Whoa, behavior change, molt/hormones?

[EnglishBudgMom]

So, I think Bubbles has begun his first molt. He's 4.5 months old now, and has some pin feathers poking out of his face. I've noticed more fluff/feathers laying around lately. So, in a nutshell, he's been grumpy lately!! Lots and lots of "angry dolphin" acks and cage/territorial aggression. He has one food dish mounted up off the floor, the others are on the floor (He's in a medium Vision cage), and I reached in to add a scoop of pellets into the upper dish and he ran across the cage and bit me! I can't even rearrange his toys without lunging and pecking! Also, for some odd reason, he only eats pellets out of the upper food dish he would refuse them if I put them in the lower dishes. Now I put avi-cakes and occasionally seed in the lower dishes. I read that rearranging the cage helps, which I did today; he's still being a butthead.

He used to step up either onto my finger or an extra perch fairly regularly, and come up to the front of the cage when he wanted out/was excited to see us. He even screams and gets mad at some of his toys too! Just the other day he regurgitated on my shoulder too.

Suggestions or hints? Do I just have to wait it out?

 

[WendyN]

I hope things settle down with Bubbles.
My Joey has been that way for about a week now....waiting for him to feel better.
He has a lot of pin feathers and everything I do makes him lunge at me.
I know it will pass and this phase will pass for Bubbles too.
Can you offer him a warm bath? Sometimes that helps.

 

[Gribouille]

Whatever the reason, bad behavior should not be tolerated, so when my bird is acting out I push him away and never let him win by retreating, but then, o avoid the biting, I use light garden gloves with thick rubber and I do what I have to do in the cage. But then of course, if the acting out is due to discomfort, you could offer a bath or something to scratch against like a soft brush or even just a rope, a rough perch or a grass mate.
ANd of course, keep an eye on him in case there is something more than molting.

 

[EnglishBudgMom]

He's in a better mood in the AM, he seems to get progressively worse as the day progresses. I'm going to offer him a bath today, since he stepped up nicely and isn't trying to eat my hand or face. I recently got one of those "beak rocks" that screws on to the side of the cage, so he can use that to scritch if necessary. I offer to help with the facial pin feathers, but angry dolphin comes to visit. He used to let me scritch his face a lot.

 

[EnglishBudgMom]

Whatever the reason, bad behavior should not be tolerated, so when my bird is acting out I push him away and never let him win by retreating, but then, o avoid the biting, I use light garden gloves with thick rubber and I do what I have to do in the cage. But then of course, if the acting out is due to discomfort, you could offer a bath or something to scratch against like a soft brush or even just a rope, a rough perch or a grass mate.
ANd of course, keep an eye on him in case there is something more than molting.

That was what I was also wondering about, do you tolerate the bad behavior even though you know it's probably related to hormones/molting, or not. I was persistent last night and finally got him out of the cage an on to a perch so I could finish filling his upper food dish and rearrange a bit. I removed his bell, he was getting mad at it too. I added more shreddable toys instead.

 

[Gribouille]

I offer to help with the facial pin feathers, but angry dolphin comes to visit. He used to let me scritch his face a lot.

Probably painful. Mine would attack if what I did was causing pain, but if I offer he will allow me to continue on another spot

That was what I was also wondering about, do you tolerate the bad behavior even though you know it's probably related to hormones/molting, or not. I was persistent last night and finally got him out of the cage an on to a perch so I could finish filling his upper food dish and rearrange a bit. I removed his bell, he was getting mad at it too. I added more shreddable toys instead.

I think it is like kids, they learn very fast when you let them misbehave, and if they learn they just need to push it a little more before you quit, they'll push every time.
I remember my 2-year old doing that to his dad, he just knew he would win at the end so he cried and cried and cried to get his pacifier. He never did that to me, he knew it was no point. When his dad learned to be more firm, our kid just stopped trying.
And now the bird is doing the same thing: When he can't get something from me, he goes to my son who is still soft and easy to subvert
So even if I am a little softer with a kid or an animal having a bad time, some things are non negotiable, lack of respect (=biting in the case of birds) is one of them.

 

[Monica]

So, I think Bubbles has begun his first molt. He's 4.5 months old now, and has some pin feathers poking out of his face. I've noticed more fluff/feathers laying around lately. So, in a nutshell, he's been grumpy lately!!

Many birds often get grumpy around molting time.... it can be quite a bugger when those new feathers come in. Try and provide bathes every day or even two to three times a day.

I reached in to add a scoop of pellets into the upper dish and he ran across the cage and bit me!

If it's an issue reaching into his cage then either don't put a food dish where you can't reward it easily from the outside (i.e. food doors) or teach him to station on a perch while you do things within the cage.

I can't even rearrange his toys without lunging and pecking!

Either station train him or have him out of the cage prior to messing with it.

He used to step up either onto my finger or an extra perch fairly regularly, and come up to the front of the cage when he wanted out/was excited to see us.

You may need to go back to the basics and reinforce all desired behavior.

I was persistent last night and finally got him out of the cage an on to a perch so I could finish filling his upper food dish and rearrange a bit.

Do not force him to do something if he does not need to. This can result in more aggression or even avoidance behaviors. If you can't get him out, then just wait and work with him.



Do not ever punish a bird for biting. Also - do not ignore them for biting! It's better to avoid or redirect the bite before it occurs than "allow" a bird to practice biting. It's a self rewarding behavior. This means the very act of biting is rewarding for the bird. If you do get bit, simply get them off of you! This may mean prying their beak off of you but get them off. If you aren't near their cage that's fine! Set them down on some furniture, a table or even the floor. Give yourself time to think of what happened and how you can avoid that in the future.

 

[EnglishBudgMom]

Do not ever punish a bird for biting. Also - do not ignore them for biting! It's better to avoid or redirect the bite before it occurs than "allow" a bird to practice biting. It's a self rewarding behavior. This means the very act of biting is rewarding for the bird. If you do get bit, simply get them off of you! This may mean prying their beak off of you but get them off. If you aren't near their cage that's fine! Set them down on some furniture, a table or even the floor. Give yourself time to think of what happened and how you can avoid that in the future.

The most I've done is just ignore, immediately end being on me (back in cage or perch), or say "NO BITING" loudly. He usually just bites and lets go, if he's really pissed off he'll bite several times in a row (like when I'm trying to fish debris out of food dish). The Vision cages only have food doors at the bottom of the cage unfortunately. He appears to like eating pellets from a dish I hung at mid-cage height, but I have to reach in to fill it. I can just do this stuff earlier in the day before he turns into monster bird dolphin from hell.

He was very sweet this AM, and had a nice bath. I put a sandpaper perch up next to the cage wall so he could scratch his face. I saw him desperately scratching it against the cage bars. I'll be more patient and use the extra perch for step-ups + more rewards for good behavior. I have the Vision cage mount bath, but he doesn't like going inside it. He only bathes on his outside training perch, with me holding this shallow dish next to it. He gets scared when I put him down on the counter with the dish. I even tried holding the vision bath up next to his perch, and he refused to go in. I could just leave the bath in the cage for a few days, but it takes up a lot of space. I will get him a larger cage when his flight feathers grow back in. I so wish he'd use the Vision bath, it's covered and a lot less messy!

 

[Monica]

Good that you are considering a different cage, maybe get it sooner rather than later?

No sandpaper perches - they are bad for their feet. Probably okay for scratching their head, though?

You can try making the bath he has now more enticing by putting fresh leaves in it (lettuce, kale, etc), ice cubes if that's his fancy, or perhaps some small toys? Maybe try turning on the vacuum or play the sound of rain to pique his interest more?

 

[EnglishBudgMom]

No sandpaper perches - they are bad for their feet. Probably okay for scratching their head, though?

I usually don't have the sandpaper perch in the cage. His Avian Vet actually suggested getting one and mounting it vertically, from the cage ceiling, so bird can rub his beak on it. Because of the way Vision cages are constructed, I am trying it right next to the wall rather than vertically (he ignored it) near the spot where I saw him rubbing his face. He'd be able to crawl on it on the cage wall, but not really perch on it.

 

[Lady Jane]

I know you won't like this but the vision cages are designed to took nice for humans. I have had one in the past and this is my opinion. The cages are quite flimsy. If the small tabs that hold the wires in place pop off the cage can potentially fall apart. The cage is difficult to clean because one needs to lift the cage off the bottom. There is no pull out tray. Last con is the cages are taller than they are wider not allowing flight room for a bird as they take off horizontally. Could it be your bird does not like the cage?

My budgies just entered into a molt also. I try to give them treats and other things they like. Yes frequent spritz with warm water. It's not a bad behavior issue, it's a natural reaction to a molt.

 

[EnglishBudgMom]

Last con is the cages are taller than they are wider not allowing flight room for a bird as they take off horizontally. Could it be your bird does not like the cage?

Ha! Some are taller than they are wide, I have a wide one. They have 2 different models tall or wide, I have the medium wide one. I won't keep it forever. He likes his cage, at least I'm pretty sure he does. I'll get a bigger one soon.

 

[Lady Jane]

Must have made a wide one recently. There were only 3 styles when i had one. Single level, double and triple level stacked on top of eachother.

 

[EnglishBudgMom]

Update, I ordered Bubbles this cage A&E Cage Company Flight Bird Cage in Platinum | Petco I'll give his Medium Vision cage to my parents for when we drive up to Seattle to visit them with the bird. The vision cages have horizontal bars, which is easier for birds to climb on... the a & e cage is vertical... will that be a big issue? I'll get a bunch more perches and ladders as well. I have a huge "boing" that is way too big for his vision cage that will fit nicely in a bigger cage.

Also, he is well into his molt now. Feathers dropping all over the place, his head looks funny with a combination of new fresh feathers and old baby ones. He's still crabby, but has gotten a little bit better. He's very quiet these days, as I've read happens when birds molt. He'll have bursts of angry dolphin noises at his own toys, but he doesn't contact call first thing in the AM anymore, only a few times randomly during the day. I have also noticed he's head bobbing to damn near anything and everything, sometimes regurgitating a bit too. Not so much that seeds come dribbling out of his mouth, but enough that I'll see him stop bobbing and "re-eat" the seed that came up. Should I be concerned with all the bobbing??

 

[JLcribber]

Whatever the reason, bad behavior should not be tolerated, so when my bird is acting out I push him away and never let him win by retreating, but then, o avoid the biting, I use light garden gloves with thick rubber and I do what I have to do in the cage. But then of course, if the acting out is due to discomfort, you could offer a bath or something to scratch against like a soft brush or even just a rope, a rough perch or a grass mate.
ANd of course, keep an eye on him in case there is something more than molting.

That was what I was also wondering about, do you tolerate the bad behavior even though you know it's probably related to hormones/molting, or not. I was persistent last night and finally got him out of the cage an on to a perch so I could finish filling his upper food dish and rearrange a bit. I removed his bell, he was getting mad at it too. I added more shreddable toys instead.

The only bad behaviour going on here is the humans invading a birds personal space without changing anything so that doesn't need to happen.

Especially the gloves. So outdated.

 

[Lady Jane]

That flight cage is 200 percent better than any Vision cage. Lots of room for stretching wings and moving around. I have had a vision cage in the past and do not like them at all.

Molting time can be rough on a little budgie. For the last two days Murphy has had a very sore head. I saw him rubbing his head on a natural wood perch and until he was bleeding. I removed the perch during this time. This morning I had to catch him and apply some medication. He hates it when I catch him. I feel so bad for the birds at molt time. Mickey also rubs her head but not on hard surfaces like wood.

 

[Monica]

I used to have two big and tall flight cages with vertical bars. The budgies would actually fly to the side of the cage, then changing their grip, would slide down. If they got to a bar, they'd move their feet below and keep sliding down. Now, wasn't fast by any means, just short and quick sliding down by adjusting how tight they held onto the bars.

Vertical bars are not an issue!

 

[Gribouille]

The only bad behaviour going on here is the humans invading a birds personal space without changing anything so that doesn't need to happen.
Especially the gloves. So outdated.

I'm sorry but sometimes I need to handle a bird and since they are not tame, they'll bite. So gloves.
Not every bad behavior is due to discomfort. There is much biting involved in attempts to change their place in the hierarchy, and in bullying other birds/kids.

 

[Lady Jane]

I have to catch my birds at times but never had I used gloves. A Budgie bite is not really that bad. I just do not react to the bite and all is well. Gloves are monsters that come after birds, at least that is what I think.

 

[Gribouille]

I have to catch my birds at times but never had I used gloves. A Budgie bite is not really that bad. I just do not react to the bite and all is well. Gloves are monsters that come after birds, at least that is what I think.

I never did need a glove until I got Nova. She has a very sharp beak and bites very hard, much more than my 2 male budgie and my parrotlet ever did.
I use to catch her with my bare right hand, then move her over to my left hand (with the glove, light gardening type) so I don't think she feels like a monster is coming after her that way, and I can use my right hand to check her.