Change in behavior

[rangerktc1]

I posted awhile ago about my rescued U2. It's been about 5 and a half months now. Recently i noticed some changes in her behavior. Up until fairly recently she would immediately hop onto my hand (or stick) as soon as I opened her cage. Now she is very hesitant. She seems to push my hand away with her beak. I'll leave her be and check again in a little while. Eventually she'll come out. She'll play on her playstand in the living room with us for several hours. She was always been a squawker, but now it is even more so. She also used to beg to come sit on my lap and be petted. She doesn't enjoy this like she used to. She does want me to pet her head while she's on the stand. When she gets tired and I know she wants to go to bed she'll really start squawking. However I have same problem getting her back on my hand or stick-eventually I do though.

There is one change I've made. Several weeks ago she had a visit with the Vet. She got a clean bill of health and he made comments about what excellent condition she's in for a rescue (the former owners were very good with her but couldn't devote enough time to her). The one thing the Vet did tell me was that when she was on my lap-do NOT stroke her back because it is a sexual thing and would lead to bad behavior. I did notice that when I used to do that she would make some funny sounds after awhile and would get more aggressive in her play with me. I stopped doing the stroking of the back immediately.

Does anyone have experiences with U2s regarding changes in behavior after a period of time? Do you think that my stopping of the back stroking is involved with this change? I hope I have not permanently damaged her psyche by changing my behavior. Any feedback from experienced owners is greatly appreciated!

 

[clark_conure]

Unless your bird is literally trying to get off....I wouldn't worry in the slightest.....and believe me you can tell when a bird is excited, they get all flippy-flappy and or present to you...(face down; butt up). if he's not doing that when you pet him I'd say your vet mis-read the situation or read the wrong vet magazine that month. Go back to what make him happy. Just ignore sexual behavior but make sure it's actually real....trust me, it's kind of obvious when a bird is in the mood, they don't exactly hide it!

 

[LordTriggs]

it sounds to me like a combination of 2 things

Settled bird, and frustrated bird

Essentially she's settled in and pushing her limits, seeing what she can get away with. then with the stroking of the back and then suddenly stopping she may feel like you led her on so is a bit grumpy with you. Remember tis the season for hormones so they're gonna play into things for a couple weeks

 

[Siobhan]

The honeymoon's over and now you're beginning to see her real personality. She wants to be grumpy sometimes and you're doing the right thing by respecting her wishes and letting her be if she doesn't want to hang out. Parrots aren't dogs and they continue to have their own opinions about things and don't care what YOU want, only what THEY want. As for the stroking of the back, you want to keep that to a bare minimum, but you don't have to stop completely. Once in a while it's fine, as long as you don't keep at it until she gets frisky. Try to stay mostly around her head. 'Toos like having their beaks and foreheads rubbed, too. (Be gentle on the forehead if there are pinfeathers)

Now that you're past the honeymoon, she's going to test you to see where the boundaries are. You might get chomps or threats of chomps. With Rocky, I touch his beak and say "no chomps" and distraction is good, too. If she's beaky, get a toy or junk mail for her to tear up. 'Toos also have to be destroying something all the time and junk mail beats your clothes and skin! You can't dominate a parrot the way you can a dog, at least not without cruelty, so you have to work on a relationship of mutual respect, where you show her where your boundaries are and she shows you where hers are and you come to an agreement. It takes a while and you have to be the one who makes most of the concessions (because parrots rarely make concessions, LOL), but you'll get there with patience.

 

[bigfellasdad]

Keep the petting to just head, shoulders and feet. I didn't know to start and next thing I'm getting an egg laying little hen. Now that's over Enzo was a little stand offish and a little beaky. Upon advice from the forum I put her on the floor if she was getting too boisterous. The result was quite immediate and now if she gets too much she knows she has been naughty and will say sorry by offering a quick head scratch.
I've learned a lot too and realise when to give her space, she's an intelligent animal not a toy!

Still learning and still very close to her so all good.
Take your time, respect and still let him know who's boss but ideally not a 'mate'

 

[rangerktc1]

I truly do appreciate the feedback here! The best advise you can get is from others who have experience.