I've had Ollie for about 8 months- he turned one in December. After the initial warm up phase, and occasional mood swings/nippiness- he was wonderful. He would sit on my shoulder and do everything with me around the house. Around February- I walked in his room that morning, and everything was fine- he was talking and giving me kisses and stepped up. I walked in there a couple hours later to get him and take him downstairs with me, and he wanted nothing to do with me, and it's been that way ever since. Literally nothing changed from that morning to that afternoon- not my clothes, my hair, my nail color, literally nothing at all. But now he won't even take treats from my hand without running away right after he grabs it. I'm heartbroken and I miss my little buddy. It's to the point where I can't even cover his cage and lock him in the cage at night (he's out of the cage during the day) because every time I walk in he flies out of his cage and across the room and won't go back in his cage until I leave the room. I know they go thru hormonal changes and things, but I can't believe it should still be going on after two months. I'm losing faith that things will never be the same. He even used to take showers with me and now I can't even get him to sit on my hand- he does sometimes, very rarely, fly on my head if I have an apple that I'm sharing with him, but as soon as I try to get him to step up he flies away. I almost thought maybe I should clip his wings because when I first got him they were clipped- and maybe he thinks he doesn't need me anymore since he can fly?- but I can't catch him to get him in the cage to take him to get them clipped. Any advice? anyone gone thru anything similar? I'm desperate at this point- and really would love for things to go back to normal.
Green Cheek suddenly hates me
- Thread starter devync
- Start date
Oh, this is so sad to hear. I'm pretty new to the conure world but have certainly noticed how moody they can be. I think that Mario will hold a grudge if he perceives I've slighted him in any way and even short term, it's hard to take their anger or indifference. Maria is very moody and unpredictable. I hope you get feedback from experienced companions of these birds--could it be a major but temporary hormonal change? Would he be happier with another bird friend? It's heart breaking to feel they no longer care :-( I do hope this is temporary, all you can do is keep showing your consistent love and caring.
- Thread starter
- #3
So I have two other parakeets that are in his room as well. However I just took them out of his room yesterday to see if that helps, thinking he may be too attached to the others. I'm at a loss.. I don't want him to be unhappy with me, but I don't want to give up on him either.
Flboy
Well-known member
- Dec 28, 2014
- 12,603
- 4,120
- Parrots
- JoJo, 'Special' GCC, Bongo, Cinnamon GCC(wife's)
So very hard!, Reset your relationship to a safe tomorrow, first day ever meeting this guy!
Both of you have expectations that may be negative, so reset counter!
Both of you have expectations that may be negative, so reset counter!
Start from scratch as if Mario is a new bird.
I am echoing what others have said. Many people think that owning birds is easy, once trained they'll be your best friend for the rest of your life, much like a dog -- once trained, remains loyal forever.
However, with parrots, this simply isn't the case. First and foremost, we have to remember that all parrots are wild animals. They live in flocks and forage. They are not as domesticated as dogs and cats. Parrots have very strong natural instincts, and have a sense of pride and want their boundaries to be respected. As parrot owners, we have to sense these changes and react to them.
As a parrot owner, you have to accept that not every single day is going to be a good one. Not every day will your parrot want to cuddle, love, and snuggle you. This goes for almost every parrot out there. So, as others have suggested, you have to backtrack on your bond and work from square one. Treat your bird as a new bird. Work on sitting near the cage, not too close, occupying yourself doing something, and wait for your bird to settle and relax. It may take several days. Eventually you'll want to be right next to his cage. If your bird shows any sign of being uncomfortable, step back a little. But most importantly, don't give up!!
However, with parrots, this simply isn't the case. First and foremost, we have to remember that all parrots are wild animals. They live in flocks and forage. They are not as domesticated as dogs and cats. Parrots have very strong natural instincts, and have a sense of pride and want their boundaries to be respected. As parrot owners, we have to sense these changes and react to them.
As a parrot owner, you have to accept that not every single day is going to be a good one. Not every day will your parrot want to cuddle, love, and snuggle you. This goes for almost every parrot out there. So, as others have suggested, you have to backtrack on your bond and work from square one. Treat your bird as a new bird. Work on sitting near the cage, not too close, occupying yourself doing something, and wait for your bird to settle and relax. It may take several days. Eventually you'll want to be right next to his cage. If your bird shows any sign of being uncomfortable, step back a little. But most importantly, don't give up!!
I just got my green cheek 2 weeks ago. He was such a snuggler for the first week... rarely bit me. He stepped up pretty well, although he had terrible balance. Unfortunately, we've had a stressful week unpacking boxes, and I'm sure he didn't appreciate it.
For the past 3 days, he's been biting me. Not necessarily out of anger, but he's stopped being gentle with his nipping. My hands can't take it anymore (the bites caused blisters that need to heal), so he's been spending more time in his cage because when he's not in his cage, he HAS to be on me, biting away at my hands, or my neck.
Well, since then, he refuses to step up. If I try to get him to step up, he bites my fingers. He knows what he's doing, and he's just acting absolutely obnoxious.
That being said... the reasons for my birds behavior change are pretty obvious to me. It was a Step by step break down of our relationship. Once my hands are healed, I'll get back at it. But for you and your GCC, 1 year is a growth marker for almost every species of animal. Hormones? Probably part of it. But if it's been going on for two months, I'm willing to bet that it started out as one thing, and then little things that he is perceiving as slights are just adding up.
Get back on the horse. Neutral room, no cages, no other animals, no people. Just you and him playing on the floor.
I would recommend getting his wings clipped again though. Sometimes it's been known to lessen aggression.
For the past 3 days, he's been biting me. Not necessarily out of anger, but he's stopped being gentle with his nipping. My hands can't take it anymore (the bites caused blisters that need to heal), so he's been spending more time in his cage because when he's not in his cage, he HAS to be on me, biting away at my hands, or my neck.
Well, since then, he refuses to step up. If I try to get him to step up, he bites my fingers. He knows what he's doing, and he's just acting absolutely obnoxious.
That being said... the reasons for my birds behavior change are pretty obvious to me. It was a Step by step break down of our relationship. Once my hands are healed, I'll get back at it. But for you and your GCC, 1 year is a growth marker for almost every species of animal. Hormones? Probably part of it. But if it's been going on for two months, I'm willing to bet that it started out as one thing, and then little things that he is perceiving as slights are just adding up.
Get back on the horse. Neutral room, no cages, no other animals, no people. Just you and him playing on the floor.
I would recommend getting his wings clipped again though. Sometimes it's been known to lessen aggression.
EllenD
New member
- Aug 20, 2016
- 3,979
- 70
- Parrots
- Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
OK, first of all do not get him "a friend". This rarely helps and almost always ends badly. Never get another bird unless it is solely for you because you want another one, and if you do get another bird you must be prepared for any number of possible outcomes that may result, because there is no way to predict whether the new bird and your current bird will hate each other and not even be able to be in the same room, they will love each other, bond closely with each other, and then both birds have no use for you anymore at all ever again, etc. It just is too risky and as I said it rarely, if ever helps.
As already mentioned you need to start over from scratch with him, like it's the very first day you brought him home. Clipping his wings (outermost 4-5 primary flight feathers only) can help you to earn his trust again because he will have to rely on you again, so that choice is up to you. Hopefully by the time his wings grow back in a few months you'll be back to normal with him and can leave him flighted.
Rest assured that this sudden behavior change is hormonal. It's the right time in his life for it to start and green cheeks are moody anyway, when it does start to happen they can be especially moody. So you need to take a look at his daily schedule and daily diet...What time does he go to sleep at night every day and what time does he get up? Does his schedule follow a "Solar Schedule"? If not you need to change it and get him to rise and sleep with the Solar Schedule for your area. Do a search in the search bar here in the forums for "Solar Schedule", it's by far the easiest, quickest, and most natural way to knock him out of breeding season and get his hormones to stop flaring. But you'll have to keep him on the Solar Schedule forever, or the hormones will come right back, raring to go. This Solar Schedule should allow him to get at least 12 hours of sleep every night, which is very important. What is his daily diet? Does he get fresh veggies and whole grains every day? Is he on a pellet diet or a seed diet as his staple food? How much protein does he get each day? High daily protein will also contribute to his flaring hormones...
Now to me a major red flag in your situation is the fact that his cage is in a spare room in your home, as you call it "his room". It sounds like it's a bird room you have in your home, and with some birds this setup works well, but with many other birds it can cause extreme separation anxiety or a total lack of socialization. You have to realize that your bird is off in a room away from where the action in your house is. He can here you and anyone else that is in your house, but he can't see you or the rest of them. He hears the TV, music, talking, whatever is going on but he's back in a room alone with the door shut. Like I said, some birds are much better than others at entertaining themselves and can take the fact that they can't always see their person or people. But some birds absolutely cannot take this living situation and they actually become frustrated, angry, upset, jealous, and finally unsocialized and aggressive. Hormonal periods make this all the more worse, and him being a green cheek conure makes it soooo much worse in and of itself. Green cheeks are not called "Velcro Birds" for nothing. They are very affectionate, needy birds that don't want to be away from their person or their mate if they are in a flock of birds. So I'm willing to bet, in fact I'd bet my life on it, that if you moved his cage out of that room and into the main living room, TV room, den, whatever you call the main traffic room of your house where you and anyone else that lives with you spend the most time, he will do a complete 180 in behavior within 2 weeks or less. Now don't think that you need to be interacting with him directly once he's moved to the living room, that's not the point here. The point is that your bird is not entertaining himself with his toys or whatever else he has in his cage or in that room he's been in alone, he can't do anything but focus on the fact that he isn't a part of the action in your house. So once you move his cage out to your living room you just go about your normal business. My birds are all in my living room, their cages are always open when I'm home and they only get locked inside their cages when I'm gone. Otherwise they can come and go as they please, but the point is that they are all happy, healthy, loving birds that all entertain themselves, whether in their cages, on their cages, on their playgym, etc. I watch TV, play guitar, read, I'm on the computer, etc. and they entertain themselves. They might sit on me if I'm on the couch watching TV, but the point is that even if they are locked inside their cages they are IN MY PRESENCE, ARE A PART OF THE ACTION, and can see what they hear. They're included. This is how you keep your bird socialized, people just simply walking past his cage, talking near him, talking to him just by saying hello to him as going by, people simply sitting on the couch across the room from him while he's sitting on top of his cage, this is what he needs and wants. Has he started constantly calling to you when you leave "his room"? If not, he will soon, he'll start contact calling you, which is just screaming, as soon as you leave his room. And generally they don't stop for a long time. They want to be in your presence, in the action of the home. And you can still put him to sleep at sunset, or earlier than you go to bed, and you can still watch TV, talk to people in the room or on the phone, whatever you want to do after he goes to bed (important he gets 12 hours each night). You simply have to cover his cage when it's his bedtime. The lights from the TV and the sounds from the TV, stereo, talking, etc. will not wake him up once he's covered, they sleep like a rock under a cover. He'll actually sleep more soundly and deeply because he knows you are in the room watching TV or whatever it is that you're doing, this will make him feel safe and secure and allow him to get quality deep sleep, which will in turn help his hormonal behavior. Try it for 2-3 weeks, move his cage to your main living room, get a blanket or something to cover him at bedtime, and get him on a Solar Schedule. Even just moving his cage will help immensely. You'll see a change pretty directly. And please do still try to interact with him as much as you can for as long as you can each day. You'll obviously have to get his wings clipped before opening his cage door, but that's easy enough. Then you can just open his cage and let him come out when he wants to, he can hang out on top of his cage, play with his toys, you just keep doing your thing in the same room. If he wants nothing to do with you right now just keep walking past his cage, saying hello to him when you do, talk to him from across the room, on the couch, etc. At first after you move him he'll keep to himself, play with his toys, etc. But quickly he'll realize that he's now a part of the family, a part of the action, and won't be put back into that room alone again, and he'll pretty quickly walk over to you, sit on your shoulder, etc. I promise, it works.
"Dance like nobody's watching..."
As already mentioned you need to start over from scratch with him, like it's the very first day you brought him home. Clipping his wings (outermost 4-5 primary flight feathers only) can help you to earn his trust again because he will have to rely on you again, so that choice is up to you. Hopefully by the time his wings grow back in a few months you'll be back to normal with him and can leave him flighted.
Rest assured that this sudden behavior change is hormonal. It's the right time in his life for it to start and green cheeks are moody anyway, when it does start to happen they can be especially moody. So you need to take a look at his daily schedule and daily diet...What time does he go to sleep at night every day and what time does he get up? Does his schedule follow a "Solar Schedule"? If not you need to change it and get him to rise and sleep with the Solar Schedule for your area. Do a search in the search bar here in the forums for "Solar Schedule", it's by far the easiest, quickest, and most natural way to knock him out of breeding season and get his hormones to stop flaring. But you'll have to keep him on the Solar Schedule forever, or the hormones will come right back, raring to go. This Solar Schedule should allow him to get at least 12 hours of sleep every night, which is very important. What is his daily diet? Does he get fresh veggies and whole grains every day? Is he on a pellet diet or a seed diet as his staple food? How much protein does he get each day? High daily protein will also contribute to his flaring hormones...
Now to me a major red flag in your situation is the fact that his cage is in a spare room in your home, as you call it "his room". It sounds like it's a bird room you have in your home, and with some birds this setup works well, but with many other birds it can cause extreme separation anxiety or a total lack of socialization. You have to realize that your bird is off in a room away from where the action in your house is. He can here you and anyone else that is in your house, but he can't see you or the rest of them. He hears the TV, music, talking, whatever is going on but he's back in a room alone with the door shut. Like I said, some birds are much better than others at entertaining themselves and can take the fact that they can't always see their person or people. But some birds absolutely cannot take this living situation and they actually become frustrated, angry, upset, jealous, and finally unsocialized and aggressive. Hormonal periods make this all the more worse, and him being a green cheek conure makes it soooo much worse in and of itself. Green cheeks are not called "Velcro Birds" for nothing. They are very affectionate, needy birds that don't want to be away from their person or their mate if they are in a flock of birds. So I'm willing to bet, in fact I'd bet my life on it, that if you moved his cage out of that room and into the main living room, TV room, den, whatever you call the main traffic room of your house where you and anyone else that lives with you spend the most time, he will do a complete 180 in behavior within 2 weeks or less. Now don't think that you need to be interacting with him directly once he's moved to the living room, that's not the point here. The point is that your bird is not entertaining himself with his toys or whatever else he has in his cage or in that room he's been in alone, he can't do anything but focus on the fact that he isn't a part of the action in your house. So once you move his cage out to your living room you just go about your normal business. My birds are all in my living room, their cages are always open when I'm home and they only get locked inside their cages when I'm gone. Otherwise they can come and go as they please, but the point is that they are all happy, healthy, loving birds that all entertain themselves, whether in their cages, on their cages, on their playgym, etc. I watch TV, play guitar, read, I'm on the computer, etc. and they entertain themselves. They might sit on me if I'm on the couch watching TV, but the point is that even if they are locked inside their cages they are IN MY PRESENCE, ARE A PART OF THE ACTION, and can see what they hear. They're included. This is how you keep your bird socialized, people just simply walking past his cage, talking near him, talking to him just by saying hello to him as going by, people simply sitting on the couch across the room from him while he's sitting on top of his cage, this is what he needs and wants. Has he started constantly calling to you when you leave "his room"? If not, he will soon, he'll start contact calling you, which is just screaming, as soon as you leave his room. And generally they don't stop for a long time. They want to be in your presence, in the action of the home. And you can still put him to sleep at sunset, or earlier than you go to bed, and you can still watch TV, talk to people in the room or on the phone, whatever you want to do after he goes to bed (important he gets 12 hours each night). You simply have to cover his cage when it's his bedtime. The lights from the TV and the sounds from the TV, stereo, talking, etc. will not wake him up once he's covered, they sleep like a rock under a cover. He'll actually sleep more soundly and deeply because he knows you are in the room watching TV or whatever it is that you're doing, this will make him feel safe and secure and allow him to get quality deep sleep, which will in turn help his hormonal behavior. Try it for 2-3 weeks, move his cage to your main living room, get a blanket or something to cover him at bedtime, and get him on a Solar Schedule. Even just moving his cage will help immensely. You'll see a change pretty directly. And please do still try to interact with him as much as you can for as long as you can each day. You'll obviously have to get his wings clipped before opening his cage door, but that's easy enough. Then you can just open his cage and let him come out when he wants to, he can hang out on top of his cage, play with his toys, you just keep doing your thing in the same room. If he wants nothing to do with you right now just keep walking past his cage, saying hello to him when you do, talk to him from across the room, on the couch, etc. At first after you move him he'll keep to himself, play with his toys, etc. But quickly he'll realize that he's now a part of the family, a part of the action, and won't be put back into that room alone again, and he'll pretty quickly walk over to you, sit on your shoulder, etc. I promise, it works.
"Dance like nobody's watching..."
- Thread starter
- #9
I was never talking about getting him a friend, he was in the room with my two parakeets until I removed the parakeets from there this week to see if it helped. I thought maybe he was too attached to them. Which I removed them two days ago, and yesterday he jumped on my hand for the first time in months. Even gave me a couple kisses. No treats, just pellets in my hand. He is already on a solar schedule, we are in arizona so he goes to bed around 7-8 and I wake up and feed him around 630-7 am. Wings will be getting clipped as soon as he lets me hold him long enough to put him in the travel cage and take him to get it done, which hopefully is tomorrow. He stepped up once today with a bribe from some more pellets, and after he flew around for a little bit. Hoping this is a good start. Moving his cage downstairs is not an option with the dog, and that was never a problem when he would hang out with me on my shoulder or his toy stand in the living room, but I don't feel comfortable leaving his big cage downstairs all the time while I'm at work. Thanks for the advice! I hope he still loves me!
Doublete
New member
- Mar 15, 2015
- 1,242
- 0
- Parrots
- "Loki" turquoise GCC 1/4/15 hatch date-- "Chiqui" amazon 9/2010 hatch date---- "Banner" green parrotlet hatchdate 11/22/16
RIP "pineapple" lovebird
Maybe think about not getting his wings clipped... it might mean more if it's his choice to stay with you... a bird that can fly is generally more confident and well adjusted. You could always give it a few more days...
GREAT ADVICE ABOVE!
I am an apologist for difficult birds, and for the Rickeybird (and myself). Even after all these years, I sometimes find myself putting myself or my bird down... stuff like...
I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS OR THAT.
WHY CAN'T HE BE SWEET AND NICE, LIKE OTHER BIRDS?
PEOPLE WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHY I PUT UP WITH THIS.
Stuff like that.
But the Rb is a parrot... one generation out of the wild.
I do all the right things, as much/well as I can, but in the end, I just LOVE my bird,
Some parrots are SO SWEET, some are NOT. I'm HAPPY and a bit JEALOUS of those successes.
I have lessened my psychological and physical wounds over the decades... not because I've changed the bird, but I have changed me. And a lot of that has involved giving up on a lot of my desires/expectations. After years of battle, I surrendered. I admit... as to why have I not (and why am I unable/unwilling) to train the Rb to do anything that he doesn't want to do?
Example... he is free-flighted... no time-out gonna happen there. He flies away.
Consequently, I have a Tazmanian Devil on my hands. I love him. I have no complaints, really. He's HIMSELF. And I'm MYSELF. And the result... check my Signature for videos. etc., if you like.
Over the years, I have been very embarassed/downhearted/sad about having a pet that was so... out of my control.
The most guiltifying thing is that, if I die before he does, what kind of maniac am I passing along, and what likelihood of success does he have? I'm still struggling weith that one.
But finally, I've accepted that I have an amazing half-wild being who loves me and perches on my hand and speaks to me! He sings, plays, cuddles NOW and then. He's a real character. It's magic enough.
TAKE ALL THE GEAT ADVICE, and you'll have some success. But in the end, just love your bird for who he is.
We'll stick with you!
I am an apologist for difficult birds, and for the Rickeybird (and myself). Even after all these years, I sometimes find myself putting myself or my bird down... stuff like...
I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS OR THAT.
WHY CAN'T HE BE SWEET AND NICE, LIKE OTHER BIRDS?
PEOPLE WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHY I PUT UP WITH THIS.
Stuff like that.
But the Rb is a parrot... one generation out of the wild.
I do all the right things, as much/well as I can, but in the end, I just LOVE my bird,
Some parrots are SO SWEET, some are NOT.
I'm HAPPY and a bit JEALOUS of those successes.I have lessened my psychological and physical wounds over the decades... not because I've changed the bird, but I have changed me. And a lot of that has involved giving up on a lot of my desires/expectations. After years of battle, I surrendered. I admit... as to why have I not (and why am I unable/unwilling) to train the Rb to do anything that he doesn't want to do?
Example... he is free-flighted... no time-out gonna happen there. He flies away.
Consequently, I have a Tazmanian Devil on my hands. I love him. I have no complaints, really. He's HIMSELF. And I'm MYSELF. And the result... check my Signature for videos. etc., if you like.
Over the years, I have been very embarassed/downhearted/sad about having a pet that was so... out of my control.
The most guiltifying thing is that, if I die before he does, what kind of maniac am I passing along, and what likelihood of success does he have? I'm still struggling weith that one.
But finally, I've accepted that I have an amazing half-wild being who loves me and perches on my hand and speaks to me! He sings, plays, cuddles NOW and then. He's a real character. It's magic enough.
TAKE ALL THE GEAT ADVICE, and you'll have some success. But in the end, just love your bird for who he is.
We'll stick with you!
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