New Bird - At my wit's end

[SetonHallic]

Well, for those who know the story - I brought my new 1.5 year old BHC home a little over a week ago. He seemed freaked and at the advice of many here I left him alone for a few days, only feeding him and answering his purring and chatter with calming chit chat.

At the start he would come out on my hand for brief periods and play on a towel with toys on my coffee table.

He was alone all week from the time I left for work (9 a.m.) until my wife got home at three. He was fine every day. Then the weekend came...

He screamed his head off the entire weekend while we were home. We would let him come out and he was very hyper, didn't really play and then would get angry until finally back in his cage.

He has now taken a 100% turn and is angry all the time, will not come out unless we leave the door open and while he is out he is completely terrible. He attacks, bights, screams, etc. Right now he is on his coffee table play area and flips out if we even make noise.

WHAT DO I DO? I can't even get him back to his cage...

[tracie]

I am far from an expert and I am sure someone will come along to help, but my suggestions for the time being would be to try and stay as calm as possible. I truly believe they feed off of our energy, don't flip out and try to be calm and assertive to get him back in his cage. Move slow and talk softly. Hopefully one of the experts will be along with some better advice.

[cozyparrot]

I'm no expert but I think tracie's advice is good. But....with that said - I know how easy it is to get caught up in the emotional roller coaster. It is so easy to say - be calm, act like it doesn't bother you - it's harder to actually do! Still..try very hard to pretend this behavior is not getting to you. Is he trained to step up onto a hand held perch? If the biting is a problem, a hand held perch offered for step up and rewarded might be your ticket to get him back to the cage. If he goes after your hand holding the end of the perch and the biting is really serious, try putting the perch through a plastic cup with a hole punched in the bottom, then hold the perch on the end through the cup. Your hand will be up inside the cup to protect it. A clear plastic cup might be less scary but still protect. With that said - some birds freak out at the hand held perch so go slowly with this idea. Work on ways to transfer him to and from his cage since that is what is needed most right now. This will also encourage him to begin to trust and will show him he can depend on doing "this" (this being whatever method you use to move him) to get "that" (that being the end result - go to his cage and get a nutriberry, etc.) I hope this is making sense. Very small baby steps. It sounds like he is trying to find out exactly what his pecking order is in your home. You say he's angry - what behavior does he exhibit to let you know how he's feeling?

[anbrownucsd]

My fiance's parents rescued a Sun Conure, appropriately named Ares, that had been locked in a cage for the past year without being taken out. He was quite the emotional rollercoaster for the first couple of months. When they first got him they could not pick him up at all, and he would literally bite chunks out of their skin.

After a couple of days they were given the advice of taking him to get his wings clipped. After clipping his wings he had a complete turn around instantly. The groomer was able to pick him up and pet him, and when he handed him to Ell's parents he immediately stepped up and allowed them to scritch his head.

He still is a very emotional bird because of the past abuse but after a couple of months with them working with him he began to come around. He is still improving everyday. The initial bonding experience that allowed Ares to get close to my fiance's mother was a shower together and then her wrapping him up in a towel afterward to dry him off.

Find something that your new bird really likes and see if you can do that together! It is really hard in the beginning but hopefully, with work, he will begin to come around for you! I am no expert, but I believe with the bird only being a year and a half he will come around a lot more quickly then Ares did, who was already five years old. Goodluck, and just keep on trying! I'm sure the bird is going through just as hard of a time as you!

[rockybird]

I dont know if I can offer any advice, but I certainly can sympathize. As I type this, I have a screaming caique in the background.

My little guy seems to act up on weekends also. THis weekend he was a little screaming biting brat. And I did EVERYTHING to indulge him...walks outside, lots of time out of the cage. On Monday, when I came home from work, he was a little angel! So sweet, playful, just a little joy. I wonder if they do better with a routine schedule, even if it means less time than possible out of the cage on weekends. I am going to try to keep him on the workday schedule this weekend and see if it helps.

Also, you little one is still new, and maybe the routine is especially important to him as he is still insecure in his new surroundings.

[tkan86]

Hi,
I'm actually a new caique owner as well and my little girl bit me hard the first night she was here. The lady I adopted Bindi from told me to use a closed fist and have her step up ontop of my fist. This way, if she tries to bite, she won't have any skin to hold onto.

I've heard that birds feed off of the reaction you give. When they bite you and you scream or make any reaction, they will think, "cool! i want to make him do that again!"

Try not to yell or anything.
When Bindi tried to bite me the 2nd and 3rd time (I was holding her with a closed fist) I just let her because it didn't really hurt that bad since she didn't have any skin to hold onto. A couple of seconds later, she soon realized that I wasn't going to reward her and put her down/back in her cage to play. She probably also realized how boring it was that I didn't give any reaction. She hasn't attacked my hand since.

I use a treat (pumpkin seed) to get her to step up or step down. It's worked pretty well so far.

If you do try this closed fist thing... first, make sure your thumb is tucked in. Second, proceed with caution. Depending on how angry your little guy is, he may just somehow find a way to bite you.

But try your best not to yell. (I know... easier said than done)