Quick questions re: rehomed bird

[thermodynamic]

1. While he is still skittish of hands (a nightmare in of itself, especially when tempting with millet treat), he will readily want to eat with me. He has shown a proactive desire to eat Chinese noodles and I won't let him just yet. Are these safe for parrots to eat, albeit in limited quantities?

2. Sometimes he gets loud and growls at toys, shaking them violently. For others he will cuddle them like there's no tomorrow. A bell toy he used as a back scratcher has doubled as a punching bag for his beak, as he clings onto it, shakes, and screams (mid-tone voice). It is disheartening to observe and I suspect it's over the emotional pain he's endured going between homes. What can I do to ease this pain?

It doesn't help that he's not used to me... he will step up, but to coax him onto my hand will be a chore for a while, and a longer chore before he'll let me scritch his neck - if ever, but I will remain an optimist.

I did observe some anger on his part as I removed a rope perch from his gym. It's the rope perch that provides the quickest access to the food dish. Replacing this made him much happier, at least in terms of taking the shortcut to get the food. I'd thought he wasn't hungry because I've spent too much time coaxing him with millet, getting him to figure it out that my hands bring more good things than bad...

He has migrated from the seed diet to the pellet diet very quickly. Maybe too quickly but I won't ever know his full history. Could the rapid diet change be catching up with him? He happily eats but, even with the millet, I suspect he's jonesin' for sunflower seeds... I'll put in a limited quantity, but I want to make him happy and healthy, and given his being dumped by previous owners, it's not going to be the easiest of tasks but I do feel bad when he feels bad, and I don't want him to feel bad.

I am calling the vet tomorrow, to get the blood tests so I can expedite introducing him to my other fids. Maybe seeing them do their somersaults will help him feel better and less alone as well. But I am honored he wants to eat with me, if nothing else, right now.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[thermodynamic]

Here he is in his 'love the toy' mode... a moment ago he stepped down onto the metal bar and then attacked it with that growl noise...

 

[god61021]

sounds like a bird playing to me. but im not as knowledgeable as most folks on here

 

[horsesculpter]

I agree. He is playing. I have read that birds need a "villian" toy to beat up. Certainly our quaker used to take her little jingle cat balls to the woodshed [a little straw tube on the cage bottom] and beat the foo out of them. She also loved them dearly and lovingly tucked them in at night. I miss her. RIP Lulu!

 

[Grenage]

Aizen, our conure, has a villain toy; it's home-made, just a couple of small bell balls suspended from string. He rattles the Hell out of it, and gets even more feisty when it swings around him, or it comes back to attack him.

 

[friedsoup]

Yeah sounds like good olde fashion playtime Bogart has a parrot large rubber ball with a bell in the middle he will grab that and shake the tar out of it but then I find alot of birds like that toy the first one I bought was for a Lilac crowned Zon who would hang from it and ring that bell (funniest thing was when she fell off she would get up look around like "you didn't see that." then get back to plotting that balls demise.

 

[Nana_Avocado]

Most conures like to play violently with homemade or store-bought toys when they migrate to new ones. It isn't unusual for them to screech either when they play. Maybe the lil muffin is just having a great time? If he does start getting mad, research how to stop him from biting. I mostly follow the strategy where a parrot start biting me and I shake them calmly for them to stop or either I distract them with a treat.

 

[SailBoat]

Most conures like to play violently with homemade or store-bought toys when they migrate to new ones. It isn't unusual for them to screech either when they play. Maybe the lil muffin is just having a great time? If he does start getting mad, research how to stop him from biting. I mostly follow the strategy where a parrot start biting me and I shake them calmly for them to stop or either I distract them with a treat.

Thank you, for adding to an older Thread. Very happy that you reading into the past Threads! They are a great source of knowledge.

 

[Anansi]

...If he does start getting mad, research how to stop him from biting. I mostly follow the strategy where a parrot start biting me and I shake them calmly for them to stop or either I distract them with a treat.

When you say "shake them calmly," what exactly do you mean? Personally, I calmly remove the beak from my hand while saying "No" in a stern yet even voice, and do a timeout if the behavior persists. I have also used distraction as well, but never with a treat, as that potentially reinforces the behavior. Instead, I have used a small, bird-safe piece of wood interposed between the beak and my flesh. Almost always did the trick.

 

[MonicaMc]

Going to guess it's the "earthquake" method... which I don't recommend... it may lead to a bird that doesn't trust hands.

If a bird bites, it's a good idea to get them off you, figure out what happened before the bite, during and after. If you can figure out what the trigger is to biting and learn to avoid or redirect it in the future, this can help to prevent many future bites.

If you simply ignore the bites, this could potentially lead to worse bites or even unpredictable bites.. aka those "bites out of nowhere".

 

[GCC_Kiwi_Dad]

We bought our little GCC a Digi-Bird and that has definitely become the villain toy... goes right for and attacks the thing whenever it's in view or makes a peep. Kinda thinking our little Kiwi is an "Only" bird... no competition allowed.

 

[Nana_Avocado]

Oh! for sure! I always like answering about conures and budgies since I mostly have budgies and have one GCC but I try and answer the other ones as well!.