Soothe him, or tell him off?

[lorika]

Hey guys!
Need a little advice on this
My beautiful lorikeet (male, 5 months old) gets real jealous and demanding. Sometimes he even starts biting me when I'm talking to someone else. Now in those situations I tell him off and put him back in his cage. But what if he's already there?

Example. I come home from work. He's happy to see me but angry that I left him alone for a couple of hours. I approach his cage all positive, he puffs up his feathers, pins his eyes and makes his angry sound. Sometimes he snaps his beak at my fingers.
Now, do I tell him "no" and walk away, and try again 15 minutes later? Or do I sit with him and talk to him for 5 minutes until he's calmed down, then take him out of his cage? I'm leaning towards option number two, but I fear that might encourage this kind of behavior.

Thanks!

 

[Mimsy01]

Foo also can get tude when she is left alone for any length of time. Personally if I go over and she is doing her big bad bird impression at me and threatening to bite, I walk away.

It has took her a bit of time to figure out nice birdy=time out and lots of attention and bitey angry birdy = stays in cage.

We still have moments, but they are very rare now.

What ever you decide it needs to be consistent, so you don't send any mixed messages.

 

[Dinosrawr]

I agree with Mimsy. I don't fight the cage territoriality, though. Just personal preference. Avery's cage is hers and hers alone... if she doesn't want my fingers in it, I just simply don't place them in there. Shiko doesn't mind, so it's different for him. I let them set the rules for their house, basically, and when they're out of their cage they abide by mine. It's a fair trade imo.

As for being out and being jealous... that's a definite over-bonding issue and I highly recommend you start socializing your lorikeet now with other people. Otherwise you're going to have difficulties down the road, especially during hormones.

 

[lorika]

I agree with Mimsy. I don't fight the cage territoriality, though. Just personal preference. Avery's cage is hers and hers alone... if she doesn't want my fingers in it, I just simply don't place them in there. Shiko doesn't mind, so it's different for him. I let them set the rules for their house, basically, and when they're out of their cage they abide by mine. It's a fair trade imo.

As for being out and being jealous... that's a definite over-bonding issue and I highly recommend you start socializing your lorikeet now with other people. Otherwise you're going to have difficulties down the road, especially during hormones.

Thanks, that's good advice.
How do I socialise him? Do you know somewhere where I can read up on that? I let him play with other people - my boyfriend and guests when they come over, that's never a problem. Should I be taking him outside?

Greets
Stella

 

[Dinosrawr]

Having him handled by other people is key, as well as positive social interactions while you're around.

Here's a few articles on training/socialization by a few parrot people:

http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.ca/2014/01/how-to-train-lorikeet.html?m=1

http://trainedparrot.com/Socialization/

https://jamiesparrothelp.wordpress....cialize-your-bird-without-the-risk-of-biting/

Not all of these approaches will be best for you, of course, nor do you have to agree with them. They just highlight certain steps you may want to consider for socializing your bird. In general, you want your bird to enjoy being around others and not get angry with you for giving your attention elsewhere.

 

[lorika]

Hey!

Thanks for your advice everyone I've been working on socialising him a little more.
He seems totally at ease with other people though :s The other day I had friends over and he just loved to sit on one guy's arm and play with the cup he was holding.

Sometimes I wonder if the breeder made a mistake and mixed the feathers up before sending them to the lab, and Loki's actually a girl. It would explain why he seems to like men better.

Thanks everyone =)

 

[Birdman666]

THAT TITLE REMINDS ME OF MY LAST GIRLFRIEND...

COULDN'T QUITE DECIDE WHICH WAY SHE WAS GONNA GO...

SEEMS TO BE AN ETERNAL RELATIONSHIP QUESTION...

 

[Dinosrawr]

That's excellent! Keep up the good work The more socialized your bird is, the less likely you'll have problems with over bonding and the biting it can result in. Plus you can do so much more and involve them in so many things [emoji4]