Send in your parrot related question to Dail.
dails@optusnet.com.au
No question too big, too small, or too silly
Ask Dail
Problem need solving?
No question too big, too small, or too silly
About Me
- Dail
- Dail has a wealth of talent and abilty with animals and birds gained over a life time of pet ownership and animal husbandry. Growing up as a child in Africa saw Dail's burgeoning abilty with animals fostered from a from a young age. She has handled, worked with, bred and enjoyed many species of animals and birds her whole adult life. She is also involved with helping people who have problems with their parrots. If you have any questions, problem bird, please contact Dail she would be happy to help.
Can you help? Eccie
Jasmine phoned me as she was worried about her new baby Ollie the Eccie he seemed reluctant to eat.
I followed this conversation with an email :-
I'm glad you called, and you are doing the right thing checking his food intake.
Keep an eye on his weight is the very best way.
I was thinking I'd send you a list of the fruit and veg I have been putting out for him.
Apple, - Sometines Pear
Orange or Mandarin
carrot --grated
Capsicum
peas and corn - frozen
fresh peas or beans
celery
silver beat
soak seed or sprouted seeds
These are weekly standards I make up a container of all of the above once a week
adding one from the list below and serve him the fruit first thing in the morning and if he eats
most then another small bowl after lunch.
I try to introduce something new or different each week
and these are some of them.
paw paw or grapes ( he doesn't seem that keen on grapes)
pomegranate (he LOVES this)
melons
kiwi fruit
tomatoes
anything else I can add to make a change
I don't give up if he shows no interest in one or another as I know a couple of days later he eats them.
He liked biscuits the ones that have that awful pink icing and hundreds and thousands (fairy sprinkles)
Parrot pellets
and nuts and dried fruit
He is silly over pop corn especially the "pretty" ones
Loves things like crunchy type nut clusters--curios---any cereal,
What I do is make up a container with all of the above and when I have tea give him a bowl of this to chew on. it is also his evening snack.
Then there is mixed seed and ( his favorite is sunflower )
and as he needs building up I have no problem with him having I always have this beside the fruit.
Just for special treats and to give a bit of protien I let them have a few
dog biscuits (beef and veg) The dog biscuits I put tin the cereal mix
and a tiny piece of cheese now and then.
I hope all this is of some help. All of the above will be great for your Alex too.
Thank your lucky stars that you only have two to feed
I know it seems a lot but it won't take you long to work out how much will last you a week.
My containers of fresh fruit and veg ar LARGE and many of them and I feel I am forever filling the cereal mix.
but All my birds eat all that list, even our wee bush budgies.
All the best
Dail
Hello Dail,
Ollie is doing really well, eating everything I give him and getting along really well with Billy. They spend alot of time together through out the day and they don't fight anymore. They give each other kisses now, or eat from each others mouths or whatever they are doing.
I am thrilled to read all this, It sure pays to get 'em young so they fit in! I think it may have helped by the fact he had an Alex as a pal in the nest.
Seeing as I bought Ollie quite a large cage I'm acctually considering keeping them both together in it and selling Billy's cage to reduce the amount of cages to clean. What do you think?
Yes I would give it a go, and see how they go, don't sell the second cage until you are happy it is going to work.
They are practically sharing one cage during the day any way as I put them together ontop of Billy's playtop cage and they both go in and out as they please, sharing food and that. It's only night time when he goes back into his own cage for bed. Would it be ok to keep them together or do they still need their own space? If they have two separate food bowls in the cage it should work. I have found Alexes like to sleep on or near their bowl, Eccies will sleep anywhere.
When i'm talking to him he often looks up and squawks at me, he is just talking back and being friendly right? Not telling me to back off or anything?
Yes! he is being friendly, he will start to wonder where the words are coming from, and want to pull more out of your mouth, fairly soon after that he will try saying different words. Don't worry if he doesn't get them quite right, just keep saying them. Be prepared for him to say a lot of things you didn't try to teach him. Kumar my 4 year old is saying some pretty stunning stuff and I KNOW he just picked it up from hearing conversation around him.
He did bite me on the nose quite hard the other day, however I think he was just seeing if that thing poking out of my face was edible, I don't think he bit out of aggression. The poor nose and lips come in for a hard time in his early stages, he can't understand why your "beak" is soft.
Aggression is when the feathers on the back of his neck go up, and he will give definite signals.
Birds always warn when they are about to bite and mean it.
What age should his eyes colour up and what will they look like? Glorious gold with black pupil
I followed this conversation with an email :-
I'm glad you called, and you are doing the right thing checking his food intake.
Keep an eye on his weight is the very best way.
I was thinking I'd send you a list of the fruit and veg I have been putting out for him.
Apple, - Sometines Pear
Orange or Mandarin
carrot --grated
Capsicum
peas and corn - frozen
fresh peas or beans
celery
silver beat
soak seed or sprouted seeds
These are weekly standards I make up a container of all of the above once a week
adding one from the list below and serve him the fruit first thing in the morning and if he eats
most then another small bowl after lunch.
I try to introduce something new or different each week
and these are some of them.
paw paw or grapes ( he doesn't seem that keen on grapes)
pomegranate (he LOVES this)
melons
kiwi fruit
tomatoes
anything else I can add to make a change
I don't give up if he shows no interest in one or another as I know a couple of days later he eats them.
He liked biscuits the ones that have that awful pink icing and hundreds and thousands (fairy sprinkles)
Parrot pellets
and nuts and dried fruit
He is silly over pop corn especially the "pretty" ones
Loves things like crunchy type nut clusters--curios---any cereal,
What I do is make up a container with all of the above and when I have tea give him a bowl of this to chew on. it is also his evening snack.
Then there is mixed seed and ( his favorite is sunflower )
and as he needs building up I have no problem with him having I always have this beside the fruit.
Just for special treats and to give a bit of protien I let them have a few
dog biscuits (beef and veg) The dog biscuits I put tin the cereal mix
and a tiny piece of cheese now and then.
I hope all this is of some help. All of the above will be great for your Alex too.
Thank your lucky stars that you only have two to feed
I know it seems a lot but it won't take you long to work out how much will last you a week.
My containers of fresh fruit and veg ar LARGE and many of them and I feel I am forever filling the cereal mix.
but All my birds eat all that list, even our wee bush budgies.
All the best
Dail
Hello Dail,
Ollie is doing really well, eating everything I give him and getting along really well with Billy. They spend alot of time together through out the day and they don't fight anymore. They give each other kisses now, or eat from each others mouths or whatever they are doing.
I am thrilled to read all this, It sure pays to get 'em young so they fit in! I think it may have helped by the fact he had an Alex as a pal in the nest.
Seeing as I bought Ollie quite a large cage I'm acctually considering keeping them both together in it and selling Billy's cage to reduce the amount of cages to clean. What do you think?
Yes I would give it a go, and see how they go, don't sell the second cage until you are happy it is going to work.
They are practically sharing one cage during the day any way as I put them together ontop of Billy's playtop cage and they both go in and out as they please, sharing food and that. It's only night time when he goes back into his own cage for bed. Would it be ok to keep them together or do they still need their own space? If they have two separate food bowls in the cage it should work. I have found Alexes like to sleep on or near their bowl, Eccies will sleep anywhere.
When i'm talking to him he often looks up and squawks at me, he is just talking back and being friendly right? Not telling me to back off or anything?
Yes! he is being friendly, he will start to wonder where the words are coming from, and want to pull more out of your mouth, fairly soon after that he will try saying different words. Don't worry if he doesn't get them quite right, just keep saying them. Be prepared for him to say a lot of things you didn't try to teach him. Kumar my 4 year old is saying some pretty stunning stuff and I KNOW he just picked it up from hearing conversation around him.
He did bite me on the nose quite hard the other day, however I think he was just seeing if that thing poking out of my face was edible, I don't think he bit out of aggression. The poor nose and lips come in for a hard time in his early stages, he can't understand why your "beak" is soft.
Aggression is when the feathers on the back of his neck go up, and he will give definite signals.
Birds always warn when they are about to bite and mean it.
What age should his eyes colour up and what will they look like? Glorious gold with black pupil
Should I CUT my birds wings?
I was wanting to buy an Alexandrine and am wondering if I should get its wings cut or let him/her keep its wings?
Oh my! this is a tuff question, it all depends how you want your bird to fit into your family life.
There are two schools of thought here.
Of course birds have wings and are designed to fly, but you have to remember that you are asking your bird to be your companion, and in return you will supply all of his wants and needs.
In the wild your bird mainly uses flight to get to and from food and water, find a mate, then nesting and all that entails, then there is the all important escape from danger.
So if you covering all, or most of the above, then flight is not such an important thing.
You can have you and your bird trained to "recall" using positive reinforcement.
First you have to find someone prepared to train you to train your bird.
While this is the most natural way, it has its dangerous side.
You are allowing your bird to interact with the very real dangers that are out there in the wild, and if your bird gets a very real fright, and is perhaps being chased by a territoral or predatary bird "recall " can get somewhat unglued.
In the average home where a bird is set up to live there are very real dangers for a flighted bird. Hot cooking items, ceiling fans, electrical appliances, electrical cords, sources of heavy metal ( zinc, lead, pewter, copper, jewelery) or other pets, (dogs cats and other birds).
If the bird has its wings clipped then it may have a much better quality of life, and is much more likely to be taken out of its cage and enjoy more company.Which it what all companion birds need, perhaps a play gym with lots of toys and food.
It is VERY important to make sure the wing clip is done correctly.
Too little, (or incorrectly cut) can result in in a gust of wind or that powerful shot of adrenaline can take a bird with a clipped wing a fair way! So too can the forgetting to clip the new flights, (all too many birds are lost this way).
HOWEVER it is really cruel to "over clip" what often happens is bird crashing too heavily and can result in muscle dammage, skin splitting, abscesses even fractures.
Too closer cut can damage the birds ability to grow more new feathers, and when new flights try to come through, abscesses are likley.
I personally have all my birds clipped, so they can enjoy so much more freedom. They know I will provide all their needs and I do have a happy flock that, in most cases, are friendly and interactive with each other and with humans.
Oh my! this is a tuff question, it all depends how you want your bird to fit into your family life.
There are two schools of thought here.
Of course birds have wings and are designed to fly, but you have to remember that you are asking your bird to be your companion, and in return you will supply all of his wants and needs.
In the wild your bird mainly uses flight to get to and from food and water, find a mate, then nesting and all that entails, then there is the all important escape from danger.
So if you covering all, or most of the above, then flight is not such an important thing.
You can have you and your bird trained to "recall" using positive reinforcement.
First you have to find someone prepared to train you to train your bird.
While this is the most natural way, it has its dangerous side.
You are allowing your bird to interact with the very real dangers that are out there in the wild, and if your bird gets a very real fright, and is perhaps being chased by a territoral or predatary bird "recall " can get somewhat unglued.
In the average home where a bird is set up to live there are very real dangers for a flighted bird. Hot cooking items, ceiling fans, electrical appliances, electrical cords, sources of heavy metal ( zinc, lead, pewter, copper, jewelery) or other pets, (dogs cats and other birds).
If the bird has its wings clipped then it may have a much better quality of life, and is much more likely to be taken out of its cage and enjoy more company.Which it what all companion birds need, perhaps a play gym with lots of toys and food.
It is VERY important to make sure the wing clip is done correctly.
Too little, (or incorrectly cut) can result in in a gust of wind or that powerful shot of adrenaline can take a bird with a clipped wing a fair way! So too can the forgetting to clip the new flights, (all too many birds are lost this way).
HOWEVER it is really cruel to "over clip" what often happens is bird crashing too heavily and can result in muscle dammage, skin splitting, abscesses even fractures.
Too closer cut can damage the birds ability to grow more new feathers, and when new flights try to come through, abscesses are likley.
I personally have all my birds clipped, so they can enjoy so much more freedom. They know I will provide all their needs and I do have a happy flock that, in most cases, are friendly and interactive with each other and with humans.
Bad Wing Clip
Make sure you get someone who knows what they are doing or something like this can result.
Can you help my Baby Alex is ....
Hello Dail, its Trudy.
We ended up naming the baby Alexandrine Reggie. He is slowly getting used to his new home but I'm just worried about him breaking my necklace and earrings when he is on my shoulder or my ring and bracelet when he is on my hand. Is there any way in stopping that? And also he keeps trying to fly everywhere he's already flown into the wall I don’t want him to keep doing it.
Hi there Trudy,
I am so pleased you emailed as this is what ofetn happens when a new baby is trying to understand his new home.
Reggie is a nice name,
Now as to his thing about your necklace etc. just say *no* clearly gently but firmly, (don't shout or sound too tuff)
and distract him when he tries to grab for your jewelry.
He is no more than a little baby, baby humans grab at neat shiny things too, and it is no different with the birds.
I make sure I wear lots of rings, earrings bracelets as much as possible to get them used to seeing and getting bored with that sort of stuff.
If Reggie was a cockatiel you'd never stop it.
But Alexandrines have a real good brain, so wear cheap stuff while he is learning.
Distract him when he shows interest in your jewelry, offer him a treat so he looses interest.
He needs to have a reason to stay on your hand, at the moment he doesn't know why you want him there,
so again he has learn, treats always, remember the way to a boys heart, ( and he is a little boy ) is through that tummy..
If you make the hand experience interesting and exciting for him then he will want to stay,
take him for a walk around the garden or something, let him chew on lilli pilli berries, or gravillia, or bottle brush.
At the moment all the interesting things you have to offer when he sits on your hand or your shoulder he gets into trouble for,
so he thinks you don't really want him there and this is why he flies off, and to find something to play with or chew.
Try to see things from his point of view, if you do that and read his body language, the two of you will get on really well.
Any more probs, just ask and I'm happy to help.
All the best
Dail
We ended up naming the baby Alexandrine Reggie. He is slowly getting used to his new home but I'm just worried about him breaking my necklace and earrings when he is on my shoulder or my ring and bracelet when he is on my hand. Is there any way in stopping that? And also he keeps trying to fly everywhere he's already flown into the wall I don’t want him to keep doing it.
Hi there Trudy,
I am so pleased you emailed as this is what ofetn happens when a new baby is trying to understand his new home.
Reggie is a nice name,
Now as to his thing about your necklace etc. just say *no* clearly gently but firmly, (don't shout or sound too tuff)
and distract him when he tries to grab for your jewelry.
He is no more than a little baby, baby humans grab at neat shiny things too, and it is no different with the birds.
I make sure I wear lots of rings, earrings bracelets as much as possible to get them used to seeing and getting bored with that sort of stuff.
If Reggie was a cockatiel you'd never stop it.
But Alexandrines have a real good brain, so wear cheap stuff while he is learning.
Distract him when he shows interest in your jewelry, offer him a treat so he looses interest.
He needs to have a reason to stay on your hand, at the moment he doesn't know why you want him there,
so again he has learn, treats always, remember the way to a boys heart, ( and he is a little boy ) is through that tummy..
If you make the hand experience interesting and exciting for him then he will want to stay,
take him for a walk around the garden or something, let him chew on lilli pilli berries, or gravillia, or bottle brush.
At the moment all the interesting things you have to offer when he sits on your hand or your shoulder he gets into trouble for,
so he thinks you don't really want him there and this is why he flies off, and to find something to play with or chew.
Try to see things from his point of view, if you do that and read his body language, the two of you will get on really well.
Any more probs, just ask and I'm happy to help.
All the best
Dail
My green termite
Hi Dail,
I have somehow wound up with an Alexandrine and she is a great talker, I love her to bits, and I'm pretty sure she feels the same about me.
I have one problem with her she won't stop chewing everything, she chews her perches and branches, the plastic bowl was not safe. anything she can get her beak on.
I bought her some of those perspex toys, very exy but she ignors them. What can I do about the chewing?
Any help would be great
Thanks
Sherine
Hello Sherine,
It sounds as though you have a great relationship with your little green lady.
The chewing is right and natural, you need to think the beak is like our nails, they just continue to grow, and in order for her to keep the beak neat and at the best length for her to manage her food then she MUST chew as much as she needs to.
So if you provide her with heaps of sticks, pine cones, safe chewable toys.
I agree with your girl, the perspex toys have been invented as eye candy for humans, who think *how pretty*.
But as they are not chewable they are usless and your bird knows this.
So encourage her to chew all the things you want her to chew and she will leave your more presious stuff alone
Dail
I have somehow wound up with an Alexandrine and she is a great talker, I love her to bits, and I'm pretty sure she feels the same about me.
I have one problem with her she won't stop chewing everything, she chews her perches and branches, the plastic bowl was not safe. anything she can get her beak on.
I bought her some of those perspex toys, very exy but she ignors them. What can I do about the chewing?
Any help would be great
Thanks
Sherine
Hello Sherine,
It sounds as though you have a great relationship with your little green lady.
The chewing is right and natural, you need to think the beak is like our nails, they just continue to grow, and in order for her to keep the beak neat and at the best length for her to manage her food then she MUST chew as much as she needs to.
So if you provide her with heaps of sticks, pine cones, safe chewable toys.
I agree with your girl, the perspex toys have been invented as eye candy for humans, who think *how pretty*.
But as they are not chewable they are usless and your bird knows this.
So encourage her to chew all the things you want her to chew and she will leave your more presious stuff alone
Dail
Ringneck plucking himself
Hi there Dail,
I have a problem with my ringnecks I have a green boy and a blue girl in one avairy and two boys a yellow and a grey boy in our other avairy. We have not long moved into our new home and for quite a while now my green boy has been plucking himself. It is a worry, he looks so awful and seems really unhappy. You live not too far from us, Can you help?
Shana
Hi Shana,
I would like to come and see the birds, and see what we can come up with.
The visit resulted in my suggesting the green (plucked) boy to be removed from the avairy and given a chance to relax, his *wife* being a little more than the poor lad can handle. To take the lady and put her with the other two boys and give them the chance to choose a who would like a strong and demanding wife. set up a new uneaten nestbox, come ans dee my set up and see if there is anything here that make things more interesting for the birds.
three weeks later I followed up with a
*how is everything going?
and got this reply:
Hi Dail,
I think everything is going good.
I have placed the blue girl in with the other two boys yellow and grey, to try and select a new partner. She is still in there. We beleive that the grey boy is going to be the winner as blue girl and grey boy sleep side by side and he has been doing a little mating dance with her (where he is up high with his wings out). I beleive I saw him feeding her, or they could have just been kissing.
We are working on setting up blues old avairy with a new breeding box and placing those two birds (blue and grey) into blues original avairy for breeding season.
I went shopping and brought a huge amount of plastic toys for them. I dont think they have understood what to do with them - however in time i'm sure they will.
Also, I've been given them alot of fruit and vegs - anything think i can think of I give to them and I really think they are liking a more variety then my usual corn, carrot and apple.The green boy has been between living between on our patio and inside and he is starting to get some fluff back!!! Mostly on his wings, and a little around of his belly. I think the belly growth might be too stunded to grow back. However we are seeing less of his bones on his wings. He is getting fruit and vegs daily, plus I have really got him eating mostly pellets and he seems to favour it over seed now.
Also, you said it might take a while to use to sugar - that was wrong. From the moment i gave him his first sugar cane, he now craves it and waits till the next time I give it to him! I would plant it at the bottom of his fruit blow on purpose, however he always knows and pulls everything out to go straight the the sugar cane.
We havent decided if we are going to puthim back into the avairy with the yellow boy (now that blue and grey are going together) just yet.
We are thinking of day trips to see if his habit comes back - however we really beleive now that being with blue started the plucking habit.Yes so everything is looking good - mostly green boy is starting for the first time in over a year to grow feathers back.
Not sure if everything will grow back, but now i can see that he is happy and that makes me happy.
Thank you so much for your advice and help.
You have no idea how much it means to me just to see even one feather grow back on my boy, I will keep you up to date with his progress and hopefully when he grows more feathers back i'll take a picture.
Thank you again.
Shana
P.S Pete and I went to the markets and brought the bird catcher net like yours and it has made it SO MUCH better to catch and move the birds around.
P.P.S My dad has almost finished making the bird to scare away all other birds (he just has to paint it) so hopefully we will stop getting visitors on the avairy.
I have a problem with my ringnecks I have a green boy and a blue girl in one avairy and two boys a yellow and a grey boy in our other avairy. We have not long moved into our new home and for quite a while now my green boy has been plucking himself. It is a worry, he looks so awful and seems really unhappy. You live not too far from us, Can you help?
Shana
Hi Shana,
I would like to come and see the birds, and see what we can come up with.
The visit resulted in my suggesting the green (plucked) boy to be removed from the avairy and given a chance to relax, his *wife* being a little more than the poor lad can handle. To take the lady and put her with the other two boys and give them the chance to choose a who would like a strong and demanding wife. set up a new uneaten nestbox, come ans dee my set up and see if there is anything here that make things more interesting for the birds.
three weeks later I followed up with a
*how is everything going?
and got this reply:
Hi Dail,
I think everything is going good.
I have placed the blue girl in with the other two boys yellow and grey, to try and select a new partner. She is still in there. We beleive that the grey boy is going to be the winner as blue girl and grey boy sleep side by side and he has been doing a little mating dance with her (where he is up high with his wings out). I beleive I saw him feeding her, or they could have just been kissing.
We are working on setting up blues old avairy with a new breeding box and placing those two birds (blue and grey) into blues original avairy for breeding season.
I went shopping and brought a huge amount of plastic toys for them. I dont think they have understood what to do with them - however in time i'm sure they will.
Also, I've been given them alot of fruit and vegs - anything think i can think of I give to them and I really think they are liking a more variety then my usual corn, carrot and apple.The green boy has been between living between on our patio and inside and he is starting to get some fluff back!!! Mostly on his wings, and a little around of his belly. I think the belly growth might be too stunded to grow back. However we are seeing less of his bones on his wings. He is getting fruit and vegs daily, plus I have really got him eating mostly pellets and he seems to favour it over seed now.
Also, you said it might take a while to use to sugar - that was wrong. From the moment i gave him his first sugar cane, he now craves it and waits till the next time I give it to him! I would plant it at the bottom of his fruit blow on purpose, however he always knows and pulls everything out to go straight the the sugar cane.
We havent decided if we are going to puthim back into the avairy with the yellow boy (now that blue and grey are going together) just yet.
We are thinking of day trips to see if his habit comes back - however we really beleive now that being with blue started the plucking habit.Yes so everything is looking good - mostly green boy is starting for the first time in over a year to grow feathers back.
Not sure if everything will grow back, but now i can see that he is happy and that makes me happy.
Thank you so much for your advice and help.
You have no idea how much it means to me just to see even one feather grow back on my boy, I will keep you up to date with his progress and hopefully when he grows more feathers back i'll take a picture.
Thank you again.
Shana
P.S Pete and I went to the markets and brought the bird catcher net like yours and it has made it SO MUCH better to catch and move the birds around.
P.P.S My dad has almost finished making the bird to scare away all other birds (he just has to paint it) so hopefully we will stop getting visitors on the avairy.
Question 2
Hi Dail,
I have an Alexandrine and am so concerned that he is unhappy with me, My Alexandrine will sit on hand/shoulder, but doesn't like to be cuddled/stroked what am I doing wrong? Lesley
Dear Lesley,
I am glad you asked this question, you would be surprised, this is far from the first time I have been asked thisActually all Alexandrines are reluctant to be cuddled or stroked, this is a normal thing this in no way diminishes their love or affection for humans, Alexandrines are one of the most affectionate parrots I know.It is all in the way you read his/her body language, the more you understand your birds form of communication the more loving you bird will be.How old is your Bird?Is it a boy or a girl?How long have you had him/her?Shoulders are a comfortable place for the bird, not always the best place for you to be in control.I have a large number of Alexes and most are working birds, that is they are performers. The rest are breeders, but all are my pets/friends of all only maybe two or three will sit for me to stroke them, I prefer not to because the oil in our hands actually leaches the colour out of the feathers.I would be more than happy to help in any way I can to make sure you and your Alex get the very best from your partnership.
Regards Dail
I have an Alexandrine and am so concerned that he is unhappy with me, My Alexandrine will sit on hand/shoulder, but doesn't like to be cuddled/stroked what am I doing wrong? Lesley
Dear Lesley,
I am glad you asked this question, you would be surprised, this is far from the first time I have been asked thisActually all Alexandrines are reluctant to be cuddled or stroked, this is a normal thing this in no way diminishes their love or affection for humans, Alexandrines are one of the most affectionate parrots I know.It is all in the way you read his/her body language, the more you understand your birds form of communication the more loving you bird will be.How old is your Bird?Is it a boy or a girl?How long have you had him/her?Shoulders are a comfortable place for the bird, not always the best place for you to be in control.I have a large number of Alexes and most are working birds, that is they are performers. The rest are breeders, but all are my pets/friends of all only maybe two or three will sit for me to stroke them, I prefer not to because the oil in our hands actually leaches the colour out of the feathers.I would be more than happy to help in any way I can to make sure you and your Alex get the very best from your partnership.
Regards Dail
Question 1
Hello Dail,
I have a rainbow named Bart - Love him to bits and he is so spoiled - he actually runs the house. He has an outside cage and an inside cage - although he doesn't spend that much time in either as he has run of the house. We also built him a massive adventure playground about 2 metres wide by 1 metre. We change his toys every time we clean the cage.He talks very well saying: Hello Bart, Wanna go outside, Have a bathies have a bath Bart , Quite a few expletivesHoney- our staffy with whom he gets on with very will - they play together and Burt likes to mate with :) funniest thing I have seen - although if Bart's around and I am patting the dog Bart will get aggressive and start to bite. Lately Bart has really been bitting quite hard and getting aggressive and I am getting scared to play with him - I don't know if he can sense that I am scared but it's becoming quite troublesome as I know that he needs the human contact and it upsets me.Are Rainbows territorial - and should I get him away from his area to play with him - about 4 months ago - I could play with him in his territory but now he gets read eyes and will bite with intent. when he does this I try to lock him up - but then when he is like this - getting him into his cage is a nightmare. Is this the right thing to do. Any tips? I love Bart so much and just want to make sure that I am doing the right things with him.Also I was curious he has this thing about poking his tongue out and hissing at the same time with red eyes - Do you know what this means? Is it a good thing or bad thing?Eventually my partner and I will be coming to the sunshine coast for hols - with the possibility of moving there and I hope to visit your parrots paradise.Tanya
Hello Tanya,
This is one lucky Lori. OK as far as I can tell Bart is now a mature bird, and he sees the dog as his mate of choice. It is because of this he sees you as someone who has to be chased away from his mate. This is a real problem, there are two outcomes for this, either he will continue to stay aggressive as long as the breeding season is around, and this comes to an end after Christmas. Then he can revert back to your good buddy. OR he can actually stay as he now is, and that is aggressive towards everyone he sees that might try to come between him and his mate, your dog.Time out can work but if you have to spend ages putting him away and getting bitten at the same time kinda defeats the purpose. Locking him up will do little, all this is hormonal unfortunately. Things would have been a great deal different if he hadn't chosen the dog as his partner. I have not had a great deal to do with Loris, we had one we called Kiwi, and while he was young he was a delight, but once a mature adult, we could not touch him. which unfortunately confined him to his cage, he was buried in toys etc so he did not seem to be put out about it. I was unable to stand the nasty biting. I was one of the unlucky ones Kiwi never returned to the sweetie he once was. But I do know a lady up this way who had the opposite happen and her bird is only impossible during the breeding season sweet the rest of the time. We have to remember the humble Lori, like nearly all Australian Parrots the maximum length of domesticated history is approx 200 years, and you can be more than sure it will be a great deal shorter than that. So it is a simple matter of these birds reverting to their instincts and as you say they are territorial. Their beak is a particularly nasty sharp weapon (unlike the Alexandrine, who when bites it is more like being pinched by pliers, so you can PRETEND it isn't hurting and not react) and they are unbelievably fast. The ultimate is to not react. You can start by using a piece of dowel the thickness of your finger, instead of your hand when telling him to *step up* onto your dowel keep using the dowel making it smaller over time, so it gets back to your finger again. The dowel he can bite and he will see no reaction so he will know it is not getting the response he wants. Remove him from his familiar areas completely, if he has his wings clipped take him outside, and where he has never been before, (don't take the dog) and so he will look to you for comfort and security. Take him to hunt things like Grevillia flowers, so his trip becomes fun too. It is going to take a fair amount of work. Treats only are given when you have him away from his comfort zones and he is being good.The hissy tongue thing It is very normal, they do this to each other, its generally a *I'm the boss thing*.
All the best.
Dail
Hello Dail
Thanks so very much for your speedy reply - to be honest I didn't think that I would receive one but am so grateful that I did. I will definitely try to put your tips into actionThe funny thing with Bart is that we had him before the dog and he chose me as his mate - it's only been in the last 6 Months that he has started mating with Honey - although if he is in the mood he will mate on your hand or socks. But in saying that I think he has definitely chosen Honey as his life partnerI am crossing my fingers like mad that he will not stay like this as I don't think that I could bear to leave him locked up. Many many thanks for your help. I will keep in touch and will be sure to visit when we get to the Sunshine coast. And if things work out with moving up there I will bring Bart along to meet you.
Tanya
I have a rainbow named Bart - Love him to bits and he is so spoiled - he actually runs the house. He has an outside cage and an inside cage - although he doesn't spend that much time in either as he has run of the house. We also built him a massive adventure playground about 2 metres wide by 1 metre. We change his toys every time we clean the cage.He talks very well saying: Hello Bart, Wanna go outside, Have a bathies have a bath Bart , Quite a few expletivesHoney- our staffy with whom he gets on with very will - they play together and Burt likes to mate with :) funniest thing I have seen - although if Bart's around and I am patting the dog Bart will get aggressive and start to bite. Lately Bart has really been bitting quite hard and getting aggressive and I am getting scared to play with him - I don't know if he can sense that I am scared but it's becoming quite troublesome as I know that he needs the human contact and it upsets me.Are Rainbows territorial - and should I get him away from his area to play with him - about 4 months ago - I could play with him in his territory but now he gets read eyes and will bite with intent. when he does this I try to lock him up - but then when he is like this - getting him into his cage is a nightmare. Is this the right thing to do. Any tips? I love Bart so much and just want to make sure that I am doing the right things with him.Also I was curious he has this thing about poking his tongue out and hissing at the same time with red eyes - Do you know what this means? Is it a good thing or bad thing?Eventually my partner and I will be coming to the sunshine coast for hols - with the possibility of moving there and I hope to visit your parrots paradise.Tanya
Hello Tanya,
This is one lucky Lori. OK as far as I can tell Bart is now a mature bird, and he sees the dog as his mate of choice. It is because of this he sees you as someone who has to be chased away from his mate. This is a real problem, there are two outcomes for this, either he will continue to stay aggressive as long as the breeding season is around, and this comes to an end after Christmas. Then he can revert back to your good buddy. OR he can actually stay as he now is, and that is aggressive towards everyone he sees that might try to come between him and his mate, your dog.Time out can work but if you have to spend ages putting him away and getting bitten at the same time kinda defeats the purpose. Locking him up will do little, all this is hormonal unfortunately. Things would have been a great deal different if he hadn't chosen the dog as his partner. I have not had a great deal to do with Loris, we had one we called Kiwi, and while he was young he was a delight, but once a mature adult, we could not touch him. which unfortunately confined him to his cage, he was buried in toys etc so he did not seem to be put out about it. I was unable to stand the nasty biting. I was one of the unlucky ones Kiwi never returned to the sweetie he once was. But I do know a lady up this way who had the opposite happen and her bird is only impossible during the breeding season sweet the rest of the time. We have to remember the humble Lori, like nearly all Australian Parrots the maximum length of domesticated history is approx 200 years, and you can be more than sure it will be a great deal shorter than that. So it is a simple matter of these birds reverting to their instincts and as you say they are territorial. Their beak is a particularly nasty sharp weapon (unlike the Alexandrine, who when bites it is more like being pinched by pliers, so you can PRETEND it isn't hurting and not react) and they are unbelievably fast. The ultimate is to not react. You can start by using a piece of dowel the thickness of your finger, instead of your hand when telling him to *step up* onto your dowel keep using the dowel making it smaller over time, so it gets back to your finger again. The dowel he can bite and he will see no reaction so he will know it is not getting the response he wants. Remove him from his familiar areas completely, if he has his wings clipped take him outside, and where he has never been before, (don't take the dog) and so he will look to you for comfort and security. Take him to hunt things like Grevillia flowers, so his trip becomes fun too. It is going to take a fair amount of work. Treats only are given when you have him away from his comfort zones and he is being good.The hissy tongue thing It is very normal, they do this to each other, its generally a *I'm the boss thing*.
All the best.
Dail
Hello Dail
Thanks so very much for your speedy reply - to be honest I didn't think that I would receive one but am so grateful that I did. I will definitely try to put your tips into actionThe funny thing with Bart is that we had him before the dog and he chose me as his mate - it's only been in the last 6 Months that he has started mating with Honey - although if he is in the mood he will mate on your hand or socks. But in saying that I think he has definitely chosen Honey as his life partnerI am crossing my fingers like mad that he will not stay like this as I don't think that I could bear to leave him locked up. Many many thanks for your help. I will keep in touch and will be sure to visit when we get to the Sunshine coast. And if things work out with moving up there I will bring Bart along to meet you.
Tanya