LucidValvo
New member
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.
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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