Delilahs in a bit of a phase...

[Featheredfuffs]

So I thought you guys might help!

Almost a week ago I went back to school, and as I got Delilah over the summer, she's never had the experience of me being away for 7 hours before. I think this is made even worse as I used to be able to spend 5+ hours each day with her, and now it's more like 1 1/2-3. Ever since then she's been very nippy and grumpy to me, and know one else, especially when I'm shooing her away from anything she's not supposed to be into (aka my computer keyboard, lol).

Does anyone have any ideas for making the transition easier? She's only 6 months and is starting to test what she can get away with, so I really want to nip this in the bud.


Thanks!!!!

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

First of all, DO NOT "shoo her away". Stop what you are doing and give her ten or fifteen minutes of attention. Then put her somewhere where she is safe and has something to do to occupy her (give her a treat or a new toy) and go back to work. Do this every time she interrupts you (and it will be often at first) and she will get used to sharing you with the computer and books and whatever else you need to do. Right now she is rightly feeling rejected and you need to change that. Yes, it will take longer to get things done, but you still want your bird to love you after school is out, right? She is a living, feeling needing individual and doesn't understand what is going on and why you don't like her all of a sudden.

We get engrossed in our lives and we forget others need our attention and time. It is a great way to lose your bond with your bird if you don't change the way you interact now.

 

[Featheredfuffs]

First of all, DO NOT "shoo her away". Stop what you are doing and give her ten or fifteen minutes of attention. Then put her somewhere where she is safe and has something to do to occupy her (give her a treat or a new toy) and go back to work. Do this every time she interrupts you (and it will be often at first) and she will get used to sharing you with the computer and books and whatever else you need to do. Right now she is rightly feeling rejected and you need to change that. Yes, it will take longer to get things done, but you still want your bird to love you after school is out, right? She is a living, feeling needing individual and doesn't understand what is going on and why you don't like her all of a sudden.

We get engrossed in our lives and we forget others need our attention and time. It is a great way to lose your bond with your bird if you don't change the way you interact now.

Oh no when I meant when I said I shooed her away, I meant I picked her up and moved her a few inches away to her food bowl (which I always take out and put on my desk), or her playstand on my desk to occupy her and I'll talk to her and "baby talk" her as well. The problem is that she's very stubborn and will run right back to my computer or whatever she was chewing and gets frustrated and will nip and make her "mad noise" when I continue to move her back to encourage her to play with something else... I'm not at all just pushing her away and treating her as annoyance

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

Good. You have smarts when it comes to birds and what they need. The rest of the advice is what you need to do; find things to keep her occupied when you need to do computer work. I kept a lot of foot toys on the desk as well as hid small pinches of millet or other treats in the piles of toys. Get her a foraging toy and use it when you need to be on the computer and her occupied with other stuff. Still, Sunny would crawl down my arms and proceed to remove the letters on the keyboard. It was then time to take a break and give her more attention. You have to understand when they are out of their cage and you are in their environment, they feel THEY should be your center of attention, not anything else. We have to teach them to find other things to do when we need to do other things or simply not allow them to have physical access to us.

Which is why the computer is no longer in the birdroom. I have other things to do in the birdroom now. It doesn't matter of the birds interfere with what I do in the birdroom now.