Willie get with it: "SPRING IS OVER"

My interpretation of "spring" seems to be different than Willie's. Spring for me is March, April, and May. Willie seems to think the mid of June marks the beginning of spring, rather than the end. He has been performing quite a strange little dance, episodes of unexplainable behavior, and all I can think of is...Willie is in the love zone. He lifts one of his legs while flipping his wings, making squeaky, throaty noises. He does this at various times at his food bowl, at his water bowl, at a small yellow rubber clog, etc. etc.

"Our relationship", I mean Willie's and mine, is as bad as ever, but he will readily step up on my son's arm (safely wrapped in towel), take food from him, even small tiny bits that he has to dig out between his fingers. He will take food from me as well, but because I've learned to fear that beak - and because I am a coward, my food pieces are rather long . I like to keep that can opener as far away from me as possible, but I don't want to ignore him. Willie throws me kisses when I cover him for the night, but hates it when I talk or sing to him. He will preen my hair through the bars, but viciously slam his beak against them if I dare tickle his "offered neck".

Willie lets me touch his feet without turning into a monster, and I am allowed to change the cage liners as well as fill the food bowls, but that's just about it. I know he is bonding with my son.... everything and everyone bonds with him and I don't blame him (or them) for it. I call him "Mr. Tranquility". I think it's a good thing that "this match is made in heaven", because he's the one who will get ALL the birds after I'm gone. He knows it too.......and happily accepts the gift.

HOWEVER I'm still here, dammit.... and I'm not ready to throw in the towel. I'm a Taurus. I'm stubborn and persistent and won't take "no" for an answer. I am hoping that Willie's aggression is due to his incorrect timing of what he considers SPRING. I fully realize that my tenacity and persistance will not convince him that we are now in SUMMER.....but.. How long DOES "Spring" last in Wilie's world?????

P.S. Gigi the canary suffers from the same misalignment. She is persistently and stubbornly sitting on 5 plastic eggs and I'm afraid she'll starve to death if the plastic chicks don't hatch soon.

How old is Willie? Male zons often experience a few YEARS of perpetual "springtime' when they first hit puberty (sounds fun right?). But yes, the humping dance is a classic male zon move. Don't despair though, once you get them through puberty, they calm down quite a bit. Or, if he's older, he may just be 'confused' about time of year, and if that's the case, the hormonal behavior will only last a month or so.

Sounds like your making a little progress though. You can't help whom they pick as their preferred human, but you can socialize them so they at (minimum) tolorate and go to everyone in the house. Just keep working with him every day. It doesn't matter if you give him a "long" treat or talk to him or whatever you feel safe with, just do SOMETHING that builds trust on both sides. It's not a race, it's building a lifelong relationship.

Kiwibird said:

How old is Willie? It's not a race, it's building a lifelong relationship.

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Willie is 9 years old Kiwi. As far as building a lifelong relationship, I'm letting my son do the building, since he will have this relationship for a long, long time I am content being Willie's cook, toy-maker, and cleaning woman!