Bad Mood for my Bella

[angeleden353]

My Bella is having a bad day, I work all day and she has to stay in her cage while we are at work but my husband gets home before me so when he gets home he tries to take her out the cage and she starts biting him and running all over the cage. He handles her on a daily basis as I do but does not respond to him in a positive way. When I get home she lets me get her out most of the time but today she acted very angry. She is 8 months old and for the most part she is easy to handle but when I get her, she growls every time someone goes to touch her or gets close. Is there something I can do to get her use to other people? or is there a way to make it easier to get out of the cage in the evenings? I don't like her to get on top of cage because she is above my head and I cant do anything with her when she is up there. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Im a new parrot owner and just trying to make her as happy as possible. I know patience is the key.

 

[roxynoodle]

Amazons are a bird that has a tendency to love one person in the family. Is she always unhappy to be with someone else if you aren't there? Sometimes a bird will subscribe to the philosophy of "if you can't be with the one you love, then love the one you're with."

Amazons are moody so perhaps she was just having one of her bad moods when you came home today. BFs have a reputation for being moodier than some of the other zons. They really can go up and down all day.

You might want to build a couple of steps or something you can step up on to put you up high enough to get her when she's on top of the cage. Or sit on the floor and see if she will climb down to you. That's always worked well with my birds as I can't quite reach to the back of the top of my amazon's cage. I just sit on the floor and they have always come climbing down to see what I'm doing.

 

[henpecked]

Do you have a AM routine?Maybe no food overnight,let her out in the AM.let her go to the cage top.Go about your chores and offer a treat when she's calm.Of course talk and interact with her,when it's time to put her away ,fill her food dish and offer a ride down.Be sure not to try and pet her,just give her a ride.Sounds like she still has trust issues and needs some socialization.Find a food treat she really loves and have OH offer it when your not around,let him be the only person to offer this treat and only when she's being a "good girl".I'd keep her cage near the center of the action in your house and let her out on top.Interact with her often but don't always have her step up,just walk away and let her think she's missing out not being with you.I'd suggest only have her step up when she shows some interest or read up on "target/clicker "training.A good way for her to learn to interact with you and look forward to your company.This type of training focuses on something other than step up i want to hold you/take you away from your cage.

 

[angeleden353]

Well this morning I tried a different approach, I got up and took cover off her cage and she wanted to come out, so I brought her upstairs and put her on shower curtain rod while i got ready and she was fine talking and whistling then when I was ready to leave I put her back in her cage, Gave her fresh food and water for the day. I will tell the husband to let her get on top of cage when he gets home. I have not really found what she likes a whole lot yet..we are still working on that. I am trying to convert her to all pellets because I know all seeds that are in parrot food is not great for her. I appreciate all the advice the members are giving me and any help getting her to interact with the family is welcome.

 

[henpecked]

There you go,including her in as many daily activities as possible will really help.

 

[Tammy]

I put my OWA on the shower door every morning when I shower so he can choose whether he wants to come in with me or not. Then I talk to him as I get ready & blow dry him while I dry my hair. That's how he decided he wanted to take showers.

When your husband gets home, have him just open the cage door & invite her out then go about his business for a few minutes. When Mr. Precious first came home I left it up to him if he wanted to come out or not. I would just talk to him while I did other things like cleaning, etc. These things take time.

 

[angeleden353]

Thanks, she is young but she is a sweetheart, just moody at times.. We all try to interact with her but there a good and bad days and I know to be patient. I know she trust me. when i first got her, she would hardly let me touch her, Now she lays her head on my shoulder and cuddles and purrs. I am working on getting another cage, one that has a play area on top.