Good news, bad news

[mh434]

Yesterday, we acquired "Takila", a 15-year-old blue-fronted Conure. He came from the lady we got our CAG from a few months ago, as her health issues won't allow her to have birds anymore. He's a wonderful bird, who dances with delight whenever there's music on. All good there.

Don't know if it's going to work out, though. Our CAG and YNA have gone nuts. Our CAG just hides in the back of his cage, has stopped talking, and won't visit with us at all. In the case of "Sammy" (in my avatar), he's attacking me full-force (flying across the room to attack my face - several times, today), drawing a fair bit of blood.

We've moved "Takila" into another room, out of view of the others, to see if that helps. I hope so - I'd hate to have to re-home him, again.

Anyway, here's a pic of Takila, dancing up a storm to Stevie Ray Vaughn...

 

[Kalel]

He's so cute! I hope it works out for you and him.

 

[mh434]

He is fun, that's for sure! He hangs by his beak & waves at us with both feet, makes wonderful little noises, and never fails to dance if there's music.

I really hope the other birds learn to accept his presence!

 

[labell]

Greys are highly intelligent sensitive birds because he was in the same house for so many years with the conure he may associate some of the neglect he was feeling as his previous owner was getting sick with the noise and sight of the conure. I think giving the grey extra time and attention letting him know that just because his old friend is now in his new home that things won't change and he will still get love and attention.

As far as the amazon...how old is he? Hormones are raging right now. Sometimes you just really need to step back this time of year and give a zon their space until it passes.

 

[mh434]

Sammy the 'Zon is about 12 years old now. He has been hormonal recently, of course, but I'm used to that. Normally, he 'does his thing' for 20 minutes or so, and all is back to normal. Even at that, he's always wanted me around - I've always been his special "mate". Now, no one can even approach his cage to clean or change his water. We don't DARE open his door. It's like having a caged rabid dog in the house.

It all happened within seconds of Takila arriving, so I don't think it's a coincidence. Now, Takila's been in a different room for a whole day, and my 'Zon is still just as aggressive. Unfortunately, the only room we can keep Takila in has no windows or sunlight available, so it's very dark. It doesn't seem fair to closet him away. We hope things change quickly, but if it doesn't we're going to have some hard decisions to make...

 

[Delfin]

There is definitely history between the three birds. I would speak to the previous owner and see if she can shed any light on the situation.

 

[mh434]

She said that Reno (the CAG) and Takila were friends, playing together every day, for over 10 years. She tells us they never had a squabble she's aware of. Maybe the separation of the intervening few months has soured their bond?

We're still trying to figure out what to do. Takila is a wonderful bird! He's very interactive - if you wave at him, he'll raise a foot and wave back. Sometimes, he'll even hang by his beak and wave back with BOTH feet! If he's on top of his cage, he'll wave with a foot AND a wing.

It's fun watching the different way birds do things. Takila likes to preen his wing feathers, of course, but his technique is one I haven't seen - he picks out the feather he wants to work on, pulls it into range with his beak, holds it in his foot, and then preens it. Last night he was doing this and apparently got an itch on his head - no problem, use one of the toes on the foot holding the feather to simultaneously scratch his head.

We're getting very bonded to him...but we don't know if we can keep him, with all the issues with the other birds!

 

[StarryEyedGirl]

She said that Reno (the CAG) and Takila were friends, playing together every day, for over 10 years. She tells us they never had a squabble she's aware of. Maybe the separation of the intervening few months has soured their bond?

We're still trying to figure out what to do. Takila is a wonderful bird! He's very interactive - if you wave at him, he'll raise a foot and wave back. Sometimes, he'll even hang by his beak and wave back with BOTH feet! If he's on top of his cage, he'll wave with a foot AND a wing.

It's fun watching the different way birds do things. Takila likes to preen his wing feathers, of course, but his technique is one I haven't seen - he picks out the feather he wants to work on, pulls it into range with his beak, holds it in his foot, and then preens it. Last night he was doing this and apparently got an itch on his head - no problem, use one of the toes on the foot holding the feather to simultaneously scratch his head.

We're getting very bonded to him...but we don't know if we can keep him, with all the issues with the other birds!

My harley does that when he preens! All of a sudden I see his little foot going like he's going to stretch out his wings as if to greet my boyfriend and I then I see a feather (usually a tail feather) in his foot and he preens that. Let's it go by accident then repeats the process! It's so funny. I really do hope all works out in your favor and you can keep everyone content in the house.

 

[mh434]

We're really falling in love with this little guy!

Today, he went for his first ever vet visit, where he was poked, prodded, blood taken, nails clipped, etc., yet the staff said he was an absolute delight! As soon as we got him home & took him out of his carrier, he immediately wanted to play with his toys, neck skritches, and a peanut...despite this being the most trying day of his life!

We think the lady we adopted him from may have been a little afraid of him, as she never had him on her shoulder or hand, and said he bites whenever you get a hand too close to him or near his cage. For us, at least, he's a cuddly little bear - he lets us reach into his cage for a "step-up", adores shoulder rides, rubs his head gently against your cheek, and puts his beak down to signal it's time for a neck rub.

Interestingly, a friend (Margaret, a seriously hard-core parrot lady!) was over today, and had Takila on her lap, playing with him. At the same time, I was across the room, talking to Sammy, who took VERY special note that it was Margaret that was giving Takila attention, and NOT me. While Sammy was still huffy and standoffish, he was quite a bit less aggressive than he has been for the past several days. Of course, the day Takila came home with us, I paid LOTS of attention to him.

At this point, I'm thinking that Sammy's having a bout of overwhelming jealousy, and seeing someone else playing with Takila may be starting to moderate it. I've moved Takila's cage to where Sammy can't see him, or me (if I'm visiting with Takila).

We'll see...wish us luck!

 

[Kalel]

YAY! That's awesome! I'm really happy to hear that. Probably a good idea to how someone else play with him to get Sammy used to the idea of Takila at least being around. I'm so happy to hear things are progressing and I'm routing for you guys!

 

[Delfin]

Maybe they just need some time to settle in.

 

[mh434]

Sammy has suddenly reverted to his old self - he made the decision last night when, instead of attacking me when I got near, he just cocked his head to one side and looked at me, then sidled over and climbed up on my shoulder like nothing had ever happened.

Sigh.

It's so good to have him back, but I'm still worried about keeping him from seeing me with Takila (who, by the way, can apparently talk!).

We'll keep working on it the situation. We're hoping that eventually we'll be able to have them all out for attention again, but this time including Takila.

 

[Kalel]

Great progress! Hopefully, step by step you'll be able to accomplish having them all together with no issues!

 

[mh434]

NOW I'm worried that, because I have to go out of town in the morning for 5 days, Sammy will be angry at me again! The timing sucks!!