Crying baby syndrome...

Pugtato

New member
Sep 16, 2012
123
1
Kentucky
Parrots
Marty-Jardine's Parrot
I have a quick but very serious question about our new baby Jardines, Marty. Since we got back from spending a week at my mothers house before her long vacation to Japan, Marty has been insistently crying. He traveled well, and seemed to do fine there, but as soon as we returned home he began crying for attention. It sounds like a "meep meep" or a "Wee Woo" sound, repeated continuously.

I have no idea how to handle his crying. Placing him in his cage leads to him frantically pacing on the floor of his cage or him crying until he gets tired of it. Alone in his cage he is usually quiet as a mouse. Allowing him out of his cage is even worse, it leads to him crying nonstop for the entire duration he is out. I can't have him on my Java stand perch in my study and still be able to do work, study, and be productive. He enjoys being on my shoulder but has been displaying some aggressive behaviors (a whole new box of issues), including growling and nipping so he is not being allowed to cuddle for the time being. He even whines while he is eating...

Its getting to be a bit ridiculous. How can I handle the poor lad without encouraging the squeaking. I have been letting him walk around the house to burn off some baby energy, but he is still a bit skeptical of the dogs (who could care less that a little green thing is walking around) and will often run to me and beg to be picked up. When Kippy gets ornery, I just fly the poo out of her and make it a game until she is a bit tired and ready to relax. Marty is proving to be much harder to wear out, and I am at a loss of how to handle the noisy turd.

He is also displaying some serious aggressive tendencies. He bites, and he goes for the face. He is territorially aggressive when not in his cage and I am having serious difficulties reestablishing boundaries. We have already put a strict "NO SHOULDER, NO ARMS" policy into effect concerning him, which means it is nearly impossible to hold him for long. He frantically climbs up our clothing trying to get to our shoulders. He has to be forcibly (he refuses to let go with his feet) removed or stopped which results in him growling and biting. I am at a loss with him right now. My fiance and I love the little crapper to bits, but we need some help getting him back on the right path to fid nirvana.

Here is his schedule:

7:30 A.M.- Marty is awakened moments after Kippy
7:45 A.M.- Marty is given breakfast on the table (after Kippy) since he is too stupid/stubborn to find the food bowl in his cage. (This will stop as soon as I am no longer worried about his weight.)
8:00 A.M.- Marty is put back in his cage (upper door open) to relax and digest.
~ Throughout the day depending on my schedule Marty is out and with me anywhere from 3-5 hours a day. This depends mostly on how long he remains a good bird. If he is a insanely loud little monster, he will get only a few hours...which is all I can handle of constant noise. If he is super loud or nasty I will place him in his cage and cover it until he settles down. I will then try to work with him once more. Sometimes this gives us a good day, and sometimes he gets worse. The biggest issue is that removing him from his cage causes him to be noisy in excitement, thereby making it VERY difficult to remove him without encouraging the noise. ~
6:00 P.M.- Marty is fed dinner in his cage.
6:45 P.M.- Marty's cage is closed for the night.
7:30 P.M.- Marty's cage is covered for the night.
 

MeganMango

New member
Oct 13, 2012
522
Media
3
0
Guelph Ontario
Parrots
1 red bellied parrot (Mango), 3 cockatiels (Bugsie, Alfie, and Bananas)
I have a quick but very serious question about our new baby Jardines, Marty. Since we got back from spending a week at my mothers house before her long vacation to Japan, Marty has been insistently crying. He traveled well, and seemed to do fine there, but as soon as we returned home he began crying for attention. It sounds like a "meep meep" or a "Wee Woo" sound, repeated continuously.

I have no idea how to handle his crying. Placing him in his cage leads to him frantically pacing on the floor of his cage or him crying until he gets tired of it. Alone in his cage he is usually quiet as a mouse. Allowing him out of his cage is even worse, it leads to him crying nonstop for the entire duration he is out. I can't have him on my Java stand perch in my study and still be able to do work, study, and be productive. He enjoys being on my shoulder but has been displaying some aggressive behaviors (a whole new box of issues), including growling and nipping so he is not being allowed to cuddle for the time being. He even whines while he is eating...

Its getting to be a bit ridiculous. How can I handle the poor lad without encouraging the squeaking. I have been letting him walk around the house to burn off some baby energy, but he is still a bit skeptical of the dogs (who could care less that a little green thing is walking around) and will often run to me and beg to be picked up. When Kippy gets ornery, I just fly the poo out of her and make it a game until she is a bit tired and ready to relax. Marty is proving to be much harder to wear out, and I am at a loss of how to handle the noisy turd.

He is also displaying some serious aggressive tendencies. He bites, and he goes for the face. He is territorially aggressive when not in his cage and I am having serious difficulties reestablishing boundaries. We have already put a strict "NO SHOULDER, NO ARMS" policy into effect concerning him, which means it is nearly impossible to hold him for long. He frantically climbs up our clothing trying to get to our shoulders. He has to be forcibly (he refuses to let go with his feet) removed or stopped which results in him growling and biting. I am at a loss with him right now. My fiance and I love the little crapper to bits, but we need some help getting him back on the right path to fid nirvana.

Here is his schedule:

7:30 A.M.- Marty is awakened moments after Kippy
7:45 A.M.- Marty is given breakfast on the table (after Kippy) since he is too stupid/stubborn to find the food bowl in his cage. (This will stop as soon as I am no longer worried about his weight.)
8:00 A.M.- Marty is put back in his cage (upper door open) to relax and digest.
~ Throughout the day depending on my schedule Marty is out and with me anywhere from 3-5 hours a day. This depends mostly on how long he remains a good bird. If he is a insanely loud little monster, he will get only a few hours...which is all I can handle of constant noise. If he is super loud or nasty I will place him in his cage and cover it until he settles down. I will then try to work with him once more. Sometimes this gives us a good day, and sometimes he gets worse. The biggest issue is that removing him from his cage causes him to be noisy in excitement, thereby making it VERY difficult to remove him without encouraging the noise. ~
6:00 P.M.- Marty is fed dinner in his cage.
6:45 P.M.- Marty's cage is closed for the night.
7:30 P.M.- Marty's cage is covered for the night.


Mango got really clingy at one point a few weeks after we got him. We tried a few things to help him with independence, but honestly the best thing was letting him be flighted, but that lead to a LOT of drama. We indulged him for a while, came to him when he called and comforted him, but then we got really annoyed and decided to try stop the behavior. He is probably just scared and insecure because he is new to your house. It might stop on its own if you ignore it long enough.
I find keeping him really busy is important. Mango is super smart and gets bored really easy. I had to rotate Mango's toys pretty regularly and add a lot of foraging toys to keep him more busy on his own. I also did a lot of training if he was really being annoying to try to distract him. I also restricted treats for ONLY when he is being quiet. This is frustrating at first because the bird is playing or whatever on his own quietly, and you come over and give a treat, and then they beg for more and you have to ignore it. Im sure once he gets use to routine he will stop being so insecure.
 
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Pugtato

Pugtato

New member
Sep 16, 2012
123
1
Kentucky
Parrots
Marty-Jardine's Parrot
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Mango got really clingy at one point a few weeks after we got him. We tried a few things to help him with independence, but honestly the best thing was letting him be flighted, but that lead to a LOT of drama. We indulged him for a while, came to him when he called and comforted him, but then we got really annoyed and decided to try stop the behavior. He is probably just scared and insecure because he is new to your house. It might stop on its own if you ignore it long enough.
I find keeping him really busy is important. Mango is super smart and gets bored really easy. I had to rotate Mango's toys pretty regularly and add a lot of foraging toys to keep him more busy on his own. I also did a lot of training if he was really being annoying to try to distract him. I also restricted treats for ONLY when he is being quiet. This is frustrating at first because the bird is playing or whatever on his own quietly, and you come over and give a treat, and then they beg for more and you have to ignore it. Im sure once he gets use to routine he will stop being so insecure.


Thank you for replying so quickly, he is slowly driving me nuts with the constant trilling. I've tried everything to hush the boy up and it has not worked. He also begs anytime I move to pet him, which is ridiculous seeing as the lad eats all day long and is picking up weight. He is the new drama king. I'm going to hit the bird store tomorrow and just pack his cage full of stuff, hopefully that will help him entertain himself a bit more.
 

MeganMango

New member
Oct 13, 2012
522
Media
3
0
Guelph Ontario
Parrots
1 red bellied parrot (Mango), 3 cockatiels (Bugsie, Alfie, and Bananas)
[/QUOTE]
Thank you for replying so quickly, he is slowly driving me nuts with the constant trilling. I've tried everything to hush the boy up and it has not worked. He also begs anytime I move to pet him, which is ridiculous seeing as the lad eats all day long and is picking up weight. He is the new drama king. I'm going to hit the bird store tomorrow and just pack his cage full of stuff, hopefully that will help him entertain himself a bit more.[/QUOTE]

Mango did this too, it makes you want to scream at them. One thing I found really fun for them is muffin liners with berries inside. They make a huge mess, but I hide them all over the cage and they have to first find them, and then shred the muffin liners to get at the berries. I also have a ball with small holes in it that I put treats inside, and Mango has to roll it around and pick at it to get the treats. He will do this for hours. It does get better. Once they start talking, they yell at you instead of chirping. Mango says "C'mere" until Im about ready to scream back at him.
 

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