Questions about B&G behaviors

[MagicalMerlin]

Hello! This will be long, just a warning.
Merlin is an 8 year old B&G. We've had him for less than a week, so far its been going pretty well, I think. But I'm new to birds and their behaviors, so what do I know really?

Currently, he is living in our bedroom, which is right off the kitchen and mostly in the middle of everything since I spend most of my time in the kitchen. I also spend a good amount of time in my room with him, talking to him, sitting in the floor reading this forum and all things parrot. He will get into my lap, drink out of my water glass, step up for me when hes in my lap.

I put a baby gate up in my bedroom door and leave his cage door open for 8+ hours a day.
The first day-ish of the door being open, he would stay on his cage only. Then on the second/third day of it being open, I sat down on my bed to fold some clothes, he got down from his cage, climbed onto my bed and played in the towels, threw some socks around, then got into my lap and stepped up for me. It was really amazing!
Now he walks all around the room, goes into the bathroom a lot. I give him paper towels and tissue paper to shred up in there, willow balls to throw around, things like that. Its where he uses all his words/phrases, quietly talking to himself. He seems to really enjoy it.

This leads me to our issues. The bathroom, it has become his favorite place to be. Now when we walk in, he lunges at our feet. I think hes bluffing for the most part, so yesterday I let him make contact with my foot, he just lightly drug the tip of his beak across it and that was that.
He started to try to chew on the cabinets in the bathroom, I try to distract him and redirect his attention to toys or more paper to shred, but once he gets locked on the cabinets, its hard to get him away. My biggest problem is that he won't step up for me, unless he wants to. So my question for this is, what is the proper way to get him away from chewing the cabinets?
I have tried putting him out of the bathroom then closing the door, that led to him trying to chew the door open! Not good either.

The second thing is our bed. I think most parrots like fabrics and chewing them, punching beaks holes through them and whatnot. For example, I opened his cage this morning, he immediately got down and made a b-line for the bed. He got up there, and started pulling at the sheets and wouldn't stop. How do I deter him from doing this? What is the best way to stop it? Or how to keep him off the bed without being bitten, since he tends to be little nippy when hes agitated.
When we tell him no firmly and try to scoot him away, he opens his wings and bobs his head. I assume thats a stress thing, he doesn't like that we're trying to move him.

This "defiant" behavior all pretty much started yesterday, when I asked him to stop chewing on the cabinets. He lunged at my feet, I let him make contact and rather than the bluff, he actually pinched my foot and broke skin. It surprisingly didn't hurt, but I still made a loud squeal and told him no.
I have read that Birdman666 uses Mr. Pillow to deter them from lunging at feet, my couch doesn't have removable cushions so I tried one of our pillows backing him into a corner. That didn't go well, he attacked the pillow, probably out of fear. Do I keep him backed into the corner with the pillow until he's calm?

I know I'm probably doing things wrong. I know he came from a neglectful situation and hes learning how to play with toys and how to be happier. I just need some tips, because I want to do the right things for him, for him to be happy and have a good life.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[WilliamKenyon]

Magicalmerlin you have done extreemly well to rescue poor merlin from that petshop and give him a good home. I think he his going into the bathroom and chewing on things as well as the bed is because he is a bit bored and does not have a designated place for him to stay when not on you or with you. I recommend you buy or build a play stand for him. I will leave a link to a fabulous design by Uglow . Also have you got him checked out by an avian vet just to make sure he is well. Good luck and keep us posted on merlin.

http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/60683-diy-uglow-s-tree.html

 

[MonicaMc]

Now he walks all around the room, goes into the bathroom a lot. I give him paper towels and tissue paper to shred up in there, willow balls to throw around, things like that. Its where he uses all his words/phrases, quietly talking to himself. He seems to really enjoy it.

This leads me to our issues. The bathroom, it has become his favorite place to be. Now when we walk in, he lunges at our feet. I think hes bluffing for the most part, so yesterday I let him make contact with my foot, he just lightly drug the tip of his beak across it and that was that.

RE: BLUFFING

Barbara's Force Free Animal Training Talk: Do Animals Bluff?
Barbara's Force Free Animal Training Talk: Respecting the Bite


Bathrooms make really nice places to nest... It may be that he has decided that the bathroom would be an ideal place to nest in. Not ideal.

He started to try to chew on the cabinets in the bathroom, I try to distract him and redirect his attention to toys or more paper to shred, but once he gets locked on the cabinets, its hard to get him away. My biggest problem is that he won't step up for me, unless he wants to. So my question for this is, what is the proper way to get him away from chewing the cabinets?

I have tried putting him out of the bathroom then closing the door, that led to him trying to chew the door open! Not good either.

You may need to restrict his access, don't allow him on the floor (playgym that he can't climb off of?), and give him other things to chew. A 2x4 of untreated pine or *safe* tree branches with leaves from outside is perfectly good, too!

The second thing is our bed. I think most parrots like fabrics and chewing them, punching beaks holes through them and whatnot. For example, I opened his cage this morning, he immediately got down and made a b-line for the bed. He got up there, and started pulling at the sheets and wouldn't stop. How do I deter him from doing this? What is the best way to stop it? Or how to keep him off the bed without being bitten, since he tends to be little nippy when hes agitated.

When we tell him no firmly and try to scoot him away, he opens his wings and bobs his head. I assume thats a stress thing, he doesn't like that we're trying to move him.

Well...... what do you want him to do instead? Telling him "No" doesn't tell him what *TO* do, only what not to do.... so what do you want him to do instead of playing with the sheets? And how can you make that more rewarding?

What about foraging for treats? Or playing with toys and being rewarded with treats and praise? Or learning new behaviors?


The best way to stop an undesired behavior is to replace it with a more desirable behavior. Win-win!

I have read that Birdman666 uses Mr. Pillow to deter them from lunging at feet, my couch doesn't have removable cushions so I tried one of our pillows backing him into a corner. That didn't go well, he attacked the pillow, probably out of fear. Do I keep him backed into the corner with the pillow until he's calm?

There are a lot of things that Birdman and I don't agree on... and this is one of them.


I feel that this is a horrible practice and does not lead to good behavior (as some may think). You may get the "desired" behavior from the bird, but the result is that a bird simply gives up. It's called learned helplessness. That, or you get aggression. Fighting aggression with aggression can lead to more aggression.


I would *highly* suggest target training and perhaps redirecting the behavior.

You mentioned he loves throwing socks. What about getting a ball he could toss around instead? Make it a fun game for him and highly reward it, so he looks forward to playing with a ball rather than being aggressive.

 

[MagicalMerlin]

Thank you so much for the responses, William and Monica!

He does have toys to play with, hes not limited to just paper to shred! LOL We throw the ball around a lot. I found some plastic cat balls that have a smaller protected bell ball in the inside, he LOVES those. He has wooden hanging toys and some homemade toys to play with. I also just got an apple branch down for him to chew on, hes not too interested in that yet.

I'm going to look into the target training right now!

Am I giving him too much freedom? I have mixed feelings about the amount of freedom he has. I feel like its good for him, but at the same time not. If that even makes sense. LOL

We had a great idea for a play table for him, we have an old children's train table, a HUGE one, that we don't use anymore. So we're going to mount a PVC jungle gym on top of that! I hope it turns out as awesome as I think it will and I hope Merlin likes it.

I'm going to learn about target training! Its the one thing I haven't looked into yet, so I guess its time.

Thanks again for the suggestions!

 

[MonicaMc]

You might want to look into some dog balls, too! They're usually more sturdier than cat balls... besides, the bells can be dangerous!


I don't feel as if he has too much freedom, rather no "direction". I used to have a bird room where all of my birds were cage-free! Can't do that right now as I don't trust one of my birds! Plus, the room is not set up for cage-free living.


I kind of figured he probably had toys and such that he *could* play with, was just giving you some ideas on some cheaper alternatives!




So....... toys. How about we make them more interesting???? Wooden toys - you can drill holes into the toys and place treats and nuts in the holes. Make it easy at first, but over time, put the treats in deeper so he has to chew the wood to get to the treat!

You can also make, or buy, PVC foraging toys! Stuff with newspaper, nuts, Nutriberries, wooden blocks/beads, etc!

https://www.google.com/search?q=pvc...ved=0ahUKEwjbs8zs1OzNAhUG6CYKHWedD84Q_AUIBygC



*ANY* desired behavior you see, reward it! Be it with praise or a treat! Reward, reward, reward!

Any *undesired* behavior, try to prevent, distract and redirect it! Once you get desired behavior, REWARD!!!!


What you are trying to do here is teach him what to do! Give him direction that you both can agree on!

 

[MagicalMerlin]

Monica! Thank you so much! Thats just what I need! Tell me what to do! LOL

I have a clicker, so I'm going to start the clicker/target training tomorrow! I think Merlin will respond well, he is so smart! But they're all scary smart, aren't they? The more I'm around him the more I realize how dumb my dogs are!

I'm going to do just that, reward all the good behaviors! And redirect the "bad" ones and reward what he should be doing! Honestly, that is the best way anyone has said anything regarding what to do! LOL

I have a few more questions about behaviors that I can't quite figure out with him.
So during the day, its just Merlin, myself and my son(5 yo). But so far I don't let my son interact directly with Merlin, they talk to each other over a baby gate. Merlin cruises around the bedroom, does his own thing, I talk to him and monitor him all the time. Hes fairly calm, no screaming or screeching, he talks to us and to himself, mild chatter and noises. Merlin and I are pretty much in the same room together all the time, he steps up for me and I hand feed him, he gets into my lap and sits next to me in the kitchen. So lots of contact.
But when my husband gets home, he is all open wings and "stevie wonder-ing". Lots of head bobbing and loud screeches. Lots of wings being thrown up but not open, then lots of fully opened wings. What does that mean? I can't figure out if its happy or anxious or what?
I know sometimes they throw their heads around to displace stress...is that what hes doing? My husband talks to him and loves him, he wants to be one of the people he comes to and steps up for. I just can't quite figure out his behavior around him! LOL
Any ideas?

 

[plumsmum2005]

It could be a combination of happy to see you but not 100% sure. Wing quivering is/can be asking to be picked up. As your husband approaches closer how does he react. Better or worse?

If your husband can sit near Merlin, be calm and just talk to him, give him the chance to come over if he is happy to do so and reinforce the relationship. Remember your husband has been away/out of the house and most likely Merlin not quite got a handle on that yet. Routines will make that better and he will gain confidence.

 

[MagicalMerlin]

When my husband gets close to Merlin, he tries to lunge at him. He will also lunge at his feet when hes on the floor and my husband is walking around. He does it to me only when we're in the bathroom together.

My husband doesn't seem to understand the space thing, like Merlin isn't ready to be petted and loved on physically. I haven't even really touched him(outside of him stepping up and walking onto my lap, no petting) because when I do try I can tell hes uncomfortable with it. So my husband tries to "sneak in love" which I think is probably bothersome for Merlin.
I think my husband needs to read some more macaw literature, to be honest. He doesn't want to listen to me or listen to Merlin's body language.

I might see if I can get a video of what Merlin does when my husband comes home. At first we thought it was funny and he was playing, but the more I read the more I think its not playing its closer to a stress reaction.

 

[wrench13]

If you want a long term , happy relationship with Merlin, both of you better get to reading, a lot. Both of you are setting up patterns that might be hard to break later, and you do want this to be Merlins forever home, right? Macaws need a LOT of stuff to chew on, so start getting creative on sources of wood, and things to do with it, you have gotten some good suggestions above. Chewing on furniture, woodwork and walls is going to become expensive and you will start to think about re-homing Merlin, and I know you dont want to do that.

Macaws are SMART, as you know. Why not start teaching Merlin some tricks to stimulate his mind? Circles, shake hands , rolling over, come here are all easy. Baby toys are also great, and your Merlin is big enough to be able to handle and mouth most of them ( they are mostly too big for my little Amazon parrot). And ask questions here. Endless questions.. dont worry this is a patient bunch here.

 

[MonicaMc]

There is one possibility.... Merlin is claiming you as a "mate". Which is not good behavior. If this is so, then it may be best to now allow any touchy feely physically attention anyway and try to get him more socialized!