My bird's tail feathers, and stuff

[CherryCanary]

my IRN's tail feathers look a little rough. the rest of her feathers stay clean and new and she does alot of preening (is that what its called?) and i've noticed she'll bite at the very bottom of her tail feathers and their looking a bit rough.. help, i don't understand whats wrong. and today she was calling me into the room. i just stood there and looked at her, smiling. and she made lots of cute affectionate sounds. so i thought i would get her out and snuggle her for a while. i reached into her cage to get her and she attacked me!! did i do something wrong? any and all help is needed!

[fatma]

Hi c.c , that is so strange. I don`t think that you do something wrong. maybe IRN was nervous bout something else .and about feathers I think that it is normal and may happend with many other parrots.

[LtlWngdAngl]

you need to stick train her. Her cage is her territory, therefore, when you invade it, she has full right to attack. Get a dowel perch or broom handle, etc, stick it into the cage when you want her to come out and say "step up." I t may take a little while for her to grasp the concept, but it will save you a lot of blood!!!

About the tail feathers...what way do the bars run on her cage?? typically, birds in cages with vertical bars will have more damage to their tail feathers than birds in cages with horizontal bars. I changed my quakers cage when I noticed the broken and ratty looking tailfeathers, and they've been beautiful ever since!

[CherryCanary]

scuse my language, but to me, my bird is a b*tch! she loves my sister and brother AND dad, but HATES me and my mom... i might be getting rid of her in a few weeks... the bars in her cage run vertically in the front and back. and horrizontally on the sides and top.

[Franciscus]

How old is your bird? She may be going through the "terrible twos". There are several things you can do to improve your relationship with her. Make sure she's getting 10-12 hours of dark uninterupted sleep. Take her out of the cage using a dowel (or get somone she doesn't bite to take her out) and put her in a neutral room, a room she does not normally go in. In that room you should work with her. The room will be unfamiliar and you should be the only person in that room. Therefore you are the only familiar thing in that room and she will be more abt to respond to you. Teach her to step onto your hand and on to the back of a chair by telling her "up" to go on your hand and "down" to go to the chair. Do this a few times a day for short lessons, 15 or so minutes and keep it upbeat. If you are feeling tired or grouchy skip the lesson untill you are feeling better. You can also give the bird her favourite treat often when you go see her when she's in her cage. She will associate the treat with you after a while. Please read up on parrot training by getting books such as "Guide to a Well-Behaved Parrot" by Mattie Sue Athan, or any books by Sally Blanchard. Parrots are not domesticated like dogs or cats and will often bite out of fear, even if handfed.

[CherryCanary]

my room is the only warm room in the house. my house is normaly freezing, and we dont have any rooms in the house were i could go undisturbed or even left alone. shes over 3 yrs and was very sweet to me to begin with, but eventualy grew a strong hate for me. she'll scream and sing nonstop. if shes not singing she'll make that horrible ear-shattering screeching sound. you know that one that sounds like the bird is being tormented? and then i'll talk sweetly too her and give her her favourite treat (fresh apple) and shes step up onto my hand and when the apple is all gone she bite me (yesterday she took a huge chunk out of my finger O.o hhurts bad) and fly back to her cage. its more of a staggering lide were her wings are clipped. but yeah, my mind is made up. imma find her a better home, and get my $250 dollars back.

[Franciscus]

It's up to you what you decide to do but I would concentrate on finding the best home possible and forget about the money.

[LtlWngdAngl]

I wound up having to rehome my ringneck due to his behavior with me. I still see him almost every day, as I rehomed him with my very best friend who lives a block away. I just wanted Bebee to be happy, and he wasn't with me and the rest of my flock. He's so much happier in a one-bird-home and I couldn't imagine having to have put a price on his happiness. I gave the cage and the bird to my friend.

Not to mention that you're going to be hard pressed to get $250 for a 3 yr old Ringneck with a behavioral problem. If he gets along best and has a bond with other members of your family I wouldn't even try to rehome her, but I would consider geting another bird. If you do rehome her, I suggest selling the cage with her to make her transition easier.

[CherryCanary]

sorry for the really late reply. she is being rehomed today. and she wasn't mean just to be mean, i figured out. she just couldn't get enough attention. i'm 14 (your typical teenager) and i like to be out with my friends, and i almost never have time for her. today i've spent the entire day with her, and shes being sweet, shes on my shoulder right now. i just can't keep her, her life would be miserable with me, and mine with her. i can't sleep in, she can't get attention. its just not working out between us. (god it sounds like i'm breaking up with someone XD) but i'm selling her, cage an all, alone with food and bedding and lots of accessories.

Oh, just out of curiosity. shes been doing some kind of courtship dance with one of her toys... shes headbang, start out slow, then get faster, then pull her head backwards and thrust it foreward some of what slowly. whats up with her?

[Monica]

Sounds like male behavoir... Anyway, for your situation, it sounds as if you are doing the right thing. It really sounds like you need to look for a less demanding bird for a companion who is still sweet when handled. Most medium to larger birds are demanding, however some birds such as kaks, galahs, grass parakeets, etc sometimes tend to make ideal pets, though it really depends on the birds personality.