Allee
Well-known member
When a new bird joins a flock there is usually a period of unrest until the new bird is accepted. This usually doesn't take too long. Sammy's adjustment period has gone smoothly for the most part. He has a little trouble with boundaries and some confusion over property rights. He's under the impression everyone and everything he sees belongs entirely to him.
Our Quakers and Cockatiel fly loops together daily, it's really fun to watch. They will come out of their cages, one will take off and the other two will join them in the air. The Quakers are acrobats, they aren't above behaving badly for extra attention.
Harry likes to land in my hair and hang upside down by her toenails, she does this for shock value, I usually pretend not to be aware of the birdie dangling near my cheek. When I fail to rescue her, after a few minutes of being ignored she will right herself and sit on my shoulder like a normal bird-until next time. I was truly surprised when Sammy tried the same trick repeatedly.
Harry and Sammy have gotten along really well and seem to enjoy each other's company. The friendship may have taken a few steps in the wrong direction when Sammy highjacked one of Harry's favorite parlor tricks.
Harry was once a very aggressive biter. When she gave up biting she replaced the habit with other behaviors. I pick my battles so I allow Harry to head butt, to swear, to put herself in a time out and slam her cage door. She does all those things when she's angry or in a hostile mood, her favorite though, is to launch an air strike on the offender, usually me. She will fly directly at her target, beak open, shrieking loudly, she will hit once with her feet and fly to a high perch to assess the damage. She saves this trick for special occasions, Harry's a clever girl, she knows just how far to push. Her body language is easy to read, when she fluffs her feathers to appear twice her normal size (still tiny at seven inches tall) it's usually a good time to create a diversion. I won't mention names but I do know of one Amazon that also employs this method to get his point across. I feel for his mom, it's scary enough when a Quaker flies at your face in a fit of fury.
I missed Harry's warning completely, probably because for once I was not the target of her outrage. Sammy was blissfully unaware of the storm brewing in Harry's head and had just landed on top of mine. Harry hit him with all the force she could muster, enough to knock him right off my head. He recovered in the air and landed on a perch across from Harry, they fussed and shrieked at each other until Harry joined Sammy on his perch and initiated a not so friendly bout of beak jousting, at that point I sent them both to neutral corners, in this case, their cages. Sweet Pea was pretty pleased to hang out with me while the Quakers were incarcerated. I think Sammy enjoyed the conflict, he clung to the side of his cage and asked Harry, "Are you Okayyy", to which Harry replied, "Be A Good Boy!"
***I'll add this here rather than start a new thread. I'm constantly amazed by animal emotions. I know animals aren't people and their thought processes are different than our own but.....
We recently lost a flock member, since she passed, Harry calls to her in the early afternoon, the time of day when they normally played together. Harry had a special flock call for her friend, that's the one she uses. She doesn't do it every day, but about once a week now. Needless to say it breaks my heart when she calls to her friend but it also makes me wonder. Personally, I think she is experiencing grief for her friend. I know some would say it's a learned behavior and merely habit in Harry's daily routine. I think it's more.
Our Quakers and Cockatiel fly loops together daily, it's really fun to watch. They will come out of their cages, one will take off and the other two will join them in the air. The Quakers are acrobats, they aren't above behaving badly for extra attention.
Harry likes to land in my hair and hang upside down by her toenails, she does this for shock value, I usually pretend not to be aware of the birdie dangling near my cheek. When I fail to rescue her, after a few minutes of being ignored she will right herself and sit on my shoulder like a normal bird-until next time. I was truly surprised when Sammy tried the same trick repeatedly.
Harry and Sammy have gotten along really well and seem to enjoy each other's company. The friendship may have taken a few steps in the wrong direction when Sammy highjacked one of Harry's favorite parlor tricks.
Harry was once a very aggressive biter. When she gave up biting she replaced the habit with other behaviors. I pick my battles so I allow Harry to head butt, to swear, to put herself in a time out and slam her cage door. She does all those things when she's angry or in a hostile mood, her favorite though, is to launch an air strike on the offender, usually me. She will fly directly at her target, beak open, shrieking loudly, she will hit once with her feet and fly to a high perch to assess the damage. She saves this trick for special occasions, Harry's a clever girl, she knows just how far to push. Her body language is easy to read, when she fluffs her feathers to appear twice her normal size (still tiny at seven inches tall) it's usually a good time to create a diversion. I won't mention names but I do know of one Amazon that also employs this method to get his point across. I feel for his mom, it's scary enough when a Quaker flies at your face in a fit of fury.
I missed Harry's warning completely, probably because for once I was not the target of her outrage. Sammy was blissfully unaware of the storm brewing in Harry's head and had just landed on top of mine. Harry hit him with all the force she could muster, enough to knock him right off my head. He recovered in the air and landed on a perch across from Harry, they fussed and shrieked at each other until Harry joined Sammy on his perch and initiated a not so friendly bout of beak jousting, at that point I sent them both to neutral corners, in this case, their cages. Sweet Pea was pretty pleased to hang out with me while the Quakers were incarcerated. I think Sammy enjoyed the conflict, he clung to the side of his cage and asked Harry, "Are you Okayyy", to which Harry replied, "Be A Good Boy!"
***I'll add this here rather than start a new thread. I'm constantly amazed by animal emotions. I know animals aren't people and their thought processes are different than our own but.....
We recently lost a flock member, since she passed, Harry calls to her in the early afternoon, the time of day when they normally played together. Harry had a special flock call for her friend, that's the one she uses. She doesn't do it every day, but about once a week now. Needless to say it breaks my heart when she calls to her friend but it also makes me wonder. Personally, I think she is experiencing grief for her friend. I know some would say it's a learned behavior and merely habit in Harry's daily routine. I think it's more.
