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Post by rickygonzalez on Mar 24, 2015 13:36:23 GMT -5
Hey folks, so, Sonic and I are doing really well. He is not biting as much or as hard. I am thrilled about that. I have been working on him letting me scratch his head, which he lets me do most of the time. The other day I put my hand on his playtop which is where most of the head scratching happens. He ran over put his head in my hand, then he begins to kind of peck at it. He didn't do it hard or aggressively. I tried to scratch him and he made it clear that's not what he wanted. I moved my hand off of the playtop, he again made it very clear thats not what he wanted. What am I missing? I haven't a clue at this point. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you as always guys.
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Post by easttex on Mar 24, 2015 13:57:09 GMT -5
It's hard to say from here, but I will speculate. Maybe he wanted you to pick him up? Sometimes they like motoring around with you doing all the work.  |
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Post by Jan and Shah on Mar 24, 2015 15:33:21 GMT -5
This is when you need a crystal ball. I have the same problem with Shah from time to time. And I get screamed at if I cant figure out what he wants and do the wrong thing - and then we have the famous Shah temper tantrums. However, Easttex is probably right. He might just want to be picked up.
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Post by siobhan on Mar 24, 2015 15:36:00 GMT -5
Or, he just wanted to be contrary. Clyde has moods where he waves his foot at me. I offer my hand and he cusses and bites. So I withdraw my hand and he waves his foot at me. He insists on having a head scratch and chomps me for obeying, and then chomps me for stopping. And on and on it goes.
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Post by rickygonzalez on Mar 24, 2015 15:51:59 GMT -5
Lol, im not the only one... if I ever figure it out I will let you guys know.... time to be Sherlock Holmes I guess. Hope to solve this mystery.
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Post by aaron on Mar 24, 2015 19:36:47 GMT -5
One thing that was a mystery to me for quite a while, although it doesn't necessarily sound like it applies to your scenario-- Cupcake will yell at us if she feels like she isn't getting enough eye contact. She needs to feel that connection. Just glancing isn't enough. She needs us to look her in the eye for a second or two at a time at least. If enough time goes by and we are really busy and not looking her in the eye the right way, even if we are carrying her around with us, we get yelled at. Good luck! They always have a reason, but it might be very "birdly".  |
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Post by rickygonzalez on Mar 24, 2015 22:32:07 GMT -5
Humm, eye contact.... hadn't thought of that. I will pay more attention to that. On kind of a funny note. I was just working with Sonic on flying to my hand, guess one might call it recall flight training. He is clipped, but just the tips of his primaries so he doesn't get alot of altitude. So I just go out 5 or 6 feet and put my hand out and say, "Sonic,come!" He does most of the time. Tonight when we got done I put him on top of his cage. I saw him wanting to fly, I thought one of these days his going to fly on my shoulder or something. Like 5 seconds later I was leaving the room, you guessed it, here comes Sonic without warning flew a good 20 feet to a pretty good landing right on my shoulder. I don't usually reward for that, but I just had to this time. His timing was so perfect. Lol
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Post by aaron on Mar 24, 2015 23:10:25 GMT -5
I really enjoy the fact that Cupcake is flighted. It does make things more complicated but it's really fun.
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Post by rickygonzalez on Mar 25, 2015 0:33:57 GMT -5
Yeah, im big time against clipping, but I was really worried about Sonic hurting himself. In truth, if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have clipped him. Can't wait for him to regrow his feathers. Come on molt...
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Post by biteybird on Mar 25, 2015 5:15:46 GMT -5
Bonnie is the same as what you, Jan and Siobhan are experiencing. I pick her up and ask her if she wants a scratch (she tries to say 'scratch' in response but hasn't learnt it yet - it comes out as 'stch'). She dips her head for a scratch and does that for about 10-15 seconds. Then...literally, morphs into a biting beast! So, from trance to nipping on and off for the duration. I don't think you are experiencing anything unusual in quakers, but as to WHY, who knows?  Bugger birds! |
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Post by aaron on Mar 25, 2015 7:06:23 GMT -5
Cupcake nips at us when we accidentally poke a pin feather while rubbing her head. It can be really sudden. She never hurts you but she gets real fussy if you mishandle a pin feather (which is almost impossible to avoid, I find-- I don't have a beak!)
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Post by julianna on Mar 25, 2015 11:50:28 GMT -5
Oh the subject... to fly or not to fly.... a never ending struggle with so many pros and cons to both.
I understand you all when you speak about how the birds will give you a clear message "do not do that".... I find their communication skills fascinating.
It is weird though... as Oscar does not like me to touch the top of his head. The only way I can do that is if I am playing with him and I will cover his whole head with my hand. I am thinking that perhaps he got hurt with his pin feathers before he came to live with me? Just a thought.
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Post by rickygonzalez on Mar 25, 2015 14:27:41 GMT -5
The fly or not fly question is for me a very simple one. If you don't want a pet that flies, get one that doesn't. I have two friends that had birds, both were clipped. One got outside caught a gust of wind and he was gone, the other got spooked tried to fly and lost control and landed in a pot of boiling water. As stated before, there are pros and cons to both. As bird owners I believe it's our responsibility to provide a safe environment at all times, regardless of wether they are clipped or not. Sorry guys I just had to vent a little. I believe people become over confident when birds are clipped sometimes.
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Post by siobhan on Mar 25, 2015 15:52:21 GMT -5
All mine are flighted and live in bird-safe environments (as safe as I can make them, at least) so they can have freedom and I can have peace of mind. Yet they're absolute geniuses at finding ways to stir up trouble. Constant vigilance is the only answer, either way.
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Post by Sharyn and Mr P on Mar 25, 2015 16:32:17 GMT -5
So, the other side to this, just for some perspective...
I live in FL where it's hot almost all the time. I have ceiling fans in almost every room of my house that are almost always on.
In this situation, I feel it is safer for Mr P to have his wings clipped.
Clip or not to clip, it's up to the individual person to determine what is best for their FID. You will have people adamantly defend each position to the point of getting angry!
On a side note to this, clipped birds CAN still fly and still shouldn't be allowed outside without a harness or in a cage.
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Bugger birds!
