prrthead Posted June 14, 2008 Author Share Posted June 14, 2008 You are awesome bettyboop to be going through all this to help my little guy. There has been no change in the house or me. Same old hairdo,color and cut. No nailpolish goes with working in child care. I wish I could give you something to go on. Oh, wait a minute, I did go on a three day cruise with my daughter in late April for a early mom's day gift. Could that have anything to do with the change in him. My husband was home alone with him and told me it took all he could do to feed him without going crazy and lungeing. I did talk with him at dinner about the advise you had giving me and he said he would read it over for himself and do whatever he could to build a good relationship with Echo. He knows how much that would mean to me. Let me know if you think those three days away could have anything to do with his fears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyboop Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Yes it could , except I thought you said he has always been this way .Are you saying it is worse since the trip ? Perhaps he felt like the flock had abandoned him . Did your husband have a bad experience during the time you were gone ?Everything we do with these guys has to build trust , so I ask myself before I do anything , will this be trust building or trust destroying . Sounds like the two of them may need to start over , which I have done with both of my birds several times.LOL...Another thing I read was not to make direct eye contact with him and to allow him some time to do his own thing , no force step ups or anything , just cool it , still talk and play but only with things he is comfortable with .When company or repairmen come to our house , our birds go to their cages and the doors are shut . My Alexandrine is very uncomfortable when new people are here.Is he getting 10-12 hours sleep every night , undisturbed sleep?Also could there be an outside light at night or branch rubbing on the house making a noise that could be bothering him ?Did the vet do any blood work ? If not , you might consider to see if some health issue is causing this . The trip might be the culprit . Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyboop Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 I read something about a triangle situation which is what you have with the two of you and Echo. First it said , to get him away from the cage as much as you can , because they are so territorial around the cage . Allow your husband to work with him in the neutral room . If he bites , do not run in to rescue Echo or your husband .Ask your husband not to respond ever again when he bites , just walk away . Parrots love drama , and if he is screaming ouch then Echo loves it , also he knows what he is doing , he bites to get your husband to go away . So as I said they need to start over , in the neutral room and be very calm around Echo. I think something between the two of them took place while you were away ,which I understand .My Sammy is a toot , we had to step back , just watch and learn .We didnt handle him for about three weeks , he bites and one time I yelled OUCH , now he says ouch all the time then laughs.So I have learned by reading and watching . I go into the bird area everyday and spend hours of time , reading , making toys , cleaning etc....But he needed to adjust and things are changing . Also it suggested your husband be the one to care for him for a while with you out of sight. Just stop rewarding anything he does that is not good , ignore him when he freaks out , praise the good . I think I would keep him at home for a while till he calms down .If he bites , show no reaction . Good luck , Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prrthead Posted June 14, 2008 Author Share Posted June 14, 2008 You know the more I think about when all of this started to get worst was after my trip. The first thing I asked my husband when I got home was, Did you have any problems with Echo? Did he let you feed him without going crazy? The answers were all no. I felt that all was good and being away for those three days was okay. We will be going down to the Keys for a week the end of August. We have a pet sitter coming to the house who is a vet tech to care for the birds and dogs. Do you think this will cause more problems? Please be honest and let me know. In the mean time I will follow your advise and start from the beginning as if we just brought him home. I will share with my husband all the things he should do to gain his trust. I know my husband likes this little guy. He was the first one to see him at the show and called me over to meet him. I want to thank you again for all you help and concern for my little guy. You are a wonderful person even though you were traumatized as a young girl in child care. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyboop Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 LOL....Traumatized in childcare, you ae so funny. I am no expert , I am only going by Sally Blanchrds advice . She has several books The Beak Book and Companion Parrots , which are both wonderful problem solving helps. I have great results with everything I have tried with her books . You can visit her website at Companionparrots.com . I know your husband loves Echo , I am not implying anything ugly happened .I know my husband did some pretty weird stuff once or twice when our birds bit him , nothing abusive to the birds except probably scaring the turkey out of them .LOL. I would suggest the tech comes over several times per week before the trip so Echo isnt thrown into stress.That's all you could do to make the transition. Good luck , and I do hope if someone else has some ideas they will chime in .The people on this forum are very smart with their birds. Glad you are here . Kind Regards , Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyboop Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Hello , just wondering how Echo is doing ? Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prrthead Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 Hello BITES, thank you for asking about Echo. My husband and I have sat down and had a lenghty conversion about "my little man". He has also read all the great advise I have obtained. Over the weekend he has made it a point to sit closer to me when I have Echo and Sunday morning all three of us sat at the breakfast table. Echo didn't get too close to him and just kept looking at him. My husband and I talked but he didn't say a word to Echo or make eye contact. He did break off a piece of his toast and put it on the table so Echo could see it. Echo slowly went over and picked up the toast and run like the dickins:laugh: My husband and I just smiled but Echo didn't take flight so I felt as though we had made some progress. I know it is going to take a lot of time and patience on our part but both of us are ready and willing. I will keep everyone that helped me posted on his progess. Again thanks to everyone, you are all great and I am so grateful that I have found this site. I only wish I had before "my little man" came home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyboop Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 LOL...It's not BITES , It's Mary.. Anyway I am so excited progress is being made . Keep up the good work everyone . Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prrthead Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 Oh goodness! I am so sorry, Mary Mary Mary Mary!!! Thank you for the thumbs up! Mary H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Is your name Mary too?:huh: Why don't you introduce yourself in the welcome room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prrthead Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 Yes it is. That was way I was kind of confused. :blush: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyboop Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Judy , this is confusing , which Mary are you talking to????? That's OK Prrthead, it gets confusing sometimes...As you can see..Judy does a great job , she has her hands full with all of us , she's great. LOL...Mary Mary H,was my maiden initial . How funny... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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