Problems with adopted female!

[emily92]

Yesterday we adopted a (roughly) 3 year old female alexandrine to add to our family and keep our 2 year old male(and only bird) companionship. Have never adopted an older bird before.. in fact our only parrot experience is with our current bird and we have had him since a baby.

She is hand raised, very tame, talks, loves people.. we adopted her from a woman that had her in a large aviary type thing with another hand raised male and an aviary raised female who were bonded- apparently picking on her and leaving her out hence being adopted to us.

At first she seemed very quiet, tame, enjoyed chatting with us and giving kisses, but she is showing some issues.
-She is seemingly very hormonal- biting, trying to build a nest(she had built a nest in the aviary we adopted her from too), doing this crazy call/squawk every so often and looks really agitated when she does this, she does it particularly when we are out of the room.
-She seems not interested at all in interacting with out male.
-She is very hyperactive! she does this crazy running back and forward in her cage, she flies around crazily, and she wont stop constantly moving around.
-She appears to be drinking way too much water and has watery poops.

So my main questions are- Do you think she is showing behavioral/mental issues? Or is she just settling in(how long will this take)? Why is she doing the crazy loud call(can this be stopped)? Why is she nesting if she wasn't bonded with another bird? Should i be letting her nest?
How do we bond with her, make her more settled, and get her to interact with our male?
Any advice would be great! We are worried and if this continues will not be able to keep her.

 

[Allee]

If you only brought the new bird home a couple of days ago, I would think all the behaviors you described are perfectly normal under the circumstances. If your girl has been in a large aviary for any length of time and had limited human interaction, it will probably take her a while to adjust to her new situation. It may take even longer for her to interact with your other bird. There's never a guarantee that two birds will like each other or even tolerate each other.

Are you quarantining your new bird?

Here is a link with some great tips on bonding.

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

Good luck with your new girl, I hope things work out.

 

[1Spongebob]

Give it time. My amazon took months to adjust. I'm a little concerned that you may have un-realistic expectations of your new fid. Birds are never quiet & you can't expect her to "entertain" your other bird. You said she was in an aviary. Is her new cage a lot smaller? Birds also bond to their people. She could be mourning her former owner.

 

[Betrisher]

The behaviours you describe sound like the expression of stress to me. My Alexes scream when they're upset and the female (Madge) is highly territorial. She stalks up and down her perch just daring poor Barney to step foot on it. If he comes near, she'll wallop him from above and put him right in his place! Perhaps your new female is simply establishing and policing a territory on her perch in order to feel safe?

I think your bird (what's her name?) will do fine, she just needs some time to settle in. I'm afraid that will take as long as it takes. A lot will depend on how much time you can spend just sitting quietly with your bird and reassuring her with your presence. She's missing a happy home where she had been loved and used to a certain routine. It will take her time to feel at home again and especially to trust your male, who 'owned' your place before she ever got there.

For now, try not to make sudden or large movements around her. Speak quietly and keep noise to a minimum, just until she settles a bit more. Bribe her shamelessly with treats (you'll need to find out what she likes best - my lot like peanuts and sunflower seeds cut into small pieces). Most of all, allow her to take things at her own pace. Don't force her to come out of her cage, for example, and don't make her step up or perch anywhere she doesn't want to be.

About the nesting, that's probably a security thing and something she's doing to comfort herself while her environment has changed so much. Give her plenty of things to chew on (eg. wood, plastic toys, cardboard boxes - my Beaks love pizza boxes, tightly rolled junk mail, a phone book etc etc) and she should be just fine.

For myself, I think Alexandrines do much better with company. When my male, Barney, flew away last year, Madge went utterly silent and I was afraid she might pine away. On Barney's return, Madge found her voice again and went right back to normal. So yeah. Just sit tight and give birdie a few weeks to find her feet. In the meanwhile, do feel free to ask questions or discuss what she's up to. Alexandrines are simply GORGEOUS birds and my Beaks send happy squawks to yours.

 

[emily92]

Thanks guys.. 6 days in.. have introduced the birds and they both seem very disinterested with each other. My male Rocco tried to dance and kiss her and she ran away so now he has switched to ignoring her with a swipe at her every now and again(if he thinks we aren't looking).
In regards to the female(Georgie) she is perfectly fine with us humans- she is happy to step up, dance for treats, and chat with us whilst on our arm or across the room. However, as soon as I am out of eyesight she does that AWFUL shrill squawk and will continue doing it for hours and hours if she does not get me back in the room giving her attention. I've tried staying in the room with her for 2 days straight but she will even do this when I duck to the toilet or even when I am in the room. I know these things take time, but this isn't realistic, I have a job and a life and can't be with her 24/7 and i also have neighbours, a roommate, and my male, who all aren't happy. I don't know what else to try with her, or how long this will take....