Quaker behaviour since our baby was born.

zoew310
Hatchling

Posts: 1

Quaker behaviour since our baby was born. Apr 4, 2018 4:35:43 GMT -5

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Post by zoew310 on Apr 4, 2018 4:35:43 GMT -5

Hi everyone,

We have had our Quaker (Bailey) for over 2 years and is a much loved part of our family. I had a baby 8 months ago and since then there have been a lot of changes and our Quaker and us are having great difficulties getting things balanced.

Before baby - Husband and I both worked full time 5 days a week which meant that during the day Bailey had the lounge to himself to "practice his noises" and peace and quiet. Once we were home Bailey would spend most of his time with my husband and myself (mainly husband).

Since baby - Myself and baby are at home most of the time and spend majority of this time in the same room as Bailey. Bailey is not out of his cage as much as he used to be, this is because my baby requires my attention most of the day and because Bailey if on me will try to bite the baby's hands / head. It is difficult to establish a routine with Bailey as our day is so unpredictable as my baby is not in a routine as yet.

Behaviour During the day (just me and baby at home) - Bailey will sqwark every time I leave the room, or sometimes move in the direction to the door. He will sqwark when i sing / play with the baby. He will also sqwark for no apparent reason when it is quiet. It is a very loud constant sqwark.

Behaviour of an evening - Bailey will sqwark if my husband goes out of the room (not when I leave).

Diet - He has a seed mix with fruit but he only eats the sunflower seeds. He won't really eat any fruit or veg.

We do not have a house big enough for him to spend time in his large cage with all of his toys etc in a separate room to us. We do have a small cage which he does go into at times (if we have visitors he will sqwark the whole time) but he isn't overly happy in this cage and is not suitable for him to be in for long periods (he won't eat or drink in it).

We have been advised to change his food, give a balancing hormone treatment and provide a routine for him. We have been doing this for over 10 days now with no difference. The food is being introduced gradually so he is still only eating the sunflower seeds at the moment.

I am after any advice that you can give me. I do not want to re-home him as we love him to pieces (not so much at the moment

) but I want to do what is best for him. He obviously is not happy and I just don't know what else to do for him.

Thank you for reading and I look forward to your advice.

dinucci
Guest

Quaker behaviour since our baby was born. Apr 4, 2018 6:46:26 GMT -5 via mobile biteybird and julianna like this

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Post by dinucci on Apr 4, 2018 6:46:26 GMT -5

Hey zoew ! Must be a hard thing to do,balancing baby time and bird time..Ive never done it as I am older and kids have left the barn. Sounds like there's a lot of attention competition going on for baily. Something new in his environment!
But in thinking about that,one thing I have noticed is that I can change my bird ,buddy,attention by offering something new. Not so much toys,but different setups. When we first got him after he was weaned,the first couple months he would scream for attention even tho he was getting plenty and had plenty of toys. He's spoiled..also,he came clipped..don't know if baily is clipped but I think it would be a good idea and may keep him closer to home..I got him a sisal rope I hung from the ceiling down to his play gym. Next I got a chain and strung it along the width of the playgym and his cages,playtops with another ceiling hook. It sags down just a but from the ceiling.
To this I tie toys too. He spends a lot of time up there to this day almost a year later,and since he didn't fly much,it was good exercise for him using his wings to keep balance. Altho it took him 2 weeks to go up on his own,being weary,he stopped screaming and could play by himself for hours without being demanding of me. He has bells,soft rope and foam like toys he loves to shred. I pickup a lot of small beads ect off the floor,so may be something to watch out for with a baby that crawls about. Using distraction to change behavior is a useful thing with these guys..also with spring in the air,the mating activity is picking up here. I removed anything that can potentially be used to make a nest and it's helped to some degree. ( straws,kleenex,loose ropes ect)
As far as food choices go, buddy has a foraging rock on his playgym..I chop fresh veggies hard boiled eggs and such and leave it there for the early part of the day. In the diet and health section, theres a lot of ideas to use to change up his food.
Baily is just being jealous of time spent with the baby,kind of like a dog would behave as well. Hope this helps ya out a bit..if I think of something later,I'll add it,but my " baby" is stirring for breakfast !
Cheers !

julianna
Top Bird/Chief Slave

Posts: 1,727

Quaker behaviour since our baby was born. Apr 16, 2018 14:06:25 GMT -5

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Post by julianna on Apr 16, 2018 14:06:25 GMT -5

Hello zoew... It is pretty obvious that you want to keep your Quaker but you also want your Baby safe. You need to start training your Quaker immediately. These birds are very intelligent and can learn what they can touch and what they cannot touch. If I say to my Quaker.. That is Mine... he knows not to touch it.

I would spend at least 1/2 hour per day allowing your Quaker out while you hold your baby and begin training. You can use all kinds of signals.. like waving a finger or finding the right words to keep him away from the baby. A shriek would be good as well... because they shriek when there is sign of danger... so perhaps you can shriek if he gets too close to the Baby.

My Quaker has his wings trimmed as well and he is very easy to control. But just because he is trimmed does not mean he cannot fly. He could if he had to but not long distances. Something to consider.

Good luck... and congratulations on the new baby.