HeatherG
Well-known member
- Apr 25, 2020
- 3,893
- 6,966
Today I brought Willow (Quaker) into my room for some petting and bird time while I read. He wouldn’t settle down and kept stretching out like a very tall skinny bowling pin. I asked him what was wrong but he kept flipping his wings and not perching quietly. Can’t recall if he was squawking.
I looked at where he was staring and I saw that my computer cord was dangling as it had not dangled before. I unplugged the computer because it seemed like he was afraid of the cord. When the dangling cord was gone he seemed ok and settled in and relaxed for a nice long head scratch. I figure there must be a generalized “snake” fear way back in their minds.
This Quaker and my previous Quaker seem to be really funny about long cords and cables. As in, unusually scared of them. They also hate the Dustbuster and the vacuum and have other random ‘hates’. I have had to get rid of neat household items because my Quaker is so scared of them and would stare at the item and scream the warning siren scream at it. At times this has been frustrating (like I got an abstract owl lamp on clearance from the fair trade store and I had to sell it on Craigslist because she alarm screamed at it). (That bird was also scared of flies and spiders and would alarm scream and stare until I got rid of the creepy crawly.)
Are there other species of parrots that are so paranoid and “chicken” about things? Or is it just Quakers? My ex husband used to tease my Quaker with these items and I admit that sometimes the fears were quite random and kind of absurd. But I recall being a small child and randomly scared of things so I figure it’s like that and the poor bird shouldn’t have to be around something that scares them.
I looked at where he was staring and I saw that my computer cord was dangling as it had not dangled before. I unplugged the computer because it seemed like he was afraid of the cord. When the dangling cord was gone he seemed ok and settled in and relaxed for a nice long head scratch. I figure there must be a generalized “snake” fear way back in their minds.
This Quaker and my previous Quaker seem to be really funny about long cords and cables. As in, unusually scared of them. They also hate the Dustbuster and the vacuum and have other random ‘hates’. I have had to get rid of neat household items because my Quaker is so scared of them and would stare at the item and scream the warning siren scream at it. At times this has been frustrating (like I got an abstract owl lamp on clearance from the fair trade store and I had to sell it on Craigslist because she alarm screamed at it). (That bird was also scared of flies and spiders and would alarm scream and stare until I got rid of the creepy crawly.)
Are there other species of parrots that are so paranoid and “chicken” about things? Or is it just Quakers? My ex husband used to tease my Quaker with these items and I admit that sometimes the fears were quite random and kind of absurd. But I recall being a small child and randomly scared of things so I figure it’s like that and the poor bird shouldn’t have to be around something that scares them.