Valentino my RFM adjusting to my coming back

[noblemacaw]

For the past few days things have been a little bit challenging. I was gone for 5 days came back on the weekend then left for another 5 days and came back on Friday for good. Valentino seemed to handle my absence well. Lupe took very good care of him and he seemed none of the worse for wear from missing me.

I have noticed over the past few says he has been really clingy to me and when I am out of site he screams for a little bit calling out to me then will quiet down. However my challenge of late has been when I am in site of him and do not give attention or let him out of his cage he will scream VERY loudly and at times will not stop. When he gets like this I leave the room until he calms down and then will re-enter. If he stays quiet I will then give him attention or let him out but if he starts up screaming I will turn around and leave.

I realize two things are probably going on here. One is I believe he is displaying insecurity of my leaving for a week at a time and two he is in the teenage age and being a huge PITA. Lupe did tell me he does not scream when she is in the room and he stays in the cage when I was not at home.

Valentino seems to be still bonded to me after all the craziness of my schedule for the past 6 weeks. Now that I am home and my schedule will be much more stable I hope his insecurity will lessen as I prove to him I am not going anywhere. I need to get him back on the schedule I had him on before all the disruptions of my leaving him and coming back. One positive thing is Valentino has been extremely affectionate to me but has to be on me ALL THE TIME. LOL

I still can't go to the bathroom by myself.

 

[Birdman666]

CLINGY BIRD SYNDROME...

My big macs (and one of my zons) do that too when they haven't been handled enough. Once the routine is back to normal, it tends to go away.

A little one on one goes a long way.

 

[getwozzy]

I'm glad Valentino took your absence well, despite his clinginess he obviously missed you VERY much!!

I hope things are going well for YOU too; glad to have you back!

 

[Abigal7]

Sounds like Valentino missed you alot. I remember I went to my Dad's for the holidays for a couple of days. My mom took care of my animals but Captain Jack was sure clingy when I cam back home. On a side note it is nice to hear from you noblemacaw. I wish you a speedy recovery.

 

[noblemacaw]

Valentino is starting to mellow out with the clingyness. He is now in his cage talking to himself. I have noticed he has learned new words and phrases since I have been away. Yesterday he moved really close to my face and said "I love you". I melted because none of my boys ever said that to me even though I said/say that phrase a lot. He now also says "I can flyyyyyy" its so funny. I also noticed him saying "come here and he makes the same noises and calls as Julio. Valentino seems to be on some kind of learning curve with his talking of late. This screaming has lessened in intensity also. Instead of screaming Valentino yells "COME HERE!" LOL

 

[faeryphoebe1]

Awww, he missed you! Last year I had to spend about 48 hours away from Trixie, due to a retreat my daughter had. Trixie held a grudge and gave me some painful nips before she forgave my absence.

Valentino sounds like such a sweety. Great vocabulary, too!

 

[Chesphoto]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I'm going to be away for almost two weeks and I am almost dreading it... On one hand, I get to visit my son who is living abroad. Then there are all the stories of how hard it is for the birds that are left behind...

Please keep up with all the stories of birds forgiving their owners coming in. I really need them. Any tips to help witb the absence would be greatly appreciated too.

 

[noblemacaw]

This may sound a little bit weird but I told Valentino before I left how many days it would be before I came back home. Since I left for 5 days Monday though Friday I held up 5 fingers and told him "I'm going to be gone 5 days." Then I would clench into fist and say "Today is Monday" holding up my thumb. "tomorrow is Tuesday" hold up another finger and count with him though the days. I then had Lupe every morning show him by holding up the number of digits of what day it was. Like on Wednesday she held up 3 fingers telling him he had two more days to wait for me.

When the last day came and Lupe showed him I was due to come home later because all 5 digits were held up for him Valentino got excited. When I came home he seemed less stressed and almost like he was expecting me. When I walked though the door and he saw me he called to me saying "hello" instead of screaming very loudly and pacing in his cage.

Another way is to show the parrot a calender circling the day you are to come home and each day show him what day it was by crossing off that day. Parrots are very intelligent and they actually pick up on this and seem to have a understanding by showing them a visual aid of how many days it was going to be before the loved one comes back. I believe by showing them they can actually understand counting down to when that person is to return home.