20yo Alexandrine

[swampy2508]

So, my wife and I adopted a male alexandrine from a friend. He was originally in a bonded pair, his gf was unfortunately eaten by a rat in front of him and apparently this caused some personality changes.

Since, he has been in a different home and with already lacking attention for him, they got a dog which made his life too hard to stay there. We have had him for about 2-3 months. We have noticed he has come out of his shell alot since moving in. We have figured out some food he enjoys and a bell that makes him so happy, we are feeding him better, he is flying again and all his feathers are back. We are hearing more and more happy noises and he spends longer and longer with me each day before retreating back to his cage.

Just lately, the more comfortable he has become, he has started firing warning shots at my wife when she tries to interact with him. He will never make contact but clearly is telling her to stay away, maybe he is inclined towards males? Because I will go up to him right after and he will not do it to me.

My wife loves him so much, she works from home and spends all day with him. Considering she is the home body, I could see this becoming an issue. Any advice?

 

[wrench13]

Fist I would see if changing your wife's appearance a bit, maybe take off glasses or other things that might be setting him off. Did she recently get a haircut or some something that changes her appearance?

You can try having her be THE person that administers any treats, that works sometimes. But once they make up their mind about who is nice and who is Kryponite, its really difficult to get them to change. My youngest son helped me feed and wean Salty, but one day Salty just decided my son was evil! To this day if Brett shows up, the tail springs wide, the eyes get pinned and the 'attack stance' is in play.

 

[swampy2508]

Fist I would see if changing your wife's appearance a bit, maybe take off glasses or other things that might be setting him off. Did she recently get a haircut or some something that changes her appearance?

You can try having her be THE person that administers any treats, that works sometimes. But once they make up their mind about who is nice and who is Kryponite, its really difficult to get them to change. My youngest son helped me feed and wean Salty, but one day Salty just decided my son was evil! To this day if Brett shows up, the tail springs wide, the eyes get pinned and the 'attack stance' is in play.

Thank you, she has been wearing her hair out a bit more so worth a try.

For clarity, my wife is basically the only one who feeds him unless she is away with work, then I do. The weirdest part is, the bird seemed to like her so much more for the first two months and on a dime in flipped. He also hated the mirror to begin with and now he seems obsessed with it.

We both adore him, we are trying to make things as comfortable as possible as he has not had the easiest last 5 years. Any advice is appreciated, thanks

 

[animalgirl555]

So, my wife and I adopted a male alexandrine from a friend. He was originally in a bonded pair, his gf was unfortunately eaten by a rat in front of him and apparently this caused some personality changes.

Since, he has been in a different home and with already lacking attention for him, they got a dog which made his life too hard to stay there. We have had him for about 2-3 months. We have noticed he has come out of his shell alot since moving in. We have figured out some food he enjoys and a bell that makes him so happy, we are feeding him better, he is flying again and all his feathers are back. We are hearing more and more happy noises and he spends longer and longer with me each day before retreating back to his cage.

Just lately, the more comfortable he has become, he has started firing warning shots at my wife when she tries to interact with him. He will never make contact but clearly is telling her to stay away, maybe he is inclined towards males? Because I will go up to him right after and he will not do it to me.

My wife loves him so much, she works from home and spends all day with him. Considering she is the home body, I could see this becoming an issue. Any advice?

Hold on, you said the other bird was eaten by a rat in in front of him???

 

[animalgirl555]

Sorry, just shocking

 

[swampy2508]

Hold on, you said the other bird was eaten by a rat in in front of him???

Yes, cage was in the garage for a night. Rat got in and ate his female partner with him watching. Apparently this abruptly stopped him saying "hello' amongst other words he had learned to mimic. As far as we know anyway, we are the third owners so it is second hand info.