Discipline? Rules? What rules!

[tlouiselle]

If only love and affection could make the perfect bird :-( Our little Stewie has brought us so much joy. We love him to pieces. He is comical, sweet, affectionate, cuddly, quiet, and just a little prince. Since I work from home he is out of his cage with our other bird all day. He spends most of his time either on his play gym on top of his cage or out on the play gym on the lanai. When he wants to visit, he comes in to play and sit with me or the dogs. Aside from wanting everything on our dinner plates (he gets his own plate of what we are eating) he has been a perfect little gentleman.

The 6 1/2 month old age has hit. He has opened his eyes and taken notice to more of his surroundings. He has more energy (which we love). The little stinker has also decided he wants to eat the walls on the corners where he can get a grip (near his cage and near the shower during shower time)! The walls have always been there too and he never noticed them before! Wouldn't you know it? This little beast knows that I don't like it and actually watches to see if I have my eye on him! If I am looking he will nuzzle the towel or something near the wall, talk to me in his sweet angelic voice, and turn me into a mush ball (yes he knows how to work it). The second he thinks I am not looking he goes in for the kill! He has also torn apart 2 laptops this last week too!

Toys you ask? We have bird toys coming out of our ears. Swings, foraging, chew, puzzles... They get rotated and I even have a basket full of toys on the desk where he flies over to and plays.

What I have been doing when he is getting into trouble is: first I would say "NO" and replace whatever he was destroying with one of his own toys while giving praise when he was playing with his own toy. NOW when his little monster alter ego is with us, I say a firm "no" and place him in his cage. He does not like this, he runs around like a little terror at first. Then he sees that I am not going to budge and calmly sits on his perch giving me the sad puppy dog eyes. I will not let him out until he is calm.

Is returning him to his cage when he is doing something negative? I don't want him to think he can do whatever he wants. He needs rules and boundaries... I just don't know how to properly get the point across to him.

 

[suebee]

lol lol lol

well nut was the same, its taken near a yr for her to understand the concept of NO! and not be upset by it, even now she tries to venture on the curtains! and for the most part a verbal NO an she flies off?? unless she is in a more confrontational mood, when i have to go and move her

just stand your ground, be consistant and he'll soon get the idea, well could be months lol sorry, with nut it was a constant battle as she would go from one form of no-no to another, and then it kinda all stopped at once, even now when she tries something she knows is no-no, she stops when told (80% of the time)

i think it was the constant telling off that has finally sunk in, as i use to tell her off, move her an she would just go back to being naughty, so the whole cycle would start again! oh joys! lol but its worth it

 

[Spiritbird]

If the wings are not clipped I suggest you do so. It makes a huge difference in attitude.

 

[kc_y0]

He will soon understand that a firm no actually means stop doing that! I use a firm NO with Audrey when she does something I don't want her to be doing (Chewing on my curtains) or what not. I also put her back in the cage if she gives me a nasty bite and will not take her out until she calms down, so I think you are doing the right thing!

 

[mtdoramike]

I do the same with Mac. But the problem is, he thinks it's a game. So he will do what ever it is that I tell him "No" and stop doing it and when he does it, he will yell NO.

 

[tlouiselle]

Thank you everyone LOL he makes me crack up because he looks to see if I am watching him. Little booger. When I tell him "no" I give him the chance to stop doing whatever he is going. He catches on quickly with that. He usually stops right away. If he goes back to going it or doesn't stop I say "no" again, pick him up, say "time out" and take him to his cage. Now when I say "time out" he tries to run LOL. Since I have been following through with his time outs he is more likely to stop than keep going like he was before.

I have no doubt that he will catch on. They are such smart little critters. I just wanted to make sure I am doing it the right way

Thanks for reading my "venting" post LOL. I wrote it right after he chewed up the wall

...and I would like to add the Stewie the little devil has been a perfect prince today ...I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

 

[BillsBirds]

We all have these stories. Just ask "Shredded Oak Aviary". It takes a while, but, they learn. You must remember, that this is what they do. Their natural instincts tell them to chew wood & other things. We have to redirect that behavior. You're doing fine!