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Post by siobhan on May 23, 2017 10:05:14 GMT -5
Jade is approaching her 13th birthday in June. Before she came to us in January 2009, she'd been locked up and, we assume, mostly ignored for a while. So we couldn't handle her and still can't, really, in spite of great effort. We've had to make do with verbal interaction. Every so often we have a spell of progress, always at her instigation, and lately she's been flying over to sit on my shoulder or knee. This morning, she was eager to interact and flew first to my shoulder, where she chomped the crap outta me, then hopped onto my arm and left a giant welt and bruise. She always has to bite something when she gets a little excited. On the one hand, I don't want to discourage her if she wants to sit on me after all this time. On the other, I don't want to get the stuffing chomped out of me, either. I sense she's working up to sitting on my hand like Clyde does. But ouch.
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Post by easttex on May 23, 2017 11:27:22 GMT -5
Sometimes love hurts, am I right?
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Post by siobhan on May 23, 2017 12:02:58 GMT -5
Really. LOL However, she was bobbing and flapping her wings exactly like a baby Quaker does and it occurred to me, too late, that perhaps we can reset her brain. She has always bobbed her head, but adding the wings to it is new. That baby behavior in response to me could mean that if I try hand-feeding her (treats, not baby food!) more often, it's possible we could start the bonding process from scratch and maybe turn her back into the tame baby parrot she once was. Her first family handled her and she was well-loved until something made them stop. I suspect she bit their kid and maybe it was a face bite, because one of the things she says, in a little girl's voice, is "kiss kiss." It could be that the little girl tried to kiss her when she wasn't in the mood, she chomped the kid's face, and that was the end of getting out of her cage and getting handled. It's only a theory, but it would explain a lot. It may not work, but it could. She has always been a perfect lady about taking treats from my hand and doesn't chomp, and says "thank you." Clyde is crazy jealous and I don't want him attacking me, either, so it's going to be a delicate balance between encouraging Jade and not upsetting Clyde. Still, she's made giant leaps lately, far bigger than she ever has before, and it's lasted longer.
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Post by julianna on May 23, 2017 13:42:02 GMT -5
I think you are on the right track but how does one reset the brain? I found when Oscar was biting me in the beginning it was because something that I was doing that he did not like. Maybe my red shirt or maybe the cup in my hand... it took me a while to figure what eat bite was for but with the process of elimination I soon found his likes and dislikes... what makes him bite me. Jealousy is a big one even today. My husband cannot get too close to me or I get bit... not fair... Oscar should bite him not me... lol. Overall I think Jade is making great strides.
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Post by siobhan on May 24, 2017 11:13:06 GMT -5
Last night I worked super late (10 p.m.) so instead of just putting them to bed as I would normally on a late night, I took my cold supper in there and ate with them, and picked out bits of corn and potato to hand to Jade and Clyde in turns. The tiels desperately wanted some, too, until they saw it and for some reason they decided it was scary and flew away. LOL But this morning, when I went in to open curtains and say good morning (and goodbye, because I had to go right back to work again), Jade very gently preened my hair and was well-behaved, as opposed to the chomp Mommy's arm and shoulder mood of yesterday.
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Post by biteybird on May 25, 2017 3:11:08 GMT -5
It's weird how they're Jekyll one day and Hyde the next...  |
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