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Post by pidgesmum on Jul 18, 2017 23:45:08 GMT -5
Pidge has become very bitey. Most of it is exploratory but sharp nibbles but he has suddenly flown at tradesmen (there have been a lot of them) and bitten them hard.
I figure I need a respite it is so full on. I am alone at home most of the time and he has all my attention. The cleaning is constant. Not a good housekeeper at the best of times.
I'm trying to imagine what it would be like without him.
When he is good he sits on my shoulder and "chats" to me. He was good for 3 days in a row a week ago. He hasn't hit puberty yet when I believe he will be even more difficult.
I am going to go camping for 3 days at the end of next week and I'm going to put him in a pet minding place for 3 nights. It will be his first time without me. He will be in a "bird room", allowed to fly free twice a day if he can be managed and I can take my own cage so it will be familiar. They promise lots of scratches and talk. I think he may enjoy the busyness of it all.
All my friends, who loved him at the start, now want him in the cage because he loves them to bits and hurts.
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Post by biteybird on Jul 19, 2017 3:16:56 GMT -5
Oh dear. That is a very awkward situation. It's heartbreaking to have to consider giving him up (as, reading between the lines, you might be...). Yes, when they are aggressive it is SO difficult. Bonnie bit me hard only once, really, but after that I found myself flinching whenever she came to land on me. And my hubby has had a lot more bites than me, and some days he didn't want her to come out of the cage at all. I can really see how some birds end up cage-bound due to these problems - and the inability of us humans, even well-intentioned and knowledgeable ones, to turn the situation around. I think you are correct about Pidge perhaps being more difficult when puberty hits. I suppose if we were in this situation with Bonnie we'd consider clipping her wings (even though we would hate the thought of taking flight away from her). At least that way you could prevent people getting targeted and bitten - perhaps better than considering giving up your beloved pet altogether. Sorry if this is unhelpful. I wish I had better ideas for you. Some of the others who are more knowledgeable than me will have some good advice, I'm sure. Please don't give up yet!  |
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Post by pidgesmum on Jul 19, 2017 20:07:00 GMT -5
Thank you for such an empathetic reply. I've never wanted to clip his wings (shudder) but it is perhaps a solution to consider. I wish there was a birdy play school like the puppy play school where I could get some help
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Post by aaron on Jul 19, 2017 22:24:14 GMT -5
Personally, I haven't dealt with a quaker that is so hell bent on biting, so I don't have much advice... Cupcake has gone through bitey phases, but we've managed to turn them all around by immediately caging her when she bites too hard, for 1-2 minutes, typically... But one of the reasons this works is because everybody in the home knows the protocol, and she also tends to be afraid of guests she does not know on the fairly rare occasion that we have them in our apartment, rather than go on the offensive toward them. She has never launched a flying attack, and I would imagine if she did regularly and uncontrollably display such behavior that we would strongly consider a temporary clip, to force a reset, so to speak. Not something we would take lightly at all, as we adore having her fully flighted and it would break our hearts to take that away... But certainly, clipping your little friend temporarily is *much* better than having to give them up... so I would give that a try first. It will give you a more dominant role in the equation, which may provide the context that will give him the needed incentive to learn your rules.
Good luck! Let us know how things go...
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Post by biteybird on Jul 20, 2017 8:00:36 GMT -5
I was also thinking that you could simply limit his out of cage time to a shorter period (say 1 hour per day) and only at times when you don't have visitors. That way he might appreciate the time he has and be on his best behaviour. I don't really have the 'answer', but I guess it could be worth a try. Of course it would also mean less mess for you to clean up! We've found that Bonnie takes her out of cage time for granted if we let her have 'free rein' for hours on end. She inevitably starts nipping/biting after an hour or so...So now she gets 1-1.5 hours per weekday, but not more (as we both work), but she gets a little bit more on weekend days. She seems to be better behaved with that consistent, imposed limit. |
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Post by beccilouise on Jul 24, 2017 14:05:29 GMT -5
Hi Pidgesmum. Sorry to hear you're having such a difficult time. It sounds a little like Pidge thinks he rules the roost and gets a lot of time and attention. I agree with biteybird about limiting his out of cage time. I also found that training sessions with Maya really helped to control her puberty hormones and made her a lot more manageable because she saw me as boss. Instructional interaction can help to temper hormones (it sounds like Pidge may be experiencing some hormones, even if he has not hit puberty yet). Maya has gone through a phase recently of flying at the heads of guests to try to dominate them. We have almost managed to eliminate this by getting guests to let her eat from their hand as soon as they come in through the door. Maya has never been as bitey as it sounds like Pidge is, but she can be difficult when it comes to guests and bitey at times (like when you try to wrestle any kind of bottle from her grip, or when you get the milk bottle out of the fridge. She hates the milk bottle). Maybe Pidge needs out of cage 'sessions', perhaps for an hour at a time, before he goes back in to play by himself. This way, he does not have time to get all riled up and he also is able to play by himself. I cannot stress how much training sessions helped me with Maya. I only did it for about 10 minutes every night, but it really helped, and a properly target-trained bird is much easier to control. Get yourself a clicker and find a treat that Pidge really likes. Start clicker training him and then train him to touch his beak to the end of a chopstick. He is still young so will probably pick it up really quickly and it gives him some reason to be good! Best of luck.
EDIT: Also, are you UK based? If you are, whereabouts? I am UK based too, in the South, and often looking for friends with birdies who I can socialise with. If you're nearby, I'd be up for it if you need to chat or offload!
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Post by pidgesmum on Jul 31, 2017 20:01:52 GMT -5
I put Pidge into "care" for 4 days, while I went camping. I am really going to have to be able to do this. Unfortunately the carer was bitten twice and says that although he is welcome to stay they will not attempt cuddles. He was so excited to see me and ran round and round in circles. He loves the GPS in the car and tries to chat her up. Funnily enough he has tried harder to please me. He said "Scratch" for the first time and "Gimme a kiss" very clearly when I let him out of his box. Today he sat on my shoulder while some background music was playing and he started bobbing up and down to the music which he has never done before. We both laughed hysterically. I have become a fine dramatic actor.
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Post by pidgesmum on Jul 31, 2017 20:02:58 GMT -5
I am considering ringing Bird Rescue to see if there is a foster place he can go if I go away.
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Post by pidgesmum on Aug 11, 2017 22:06:50 GMT -5
Hi Beccilouise
I am in Australia. The Bird Rescue lady was brilliant and gave me lots of support and stuff to read. She also offered to take Pidge if I want to go on holidays. She currently has 16 birds which she rehabilitates and rehomes. Unfortunately I rang the wrong Bird Support and she is a long drive away. Fine for a longer holiday but not for the odd long weekend. I am in a camping group which because most members work, tends to work on 2 nights away. I'll ring the local people and see what they say. They are on facebook and there are a lot of people responding so will see how it is. Not planning anything at the moment. I have to say Pidge has been great since his time in jail. The first word he said was "Scratch" which he hadn't said before and then "Gimme a Kiss". Awww!
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Post by aaron on Aug 11, 2017 23:06:32 GMT -5
Glad to hear you have had some improvement with Pidge!!
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Post by beccilouise on Aug 24, 2017 15:29:13 GMT -5
Having a good, knowledgeable place to leave a birdie when you go away is really important. Even if you don't holiday much, there may be emergencies that you just can't help, so it's a good idea to get this sorted. Pidge sounds like a handful and the more time he spends socialising with other humans, the better for him. I'm glad he seems to be calming down a bit! Keep going, you're doing a great job!
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