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Old 01-02-2008, 11:47 PM
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Freedomoflight Freedomoflight is offline
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Hmm. I do think that he has you curled around his little toe- the screaming when you walk out of the room shows that. I'd try a couple of things:

first, assume he is hormonal. Start eliminating soft, warm, mushy foods from his diet. Is he on a pellet or a seed? Check his diet for hemp foods- a person on my forum had a caique that went absolutely nutso when fed hemp. It really fires up their hormones.
Regulate his sleeping schedule- try 10-12 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night. Right now he is getting about 8? I think you were right to take out the mirror. If he has trouble sleeping, try putting a happy hut or similiar in his cage.
When he bites and you yell, that to him is a drama reward. "ooo look if I go like this *chomp* it makes my human make all sorts of funny noises!" when he bites, push into his beak to release, and calmly put him on a time out perch. Putting him back in the cage may be a reward in his eyes- away from the situation, and now he is allowed to play with all his cool toys. Putting him on a t perch for 4 minutes (since he is 4 years old) would be a sufficient time out.

Try to mix up his schedule a bit. Cut down on the cuddling time before bed a bit, and perhaps give him more ambient attention in the morning. Try to do more hands off activities with him, and start teaching him acceptable behaviors. Does he 'teeth' on you like mine do? Grab the flesh between your fingers and chew? If he does, keep a small toy on hand and redirect him towards the toy rather then your hand. When he starts biting you can tell him no, and to stop in a firm voice. Try and react more calmly to his bites.

Perhaps re-arrange his cage, or simply switch places, so his cage is now where the other birds cage is. Caiques tend to get extremely territorial of their perceived area, so you want to mix it up a lot. Can you get him in a harness? Perhaps taking him on daily walks outside, weather permitting, around the block can help both of you relax.

More later
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