The crazy gagging head dance??

[DanR]

Hi all!

Things are going SUPER well with Tango, he's just a sweetheart and things are going super well in his third week since arriving. He's starting to play with his toys quite a bit more, has discovered the joy of his sleeping tent, which he runs to as soon as I start covering his cage for sleepy time, and continues to be a huge cuddle bug. He loves being on my shoulder and nibbling my ears and seems to get a huge kick out of jumping on my desk and playing with the stationary. He happily steps up to anyone offering a finger perch and is just adorable to watch and interact with. he's also eating great but still doesn't seem to be very food crazy... I still haven't figured out what I could offer as a treat to start training him, he just doesn't seem to care for anything other than kiwis and grapes, which of course I can't offer as a treat in training. I'm also about to make my first batch of birdy mash, I have a mountain of ingredients at home waiting for my attention.

Right, so the only thing I wasn't ready for was this really weird thing he does, which I think is some kind of happy/excitement display. I see it when I first get home and greet him, or he'll suddenly do it while preening my ears. He basically opens his beak as wide as he can and starts bobbing his head over and over and makes a gagging/regurgitation sound, and he usually ends up spitting up a small bit of food to share with me. He does this maybe once every couple of days and started doing it about a week ago. To me he just seems super excited or happy and he does his spit-up-dance.

Should I be worried about this or have I correctly identified why he's doing it? It only happens when he's really pumped up about seeing me, or so it appears.

Kind of looks like this but with his beak wide open and more head movement:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7L2yfG3BOw"]Regurgitating Amazon Parrot - YouTube[/ame]

In other news, I think Tango is a gateway bird... the wife is starting to look at blue Indian Ringnecks... uh oh.

Dan

 

[punkindave]

LOL, yes that's the celebrated "head bob".
Two of mine will start doing that as soon as we walk in the door or first thing in the morning! Never had one produce any wet stuff!
The female will sit on my shoulder and start head bobbing then go into a bouncing motion while whistling.. This makes my laugh pretty hard which seems to get her going even faster and whistling frantically!! Each is different, they are all incredible individuals. Who needs TV with the circus right in your living room!!

 

[DanR]

LOL, yes that's the celebrated "head bob".
Two of mine will start doing that as soon as we walk in the door or first thing in the morning! Never had one produce any wet stuff!
The female will sit on my shoulder and start head bobbing then go into a bouncing motion while whistling.. This makes my laugh pretty hard which seems to get her going even faster and whistling frantically!! Each is different, they are all incredible individuals. Who needs TV with the circus right in your living room!!

haha that's fantastic, I figured that's what was going on, good stuff And yes he is an absolute clown... I let him bounce around on the counter while I do the dishes and it's just a total show to watch him bounce around the pots and pans, steal cutlery (I now have to hide the knives) and of course dive in to the sink to get covered in water while I try to keep him from falling in to the dirty dish water side. I think a 10 minute dish washing session runs 45 minutes with his "help" lol!

He's pretty much out of his cage from the minute I get home until his bed time. The bird "expert" at my local pet store said I should not take him out one day a week so he doesn't get too dependant, but I just can't help myself

Dan

 

[punkindave]

He's pretty much out of his cage from the minute I get home until his bed time. The bird "expert" at my local pet store said I should not take him out one day a week so he doesn't get too dependant, but I just can't help myself

Dan

That's very true with many species. While there are exceptions I can tell you that we are the same with our whole flock. As soon as we come home, the cages get opened and at least 5 are out and about most of the evening. Two or three of the four are "attached" to me for most of that time for finger wrestling, rough housing or just chillin! I have found that the Caiques seem to be quite able to "self entertain" (of course there's 4 of them living in the same cage) If there is a night or two where they don't get to come out, they don't hold a grudge like our Cockatoo or the CAG can.

Just be careful in the kitchen, stove burners stay hot for a while and it's really hard to resist helping yourself to pasta and such right from the boiling pot!! I love when they come in the kitchen to scope out what's for dinner, you hear the little tica tica tica of the little nails on the floor as they walk in with their heads turned sideways for a better view!! :32:

 

[DanR]

He's pretty much out of his cage from the minute I get home until his bed time. The bird "expert" at my local pet store said I should not take him out one day a week so he doesn't get too dependant, but I just can't help myself

Dan

That's very true with many species. While there are exceptions I can tell you that we are the same with our whole flock. As soon as we come home, the cages get opened and at least 5 are out and about most of the evening. Two or three of the four are "attached" to me for most of that time for finger wrestling, rough housing or just chillin! I have found that the Caiques seem to be quite able to "self entertain" (of course there's 4 of them living in the same cage) If there is a night or two where they don't get to come out, they don't hold a grudge like our Cockatoo or the CAG can.

Just be careful in the kitchen, stove burners stay hot for a while and it's really hard to resist helping yourself to pasta and such right from the boiling pot!! I love when they come in the kitchen to scope out what's for dinner, you hear the little tica tica tica of the little nails on the floor as they walk in with their heads turned sideways for a better view!! :32:

LOL yeah I hear ya, we're very careful when cooking. My cooktop is induction so no worries after the cooking is done, but he's not near boiling pots and such. Used to do the exact same thing with my ratty