Does anybody have any experience with mentally "different" birds?

[Saya]

I don't want to use the word "slow", but i can't think of another word really. My budgie was returned twice to the breeder before I got him and both people returned him calling him a s*** head. He does have a thing with biting, not out of fear or anything because he does it to other birds and all inanimate objects to be perfectly honest. He does seem to have problems socializing with other birds as well, so are these symptoms of something else, is it just him, or does he have more going on upstairs than i know of? Any advice or experiences would be appreciated!!

 

[Newbie GCC]

Honestly, it just sounds like he was either not socialized or not treated well when he was younger. Or that he was not given time to adjust before trying to be handled. How long have you had him? Do you know how old he is? Did you immediately place him in a cage with other birds or did he get quarantine and adjustment time? Does he have a cage of his own? Do you let him come out of his cage on his own or reach in and grab him? When you introduce new things, do you let him get used to them before placing them in his cage?

 

[JLcribber]

There is a tremendous amount of over breeding and inbreeding of budgies. It could very well have a genetic problem but it's very hard to tell.

 

[Wasabisaurus]

<< Sounds familiar. If there is nothing medically wrong that's affecting behavior, chances are he wasn't raised to be social. My Amazon wasn't, either. He is somewhat social now, but it's always on his terms, and that's OK. If you can work with your budgie to show him you can be his friend, your budgie may become more social. Not knowing anything about budgie behavior, I really don't know.

I understand how a bird could be labelled a sh*thead, because Wasabi could be labelled as such for his defiant attitude. Frustrated people who have never had a difficult bird might not understand. Many people won't accept that a rescued or rehomed bird has its own personality and is not a blank slate.

My first adopted tiel, Sashimi, was as defiant as they come. We learned to just let him be. He had no interest in social interaction. He was like Grumpy cat. We did not force it on him. We sure did try, but Sashimi wouldn't have it. That was OK.

 

[Saya]

Honestly, it just sounds like he was either not socialized or not treated well when he was younger. Or that he was not given time to adjust before trying to be handled. How long have you had him? Do you know how old he is? Did you immediately place him in a cage with other birds or did he get quarantine and adjustment time? Does he have a cage of his own? Do you let him come out of his cage on his own or reach in and grab him? When you introduce new things, do you let him get used to them before placing them in his cage?

I bought him hand tamed (not hand fed) as a baby. I'm not sure what age but approximately between 6 weeks and 10 weeks, since he was re-homed twice and I don't know the timeline of that. I've had him for 8 months and he did have adjustment time when he got home, about 4 days. He has a cage of his own and I let him come out on his own. If I have a new toy to give him I'll leave it on the outside or near the cage and if he seems fine i'll put it in his cage. He's sometimes weary of them at first but always comes around within a day and loves them. I am training two birds separately so I'll let him out and he's allowed to fly over to the other bird's cage and socialize through the bars, since when they're together they can sometimes get violent.