reesey the pants ([info]greaseyreesey) wrote in [info]cockatiels,
@ 2005-01-01 12:21:00
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help?
hi, sorry if this has been asked before but i couldn't find any past posts about this.

i've got a 9 year old male cockatiel who's been with me since he was a baby. up until 3 months ago we got along just fine. he whistled, played, hung out on my shoulder, let me scratch his head, etc.

out of nowhere he starting humping his perch all the time. he does it all day and all night. when he's finished he starts screaming continuously until he's ready to hump again. he's also built a nest in the bottom corner of his cage. he's become extremely agressive when i come near the cage (protecting his nest, i assume), but he also tries to fly at my face and attack even when i'm nowhere near the cage. he used to want to spend lots of time with me but he has no interest now... which would be fine if he weren't screaming all the time. and when he does choose to hang out with me he attacks quite viciously.

so i've read that it's normal for him to be rubbing himself on the perch. and i read that if you take away mirrors/nesting stuff/etc. it'll pass... but when i took away his mirror he stopped humping and screamed even more. and it seems that all of his toys are part of his nest because if i mess with any of them he freaks out. and it's been 3 months... that's a long time, isn't it?

i've also read that introducing another bird might help him feel less frustrated, and i'd be willing to try that if it helps chill him out, but if there's other things i could try i'd rather try them first. it's seriously driving me crazy. i live in a small apartment and i wake up to his screaming every morning, and go to sleep to his screaming every night.

has anybody gone through this?

any help would be greatly appreciated,

reese

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[info]anabug
2005-01-01 12:41 pm UTC (link)
maybe he needs a lady friend.

are his wings clipped? that could help him be less aggressive.

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[info]kasatka
2005-01-01 12:45 pm UTC (link)
How many light hours is he getting a day? I'm not sure if it'll work, but maybe he's on a "must breed" kick and shortening the amount of light he sees will convince him that now's not the right season for it. Maybe cover him at sunset and leave him covered until morning. (Or if you want him up at night, leave him covered longer in the morning.)

Sorry your bird is being such a weirdo. =\

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[info]greaseyreesey
2005-01-03 08:48 am UTC (link)
yeah i think the light thing is what brought this on. i lived in a rather dark basement before i moved here 5 or 6 months ago and my new place has way more light. thanks for the suggestion

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Been there, done that
[info]teechers_pet
2005-01-01 12:54 pm UTC (link)
Oohhhhh yeah, I went through this. It sucked big time. I realized after reading an article about it in Birdtalk that it is normal for them to do this, but you can control his behavior to a point. My male cockatiel started going through it about the same age as yours. They get very aggressive and grumpy. The solution that worked for Elvis and I (thank God) took a lot of patience and reinforcement, but it worked! Everytime I caught Elvis nesting, I would move him away from the situation. I moved the picture frame he liked to nest behind as well as other of his favorite nesting spots. Everytime he wanted to hump something, I would distract him and give him verbal affirmations. After doing this for a couple of weeks, he behavior improved. I also began ensuring he got 12 hours of undisturbed dark sleep every night. This helped a great deal as well. I also discovered that certain toys or stuffed animals can turn him on so I keep them away. Elvis seems to have a shoe fetish so I have to watch him around shoes. The less I let him rub on things, the sweeter he has become to me. I suggest removing all of his nest. It sounds like he thinks you are his "mate" and this type of relationship with a feathered friend can be very taxing on the owner. Elivis and I have reached our understanding and now he is well behaved once more. Hope this helps!

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Re: Been there, done that
[info]greaseyreesey
2005-01-03 08:52 am UTC (link)
thanks a lot for the suggestions. from the sound of it elvis will still try nesting/humping unless you're reinforcing good behavior all the time? how long did he go through the whole grumpy humpy phase?

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[info]bumblebeez
2005-01-01 01:25 pm UTC (link)
hiya! your problem seems to be a difficult one.

not sure if it works the same way with guy birds, but i know it's a trick with the gals.

like the above comment mentioned, change and take away what he's nesting around. it may be a good idea (if it's possible for you) to get another, smaller, more temporary cage, and put him in it at night in a dark area, and assure 10-12 hours of sleepage.

switching the cage kinda throws him off, and hopefully it'll distract him from nesting.

otherwise, goodluck. it really sucks that he's viewing you as a threat rather than a pal. keep us posted on how it works!:)

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[info]greaseyreesey
2005-01-03 08:55 am UTC (link)
did you have any problems with the bird's reaction to switching cages? my bird freaks out if i change anything at all. like moving his cage, changing his toys, etc. and i'm worried if i put him in a different cage he'll scream so much my neighbours will kill me. unless there's a trick to getting the bird used to new surroundings?

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[info]bumblebeez
2005-01-03 09:55 am UTC (link)
actually, it wasn't something i did and experienced myself, unfortunately..

i think to "ease the pain" a bit, you can put some of his toys and perches that he's used to in the other cage, that way he's got some familiararity (the spelling of that looks all goofed up)..

it's supposed to make him a LITTLE uncomfortable, but i think uncomfort to the point of him screaming his head off constantly defeats the purpose and will probably do more harm than good in the long run.

but i think it's also important that you only put him in the cage when it's lights out and sleepy time. dark room, and cage covered with a thick towel/light blanket. but MAYBE to get him more comfy in the new cage, he could spend some time in it during the day right next to the cage he's used to? i dunno, i'm not much of an expert on birds, as i'm just learning.

i wish i could be of more help :\

good luck!!!!!!!!

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[info]girlx512
2005-01-01 01:54 pm UTC (link)
Like [info]bumblebeez said above, 10 - 12 hours of sleep each night is very important in turning off the "gotta mate" mode in parrots. You can get a smaller cage or just move the one he's in into a room where living activity isn't going on past his bedtime--sometimes even a closet away from the commotion will do.

Also you can rearrange his cage drastically and often. It might be hard, particularly with him inside it, so you'll probably want to take him out of the room and move his perches and toys and put new ones or old ones in to switch it up. If he doesn't get secure in his "nest" he shouldn't display those behaviors. I'd do this maybe two times a week until he calms down.

His behaviour might require you to "start all over" like he were a new bird. Getting his wing clipped should prevent him from attacking your face and it will also allow you more control when working with him. Taking him into a small room (like the bathroom) and practicing step ups with lots of seed or millet treats can be helpful for you both. Of course the seeds and millet only work as treats if they don't make up the majority of his diet.

Good luck with him :o)

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[info]greaseyreesey
2005-01-03 08:56 am UTC (link)
thanks. i asked this to someone else as well, but do you have any suggestions for how to get him used to a new cage, new toys, etc.? he doesn't like change at all.

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[info]girlx512
2005-01-03 09:00 am UTC (link)
Well, unfortunately, it's sort of the point that he's not going to like it. It's not going to feel like "home." But you can start small, just moving his toys around that he has now and then slowly introduce new ones--read him though, making sure things never feel quite the same without totally making him distraught.

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[info]dizzydezzy
2005-01-01 02:58 pm UTC (link)
as already mentioned - limit light hours as much as you can (to at most 10 hours of light - 14 of dark).
also limit showers or baths to once a week (increased humidity - clue to breed), limit fatty foods (lots of "heavy food" around - clue to breed), re-arrange all the items in his cage, remove anything that might resemble another bird or a nesting place (such as happy hut type toys).

Also, he does NOT need a lady friend, trust me having such a HUGE breeding stimulus around would only make the hormonal things worse, and then you'd have to deal with eggs, too.

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[info]ltdead
2005-01-01 08:14 pm UTC (link)
Lots of good advice here.
I`d just like to mention that you should increase the hours of darkness gradually. Not just jump to BAM 14 hours of dark. I`d recommend using a blanket as a cage cover. He could see through a sheet. And definately put him in the quietest part of the house for his sleep time.

And DEFINATELY rearrange his cage regularly. Move the perches. Switch out his toys and put in new ones. Even move his cage to a new part of the house.

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[info]ltdead
2005-01-01 08:16 pm UTC (link)
Oh, I also forgot to mention that in extreme cases, avian vets can help you with problems like this. If none of these suggestions have any effect after about a month I would suggest going to an avian vet, as he might have some sort of hormone imbalance that the vet can help you treat and manage.

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[info]greaseyreesey
2005-01-03 08:57 am UTC (link)
thanks!

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