I love you, Unless my friends are here, then i hate you leave me alone

[Meldara]

Hello, I am the companion to a green cheek conure named Petri. I also regularly watch my sisters two green cheeks when she has to leave for a while or has finials.This has been going on for about 2 years now. Usually petri is a snuggly velcro bird. He sits on my shoulder preening my hair and tries to wrestle with my fingers when i'm typing things, and i can do anything to him. But when my sisters birds are over suddenly he acts like hes terrified of me. he runs from me, hides and only wants to be arround the two other birds. He'll also lunge and try to bite me when i go to bring him from his cage in the morning to the play area in the living room.

The first time this started happening i got some really nasty bites because it has never happened before and i didn't know what to look for.If i leave the birds in my room for more then sleep they all start hanging out under the dresser and i do NOT want them breeding. were not sure about Petri and Hotrod's genders, but know for a fact Tiki is a girl.) He wont lunge though if i bring my sisters birds out first. He will how ever lean as far away from me as he can. Hes partially flighted but never liked flying preferring to sit on me and lean whichever direction he wants to go( hence the name petri) The partial is so the times i do get him to fly during training he gets more exercise and so he doesn't build speed and hight and knock him self silly on the ceiling again.

I have tried one on one time with all of them But for one petri and tiki panic when i try to separate them, Hotrods pretty chill. But as soon as i try to take them to another room they start flock calling and wont stop till they are back together. I have also tried just hanging around them and they are fine taking food from my hands and once they are on me they want to snuggle, But any time i approach them they act like ZOMG SHES GUNNA EAT US RUUNN!!! Unless its starting to get dark out side and Tiki decides its time for bed. Then she starts this , Im so annoyed your taking so long chattering and wont stop till i pick her up snuggle her then put them all to bed.

As soon as my sister takes her birds though Petri is back to being my best friend. Prety much as soon as they are out the door. No aggression no acting like im a scary monster lady. and No calling out for the others. My sisters birds on the other hand get very cranky for the first few days they are home and will keep going to the travel cage trying to get her to bring them back.

I was just wondering if anyone else had any experiences like this, or some advice. Mostly because my sister is making noises like she wants to leave them here permanently. And much as i love her birds and its great to see them playing and happy all the time, I don't want to loose petri as my best buddy.


Wow that came out longer then i thought it would. Thank you for reading,
Dawn

 

[lquan]

Yeah, I have similar experience with my GCC. But instead of biting me (and anyone in the family) for coming between her and another conure, it is her favorite food. Lily, my GCC, has never met another bird. All she knew were her sibblings and left them to live with us at 4 months old. When she is enjoying her time with someone in the family, don't separate her, or she'll bite. She spends one on one time with everybody in the house. We just have to understand her and not pick her off from someone's shoulder when she is cuddling with that person. She decides who she wants to spend time with. To everyone else in the family, her bitting is hard, but not to me. Maybe because the skin on my hands and fingers are too thick and rough to feel pain.

 

[Meldara]

Yeah, I under stand what you mean about the biting hurting everyone else in the house. Petri, when the other birds aren't here, loves to be around people. If its not me its my mom, Or my sister or her fiance But he is beaky, which they usually see as bites and i have to tell them No if he was biting you'd be bruised or bleeding not just saying ow. XD those little beaks can be sharp. Hes almost three and finally seems to be getting out of the beakyness though.

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

I know it is frustrating and concerns you. But I have to say that you painted a very humorous picture of parrots being toooooo cute. But it wasn't happening to me.

wonder if that clique-iness would go on permanently if all 4 of u lived together, or if They would start to compete for your attn.

 

[Birdman666]

Your bird sees you all the time. Doesn't get to play with his/her own kind much. Therefore, when the opportunity arises, the bird protests being taken away from his/her little friends...

This is an educated guess of the dynamic.

 

[Meldara]

hehe they are tooo cute, its why i love them so much. and the only reason my mom is coming around. She had never thought to much about them having so much personality. But after living with them for three years shes starting to see it and love them too. That and because Petri tells her shes pretty.....even though i cant get him to stop calling me by his name when he wants something. -_-

And birdman thats as good a guess as any.

 

[alcmene]

When you babysit your sisters birds could you not let Petri know they are visiting? Sneak them in and keep them in another part of the house away from him?

 

[Allee]

I'm sorry, I do understand your dilemma but that is really cute that the birds have so much fun together. I also wonder if things would be different if your sisters birds lived with you.

 

[Meldara]

Yeaaah sneaking is not happening, petri lives in the living room except for at bed time, and the living room is connected to the front door and the back door is currently blocked by my sisters and her fiance's boxes from when they tried to move out. And the fact that if tiki doesn't see petri the moment they walk in the door she starts calling. We think she has overly attached girlfriend issues. She also adopted my parakeets. I think she thinks their skinny conure babies because shes always trying to feed them. She also loves to just watch them, or go in their cage and try cuddle them. They first time they ever brought her over i swear i saw hearts in her eyes. And i love that they have fun together. Its great to watch them play, and cuddle and petri and hot rod wrestle and they fight over who gets to be in the middle of the snuggle pile. I just wish a little they wanted to include me a little more. and did not act as if i was going to eat then, Unless they want to be moved XD

 

[MomtoPercy]

Birdies can be so fickle

I suggest you leave them be - chances are that they'll include you in time...I hope?

 

[Mudkips]

So here's a question - do you get along well with Tiki?
Is it possible that Petri is reacting to Tiki's behaviour towards you?

 

[Meldara]

I get along as well as any one dose with Tiki. Shes a rescue from a pet store that had her labled as a biter. A family had bought her and been told she was nippy. She nipped the husband and the next day they returned her. and the store had to label her a bitter.She stayed alone in a small tank bird cage with one branch and one toy for about a year. and was only handled as little as possible and when she was she was roughly handled to " get it over with" when I went with my sister to get her the store clerk was reaching in fearfully and tiki was trying to run away and when she did get her it was rough and she bit the lady hard enough to make her bleed. Sine we got her home she has never bitten anyone. But for the first year she wouldn't let anyone pick her up. She gotten ALOT better with love and time.After a year and a half shell step up now, when she wants to after a moment of running away till she realizes your not just going to grab her and she has a choice. She plays with toys. She always wants snuggles before bed time. But for the most part she doesn't want much to do with people. She adores petri though, and thats part of what helped her realize people weren't going to manhandle her, watching him interact with us and it was fine. Then my sister got Hot Rod and he just loves everyone. And that helps too i think.