Help! Seeking advice for bird situation.

LucidValvo

New member
Jul 4, 2013
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Phoenix, Arizona
Parrots
Cockatiel & Quaker parrot
Dear ParrotForums,

I am seeking help and guidance for my current situation with my birds. A long-winded explanation is kind of neccesary to explain the scope of my dilemma, so please bear with me. I currently own two parrots, a quaker parrot and a cockatiel. My father was a long time bird owner and afficianado, and since I was very young my father had a cockatiel called Trafalgar which he was very close with. I was always fascinated by birds, although by the time I got to appreciate the relationship, my fathers cockatiel was very old and grouchy.

Roughly nine years ago my father bought me a quaker parrot, which I got when he was still weaning. I named him Apollo, after the greek god. For the first three or four years of his life he was not cage bound, at least not while I was home. He sat on my shoulder while I played computer and video games, stole whatever food I was eating, and even slept on my back or pillow at night. He was famous for protecting me when my family came to wake me up, always pacing up and down my back.

When my younger brother got older my father bought him a cockatiel. Both my bird and his bird got along well enough for a couple years until they both got into a fight that left the cockatiel without two of his talons. That fight has haunted me constantly since then, and I feel a great deal of remorse for the cockatiel. I have had them seperated to this day. They both have their own cages and for the first time ever my quaker was reduced to coming out of his cage only during playtime.

My brother never really got attached to the cockatiel, and after a while I became his primary caretaker. The cockatiel was raised by other cockatiels, or that is what I was told, so he is perpetually afraid of hands, which has been an unfortunate source of frustration for me when dealing with him day-to-day.

I moved out of the house a year ago, and for all intents and purposes the cockatiel is mine now. Which is where my current difficulty lies. My quaker parrot is always angry as far as I can tell, he is always very loud, and he can screech constantly when I am not home. He doesn't like anyone besides me, and will 'attack' fly at anyone else if they come too close when outside of his cage.

The cockatiel is extremely shy and evasive. He hates hands, and will hiss at me if my hands come too close. He is very quiet and barely makes a noise, which is very odd for a cocktiel, which I usually thought to be somewhat of a singsong bird. As a result of his fear of hands and the fact that he can be almost impossible to coax out of his cage, he rarely leaves it. I have a dozen or so toys in both of the birds cages, but neither of them seem interested in them. I have tried swapping toys around, and changing their cage layout for their entertainment, but the only constant desire for either of them is attention, which I try to give them. I whistle songs to them, I try to talk to them, which I have always found awkward, and generally try to entertain them from day to day.

Like I've said previously, my quaker parrot is way too close to me, whenever I take him out he is aggresive, nibbles on my fingers or ears, tries to steal my glasses, and he often tries to 'hump' my hand, which I have relentlessly tried to discourage.

I also work a varied schedule, and I share an apartment with a roommate, so I am worried the constant conflicting sleep schedules might be stressing out my birds. I cover them during the night when I am up for long hours in the wee hours of the morning so they can sleep. I also have to cover my quaker parrot constantly when he starts screeching, which has to no end annoyed my roommate. My roommate and my quaker have never gotten along. The first day my roommate met him my bird bit him on the nose, and they've been enemies ever since.

My roommate is a longtime family friend whoes lived with me and my family for almost five or six years, and moved out with me to my current home. My big dilemma is the current situation. My quaker parrot is only interested in yelling or being aggresive, my cockatiel is too shy and hardly comes out. I am also afraid that my cockatiel is getting too fat. I have them both on a pellet based diet, which I occasionally try to supplement with greens or fruit, which they never eat, and the occasional treat of millet, which they go absolutely insane for.

My birds have almost become to much for me. My father passed away awhile back, so they have a great deal of sentimental value to me. I love them both a great deal, I simply wish they were easier to manage and get along with. I have occasionaly considered giving them to another bird lover, in the hopes that they'd be happier and better cared for then I can offer them, but I would be afraid they'd be sad or too distressed to ever leave me. I also don't think I could ever give them up without knowing the bird owner very well, and knowing for absolutely sure that they'd be happy and properly cared for.

Anywho, that's my long winded story. If anyone has any advice, tips, anything, I would greatly appreciate your assistance. As a bird lover, I'd like to make my birds happy and healthy, I don't want them to suffer if I can't step up to the challenge. Thank you.

Postscript; I also am not in a financial situation in which I could afford to visit an avian vet. I also have no idea where to find one, and I have a great deal of distrust for them after the death of a family pet after visitng one. I know many will recommend visiting one, but as I am only making enough to afford my apartment and I do not have a car, visiting a vet would be difficult.
 
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LucidValvo

LucidValvo

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Jul 4, 2013
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Phoenix, Arizona
Parrots
Cockatiel & Quaker parrot
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I also decided to add pictures of my birds; because who can resist showing 'em off?
 
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DallyTsuka

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Mar 19, 2011
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Ontario, Canada
Parrots
Dallas and Tsukasa (Cockatiels)
Mango and Munchlax (Peach Faced Lovebirds)
well, your cockatiel is quiet because she is in fact a female :) females very very rarely whistle songs.


also, i would have more seed in the cockatiels diet. an all pellet diet is unhealthy for cockatiels, they should only have 20-30% of pellets as the diet, the rest being seed and veggies :)


as for the screaming, i will let others chime in on that one, as i do not have quaker experience :) but screaming can be caused by many reasons, and it might take you awhile to figure out what it is.
 
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LucidValvo

LucidValvo

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Jul 4, 2013
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Phoenix, Arizona
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Cockatiel & Quaker parrot
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well, your cockatiel is quiet because she is in fact a female :) females very very rarely whistle songs..

Ah! I didn't know that about female cockatiels. All of my experience with tiels is with males. I knew 'he' was a she when she laid eggs a couple times, but she stopped when I was told that moving things around in her cage would dissuade her from laying, which worked. We didn't know she was a she until then. My brother named her Rommel, after the general. I would have given her a more feminine name now, but I don't know if birds can handle a name change.

As for the diet, I was told by many people that seeds should be absolutely avoided with parrots, and that if they get a taste for seeds, they'd never eat the pellets again. I use ZuPreem AvianEntrees for small birds. They're especially fond of the Harvest Feast mix which comes with pellets and tiny dehydrated fruits and veggies. I was recommended ZuPreem by the breeder who sold me both Apollo and Rommel. The bird store unfortunetly shut down, so I've had to buy all my bird food from PetsMart, which I rather not support considering their treatment of the animals they sell.

Thanks for the tips! I wonder if I should switch to a different diet then. :confused:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Zupreem-Avian-Entrees-Harvest-2-Pound/dp/B0079DYF70/ref=pd_sim_petsupplies_9]Amazon.com: Zupreem Avian Entrees Harvest Feast for Small Bird, 2-Pound: Pet Supplies[/ame]

Above is the food I give my birds.
 

DallyTsuka

New member
Mar 19, 2011
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Ontario, Canada
Parrots
Dallas and Tsukasa (Cockatiels)
Mango and Munchlax (Peach Faced Lovebirds)
ideally, cockatiels should have seeds, pellets, and veggies. mine eat their pellets very well even though they eat their seeds. so its not true that all birds will ignore their pellets if they have seeds.

see, cockatiels and other birds who come from dry desert habitats dont have a naturally rich diet like birds who come from the rainforest. their food does not have high nutrients. but pellets are high nutrient food. so, they're too fortified to be fed in high amounts. particularly protein. too much protein can cause kidney problems later on in life. gout is one disease in particular that you have to worry about.

this is why pellets should only be 20-30% of the diet in cockatiels and lovebirds and budgies and such. their little bodies cant handle all the protein.

 

sodakat

New member
Jul 15, 2009
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First, I'm so very sorry you lost your dad. You must miss him terribly. I can certainly imagine the birds remind you of lots of fun times with him. He sounds like a really special person who would I'm sure be very proud of you and the care you are giving both birds.

I think you are being too hard on yourself. My guess is your roommate/friend is making you feel a bit guilty. That needs to stop. You had your pets before s/he and you moved out together so there were no surprises. It's not like you went out and bought birds the minute you got you own place. S/he knew exactly what to expect.

Regardless, I understand it's hard when you worry that your pets are bugging someone.

Consider that living with you is all they know. They don't mind split sleep schedules or crazy hours --- better that than going to a new home with strangers.

I wonder if you could create a little divided off area where they could be uncaged for a few hours without you having to worry about them. I always tell people about wooden-framed screen doors that run about twenty bucks at home improvement stores. If you hinge a few of them together, then put another couple them on the top, you can create a decent size area. The nice thing about these wooden screen doors is you can attach things to the frame really easily, like perches, branches, ropes, etc.

This forum is a good place to let off steam. People understand and will help you.
 

Kalidasa

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May 8, 2013
1,954
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Michigan
Parrots
1 green cheek conure (Kumar)
2 male budgies (Charlie and Diego)
It's a myth that birds on a pellet diet will reject pellets after tasting seed. Just offer some seed once a day, like the evening, then remove it. They will continue to eat pellets. Hanging out on this forum will give you lots of great tips on diet enrichment, training, behavioral issues, etc.
 
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LucidValvo

LucidValvo

New member
Jul 4, 2013
4
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Phoenix, Arizona
Parrots
Cockatiel & Quaker parrot
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First, I'm so very sorry you lost your dad. You must miss him terribly. I can certainly imagine...

Thank you, and thank you for the advice. I will have to find some way of making room for them to get out more. The main problem is that the apartment is small, and the kitchen/living room/dining room is where the birds are, and my roommate and me agreed not to let the birds into the bedroom. Because of that I have to observe them when outside of the cages, and keep their outside time at thirty minutes or so. I am trying to find a better solution than this, but I am paranoid of them either attacking each other or accidentely being stepped on/injured.

It's a myth that birds on a pellet diet will reject pellets after tasting seed. Just offer some seed once...

I suppose I'll try giving them some non-fatty seeds. I've tried giving them greens or fruit before, but both of them seem entirely uninterested in them. I know they go absolutely bananas for ramen or whatever food I am eating for breakfest/lunch/dinner. I don't want to give them anything that could be bad for them, so I usually give them a little bit of millet before I eat anything so they don't get angry.

Thanks again for all the advice! :D
 

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