Hormones are out of control right now

[Lodah]

Dianne... have you tried refocusing his mean streaks with a toy that he likes? It works a treat with Pilo when he starts getting nasty! Pilo likes those little balls with a bell inside them that he can pick up and throw to the ground ( with me picking it up of course and giving it back to him). Even a metal spoon is good as he can bite that as well!

Sorry to see you having such a hard time with Blu!

 

[Mizzely]

My boys are pretty good right now! Which is odd for us lol. I'm attributing it to a new house in the last 30 days for the most part. Jingo only gets mad at me if I take his coffee mug, Bobber is in love with an OG toy that he is fiercely guarding, but otherwise we're doing good!

Now, I'm all for birds getting a lot of options and freedom. But with the boys I feel like sometimes they just need reminded that even human members of the flock need respect. I do have them sit in their cages if they forget that (stealing food, mostly, lately). It's been an interesting transition for us because we have no bird room now, so we're all trying to figure it all out again.

When Jingo is dive bombing, I do not feel bad putting him in his cage for 20 to 60 minutes while he cools his jets. That's for both of our safety

 

[expressmailtome]

Wearing long sleeved shirts will help cut down on the bites that you receive on your arms.

 

[Mizzely]

Rereading my post... you could try to throw him off his game by rearranging the room/ cage? If it's working for mine, maybe it will work for yours!

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Dianne... have you tried refocusing his mean streaks with a toy that he likes? It works a treat with Pilo when he starts getting nasty! Pilo likes those little balls with a bell inside them that he can pick up and throw to the ground ( with me picking it up of course and giving it back to him). Even a metal spoon is good as he can bite that as well!

Sorry to see you having such a hard time with Blu!

Thanks Lodah! He isn't really interested in bird toys that much. He likes my stuff...eyeshadow brushes, eyeshadow compacts, cords, my phone I will try to redirect him though! Thank you!

My boys are pretty good right now! Which is odd for us lol. I'm attributing it to a new house in the last 30 days for the most part. Jingo only gets mad at me if I take his coffee mug, Bobber is in love with an OG toy that he is fiercely guarding, but otherwise we're doing good!

Now, I'm all for birds getting a lot of options and freedom. But with the boys I feel like sometimes they just need reminded that even human members of the flock need respect. I do have them sit in their cages if they forget that (stealing food, mostly, lately). It's been an interesting transition for us because we have no bird room now, so we're all trying to figure it all out again.

When Jingo is dive bombing, I do not feel bad putting him in his cage for 20 to 60 minutes while he cools his jets. That's for both of our safety

Thanks, Shawna! That's a good idea. Next attack is going to give him a timeout. Glad your boys are being good!

Wearing long sleeved shirts will help cut down on the bites that you receive on your arms.

Good idea, Matthew, thank you!!

Rereading my post... you could try to throw him off his game by rearranging the room/ cage? If it's working for mine, maybe it will work for yours!

That's a great idea too! Unfortunately, I don't have time to do it today but I'll try to rearrange stuff tomorrow. Thanks so much!!

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

He was a little better this am. Still had a flat fluffy attack mode head and open beak but I was redirecting him with q tips and a t stick.

I'm leaving for work soon so hoping he's a little sweeter when I come back.

 

[Familyof12]

Let us know how he and you are doing please. I don't have one that bites...for now. It always changes.

 

[sunnysmom]

You can try increasing his hours of darkness/sleep by two hours a night for a couple weeks to "trick" him into thinking it's winter and not mating season. Also, the one and only time that Sunny, my tiel, was super hormonal and attacking my fiancé, I bought him Herb Salad. It's a bunch of herbs- lavender, etc. The thought it that the bird will instinctively eat the herbs he needs. I don't know if it was a coincidence or not but Sunny picked through it (I hid some seeds in there too) and within a couple days he was back to normal. It can be bought in various places but I got mine at mysafebirdstore.com.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Let us know how he and you are doing please. I don't have one that bites...for now. It always changes.

I will keep you all posted, Thanks!

You can try increasing his hours of darkness/sleep by two hours a night for a couple weeks to "trick" him into thinking it's winter and not mating season. Also, the one and only time that Sunny, my tiel, was super hormonal and attacking my fiancé, I bought him Herb Salad. It's a bunch of herbs- lavender, etc. The thought it that the bird will instinctively eat the herbs he needs. I don't know if it was a coincidence or not but Sunny picked through it (I hid some seeds in there too) and within a couple days he was back to normal. It can be bought in various places but I got mine at mysafebirdstore.com.

Thank you! I increased darkness by 30 min last night and am going to shoot for 45 min tonight. Should the 2 hours of extra sleep be immediate or gradual?

Thanks for the tip about the herbs! I have a feeling he wouldn't eat them but maybe I'll check them out and see. Thank you!!

 

[sunnysmom]

I will keep you all posted, Thanks!



Thank you! I increased darkness by 30 min last night and am going to shoot for 45 min tonight. Should the 2 hours of extra sleep be immediate or gradual?

Thanks for the tip about the herbs! I have a feeling he wouldn't eat them but maybe I'll check them out and see. Thank you!!

I would do the 2 hours right away, not gradually. I thought the same thing about Sunny and the herbs but it was almost like he craved them. After that incident, I continued to offer them to him but he never really showed much interest in them again. They did make his cage smell nice though. LOL. Not that his cage smelled bad, it didn't but the herb salad smells nice.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Thanks again, Michelle! Is this the herb salad Discounted Bird Food you were talking about?

I'm afraid I don't think I could cut the lights by 2 hours because he wouldn't have enough time to eat dinner. I'll cut it back by an hour tonight and see if that helps.

I appreciate all the help so far! Thanks everyone!!!

 

[cosmolove]

All I can say is "may the odds be ever in your favor" hormones are flying high here too. Its rough. I've been trying to increase the darkness for my girl hoping it'll get her to calm down soon! Good luck!!

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

All I can say is "may the odds be ever in your favor" hormones are flying high here too. Its rough. I've been trying to increase the darkness for my girl hoping it'll get her to calm down soon! Good luck!!

Thank you! Good luck to you too!

 

[Ribbit21]

Jasper is a hormonal stud muffin 80% of the time. He's been cage aggressive since he was a little over a year old. When he's a complete snot he either gets no attention from me or he needs to cool off in the bird room. In the past I've tried herbs, avicalm, more darks, etc, etc. Nothing really worked long term.

Even with a strict 12hr light cycle he's always on guard. I don't really stress over it. He's doing what comes naturally. Yeah it can get annoying at times, but I think he's happier when he feels like he has a job to do. Even if his job is to try to peck out my eyeballs. It makes his sweet moments even more rewarding.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Jasper is a hormonal stud muffin 80% of the time. He's been cage aggressive since he was a little over a year old. When he's a complete snot he either gets no attention from me or he needs to cool off in the bird room. In the past I've tried herbs, avicalm, more darks, etc, etc. Nothing really worked long term.

Even with a strict 12hr light cycle he's always on guard. I don't really stress over it. He's doing what comes naturally. Yeah it can get annoying at times, but I think he's happier when he feels like he has a job to do. Even if his job is to try to peck out my eyeballs. It makes his sweet moments even more rewarding.

How old is Jasper now, @Ribbit21 ?

 

[iamwhoiam]

Sorry that Blu is in a mood. You may want to keep a dowel or t-stick near you and when you see him coming get him to land on that instead of attacking you and then put him back in his cage or room.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Sorry that Blu is in a mood. You may want to keep a dowel or t-stick near you and when you see him coming get him to land on that instead of attacking you and then put him back in his cage or room.

Thanks, iamwhoiam! That's exactly what I'm doing right now! Got my t stick right here blocking my face

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

For me, a thick towel was the answer, blocking the attack and then scooping him up and putting him in his cage for a time-out.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

For me, a thick towel was the answer, blocking the attack and then scooping him up and putting him in his cage for a time-out.

Oooh, I didn't think of that! I think I'd be nervous scooping his little bod into a towel cause I'm not very exoerienced with that but I'll definitely keep it in my bag of tricks, if things get too out of control. Thank you!

He went to bed a full hour earlier last night and, so far, this morning he's a tad bit better.

He's still pretty amorous but he hasn't dive bombed me yet today and he's not sitting around with a fluffy head and open beak. I hope we're on the right track

 

[JLcribber]

Oooh, I didn't think of that! I think I'd be nervous scooping his little bod into a towel cause I'm not very exoerienced with that but I'll definitely keep it in my bag of tricks,

It’s good practise. You should towel the little monster so he remembers your not a push over (even tho you are ) he’ll be fine and conditioning them to a towel is a good thing.

At first you don’t even have to grab him. Just throw the towel over him and scoop up the whole bundle.

At this point in time you don’t need to worry about breaking his trust anymore. He knows you very well. It’s time to work on the respect part.