Need advice on seemingly weird behavior.

[vdrandom]

Hello. It's been a while.

We got our little (4 to 5 months old) Ovsyanka (which in Russian means Porridge) a few weeks ago and he's been a very sweet bird. That aside, sometimes when we take him out of his cage for some socialization and games, he behaves like that:

Raises his feathers and starts chirping, quite loudly. He flaps his wings as if he was asking to be fed, but doesn't shake his head when you touch his beak. He also freezes for a bit and slowly lowers and raises his head, sticks his beak in my wife's cheek.

He's also completely relaxed when he does that (doesn't mind being grabbed with a hand, doesn't mind being laid down on his back). Aside from that he does seem completely normal. Especially when a treat is in sight. So I wouldn't say it is particularly alarming, he doesn't look ill, eats well and is overall is a sweet and playful baby bird.

He does that primarily when he's out of his cage socializing with us, particularly when sitting on my wife. Doesn't do anything like that on my shoulder at all.

Can anyone here please help us figure out what this sort of behavior means? What should we do about it? He screams pretty loudly.

 

[Deleted member 42416]

Hello. It's been a while.

We got our little (4 to 5 months old) Ovsyanka (which in Russian means Porridge) a few weeks ago and he's been a very sweet bird. That aside, sometimes when we take him out of his cage for some socialization and games, he behaves like that:

Raises his feathers and starts chirping, quite loudly. He flaps his wings as if he was asking to be fed, but doesn't shake his head when you touch his beak. He also freezes for a bit and slowly lowers and raises his head, sticks his beak in my wife's cheek.

He's also completely relaxed when he does that (doesn't mind being grabbed with a hand, doesn't mind being laid down on his back). Aside from that he does seem completely normal. Especially when a treat is in sight. So I wouldn't say it is particularly alarming, he doesn't look ill, eats well and is overall is a sweet and playful baby bird.

He does that primarily when he's out of his cage socializing with us, particularly when sitting on my wife. Doesn't do anything like that on my shoulder at all.

Can anyone here please help us figure out what this sort of behavior means? What should we do about it? He screams pretty loudly.

I am curious as to his parentage! He looks like a nanday/jenday hybrid.

He is young and is new to your household. He is exhibiting baby “feed me” behavior which is normal. If he is eating his food well on his own, you may give him affection at this time. If there are any feeding issues and he is not maintaining weight (need an accurate scale), then you can supplement with bird formula in a syringe.

 

[foxgloveparrot]

Welcome back, great to see you again!

He'll likely grow out of this, just normal baby behavior, as Beak-Beak stated.

 

[vdrandom]

Thanks for the replies!

I am curious as to his parentage! He looks like a nanday/jenday hybrid.

He's a black-headed caique.

I am curious as to his parentage! He looks like a nanday/jenday hybrid.

He is young and is new to your household. He is exhibiting baby “feed me” behavior which is normal. If he is eating his food well on his own, you may give him affection at this time. If there are any feeding issues and he is not maintaining weight (need an accurate scale), then you can supplement with bird formula in a syringe.

Thanks for the info. He eats about as much as the breeder said he would, so we aren't particularly worried about his weight. Also, the breeder sent us some videos where he fed him as a chick. There are similarities, but unlike babies that demand to be fed, this one doesn't shake his head when we touch the beak. So we figured it should be something different.

What's weird is that he started behaving like this after a couple of weeks, not right away. Maybe we did something wrong there?

 

[HeatherG]

Maybe ovsyanka has started to bob and beg more because he likes your wife even more now? Or maybe he is feeling more insecure, or hungrier, and for any of those reasons, he is begging more.

My birds have asked for pets and kisses by bobbing, too.

Ovsyanka’s name makes me think of the “three bears” story; and then I wonder if his porridge is too warm, too cold, or just right? Just kidding. My birds put their beak on my cheek or nose when they want to snuggle and are being particularly loving. What a nice baby!