Acappella Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 I need to vent to people who know greys, so bear with me for a minute. You see, Mr. Dorian has decided that my desk is his new favourite hang out. He's been having a grand old time turning last years IKEA catalogue into confetti while he hangs out on 'his' side of the desk. When he needs a break from destruction he perches on the computer mini tower that is laying on it's side underneath my monitor. He sits there beak grinding, even napping some times. Cute, right? The problem is when I have to move him off the desk back into his cage, like if I have to leave the house. He's gotten aggressively defensive about his right to be on the desk, while I am trying to inforce some rules about being there like not severing cables with his beak. Unfortunately that's involving taking a few bites from him as I take the stubborn little turd off my desk for a time out. This is after not being bit literally for years. If he keeps it up I may have to step him up onto a perch, but right now I'm just doing the sad face and voice while I ignore him for a couple of minutes. What do you guys do when it's time for a battle of wills in your home? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Walk away and try again later or bring out the big guns if I am in a rush, Tostada Chip. Everyone of my guys will stop what they are doing for the treasured chip of a chip! They step up and go where I need them to go and get a bit of chip as a reward for stepping up, all along making them think this is their idea. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Oh the bag of chips. It's just not fair. We use the same thing around here. Nothing lines the troops up like rustling the chip bag. All prior commitments the birdies had are immediately abandoned and we all head for the bird room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Nuts or banana chips around here, but basically, what they said. Just can't let things escalate to the point where it's rewarding them for bad behavior. I know how much fun the computer desk is, in general. Let's just say I've been well schooled. lol But that aside, do you think his particular thing about that spot could have anything to do w/it being warm as well as suc a nice roosting spot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 Well, my house is warm, but the same way that my cat likes to sleep under a halogen lamp, I'm sure the computer generates heats for his feets. As for bribes, the only one I have is pistachios, and I'm already using that at bedtime lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Well, my house is warm, but the same way that my cat likes to sleep under a halogen lamp, Maybe because it was -4F this week, but that's what I was thinking. Nothing seems warm enough in this weather. lol Ok, so maybe you can kill 2 birds (sorry!) w/one stone. Find something Dorian really likes to drink & use that to coax him away when it's time. Hopefully it could turn a tense thing into a good thing, maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 You can run those cables through some metal cladding or just use some PVC piping tp protect the little heathen from electrocuting his little self. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 All have excellent advice! I am just " old school", never bribed... ( but I would have if I knew better). If Sophie got to comfortable in any situation, and bit me....that would be a serious no no, return her to her cage. Her goal from day one when we adopted her, was to be with me or kids. When deprived of our attention, she was quite miserable. She learned quick, and developed a new plan to manipulate us, within usually an hour. Its was always hard, to be " smarter and more devious", than Sophie! She is just to sharp! Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 (edited) It's just so cute. He's so happy just sitting near me. He climbs down off his cage, walks across the floor, climbs up a desk leg until he gets to the desk top, then waves one little foot in the air blindly until I put an arm out for him to grab on to, and place him on the desk. I do love the little turd. Edited January 14, 2015 by Acappella Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedawg Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 It's just so cute. He's so happy just sitting near me. He clings down off his cage, walks across the floor, climbs up a desk leg until he gets to the desk top, then waves one little foot in the air blindly until I put an arm out for him to grab on to, and place him on the desk. I do love the little turd. I love when they do that I have had terrible problems with Dayo in my computer room so now I have the whole desk (Keyboard and cables) covered with a spread so they are out of sight. But I like some of the ideas here. It's hard to dissuade her with treats though since she really doesn't seam that crazy about anything but pencils and of course I can not give her those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted January 14, 2015 Author Share Posted January 14, 2015 You can run those cables through some metal cladding or just use some PVC piping tp protect the little heathen from electrocuting his little self. Well, the "little heathen" just ate through my iPad charging cable. Grrrrr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 We get punished regularly for not following GreycieMae's rules. Rule #1: "No charging phones on my countertop." My wife has lost several charging cables as a result of not following this rule. Rule #2: "Keep my countertops clear!" GreycieMae will immediately drag overboard anything she can manage to get to the edge. I lost my absolute favorite glass drinking cup a couple days ago because I failed to follow this rule. She hates a messy countertop unless it's her food tray or her playthings (which usually end up on the floor too). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 LOVED GrecieMae's rules! These rules, have been effective for years with Sophie. Always hide the charger behind the microwave. She has no clue. Nothing china or glass available on the countertop for her to push over and destroy Nancy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedawg Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Those cables are Miss Dayo's favorite things to grab. And she's so quick! My laptop cable is a modge podge of white cable and black electrical tape... It's my second one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Good luck w/that. I could say it takes a while to bird proof a house. But I'd be lying. It's always going to be a work in progress. Which is why I bookmarked this when I happened to see them during my holiday shopping. http://www.amazon.com/Cord-Protector-CritterCord-Protect-Hazardous/dp/B000EH2I5O Although they're obviously un-initiated w/our little winged terrors, there's still some useful products ref'd in this article, too. http://www.cableorganizer.com/articles/Ways-Protect-Wires-From-Cat-Dog.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezron Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Can you call him to another room? I do this if Brutus lands on my desk chair - a no-no. I just get up, ignore him, and go to another room and he flies after me. If your bird is off the preferred and defended spot he may be easier to handle? Brutus is not allowed on my desk or my chair. He can hangout on the air cleaner on my desk, but that's it. I have a silver lid to a pot that I go toward him with if he breaks the rules. He gets mad at the lid and not at me and flies off. He is out all day and does not land on my desk or chair while I am home or away. I tell him before I leave, "Stay off my desk" and he does. I do think I have relaxed grey compared to someone like GracieMae, so maybe this wouldn't work for you. He doesn't land on me either. I will pick him up on my wrist and he will stay there. I have about a billion cords on my desk and both my keyboard and cords are untouched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 Can we clone Brutus?lol. Dorian is usually pretty docile and well behaved. I rarely have to tell him 'no' because he rarely does something naughty, except trying to lure the cat in for a taste of his tail. This new possessiveness over desk time is new. He doesn't fly, and he needs my help to get on to the desk. He climbs up as far as he can, but he can't get over the desk top without a hand up. I don't want to deny him the time on the desk. I looked at the cable covers birdhouse tagged and it's given me some ideas to bird proof the desk. I'm actually going to completely overhaul the whole desk area, but thats a major project. In the meantime I'll just have to supervise better. Thanks everyone for letting me whine here. I realise I'm actually pretty lucky with a usually pretty well behaved birdy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Dorian will be easy to train. A beautiful baby! Think hard how you can always be one step ahead! Sophie still gets into everything, but she is good with NO! I don't abuse the word, but when I say NO, she knows I mean NO. She will backup three steps. Of course she tests until she knows " must be important to ROM... better not mess with that!" Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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