When he gets on my desk...

[Acappella]

...Dorian gets all lovey dovey, especially trying to get on my hand. I'm allowing him to shred a phone book on my desk and he gets right into it, shredding and kicking the shredded paper around. Is there any way the shredding and playing in the shredded paper could be setting off the mating behaviour?

[Timbersmom]

No help here. I have no idea what sets Timber off. It seems seasonal through, spring and fall.

[birdhouse]

Technically, that would qualify as potential nesting material, but I idk. I'm kind of thinking it's more about getting your attention. Even though it's different houses you've had a kind of running battle of wills about that desk area I'm kind of wondering if Dorian doesn't just get so frustrated w/the status quo that he's taken it to the extreme. He does get your attention! lol

 

Have you ever thought about maybe moving the desk to a Dorian free zone? I don't know if there is or could be such a thing. But like Bailey'sPapa recently said avoidance can be the best answer for some problems.

[Greywings]

The birds that live here all shred paper and cardboard all year round. I think he is just keeping busy while you are "working" at your desk he may feel like he is doing the same.

[murfchck]

Mine all love their phone books. My big guys go through them to quickly so now i buy the paper rolls that you find in public restrooms in the dispensers for them. In bulk at Sams, it is like the adding paper the greys love but on steroids!

[Inara]

HRH Inara loves to hang out with my when I'm doing paperwork at my desk, also. I put a newspaper on the floor, and a free standing perch next to my desk and then I slip a section of empty paper towel tube onto one arm of the perch, and also have a thick cotton rope tied to the other arm in a huge knot. She parks herself there and pecks and shreds while I am working. Occasionally, she will ask for a cookie so I get up and give her a tidbit and a scritch and then go back to my own stuff. When she is ready to go home to her cage she either flies over to me to get a lift back, or she slides down the pole of her perch and walks home.

 

Maybe giving Dorian a similar set up so that he is not right upon your desk might be helpful?

 

Dorian might just be in a lovey dovey time of year mood and/or is just letting you know that he's so happy that he could just ......erm.... kiss ya! :D

[katana600]

There is keeping busy and then there is "gettin' busy wid it". Dorian has been shredding for a long time but I haven't noticed if his amorous advances are only centered around the shredding. Being that this is your together time, I am more of the mind he is just getting your attention and showing you the love. I also agree that I think it is seasonal. Both Miss Gilbert and Java go through the lovey phases at the same time so I am more convinced it is seasonal. What usually works for me is keeping them in winter mode with more dark hours than daylight, or trying to keep them relatively equal. What is your usual routine? Think through your daily habits and the hours he spends resting in darkness. Even keeping a night light in another room has disrupted Miss Gilbert's sleep cycle but she is more sensitive than most.

[Acappella]

Technically, that would qualify as potential nesting material, but I idk. I'm kind of thinking it's more about getting your attention. Even though it's different houses you've had a kind of running battle of wills about that desk area I'm kind of wondering if Dorian doesn't just get so frustrated w/the status quo that he's taken it to the extreme. He does get your attention! lol

 

Have you ever thought about maybe moving the desk to a Dorian free zone? I don't know if there is or could be such a thing. But like Bailey'sPapa recently said avoidance can be the best answer for some problems.

 

Unfortunately moving the desk isn't an option. Dorian has the master bedroom which also holds my desktop computer and my music keyboard. I use an iPad after I put him to bed. You're right that the desk is a constant battle. He's totally obsessed with being on it. After a couple of times climbing up onto the desk and getting into mischief I have to lock him in his cage with his toys. I've tried building a perch onto the desk but he won't stay on it. He's learning to entertain himself in his cage but it only lasts so long before it erupts into a temper tantrum with his bell, which I usually find amusing lol.

 

I just worry about him becoming frustrated, but I think you're right, it's mostly about getting my attention. I guess I should be flattered that he's so happy to be re-united with me every morning after a long night's sleep.

[Timbersmom]

Time to face facts, time to do what is right. Get yourself a little perch for the side of the desk with a platform for your keyboard. The battle is over, the desk is Dorian's. The sooner you accept this, the happier you will be

[birdhouse]

Okay, wait just a second! I know you were joking & at first I chuckled & all. But maybe, just maybe you've hit on something. Dorian's not afraid of new things so much anymore [jealous!], right? So how about he gets his own desk to work on?

 

After Xmas hit up some good clearance sales & find some toddler busy box toys for cheap. Then maybe start a new morning routine beginning w/Dorian prime time, then whatever computer work. Whatever you think whether to put the busy box(s) in his cage or not. You might build an extension for the desk like w/a clothes rack, for instance.

 

I'm sure there would be a lot more involved. But the basic premise(s) here being

 

a- no parrot takes "no" for an answer & we're more likely to wear down than they ever are.

b- beat the system, change the rules

c- automatic win if he's too busy to care

Edited December 15, 2016 by birdhouse

[SRSeedBurners]

What you need is this. You'll probably not see your Grey again for a few days. It was posted on the Parrot Workshop by some lady in Italy that just made it from scratch.

 

[Acappella]

Wow, that's impressive. Dorian doesn't chew wood though. He's weird.

[birdhouse]

Yeah, but look at all that stuff hanging off the wood!

 

This is not a clothes rack kinda crowd, is it? What was I thinking? lol That looks like something one of the two of you could have sorted by Xmas. Or in the least make a dead-of-winter project.

 

 

I meant to add this to my last post. I thought over the desk, space permitting might have appeal.

 

 

 

Even though all those are contenders for a happy parrot playground, I don't think Dorian's problem is that he hasn't got enough cool parrot stuff because we all know he does. I think he might have gadget envy. Interactive flashes & beeps & other fun stimuli that a chunk of wood just doesn't remotely measure up to. Which is why I thought maybe some toddler toys would hold his interest better & make him think he has something more like what you have.

 

I think he's bonded to you & he wants your attention. I also think he's a parrot so he wants what he can't have. ...unless or until you can find him something "shiny"!

Edited December 15, 2016 by birdhouse

[birdhouse]

What you need is this. You'll probably not see your Grey again for a few days. It was posted on the Parrot Workshop by some lady in Italy that just made it from scratch.

 

Tree itself looks fairly simple. Like I said, you guys w/the tools & setup could probably knock it off pretty quickly(ish). It's the docorations that must have taken some real time & patience. Somebody loves their birdies for sure.

 

So after that, I just had to check out the Parrot Workshop, of course. I don't belong to FB & I'd never have found it on my own. And now, thanks to you I know that my fiddies are at best deprived & I am a big fat slacker!

 

Damn!! I didn't come up for air or even blink for half an hour. If it weren't for Xmas, no one would be hearing from me this weekend. But whenever the dust finally settles, I certainly have some dead-of-winter project ideas now!