Need some "comforter"ing advice

I need some advice on dealing with a situation. I've found a 'temporary' solution, but I can't think of a permanent one.

I've had my old comforter since the mid-90s. Its a lighthouse one that I paid a lot of money for, and it finally reached its life-cycle when it began to fray.

So I got a new comforter at Kohls yesterday. 75% off for a VERY nice deep blue/blue stripe reversible. Its very puffy and feels very nice. But Skittles does not approve. In order to inform you of the whole situation, I'll explain it and hopefully someone has some advice to deal with the problem.

I went to put Skittles to bed tonight and for the first time in AGES, he would not go in. He flew on top of his sleep cage and while he came down every time I prompted him and onto my finger/hand, he would fly back up to the top of the cage (or out of the room) whenever I would try to get him in the cage again. When I would reach into the cage, he would crawl back up my arm. Normally, he'll go right in (unless he dart flies in, which is also a common way). I do NOT "force" him to go into his cage. I don't grab him and put him in and I won't. He'd just try to come back out and part of the reason I don't have an issue 'holding' him is because I don't do it against his will. I've never had an issue getting him into either of his cages and I believe part of that is the way we we handle it.

At first I thought he was resisting because of something inside his cage, but I couldn't find anything. So I checked the floor, the walls and the ceiling. Then I noticed while I was doing that, he would not take his eyes off the comforter. I then realized I had put the comforter on last night AFTER I put him to bed and this was the first time he saw it. Normally, when I bring something 'bulky' into the apartment, I show it to him to let him no its okay and not a threat. I didn't do that this time. He doesn't associate the bag the comforter was in with the actually comforter laid out.

I was growing incredibly frustrated as I had spent a good 20 minutes trying to get him to go to bed. I tried laying down on the new comforter and even under it. I tried to get him to come to me and he wouldn't. If he saw the comforter as a 'threat' to me then he'd fly over to me and try to prevent me from being near it. But he didn't do that. He's afraid of it but its not because he thinks I'm in danger. So I have no idea what to do.

I had to put the old comforter over the new one just to get him to go to bed. That takes care of it for now, but what do I do tomorrow?

I should have had him with me when I opened the new comforter and let him watch me put it on. Then I wouldn't be in this situation. Now I'm screwed.

Maybe get a favorite treat and try to coax him slowly closer and closer to the comforter? I can't imagine it would take too much time, he's a smart one.

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I hope so. I'm gonna try one of the 'naughty' treats tomorrow and hope that works. The big question is - will it? I couldn't get him to come near me when I was laying in bed underneath the new comforter. Its just his reaction to it was a new one. Normally, I can figure it out and find a way to resolve it. But none of the usual things were working this time. Granted, I hadn't tried the treat idea given that it was his bedtime. I don't really want him making a mess in my bed, but I may have no choice if I want him to 'accept' the new comforter.



My neighbor just gave me another idea I hadn't thought of and I may try that first before resorting to 'naughty' treats.


Yes, he is a smart one- but that also goes both ways. lol. I've tried to use treats to coax him before and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Like I said, he's smart. Sometimes he won't fall for it. But I'm at a loss. I have a routine that works but I don't have a backup routine for when I forget to follow the original one. lol.

Wow, he is really sensitive to changes. No idea how to deal with the problem though.

I would suggest making it a less intimidating presence. Take it off and put the old cover on and fold up the new. Then move it around with you during the day - small folded to pillow size. Try putting it on the bed but only covering a small area. Hopefully he adjusts to it and it can cover more bed each day. You brought terrifying stripes into his sleeping area and a bold color at that. Good luck, a smart opinionated bird definitely makes life interesting.

Your temporary solution is a great first step! Slowly swap it around, uncovering sections!

Agree with Taprock and Flboy! Try to recondition Skittles with a "reboot" of new comforter. Even if you did nothing - not the ideal situation - he'd likely acclimate to the new comforter. Of course the goal is to introduce with minimal stress.

I would start completely over, like the new comforter never existed...Put the old comforter back on your bed, put the new comforter back inside it's bag, and then take it outside of your home, and make things exactly the same as they were before you brought it into your home...Then just go about your day like you normally would, and I'd also sleep with the old comforter on your bed for a few days to a week, so that he can forget about it and it's no longer an issue at all...And then after another week or so bring the new comforter home with you, like you had just purchased it, and then go through introducing him to the new comforter the way you usually do introduce him to new things like this, and then it should be fine...With parrots and their intelligence, sometimes you just have to "Hit the Reset-Button" and start all over from square-one to get them to accept something, or to teach them something, etc., any time that something doesn't go the way you wanted it to. This works 99% of the time, just starting completely over again with them and doing it the way you usually do, so that he knows that everything is fine with the new comforter...Should be fine as long as you leave the new comforter out of your home for at least a few days to a week, so that when you bring it back into your home again like you just purchased it, that he thinks that it's brand-new and so you can go through your usual routine with him that you do whenever you bring something new home and introduce him to it...(Maybe put the new comforter back in it's bag, make sure it's all wrapped back up like it's brand-new and you just bought it and are bringing it home for the very first time a week from now, and keep it in your car until you feel like enough time has passed for him to treat it like it's brand-new)...

Thank you ALL for the very helpful advice.

Skittles is normally pretty cooperative of change as long as he's part of the process. By that, I mean, he's introduced to it prior. Given that he is free-flighted and out of his cage most of the day, I have to take that into consideration. He views the 'apartment' as his cage so he is sensitive to it due to that. BUT, if I introduce him to the change (or the new item) before placement, he adjusts quite well. I just didn't give a lot of thought to the comforter situation which surprised me. He spends MOST of his time in the living area (with me) so I didn't really think the bedroom would be an issue. But I was wrong.

He's very predictable in some ways and completely unpredictable in others. He still will "pop a 'tude" if I happen to move something in the apartment that he doesn't want moved or touched- but I keep him in check. He knows this is MY house too, he just likes to pretend sometimes that I don't exist.

I ended up following most of your folks advice. I put him in his day cage (which is in the living room). Then I got dressed and went out the door into the hallway (like I do when I leave the apartment. Then I went down the hall and entered the apartment quietly through the emergency exit in my bedroom, packed up the comforter and brought it into the hall. Then I came back into the apartment with the comforter bag and set it down. Hung up my keys, went and let him out and got changed. I re-introduced him to the comforter and then brought it into the bedroom (still in the bag). Then I went into the bedroom periodically and made a few changes in minor increments. The bed had already been stripped. So I went in and just did things in stages in terms of remaking the bed. MOST of which, he was familiar with. When it got time to do the comforter, he was a little apprehensive, but he adjusted, it just wasn't instantaneous. It took a little while, but he 'appears' to be fine now. I'm still going to 'reassure him' each time I go near it or he sees it 'just in case'.

Thanks again everyone. The whole incident just caught me off guard and to be honest, I'm normally not that 'clueless' and dumb when it comes to Skittles. People who know me in RL KNOW I have a "one-track mind" and it revolves entirely around Skittles. So the very fact that I hadn't considered his reaction was surprising to me. But then again, he is the reason I got the new one. I kept getting my feet caught in the holes of the old one but I didn't want to buy a new one just yet, cause of finances. But then Skittles almost got caught and I decided its time. So I guess I was thinking of him, just not the way I should have.

Skittys_Daddy said:

... I had to put the old comforter over the new one just to get him to go to bed. ...

I should have had him with me when I opened the new comforter and let him watch me put it on.
Then I wouldn't be in this situation.

Click to expand...

You still have the old comforter.

I'd put the new one out of sight for a long period of time.
Then introduce the new one in a very slow and gradual way, like you felt you should have to begin with.