I feel really bad

[Rico_Tiel]

Rico and I were playing round and I was wiggling my fingers at him while he was chewing on my phone case and I accidentally got him with my finger when he looked up. He was more confused than anything but I felt really bad. I didn’t mean to do it but he didn’t really seem to care after a few seconds of biting my hand. Then he got scritches for a bit and then flew away to his cage after getting scared by a down feather floating around.

 

[zERo]

Rico and I were playing round and I was wiggling my fingers at him while he was chewing on my phone case and I accidentally got him with my finger when he looked up. He was more confused than anything but I felt really bad. I didn’t mean to do it but he didn’t really seem to care after a few seconds of biting my hand. Then he got scritches for a bit and then flew away to his cage after getting scared by a down feather floating around.

At least it seems like he forgave you! I feel bad when I scare or spook a bird accidentally but it can’t really be 100% prevented.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Rico and I were playing round and I was wiggling my fingers at him while he was chewing on my phone case and I accidentally got him with my finger when he looked up. He was more confused than anything but I felt really bad. I didn’t mean to do it but he didn’t really seem to care after a few seconds of biting my hand. Then he got scritches for a bit and then flew away to his cage after getting scared by a down feather floating around.

Fortunately our birds are pretty forgiving. I think we've all accidentally poked them in the face and felt pretty lousy for it. Many years ago I accidentally knocked my cockatiel Charlie's cage over and his beautiful long tail got trapped and his whole tail got yanked out! He screamed for about two minutes as blood dripped off his bird-butt but I cried for days! I was so upset I rushed him to an emergency 24 hour animal hospital that saw birds thank God and paid a small fortune to have him hospitalized for a week. He was FINE! By the time I picked him up he had countless pinfeathers growing out of his bird-butt and had charmed all the vet hospital staff with his cheerful singing! I just couldn't bear to look at him with no tail knowing it was my fault. I was also taking my first semester law school final exams that week which made the whole situation so much more stressful, to me at least. Charlie forgave me so fast it taught me a big lesson in how innocent and loving our beloved birds and other companion animals really are!

 

[Rico_Tiel]

At least it seems like he forgave you! I feel bad when I scare or spook a bird accidentally but it can’t really be 100% prevented.

I suppose you are right. Rico isn’t an unforgiving bird but he definitely lets me know when he’s mad at me. He was back to playing on the floor and trying to chew on the Alexa cord like 5 mins later.

 

[zERo]

I suppose you are right. Rico isn’t an unforgiving bird but he definitely lets me know when he’s mad at me. He was back to playing on the floor and trying to chew on the Alexa cord like 5 mins later.

Sounds all good! Lol! Back to causing trouble?

 

[Rico_Tiel]

Fortunately our birds are pretty forgiving. I think we've all accidentally poked them in the face and felt pretty lousy for it. Many years ago I accidentally knocked my cockatiel Charlie's cage over and his beautiful long tail got trapped and his whole tail got yanked out! He screamed for about two minutes as blood dripped off his bird-butt but I cried for days! I was so upset I rushed him to an emergency 24 hour animal hospital that saw birds thank God and paid a small fortune to have him hospitalized for a week. He was FINE! By the time I picked him up he had countless pinfeathers growing out of his bird-butt and had charmed all the vet hospital staff with his cheerful singing! I just couldn't bear to look at him with no tail knowing it was my fault. I was also taking my first semester law school final exams that week which made the whole situation so much more stressful, to me at least. Charlie forgave me so fast it taught me a big lesson in how innocent and loving our beloved birds and other companion animals really are!

Oh my! Poor cockatiel! I would die internally if I did that to rico. I’m so glad your little tiel was just fine! Despite the quail look, the bleeding flesh round the pygos, the cage toppling over, and the vet. And I’m super glad your tiel forgave you. Birds and animals really are super innocent. It’s adorable!

 

[Rico_Tiel]

Sounds all good! Lol! Back to causing trouble?

Oh for sure! He tried taking my favorite windchime down by chewing the string. He also tried landing on my dog’s face again which he knows is a big no no. She’s small and could never hurt a fly but he knows it’s against the rules to land on secret.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I suppose you are right. Rico isn’t an unforgiving bird but he definitely lets me know when he’s mad at me. He was back to playing on the floor and trying to chew on the Alexa cord like 5 mins later.

My experience having had a cockatiel is that they are such nice birds. My Charlie was at least partially hand fed when I got him when he was about two months old. He never gave me any trouble at all. He never bit me or anyone else, wasn't afraid of anything or anyone, and seemed to get sheer pleasure out of whistling tunes and exploring the room. He didn't even fight with my budgie when they had to share a cage for a couple months after my house in Malibu burned in a fire back in '94. I'm sure not all cockatiels are as easy as Charlie was. Maybe it's because he was handfed for a few weeks before weaning. I don't know, but if someone asked me what kind of parrot makes a great pet bird for someone who isn't very experienced I would even recommend a cockatiel over a budgie, even though I love budgies, too. I would NOT recommend a cockatoo. I had a Goffin's for a few years and that experience convinced me that only the most committed experienced bird keepers should keep cockatoos as pets.

 

[Rico_Tiel]

My experience having had a cockatiel is that they are such nice birds. My Charlie was at least partially hand fed when I got him when he was about two months old. He never gave me any trouble at all. He never bit me or anyone else, wasn't afraid of anything or anyone, and seemed to get sheer pleasure out of whistling tunes and exploring the room. He didn't even fight with my budgie when they had to share a cage for a couple months after my house in Malibu burned in a fire back in '94. I'm sure not all cockatiels are as easy as Charlie was. Maybe it's because he was handfed for a few weeks before weaning. I don't know, but if someone asked me what kind of parrot makes a great pet bird for someone who isn't very experienced I would even recommend a cockatiel over a budgie, even though I love budgies, too. I would NOT recommend a cockatoo. I had a Goffin's for a few years and that experience convinced me that only the most committed experienced bird keepers should keep cockatoos as pets.

I’m so sorry your house burned down! It sounded like Charlie was a great tiel. I would NEVER get a cockatoo. Like, ever. I would love to have a macaw but I don’t think I could handle anything bigger than a severe macaw. And even then severes are handfuls!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I’m so sorry your house burned down! It sounded like Charlie was a great tiel. I would NEVER get a cockatoo. Like, ever. I would love to have a macaw but I don’t think I could handle anything bigger than a severe macaw. And even then severes are handfuls!

It was a horrible experience to lose my home in a wildfire that burned over 300 homes in less than 24 hours but ultimately it's just stuff. My birds were saved and that was all I really cared about.

 

[Rico_Tiel]

It was a horrible experience to lose my home in a wildfire that burned over 300 homes in less than 24 hours but ultimately it's just stuff. My birds were saved and that was all I really cared about.

That sounds so awful! 300 in under 24 hours? That had to be a HUGE fire. I’m glad you and your birds were okay. how were your birds after the evac?

 

[DonnaBudgie]

That sounds so awful! 300 in under 24 hours? That had to be a HUGE fire. I’m glad you and your birds were okay. how were your birds after the evac?

My birds were evacuated by a woman who was doing some work in our house that day. My husband and I were out of town for a few days so we were unable to get anything else out. It was a massive wildfire set by a couple idiots about 5 miles away. High winds blew the flames through the canyons toward a populated area in Malibu where over 300 houses were completely destroyed less than 24 hours after the fire began. She took my birds, a budgie and a cockatiel, in one cage to her home which was in an area not affected directly by the fire. She kept them for a few weeks while we looked for a rental. Two months later a massive earthquake hit southern California and caused at least 30 deaths and major property and infrastructure damage that took years to repair. My birds handled everything fine. We did too because ultimately for us anyway it was just things.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

My birds were evacuated by a woman who was doing some work in our house that day. My husband and I were out of town for a few days so we were unable to get anything else out. It was a massive wildfire set by a couple idiots about 5 miles away. High winds blew the flames through the canyons toward a populated area in Malibu where over 300 houses were completely destroyed less than 24 hours after the fire began. She took my birds, a budgie and a cockatiel, in one cage to her home which was in an area not affected directly by the fire. She kept them for a few weeks while we looked for a rental. Two months later a massive earthquake hit southern California and caused at least 30 deaths and major property and infrastructure damage that took years to repair. My birds handled everything fine. We did too because ultimately for us anyway it was just things.

This is a photo of the cover of a 1994 calendar someone made commemorating what is called the Old Topanga Fire in November 1993. Photo is sideways. It was really that bad. Thanks for asking about it. It was a long time ago but an experience I'll never forget.

 

[texsize]

I smacked my Bingo kind of hard by accident.

My biggest phobia is bees. anything that fly's and stings qualifies as a bee to me. I have been stung twice and both times it was on the head.

So I was walking in the house with Bingo on my shoulder and he bit me HARD on the ear. It was so out of the blue and unexpected all I could think of was a wasp stung me on the ear.
So I slapped at it. But my hand hit Bingo and I realized it wasn't a bee.

Bingo was afraid of my had for a week or two but he did get over it.
Bingo is no longer allowed shoulder privileges except for unusual circumstances.
Like when he is at the vets and needs to feel comforted and safe.

 

[Rico_Tiel]

My birds were evacuated by a woman who was doing some work in our house that day. My husband and I were out of town for a few days so we were unable to get anything else out. It was a massive wildfire set by a couple idiots about 5 miles away. High winds blew the flames through the canyons toward a populated area in Malibu where over 300 houses were completely destroyed less than 24 hours after the fire began. She took my birds, a budgie and a cockatiel, in one cage to her home which was in an area not affected directly by the fire. She kept them for a few weeks while we looked for a rental. Two months later a massive earthquake hit southern California and caused at least 30 deaths and major property and infrastructure damage that took years to repair. My birds handled everything fine. We did too because ultimately for us anyway it was just things.

Oh wow, that is super scary and unfortunate! Thank god for that awesome lady! She saved your precious babies and I hope she was repaid eternally by the universe.

And the earthquake sounds awful! California just sounds like a hot Alaska at this point. 30 fatalities? That is heartbreaking!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I smacked my Bingo kind of hard by accident.

My biggest phobia is bees. anything that fly's and stings qualifies as a bee to me. I have been stung twice and both times it was on the head.

So I was walking in the house with Bingo on my shoulder and he bit me HARD on the ear. It was so out of the blue and unexpected all I could think of was a wasp stung me on the ear.
So I slapped at it. But my hand hit Bingo and I realized it wasn't a bee.

Bingo was afraid of my had for a week or two but he did get over it.
Bingo is no longer allowed shoulder privileges except for unusual circumstances.
Like when he is at the vets and needs to feel comforted and safe.

Why isn't Bingo allowed to sit on your shoulder? Is this recent?

 

[Rico_Tiel]

I smacked my Bingo kind of hard by accident.

My biggest phobia is bees. anything that fly's and stings qualifies as a bee to me. I have been stung twice and both times it was on the head.

So I was walking in the house with Bingo on my shoulder and he bit me HARD on the ear. It was so out of the blue and unexpected all I could think of was a wasp stung me on the ear.
So I slapped at it. But my hand hit Bingo and I realized it wasn't a bee.

Bingo was afraid of my had for a week or two but he did get over it.
Bingo is no longer allowed shoulder privileges except for unusual circumstances.
Like when he is at the vets and needs to feel comforted and safe.

Oh my, that sounds bad! Poor bingo. If I did that to Rico I would sob so much. Sounds like bingo forgave you though.

 

[texsize]

Why isn't Bingo allowed to sit on your shoulder? Is this recent?

Being on the shoulder is a privilege and must be earned through trust.
he has bit me twice on the ear.
At one point I knew he was going to bite and to protect my ear I tilted my head while turning and he nailed me on my scalp.
He was literally hanging from his beak and biting the heck out of my scalp.

I don’t and can’t trust him there anymore and I can’t see his body language to know if I am in trouble.
Also (maybe) because of his illness he can’t/doesn’t grip hard enough to stay on.

feeling insecure at the vet is about the only time I allow it.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Being on the shoulder is a privilege and must be earned through trust.
he has bit me twice on the ear.
At one point I knew he was going to bite and to protect my ear I tilted my head while turning and he nailed me on my scalp.
He was literally hanging from his beak and biting the heck out of my scalp.

I don’t and can’t trust him there anymore and I can’t see his bo

to know if I am in trouble.
Also (maybe) because of his illness he can’t/doesn’t grip hard enough to stay on.

feeling insecure at the vet is about the only time I allow it.

Thanks for the explanation.