Strange/interesting behavior modification success...

[Nocturnal]

My sun conure, Cayenne has been acting up since I first brought Onyx home almost 4 weeks ago. My belief is he was angry and jealous that I was giving another bird attention. It didn't help that a week after I was finally able to bring Onyx home, my dad got our U2, Tauntaun.

Anyway, Cayenne had been puffing up and striking the bars and banging his bell anytime ANYONE walked by, and if I went to pick him up, he did his threatening conure dance at my hands and tried to bite me. I had to make him step up on a stick and get him out of his cage before I could handle him, and once I put him back he would launch himself into the depths of his toy filled cage.

Finally, I got a bit fed up-- I was trying to give him special, individual attention and he kept trying to attack me... so... I removed every single toy in his cage other than his happy hut and the toy that squishes it flat the way he likes it. I did this because he used his toys to express his aggression by banging them to make as much noise as possible. He also couldn't swing from toy to toy and dissapear as you reached for him anymore.

There was almost an immediate behavior change. Now, he steps up nicely and seems happier, calmer and more relaxed. After two days of this better behavior I have started slowly adding his toys back to the cage and he is maintaining his calm and relaxed behavior towards me and the rest of the household.


Ok--- so... why did this work? I honestly don't know exactly why I did it, but I felt that it might modify the way he was behaving by taking him out of his safety zone and making him want to rely on me more. What do you all think?

 

[MonicaMc]

I don't know either.... other than perhaps upsetting the 'balance' in his world. He is quite obviously upset at the changes, but I don't know why removing the toys calmed him. It's not the first time I've heard if that technique being used, but it's been a long time!

 

[Nocturnal]

Oh really? I did not know it was a teqnique-- I just noticed he was directing his bad behavior through his toys and thought it might change it if I removed them.

 

[BillsBirds]

Maybe it's kind of like taking toys away from a misbehaving child. He saw that he lost his things when he acted up, and decided that he'd better behave. Whatever works!

 

[Nocturnal]

Hmm, I'm not sure their brains quite work that way except through consistancy and repetition; I didn't take them to punish him but to change his environmental stimuli.

 

[Abigal7]

I have read some people say in the process of taming a bird do not allow them toys but make yourself their only entertainment. Thinking about it my parents as a child never bought my bird toys and my birds were not aggressive. My bird has toys but I do not have much of a problem with her.

 

[MikeyTN]

After bring home previously named Keiko to Lola now, Willie didn't pay much attention to her at first until the Wednesday night he started to notice and got anxious. He's actually jealous and upset that I'm holding Lola. When I put up Lola and brought him out instead, he pooped on me which he NEVER do and it was more watery then normal and he was unstable. He did it a few more times and wasn't acting like himself. He tried to tell me he's not pleased with me. But the next day he was acting much better when I brought him out much longer then I had Lola on me and I think that comforted him and everything went back to normal. He started talking to me and acting like his normal self. Tonight he started banging his cage cause he saw me holding Lola again. Normally he don't ever care who I hold, but he's got a problem with Lola. One of these days I'm going to let them interact with one another slowly and hopefully this rivalry would end.