Duncan won't stay off of me; manic to be on me every second

gbird
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Duncan won't stay off of me; manic to be on me every second Jan 18, 2018 13:37:27 GMT -5

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Post by gbird on Jan 18, 2018 13:37:27 GMT -5

I've had Duncan for 5 years... got him at age 3 from a rescue. He is a free bird as I don't believe in cutting their wings but he sleeps in his cage at night, as well as goes in his cage incrementally, either when we leave the house with the dog in the house, or when I'm on a meeting, or we have a visitor. I'm his pet for sure, and he's always ridden on my shoulder, plucked my face, ears, fingernails, just like every other bird!

Seven months ago I started working from home, so he is able to spend much more time with me. He has always wanted to be on me all the time, but when I would toss him off he would fly downstairs and chill on his window perch or his cage top.

The problem is, as of Monday this week, he has an absolute fit when I toss him out of my office, OR when I am anywhere in the house and I toss him off of me - he wont' stay off me - he won't just chill on his perch, or on top of his cage like he always has - he flys at me over and over and over again no matter how many times I toss him off. After a while I put him in his cage, and he will squack incessantly for 2 hours.

Nothing in our house has changed - no change to his perches or cage, or to my availability/schedule, or to who lives in our house either people or pets. I cannot figure out what the heck has happened, but he is driving me crazy! Because of this, these last 3 days I'm letting him sit on me less and less, putting him in his cage more and more, but it doesn't seem to be doing anything!

easttex
Top Bird/Chief Slave

Posts: 2,410

Duncan won't stay off of me; manic to be on me every second Jan 19, 2018 6:05:10 GMT -5 biteybird and julianna like this

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Post by easttex on Jan 19, 2018 6:05:10 GMT -5

I don't know what part of the world you're in, but here in the US, birds are already gearing up for breeding season. It's still winter, but the days are getting longer, which is a key signal to them. That might be affecting Duncan. If you don't already, give him a good 12 hours of darkness every day, to help minimize his awareness of day length.

You can also start training him to spend more time in other places. If he has a play stand or other out of cage perch, start rewarding him for spending time there. (Training him to take station might be a necessary first step.) Do your best to ignore him when he's on you, but make it a big positive deal when he perches somewhere else. If you haven't done much training with him, I'd suggest you research Force-Free Animal Training techniques by Barbara Heidenreich. It can take time and a lot of patience, especially if his behavior right now is hormone-driven, but training with positive reinforcement can be a lot of fun for the bird, and is a good way for you to interact with him without encouraging the Velcro bird syndrome.

Quaker Peppy (RIP my sweet pea), CAG Allie, dogs Wanda and Bonnie, feral kitties Cleo and Antoinette, mice Charlotte and Emily, née Jake and Elwood

thorolf
Hatchling

Posts: 22

Duncan won't stay off of me; manic to be on me every second Jan 29, 2018 9:28:53 GMT -5 biteybird likes this

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Post by thorolf on Jan 29, 2018 9:28:53 GMT -5

Easttex gave you some good advice. As long as he is not attacking you I would say that Duncan is overdue for some training. This time of year is difficult for our fids because of the changing of the daylight hours, but its just something that we need to learn to live with if we want to be owned by a bird ! You might try finding some new treats that would impress Duncan and cause him to seek out! Fruit juice is a good try, with apple and mango being Beowulf's favorites. You might also find pomegranates in the grocery stores, which can be a favorite as well and a novelty, since pomegranates are not available all year long. Be prepared for special considerations if you try Pomegranates though. If Duncan likes the fruit you will find that it occurs in small seeds wrapped in a small scarlet bag of delicious juice. These small bags, however will squirt juice when Duncan bites them, meaning that your shoulder or chest will look like you have been shot by a machinegun ! You also may find that Duncan will turn up his beak at the tiny fruits, but will adore the remaining seeds. In that case you will be required to eat the juicy fruit from around the seeds while setting the tiny white seeds aside to dry for Duncan's later attention. Here is hoping that you will see Duncan soon turning back to his usual loving self. :-)