. and he will do it for hours and hours. get tired, rest, and start again. 3) so daily, when he isnt digging (which just looks like he is agitated but doesnt make any aggressive sounds, gestures etc and is very amenable even if i stick my hand in the cage or my fingers through the bars): when he isnt digging, he is climbing around the cage. always on the front or sides. again he will go into the corner and contort himself in a manner that will make him put his back into the top corners of the cage and sort of push outwards using his neck and back. if that makes any sense. one of his feet is on the bars on the front of the cage and the other on the side. he makes similar of not identical postures in the other areas of the top part of the cage where the walls meet the roof. when he does this, obviously, his feathers will stick through the cage bars at odd angles, and he doesnt do this gently by the way. the first of his primary flight feathers is frayed along the outer margins on both sides and im afraid its because of this behavior. 4) there are things he is afraid of. he will make these loud yelling noises sounds like high pitched growls that let me know when he sees them. like some book covers, a pair of my shoes, paper bags etc. he looks scared, sounds scared, and is all fluffed up and backing up from them. so i remove said items. SOMETIMES there are items like tennis balls... which he used to love playing with when he was younger. i wasnt sure what was causing this till today, and discovered the causative agent was the tennis ball he used to love by mistake. he didnt display any aggression of fright. he just goes nuts flying around in circles making a very peculiar squawking noise. but he is usually a great flier, avoiding obstacles and making ridiculous but precise landings in unbelievable places. on these occasions he will hit the walls, ceiling, large book shelfs, mirrors etc. he will even go near the ball and tap it with his beak, but again fly off and be a clown. my panadol tablets, the tennis ball, and an empty perfume box are some of the items ive narrowed this down to. why does he do this? he could hurt himself running into things like that. and since he doesnt point an object out to me as obviously as when he is afraid, i have to run around in a frenzy trying to figure out what the insulting item is... at first i figured this was all normal baby parrot behavior, but it could be harmful for him if he keeps this up. anyone seen any similar behavior? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aunali9 Posted August 11, 2014 Author Share Posted August 11, 2014 oh and i would like to add that he is a machine when he is out of the cage. he will try to do everything he possibly can in 5 minutes and then repeat. he will shred his fluff toy, shred paper, tissues, boxes, play with my phone, fly everywhere, sit on my shoulder, preen himself, then try the same on me, lick my face like a dog, destroy stationary, puzzle over what my ear lobes are made of. EVERYTHING. and then do it ALL again and he is obviously thoroughly enjoying him self. i dont know if maybe im putting him away for too long... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inara Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 (edited) Hi aunali, and welcome to the forums. Sounds like you have got a very busy guy, and that he is full of energy. That is great. The scratching around that you've noticed could be just an automatic response as young birds in the nest will scrath to kick debri out of the nest. It could also be his trying to find a way out of his cage. Before I go any further, understand that the youngest bird I have personal experience with is my current TAG, who came to me at two years old. There are others here who have breeding experience, and those who like you also started with a very young bird. They will have many good insights. I really encourage you to find either books or videos on training your pal with gentle, positive methods, Barbara Heidenreich has some excellent ones, and now is the time to start working on making going home to the cage a pleasant experience, etc. In training, we are doing what the bird's natural parents would do to help the youg bird be able to integrate into flock life and socialize appropriately. Although, in our case it is how to integrate into a human flock. In the long run, this makes for a happier bird and a happier relationship and mk es it less likely that a bird will be rehomed for screaming, biting, etc. As for things that your bird finds frightening, just be nonchalant around the object with your body language. Pick it up in front of your bird, laugh, talk in a normal voice about it. Say something like, It's OK, just a ball," etc. Soon your bird will learn that OK means that it is safe, and many birds here, mine included, will tell themselves, "ok" to self sooth when a bit nervous. You might ask the question about bracing against the top of the cage and the scratching, in the Nursery thread where others with young birds will see it. People here are really willing to help. We love photos, too Edited August 15, 2014 by Inara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 I am a rehomer and don't have any baby experience. I do know that they like to do the "scratch and kick" even as adults. Instinctive behavior I believe. As Inara said, someone with baby experience will be along to help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2birds Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 I've read time and time again that the kicking scratching thing is normal in babies. Seems that a lot grow out of it and some don't. Either way, not a big deal. As far as the fear of stuff? Normal for a grey. I wouldn't try to protect him from the world or you might end up with a phobic adult. If you can detect what he's afraid of, just don't make it into a big deal. Play with the stuff and let him watch you. Keep on introducing him to new things. When he gets used to one new thing, introduce him to another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aunali9 Posted August 17, 2014 Author Share Posted August 17, 2014 yeah im doing my best to keep him entertained and surprised. he's very receptive to new things. gets over his fear of certain things in minutes mostly. i think he just gets extremely over excited about some items Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 aunali9..your baby sounds amazing! An excellent personality.I would go back to the name " echo", and ignore your mama's opinion. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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