My Problem Child

[Blancaej]

So I had a very unpleasant morning with Quincy! He has been very combative lately. As many of you know, he has been wandering a lot lately and chewing shoes and laundry baskets. Well he has been getting worse and worse about stepping up for me to go back to his cage. He wants to stay out and play where he is not supposed to be. So much so, I've been using a stick to pick him up when he is in "that mood". He is been biting a lot lately, too! I haven't been able to allow him on my shoulder lately because he is refusing to get down. Because he doesn't want to go back to his cage or perch. He has just been so stubborn. Well today he was great at first. Climbed off his cage and got right on the stick to go back on his cage. Well he flew again and was chewing on the laundry basket AGAIN! He puffed up and refused to get on the perch. Was biting it and just really combative. I got him on and he calmed down. I put him in his carrier to come to work and he started trying to bite my hands while I was carrying him to the car. He never does this! I had him in the car and was talking to him and petting his beak and he bit me really good on my finger. It was bleeding pretty good! Again, like so many times in the past, I was at my witts end and was thinking I was going to give him up! Of course I don't want to do that. And I won't. I was in tears about it all the way to work. But I calmed down and got over it. It just gets really frustrating some days!

There are so many things that could be causing his issues right now. I removed a squeaky fan from his bird area the other day, because I thought maybe he was not sleeping well and that is why he has been so cranky. I thought maybe it was jealousy, but I would think that he would have started this awhile ago, not 4 months after Savannah arrived. This has really been a tough month with him. He has a few new things coming up that I know is not going to help our situation. I am working on a new bird room for the birds and he will be moving into that in a couple of weeks (he's been in the same room for 10 years) and I'm also going to be bringing Coqui home soon.

I am just really going to try to give him his space, make him feel secure and try to get through the changes with him as painlessly as possible. I am also going to start trying to work with the clicker with him more. I have been thinking about building him a trick table and teach him some fun tricks. I've read so many good things about clicker training. I've done a little work with the touch training with the clicker and he responds well to that. So hopefully this will help improve things!

I have had this bad boy for 13 years and I have dealt with many mood swings with him. I've managed to figure out what was bothering him and we've moved on. Unfortunately for both of us, he learned early on that biting is an acceptable way of communicating. I believe it started with his breeder, but I won't get into that right now. I'm sure I've done many things wrong in the past 13 years, but I have certainly tried. And tired I have, I think I've tried about everything to get him to stop biting. If anyone has any suggestions, I am always open to new ideas! Thanks for letting me vent. :)

My Quincy and I will be together to the bitter end, no matter what it takes during these rough patches in the road! :th_biggrin:

[Honesty]

I really feel for you Blanca as I have exactly the same problem with Codie. He goes from being a sweet little Angel to a total Monster. I just never know when he is going to turn and have become very wary of him! I have been subjected to may nasty bites over the last few months :(

When I uncover him in the mornings, I can tell straight away what mood he is going to be in! If he puts his head down, then I know he is in a good mood and wants to be petted. BUT, if he is in a bad mood it is quite scarey. This morning, I uncovered him as normal and opened his cage door to get his fruit bowl out, he fanned his tail out and pinned those eyes and he went in for the kill. If my reactions had not have been so quick in closing the cage door, I dread to think what damage he would have done to me :th_sad7: He then went on to throwing himself at the cage door trying to attack me! I will admit Blanca, I was scared of him this morning :( I just left him alone for an hour and let him get over his tantrum on his own. If you saw him now sitting on his stand like a little Angel, you just would not believe it!

The problem I have is, he will not step onto a stick!! This just makes him even angrier. He attacks the stick, grabs it off me and throws it across the room in temper! Codie is only 2 years old, so I cannot put it down to hormones yet! I often think to myself....If he is like this now, what on earth is he going to be like when he gets hormonal? Thats quite a daunting thought!

I, like you, do not know what the answer is!

[Blancaej]

Wendy - Thanks for sharing your experience with Codie. It really helps to know that others go through the same thing now and then. Sometimes they are just so hard to figure out! But at least we have the forum to get it off our chest and remember why we love them so! You can sometimes read body language until you are blue in the face, but they fake you out and nail you anyway! AAHHHH! All we can do is laugh when it's all over I guess. But some days are harder then others to laugh off.

I don't know if I will ever find the right answer and maybe there isn't one. I just have to deal with it the best I can. We all love him to death, except when Mr. Hyde comes out! :th_biggrin: Sounds like you have your own Mr. Hyde! You know, I really never noticed Quincy any worse when he hit puberty. Maybe because he's been a stinker all of his life! LOL! Hopefully it won't get any worse for you when Codie does go through puberty. I have my fingers crossed for you!

[spiritbird]

I have felt that our companion birds get Birdie Cabin Fever. Tired of being inside, inside house, tired of the same sounds and so on. I wonder if it is the same way in an aviary? Outdoor aviaries would be the best, weather permitting. That is why those nice warm climates are so enjoyed by the Macaws and other wild ones.

[Blancaej]

So I thought about what you said Dianne and that has inspired me to consider a large outside aviary for my fids for next summer. I know the time my guys can go outside is short way up here in Vermont, but it could be something they look forward to every year. I really may try to put something together next spring! So thanks for helping inspire me! :th_biggrin:

I know I titled this thread "My Problem Child", but I mean that in a loving humorous way! I really do love my Quincypoo and didn't want anyone to take that the wrong way. He is doing much better today. He's been rather pleasant actually. We all have our bad days and yesterday was one for the record books for him, but a bad day none the less. They are just like us moody humans! LOL!

[ShellyBorg]

Greys are so much more moody than other birds. Spirit will beg to come out just so he can bite me!

[Blancaej]

Yep! Definitely can relate to that! LOL!

[Pinkbirdy]

One thing I think contributes to this [my opinion anyways].Is before we had all these birds . Max our Grey wasn't on such a schedule [and doing whatever he wanted ]. This made him be more tempermental with us. Like we had given him a "Big Head" and he was going to do only what he felt like. Now that theirs other birds theirs more of a schedule and he is better behaved. I always read my parrots to see if their in the mood to come out [and go from there ]. My Grey has those moments [too] they randomly choose to turn on you with no warning.Tequila I don't mess around he always steps up on a stick to go back to his cage.

[Blancaej]

Thanks Terri! I think you just described Quincy. Sometimes he comes off like a spoiled brat with that "Big Head" syndrome. LOL! We are on a pretty good schedule these days and I always let him come out at certain times. His choice. But he has been really stubborn lately about wandering and not wanting to cooperate, so I'm using a stick when I know he is not going to behave. I don't make him come out either. I know when he's not in the mood! LOL! I guess no matter what with some birds, they are going to bite you when you least expect it. We just soldier on and hope that it doesn't happen very often!

[spiritbird]

I used to be in Vermont every summer as I grew up in a girls camp. The summers had cool mornings and warm mid- days and then back to cool evenings. An outdoor space for them should work. I attended a seminar by a well known avian vet out of northern California. Her birds actually stayed outdoors year round even though it got cold. She had them in a research study to monitor their health vs. her indoor birds. They were all rescued AG. They run blood test on all of them a few times a year and it is turning out the outdoor bird are showing healthier bodies and signs of being more content. Most of the outdoor birds have severe injuries like a missing leg or damaged wing. This project will be well worth your time and energy.

[Blancaej]

Thanks Dianne! That is very encouraging! It will be a great project I can look forward to in the spring! That will give me time to plan as well! ;)

[Mare]

I'm sorry you are having issues with Quincy:(. I have no experience with African Greys but I do know that cooped up birds do not fair as well as ones having more space. Our Sassy girl is being a pistol right now, also. Hers is hormonal, I believe. She LOVES my hubby right now and when I come into the room with them, she will pounce on me, she wants me GONE! When he is not around, she will tolerate me. This isn't an always thing, I've noticed, but it happens aggressively a couple times a year. My husband calls it payback for all the ugly situations he's been subjected to with Amigo.

Blanca, do you think it could be hormonal? Is Quincy more attached to someone else in your home, at times?

[Blancaej]

Mare - Quincy is pretty much attached to me when it comes to us humans. But maybe Savannah is effecting him. I do wonder if it could be hormonal. He seems to have calmed down a bit, so it could be the squeaky fan that I removed from there room. Only time will tell I guess. Quincy is out quite a bit everyday, so I don't think it's from being cooped up. Nothing has changed there. All my birds have very roomy cages, so they have lots of room to roam when I'm not home. He is not one to enjoy being outside either. But I'm hoping in an aviary he will enjoy getting out and get used to it. I've thought about free flight with him, but I would only be able to do it part of the year here in Vermont. So I'm not sure if I want to allow him free flight, then have him cooped up the other half of the year. I guess I will start with an aviary and see how he does with that next spring. We'll see!

[Pinkbirdy]

Mare ,It must be that time for Toos !!! Belly layed an egg and Im ready to hang Pearl :)[first experience with a male Too] .Ill take a hormonal Zon over a Too any day ;)