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Can any of you bird experts tell me what he might be doing or what sort of behavior this is? https://imgur.com/yO37T9C He puts his beak down and sorta 'kicks' with his feet. It's something he started doing a couple months ago, and he doesn't do it all the time. He seems to have fun though, so I don't think it's indicative of stress or anything like that. He does it there, he also does that at the bottom of this favorite laundry basked. He'll climb down to the bottom of it and do it for a while. Is it some sort of nesting behavior? Something to indicate he's horny AF?
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Dec 8, 2019 02:14
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Jose Oquendo posted:Can any of you bird experts tell me what he might be doing or what sort of behavior this is? He is embracing his inner chicken.
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Dec 8, 2019 02:31
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It looks to me like foraging behaviour. He is looking for dirt food, the best kind of food after food that has been pooped on.
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Dec 8, 2019 02:53
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Sounds like you are on to something. Any suggestions for foraging toys for bigger birbs?
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Dec 8, 2019 02:55
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Jose Oquendo posted:Sounds like you are on to something. Any suggestions for foraging toys for bigger birbs? Maybe a box with shredded paper and treats or chew/shreddie toys?
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Dec 8, 2019 04:24
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I'll have to make something. I isn't a fan of foraging toys like boxes that comes with stuff already inside them. I might take a cereal box (he loves them) and put poo poo in them. Maybe that will work.
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Dec 8, 2019 07:03
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Jose Oquendo posted:Can any of you bird experts tell me what he might be doing or what sort of behavior this is? Oh I know that one - if he's like Pookie, he's busily digging an imaginary burrow in an imaginary tree and the kicking is to clear all imaginary wood debris his hard work has created. She has a few places around the house where she likes to do this but she can get really territorial if she's let do it for too long. Years ago we gave her a wooden box to 'encourage' this natural behaviour and she got super angry and hormonal, so I'd be careful of actively encouraging it in ways which actualy mimic a burrow-type situation. edit: on a somewhat related note, I just saw this: https://www.aldi.ie/bamboo-radiator-cat-bed/p/700140313399800 Pookie would probably adore it - she could destroy the bamboo, hide inside the tube and be cosy by the radiator, all at once, but it would almost certainly make her get really nesty  Also, how are your guys getting on with the palm extract? Pookah fucked around with this message at 10:23 on Dec 8, 2019 |
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Dec 8, 2019 09:11
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2e3hxrjYyw https://theladyvictoria.itch.io/toripon A game where you take photos of cute birds doing cute things?
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Dec 8, 2019 14:24
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Captain Log posted:Truck Stop, I’m sorry you’re having a hard time. Before I weigh in, I’ve got some questions. I apologize if you’ve answered these before, but I’m not 100% sure on these. Thanks for the reply! After two hours of nonstop yelling he actually calmed down a bit yesterday and was a joy to hang out with though. Today he yelled throughout breakfast, but is currently pretty chill, plodding around on the floor exploring and looking for millet. - He's about 19 months old, we've had him for about 16. He's not hand reared and he stayed for a while in the sad local pet shop in sort of stressful environments before we got him. - He's not been DNA tested, so we're not entirely sure about gender. He (or she) display a lot of male behavior though, lots of singing, strutting around doing heartwings and showing off to various toys etc. - The only other pets we have is a pair of zebra finches living in a different room, that used to live in the same room as him. He can still hear them from the next room though. We had to move them out as the tiel got very interested in them and insisted on landing on their cage causing finch panic... They might move back in to the living room at some point - His cage is placed next to some bookshelves in the living room. He can more or less keep an eye on the entire room + the hall leading to the other rooms. We put up some covers on the back and sides of his cage, so that he can get some more privacy if he feels like and so that the cage isn't open on all sides. There are two big windows a couple meters away on both side of his cage. View over the whole city + the garden. We've experimented with covering the windows with curtains, to see if it's birds outside or something he's freaking out over. But he doesn't really seem to mind... He barely pays attentions to crows and stuff that regularly fly by. - As my partner is out of a job he basically has had company the entire day for the last 5 months. When we're working it's basically hanging out with him during breakfast and then from 4-5 until he goes to bed at around 8. - We wake him up around 8 and we eat breakfast with him in the weekdays. Weekends is slightly later (this is probably not optimal). He gets his daily pellets in the morning and has access to it the entire day. Cage is covered roughly from 8 to 8. He had a screaming bout about a year ago, but we got that under control fairly fast. I guess the screaming could have been triggered by us moving houses this summer, and there's been some renovations where his cage was moved to our bedroom. But he's had company constantly in this whole period. Apart from that he's been staying in the same place in the living room for several months by now, so I was expecting him to be fairly used to it by now.
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Dec 8, 2019 15:34
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Bird puberty probably? Right around 2 years of age every parrot ever becomes a little hell beast for awhile as they transition out of babyhood and into adulthood.
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Dec 8, 2019 17:28
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P U B E R T Y 
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Dec 8, 2019 17:46
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Hi pals, it's been a while but things are going good! Life is starting to calm down slightly as we finally adjust to being self employed full time and that means we can spend more time with terra! She's taken the change in routine really well, she still yells at us when we leave the house or come home but I think that's just her being a cockatiel. Plans for a baby green cheek conure are on hold until we can be at home more consistently but terra is doing great! Here she is looking cute during my last day off 
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Dec 8, 2019 18:40
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https://twitter.com/maryepworth/status/1203731174394335238
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Dec 8, 2019 20:08
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Okay, as hilarious as that is, does "lifting a foot" really mean that? That's not a thing I've heard of before, and Ozzy does that sometimes. I thought he was mimicking the hand gesture I make when I make soothing noises.
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Dec 8, 2019 22:53
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RoboRodent posted:Okay, as hilarious as that is, does "lifting a foot" really mean that? That's not a thing I've heard of before, and Ozzy does that sometimes. I thought he was mimicking the hand gesture I make when I make soothing noises. On the rare instances that Judah gestured or did something with his foot like that, it always seems to be an asking, if somewhat frustrated asking gesture.
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Dec 8, 2019 22:58
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Dec 9, 2019 00:15
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Well, poo poo. Assuming that carries over to cockatiels (and the rest of it does) I've been missing that cue. Sorry Ozzy, I'll do better.
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Dec 9, 2019 01:17
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Pinto, and to a lesser extent Peanut, will lift up a foot when they're asking to get scooped up.
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Dec 9, 2019 02:29
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Kepler actually does that too! Sometimes he wants to be picked up, sometimes he tells me what he wants with his bird words. "Can you touch?" (Let me do a trick for you so I can have a seed.) "Wanna wadur?" (Give me a bath that lasts a thousand years) "NO bite." (I would like to bite you.)
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Dec 9, 2019 03:59
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Spare-Ohs posted:"NO bite." (I would like to bite you.) Lol that owns. I think Julian is becoming "friends" with one of our cats. He was squawking for attention, then he stopped and started singing happy. I went in to check on him and the cat is sitting in front of his cage watching him, and Julian is climbing on the side facing the cat and singing to him. It's nice that you're making friends, Julian, but I don't think he's interested in you for the right reasons...
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Dec 9, 2019 05:00
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Spare-Ohs posted:"NO bite." (I would like to bite you.)
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Dec 9, 2019 05:42
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Hey Truck Stop Daddy, thanks for the thorough and well put response. Once I'm able to get to my keyboard I'll give my best responses.
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Dec 9, 2019 06:43
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Well, Ozzy is still pathologically afraid of hands, so I doubt he's asking to be picked up. Hell, sometimes he gets so hyper focused on hands that I have to hide my hands behind my back until he calms down. I'll have to figure him out. You know, I really didn't realise how... really thoroughly traumatised he was when I agreed to take him. No regrets, and he's come a real long way, but man, how do you break a bird that badly?
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Dec 9, 2019 07:05
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Truck Stop Daddy posted:Thanks for the reply! After two hours of nonstop yelling he actually calmed down a bit yesterday and was a joy to hang out with though. Today he yelled throughout breakfast, but is currently pretty chill, plodding around on the floor exploring and looking for millet. I think the consensus here is very accurate with "Bird Puberty" but I'll still address this point by point. I've had cockatiels for most of my life spanning decades. They have all ended up being female after we thought they were male.  But, I feel I've gotten pretty good at speaking cockatiel. In my experience, they have two main calls that are loud. Their "flock call" that is basically their way of saying, "Hey! Hey! Hey! Where are you! I'm here! Hey!" Then, they have a slightly higher pitched and shrill version of that call for, "PREDATOR!" Watching that video, it sounds and looks like a flock call. They can do that...A LOT. Also, as other posters have mentioned, around two years old is raging hormonal bird puberty. This can exaggerate all their behaviors because they've never had to deal with the urge to mate before. Whether it's male behavior or trying to sing to a nearby lady, or lady behavior or trying to scream for mates, the end result is "screm." It can also cause cage aggression because they are trying to mark their territory. I'm sure you've seen my posts about Serra laying an egg physically on me three different times. That started at about the 14 month mark and has continued until....now. - Other Pets - If I'm hanging out in my condo with Serra, I can normally be in another room without her screaming her head off. But, if she suddenly hears me talking or sneezing it's time for flock calls until she hears back from me. The finches, with their birdy bird noise, could possible be getting more flock calls out of your parrot. If he thinks, "Birds are close." he will sure as hell call out to them. I understand why you separated them, but maybe you could slowly get the birds used to each other? Keep the cages far apart and only let him out near the finches while supervised? Regardless - Cockatiel hears birds = Cockatiel will flock call. - Gender - I've always had lady tiels, which are apparently more "screm" and less "beautiful tune." But, as I've mentioned, I've been tricked three times. Identifying the gender 100% can sometimes help you identify the behaviors. I primarily ask to figure out if the flock calls could include an element of horny bird. - Windows - It's good that you've given him an ability to hide. For a while (back in the 90's) the common myth was, "Put your bird up against a window! They like it!" That is so unbelievable incorrect. Parrots technically fall into the prey animal category, so anything can suddenly be terrifying. Wandy, my last tiel, was getting terrified by a pigeon that kept sticking it's head into the window pane yards away from her cage. With you in the room, the bird is less likely to get spooked. But windows nearby can make the bird get spooked. I've always tried to keep my birds on an inside wall or in a corner. Potential Predator = Screm. - Too much light makes them think it's breeding season. I've always kept mine on a twelve hour cycle between covered and uncovered, like you do. Plenty of people think less than twelve is better. More than twelve and your bird thinks it's summer and time for mating. Maybe try a ten hour light cycle? I've always found that I don't have to be super silent when they are covered. They rest when their cover is on the cage. Cage Aggression - Is there "trying to draw blood" biting or "open beak and angry squeaks with barely a pinch" biting? Plenty of birds go through a cage aggression phase, but I find the severity of it determines the best way to act. After all that ranting, I still think the best answer is your bird is hormonal. It will probably get better with time, but maybe some slight tweaks here and there could help. Birds can be frustrating, but you'll find that happy medium. You just have to experiment until it clicks, which it sounds like you are doing. P. S. Sometimes, leaving a radio, TV, or music on near their cage can calm them down. Not sure how much ambient noise is going on where you live.
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Dec 9, 2019 09:14
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Captain Log posted:tiel stuff Makes sense that it's the flock call. Right after I wrote out my last post we definitely heard the predator call which is way shriller and louder (only think I've heard it once before, trying to get him into the cage when we first got him). He'd been pretty nice most of the day and was hanging out with me and wanted to have a look out one of the big windows. Nothing to see really as it was completely dark (almost polar night up here at the moment), but he caught sight of his reflection and just went bananas. Shrill screaming and trying to attack his reflection in the window... After he "calmed down" we were back to flock call-o-rama more or less the rest of the day. If it's flock calls he's doing though, is it weird that he mostly does it when we'er IN the room? We've tried to establish a whistle as a flock call and use it when we leave the room and so on, and he sometimes uses that when we're elsewhere in the house There's no easy way for us to do the DNA-sexing as there are no vets with bird experience in the vicinity (he has drawn blood from the local vets already). As he's not really keen on being touched at all, I'm not comfortable trying to pluck a feather sample. It would be traumatic for everyone involved. I've read your posts on eggs and nesting spots (haha) and we've tried to reorganize the cage whenever we spot him getting a bit too horny and weird in a corner. Put up a new toy or something so that it's less suitable as a possible nest. Seems to work to some degree. We've not tried the egg carton solution yet. He generally seems pretty horny. There's a knob on top of the cage that is VERY popular. We cover it every time he's out so we don't have to watch him jerk off for an hour at a time. Yeah, we've been thinking about the finches possibly being part of his flock. I'm fairly certain the first "song" Pippu started doing is a weird imitation of the little song my male finch does. We sort of miss having them in the living room, so we might try to reintroduce them. There's some other positive sides to having them in a different room though, they get extremely aggresive towards eachother whenever they're supposed to sleep. 15 minutes of fighting and chasing before they suddenly settle down next to each other. Very mysterious behaviour, but we've found no solution so far. (I see people online suggest getting more finches as a solution, but I reckon we might just end up having four fighting finches instead of two) He has some cage lighting (non flicker, high CRI 95+, no UV), which he seems to enjoy. He prefer sitting right under it. It's fairly quiet where we live, so we usually leave the radio on when we're out. It's mostly the finches that seem to notice that though haha. Certain radio themes will set off a cascade of finch toots As for the biting it depends. When he lunges at us from the cage the goal seems to be take chunks out of us (he's drawn blood a couple of times), when he's just annoyed it's softer. I guess we'll just try to keep doing what we're doing. We got some earplugs... Thanks again for your reply, super appreciated with some input.
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Dec 9, 2019 11:08
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RoboRodent posted:Okay, as hilarious as that is, does "lifting a foot" really mean that? That's not a thing I've heard of before, and Ozzy does that sometimes. I thought he was mimicking the hand gesture I make when I make soothing noises. There is an original version of that image with slightly more sensible captions for each behavior. The one we are seeing is, uh, slightly revised. I personally think cockatoos are less bitey whitey than people make them out to be when they've been domesticated. Caveat is that you have to respect their boundaries. And I also have no doubt that wild cockies will bite the poo poo out of you
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Dec 9, 2019 14:58
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Captain Log posted:P. S. Sometimes, leaving a radio, TV, or music on near their cage can calm them down. Not sure how much ambient noise is going on where you live. If it's too quiet and you think that may help, I highly recommend this: White Noise Machine - Dreamegg Sound Machine https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VD5GJ1M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_6bM7DbA1GHN39 The room Julian is in is dead silent and we hear that can make birds nervous. He seemed like he was starting to get a bit freaked out when no one was in the room with him, so we picked this up and he loves it. There's a ton of different sounds/songs like water running, crickets chirping, and birds singing. Maybe the birds singing isn't what you need right now for bird puberty, but Julian loves it. He may flock call for a minute or two, but then he'll settle down and start singing all happy (usually in front of his mirror). Maybe other bird sounds + mirror may help? There are also a bunch of tunes which are calm and really help Julian settle. Sometimes he'll sit for hours completely silent and just listen to the music. We also use a lullaby for bed/night time. And now I realize after typing all that we're full-on bird crazies. How the hell did this happen
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Dec 9, 2019 16:07
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MissAndy posted:This weekend we got a Christmas tree, opting for a soft one instead of a prickly variety just incase. Today, I moved Chicken's cage to the living room for some family time. He saw the tree and started talking nonstop for hours, when usually he is silent most of the day. I opened his cage to change his water and he fairly launched himself 15 feet across the room, clipped wings and all. Goodness, Chicken is just the cutest christmas tree ornament!
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Dec 9, 2019 16:51
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He's so full of the christmas spirit, what a good little chicken. Also, I don't know if it matters, but there's an address visible in the first pic.
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Dec 9, 2019 17:00
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Hakarne posted:If it's too quiet and you think that may help, I highly recommend this: It happens swiftly, and with much screm. I think the white noise/radio trick works with most birds because when you go out into the wilderness and sit down, there's a lot of noise. Not just from other birds but from surroundings. Trees rustling in the wind, birds and other animals making small sounds by moving, eating, talking. Bugs, the crunch of a critter walking by, babbling brooks, frogs, etc. When things in the forest go silent it means something is hosed. I know I am blending in while out hunting when birds start happily moving back in to the area. I'm doing even better if they land near me and either scold me for startling them (I didn't do anything! Yet.) or if they come to check out what is happening. Crows seem to be pretty in-tune with what blaze orange means and come to check things out and keep an eye out if they notice me. Thankfully I normally only target large game so birds are always a welcome guest and aren't at risk. RoboRodent posted:Well, Ozzy is still pathologically afraid of hands, so I doubt he's asking to be picked up. Hell, sometimes he gets so hyper focused on hands that I have to hide my hands behind my back until he calms down. I'll have to figure him out. Poor Ozzy. Animals suffer PTSD just like humans do, and it just takes ages for recovery in both cases. Thank you for being so patient for him, as someone with PTSD I wish people would give me the same patience to what triggers me. Is it all hands always? Hands spread apart? Fists? Two fingers specifically? I've found that some birds hate the 'palms open fingers spread apart' but will work with "one or two fingers out". I think our hands just look loving weird to them and it adds to the scare factor.
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Dec 9, 2019 19:02
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Chaosfeather posted:Poor Ozzy. Animals suffer PTSD just like humans do, and it just takes ages for recovery in both cases. Thank you for being so patient for him, as someone with PTSD I wish people would give me the same patience to what triggers me. Hands in general, but cupped hands with the palm facing up seems to be less frightening than anything else. He can step up, but he frequently won't unless it's a situation where he needs to go somewhere that he has a lot of difficulty getting to on his own, like into the travel cage, or to the bathroom for a shower. Sometimes he opts for landing on my head so I can carry him that way, and that works too. I also find it goes better if I give him warning that I'm going to ask him to step up, instead of just doing it. Occasionally I don't have my glasses on and I mistake him for Sera (who I can hold like an ice cream cone and who is begging for me to regurgitate for him this morning, no, I know you see me as your mom but you are a grown up bird stop it) and then I get bitten. My fault, though.
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Dec 9, 2019 19:20
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RoboRodent posted:Hands in general, but cupped hands with the palm facing up seems to be less frightening than anything else. He can step up, but he frequently won't unless it's a situation where he needs to go somewhere that he has a lot of difficulty getting to on his own, like into the travel cage, or to the bathroom for a shower. Sometimes he opts for landing on my head so I can carry him that way, and that works too. I also find it goes better if I give him warning that I'm going to ask him to step up, instead of just doing it. Yeah, sadly I think it's just going to take patience. The warning that you're going to ask him is great. He may not know the words, but he'll get the tone and repetition of you doing that only when you're super serious so I wouldn't take advantage of that just to get him to step up. It's good to have something for if you really need to move him, or heaven forbid in an emergency. I also like that he has a method of being carried on his own terms. "Head is furthest from scary hands, so I will use that. Transport me, fuzzy steed." If only he was smart enough to know that if you don't have your glasses on you can't tell who is who, and just move away. Ah well, like you said, not his fault. I imagine a grey might go so far as to take advantage of that information. No weird things on eyes = human can't see very well. Human can't see very well = I can misbehave as long as I am quiet. I can misbehave quietly if human has no weird eye things.
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Dec 10, 2019 00:24
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Chaosfeather posted:Yeah, sadly I think it's just going to take patience. The warning that you're going to ask him is great. He may not know the words, but he'll get the tone and repetition of you doing that only when you're super serious so I wouldn't take advantage of that just to get him to step up. It's good to have something for if you really need to move him, or heaven forbid in an emergency. January is our second anniversary. He's come really, really far. He's a lot more confident, he learned to fly, he's a lot calmer, and yeah I still can't really handle him but he's at least smart enough to understand "in you go" and to work out ways of cooperating with me in ways that mean he doesn't have to step up. When he's feeling really good, there are places he can come sit near me without being on me. It's... maybe unorthodox, but it works for us. Sera's figured out his boundaries too, and how big Ozzy's personal space bubble is, and how to stay out of it, and they're friendly. Lately I've been working on offering him food that I can hold to him at a distance. A millet spray, a thing on a spoon, a long cracker. Or a bit of a tug of war with a shed feather. I offer when he's feeling relaxed and social, and he doesn't always take it, but that's okay, we don't force it. It's a small thing to just encourage him to test his comfort zone, but we proceed at his pace, not mine.
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Dec 10, 2019 01:21
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Earlier today, Serra was scritching herself on my very short goatee. Then she meticulously picked out all the cockatiel fluff that had attached to my facial hair. Birds.
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Dec 10, 2019 03:32
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Chaosfeather posted:Yeah, sadly I think it's just going to take patience. The warning that you're going to ask him is great. He may not know the words, but he'll get the tone and repetition of you doing that only when you're super serious so I wouldn't take advantage of that just to get him to step up. It's good to have something for if you really need to move him, or heaven forbid in an emergency. I am reminded of all the times I screamed impotently at Pookie as she sat in forbidden places and threw things around - always when I was playing guitar hero and could do nothing. Literally the only times she was that much of a brat. She 100% knew that guitar hero = FREEDOM FROM DESTRUCTION INTERRUPTION.
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Dec 10, 2019 09:28
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Serra has learned how to rattled her food bowl’s door when she wants a treat. Which is roughly all day every day. BRB, going to learn how to weld a food bowl’s door shut.
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Dec 10, 2019 11:06
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Crouton and Galbedir are nowhere near smart enough for that. If they are doing mischief and I spot them and go NOOOOO and am advancing on them, it just makes them do mischief harder because they know they have scant seconds remaining before they are put in bird jail or otherwise stopped from doing the mischief.
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Dec 10, 2019 11:08
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Captain Log posted:Serra has learned how to rattled her food bowl’s door when she wants a treat. Which is roughly all day every day. BRB, going to learn how to weld a food bowl’s door shut. I feel your pain
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Dec 10, 2019 16:11
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CROWS EVERYWHERE posted:Crouton and Galbedir are nowhere near smart enough for that. If they are doing mischief and I spot them and go NOOOOO and am advancing on them, it just makes them do mischief harder because they know they have scant seconds remaining before they are put in bird jail or otherwise stopped from doing the mischief. Trevor lives in bird jail lately....the rate he is going he will get a tin cup for Xmas that he can roll across the bars. He has discovered that his bad bumblebee imitations can get him to my desk, and then the window...which he has been happily looking out the window. But, windows have drapes. He has decided that "I AM BIRB AND MUST CLIMB DRAPES". I had to resort to getting the scary broom to get him down. Cricket just sits by me and laughs at him. He has also been tried and convicted of sneaking in Cricket's cage and eating her yummy dry food, (which he has the exact same kind), stealing her toys, and trying to take over her cage. She has not been thrilled and I have had to break up the arguments about him attempting to be a squatter. I am assuming that its the whole "stolen food is better than my own food" thing, but omg he is being such a brat. Needless to say, vet appt tomorrow for well birdie checkups, and they are BOTH getting wings trimmed and toenails done. My husband is threatening to make him a little mugshot number and hat/outfit with stripes, and how to sing "Nobody knows the trouble i seen..." I almost wish he would :P (its truly funny to listen to him saying "Good bird! TREV GOOD BIRD" as I escort him back to his cell....then he sits there "doo doo doo baby trev good trev doo doo" ITS NOT GOING TO WORK MR BIRD)
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Dec 10, 2019 20:34
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I love Trevor the terrorist so much e: Trevor the terrible? StrixNebulosa fucked around with this message at 20:49 on Dec 10, 2019 |
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Dec 10, 2019 20:46
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