Ashilde
New member
- Jul 23, 2019
- 16
- 7
Does anyone ever feel like despite all their efforts that maybe their little feathery friend isn't happy?
To give a little background, Aki is a canary-winged parakeet that was stuck in a pet store (and in an undersized enclosure) for over half a year before I couldn't stand it anymore and decided to bring him home. When I acquired him, he was in a bit of sorry shape with some bronzing on his feathers from over preening and has what I think might be a few nervous ticks (likes to chew his feet alot and chews on the tip of his tongue, but never hurts himself).
I am an absolute newb when it comes to birds, and you guys have been absolutely terrific on advice, but it feels like despite my best efforts I keep messing things up (or maybe this is normal?). Here's some examples:
Diet: When I talked to the pet store, they had been only giving him the cheapest seed mix. When I brought him home, I started slowly introducing him to fresh veggies/fruits and pellets and he actually tried a bit of everything. Not sure what changed, but now he just throws his pellets from the bowl, will pick out mango/grape from his parrot chop and upturns his beak at spinach like a snob. He was losing a little weight so I tried to reintegrate a bit more seeds into his diet, but he'll just pick out his unhealthy favorites like sunflower seeds and walnuts and will leave the rest. If I pick those two seeds out of the mix, he just throws a tantrum and flings seeds and pellets everywhere and touches nothing. It feels like we went one step forward and two back. :17:
Training: He is such a swift learner, which I've come to learn has its pros and cons. I started with a clicker, target practice, step-ups, and he was very receptive and excited to learn as well as consistent. As of late though he seems very perceptive and he will not perform unless he sees a "bribe". I know birds have wants and wills of their own and I let him do his own thing if he doesn't want to train, but it's kinda feeling like he's testing our boundaries and has established himself as the boss. This petulant "tude" of his makes it hard when we have to get him down from places he shouldn't be (like trying to chew a hold in the drywall above every door frame).
Environment: Aki came from a hectic pet store environment with people coming and going and budgies right next to him singing all the time to our quiet little household. It is just my fiance and I and we both have day jobs so he is left on his own for a good stretch of the day. He has a very spacious cage, toys/branches/accessories that we change out every so often, but he seems miserable (he overpreens still and is very quiet). When he is in his cage, he doesn't touch his toys at all and will literally just chew on the bars (powder coated thankfully) when I am leaving for work in the morning and literally will still be chewing when I get home. Sometimes my work will let me telework which I love because I can usually let him out to play on the side with his foraging toys and do small training sessions, but being the attention seeker he is he will start to get a little naughty try to steal keyboard keys off my laptop and I will have to put him back in his cage where he will chew on the bars without falter until I take him back out (also, I make sure not to cave in and take him out while he is chewing because I know he might learn that chewing = freedom. I always try to take him back out once he is settled down). His persistence to chew on bars and do nothing else is worrisome and I've even tried to weave seagrass between the bars to make it less jarring for him, but he either destroys it in a matter of seconds or finds another uncovered section to chew. Also since it is quiet during the day and we know he was used to having other birds around, I try to leave a laptop on next to him with parrot companion videos, but it doesn't seem to help. As of late, we have been thinking that maybe he needs a companion (there is another male available at another pet shop) and though he might be less bonded to us ultimately, we just want him happy.
Now, I am by no means regretting the little guy -- I love him so much and just want to keep spoiling him rotten, but I guess I am trying to figure out what behaviors are normal/expected and what I can do to improve. Also, do you guys have similar stories about your own trials and tribulations and lessons learned through them?
To give a little background, Aki is a canary-winged parakeet that was stuck in a pet store (and in an undersized enclosure) for over half a year before I couldn't stand it anymore and decided to bring him home. When I acquired him, he was in a bit of sorry shape with some bronzing on his feathers from over preening and has what I think might be a few nervous ticks (likes to chew his feet alot and chews on the tip of his tongue, but never hurts himself).
I am an absolute newb when it comes to birds, and you guys have been absolutely terrific on advice, but it feels like despite my best efforts I keep messing things up (or maybe this is normal?). Here's some examples:
Diet: When I talked to the pet store, they had been only giving him the cheapest seed mix. When I brought him home, I started slowly introducing him to fresh veggies/fruits and pellets and he actually tried a bit of everything. Not sure what changed, but now he just throws his pellets from the bowl, will pick out mango/grape from his parrot chop and upturns his beak at spinach like a snob. He was losing a little weight so I tried to reintegrate a bit more seeds into his diet, but he'll just pick out his unhealthy favorites like sunflower seeds and walnuts and will leave the rest. If I pick those two seeds out of the mix, he just throws a tantrum and flings seeds and pellets everywhere and touches nothing. It feels like we went one step forward and two back. :17:
Training: He is such a swift learner, which I've come to learn has its pros and cons. I started with a clicker, target practice, step-ups, and he was very receptive and excited to learn as well as consistent. As of late though he seems very perceptive and he will not perform unless he sees a "bribe". I know birds have wants and wills of their own and I let him do his own thing if he doesn't want to train, but it's kinda feeling like he's testing our boundaries and has established himself as the boss. This petulant "tude" of his makes it hard when we have to get him down from places he shouldn't be (like trying to chew a hold in the drywall above every door frame).
Environment: Aki came from a hectic pet store environment with people coming and going and budgies right next to him singing all the time to our quiet little household. It is just my fiance and I and we both have day jobs so he is left on his own for a good stretch of the day. He has a very spacious cage, toys/branches/accessories that we change out every so often, but he seems miserable (he overpreens still and is very quiet). When he is in his cage, he doesn't touch his toys at all and will literally just chew on the bars (powder coated thankfully) when I am leaving for work in the morning and literally will still be chewing when I get home. Sometimes my work will let me telework which I love because I can usually let him out to play on the side with his foraging toys and do small training sessions, but being the attention seeker he is he will start to get a little naughty try to steal keyboard keys off my laptop and I will have to put him back in his cage where he will chew on the bars without falter until I take him back out (also, I make sure not to cave in and take him out while he is chewing because I know he might learn that chewing = freedom. I always try to take him back out once he is settled down). His persistence to chew on bars and do nothing else is worrisome and I've even tried to weave seagrass between the bars to make it less jarring for him, but he either destroys it in a matter of seconds or finds another uncovered section to chew. Also since it is quiet during the day and we know he was used to having other birds around, I try to leave a laptop on next to him with parrot companion videos, but it doesn't seem to help. As of late, we have been thinking that maybe he needs a companion (there is another male available at another pet shop) and though he might be less bonded to us ultimately, we just want him happy.
Now, I am by no means regretting the little guy -- I love him so much and just want to keep spoiling him rotten, but I guess I am trying to figure out what behaviors are normal/expected and what I can do to improve. Also, do you guys have similar stories about your own trials and tribulations and lessons learned through them?
