Having behavior troubles... On the verge of tears...

[Meatball]

I know many people do not want to hear this but if you absolutely can not separate the aggressive birds into a different rooms then rehoming them may be your best course of action, not only for the safety issue but all the well being of your other birds.
I was faced with this, being a newbie as well and getting Parrotlets hoping to keep them in the same room as the other birds. I added birds fast and ran into some of the same problems. Turns out no matter how good they are with other birds when babies as they mature they become very aggressive. They not only went into attack mode whenever out or when bird came near their cage but they yelled at the other birds all the time too. My GCC was plucking or barbering her feathers and I finally realized it may be stress due to the P'lets. After months I decided to rehome them and now L. Angels chest feathers are beautiful and she seems less stressed.

Let me also say I have found that there is a big difference between birds that just don't like each other and aggressive birds. My Linnie HATES my Green Cheek but does not attack for no reason or seek her out to attack like the P'lets did. They can be out at the same time with supervision and when they get testy with each other we do a time out for one or both birds. But neither is over stressed with situation based on my observations.

My point is no matter how many different out of cage times you have or how far you separate them in the same room the aggressive birds will still stress out the others causing additional problems with the rest of the flock.

Sometimes rehoming is necessary for the safety and well being of all the birds including the ones you keep with you. It should not be looked down upon and should be considered the right thing to do in certain situations.

Of course I am no where as experienced as the other posters on here, but that is just my 2 cents

I really hope you can figure this out and I feel your pain

 

[marian]

Sometimes rehoming is necessary for the safety and well being of all the birds including the ones you keep with you. It should not be looked down upon and should be considered the right thing to do in certain situations.

I agree as hard and sad as it can be.

 

[lindsey88]

I have to disagree on the whole clip thing. My amazon was clipped and would fly into EVERYTHING and hurt himself and even after his wings grew. Finally 1.5 years later he is steering and landing on his desired spot! It takes time but clipping is not going to stop your baby from crashing, with clipped wings he will still crash. As for everything else all I can do is wish you the best of luck! I'm not that experienced with behavior problems.

 

[marian]

If you do come to this decision to rehome...maybe someone from AA could help you out.

 

[PeaceLoveDreamer]

I agree as hard and sad as it can be.

I know many people do not want to hear this but if you absolutely can not separate the aggressive birds into a different rooms then rehoming them may be your best course of action, not only for the safety issue but all the well being of your other birds.
I was faced with this, being a newbie as well and getting Parrotlets hoping to keep them in the same room as the other birds. I added birds fast and ran into some of the same problems. Turns out no matter how good they are with other birds when babies as they mature they become very aggressive. They not only went into attack mode whenever out or when bird came near their cage but they yelled at the other birds all the time too. My GCC was plucking or barbering her feathers and I finally realized it may be stress due to the P'lets. After months I decided to rehome them and now L. Angels chest feathers are beautiful and she seems less stressed.

Let me also say I have found that there is a big difference between birds that just don't like each other and aggressive birds. My Linnie HATES my Green Cheek but does not attack for no reason or seek her out to attack like the P'lets did. They can be out at the same time with supervision and when they get testy with each other we do a time out for one or both birds. But neither is over stressed with situation based on my observations.

My point is no matter how many different out of cage times you have or how far you separate them in the same room the aggressive birds will still stress out the others causing additional problems with the rest of the flock.

Sometimes rehoming is necessary for the safety and well being of all the birds including the ones you keep with you. It should not be looked down upon and should be considered the right thing to do in certain situations.

Of course I am no where as experienced as the other posters on here, but that is just my 2 cents

I really hope you can figure this out and I feel your pain

I am seriously considering that this will be my best bet. I am going to post them up here on AA and see if there are any takers. Hopefully someone on her would want to consider it. I honestly just want everyone to be healthy and safe, and I think that would be a lot easier with Marni and Kimba in a different home. I believe with them gone, working with Cole will be easier since there will be less for him to fear. It's killing me but I really do think this is probably the right decision.

 

[PeaceLoveDreamer]

http://forums.avianavenue.com/rehome-highway/70245-heavy-heart-rehoming-marni-caique-kimba-indian-ringneck.html#post1089782

Just in case anyone can help or knows someone who can. I don't need to make the final decision until I get someone interested, so I am putting this out there since I think this is ultimately the best decision.

 

[KatherinesBirds]

I think you may be doing the right thing. Something is off with the flock dynamics. I need to read this whole thread again but I had a little bit of this happen with my Meyers and his introduction to my well established flock. Now I have added a screen in the birdroom so that the other birds feel like they are shielded from our new slightly crazy parrot. Certain of my birds only are taken out now when the Meyers is locked up. I have a new order that I have put in place for everyone's safety. It was their bird room way before he showed up. Flock dynamics are very interesting and sometimes difficult to deal with. I hope you are able to resolve this soon.
K.

 

[Dani]

Jacqui, I'm so sorry you are having so many troubles. We are all here for you and support you. Take one day at a time, be calm around your birdies no matter how much they give you the run around when its time to go back in. I know, easier said than done. You are a good parront or you wouldn't be agonizing over this.

 

[65sunnyday]

 

[PeaceLoveDreamer]

I just wanted to give everyone an update on my situation.

Somebody local is coming to see Kimba tomorrow and most likely bring him home. He owns a bunch of IRNs and knows how to care for them, and I am feeling very comfortable with him, so as long as he likes Kimba, I think this will be a good match.

I have decided I am going to work with Marni and give her some more one on one time, as well as move her into a bigger cage, and see if we can work through this. I think with a little extra TLC and some new knowledge, I can get through this "hormonal phase" with Marni. With Kimba out of the question, it will be easier to watch her around the other birds since I will have just one instigator instead of two.

Cole is going to be moved into a room by himself once Sheldon is out of quarantine (which should be soon since his vet tests came out fine), and hopefully he will become calmer once this happens. I am emptying out a space for him in my kitchen area (which is normally my quarantine area, but since I don't plan to get any more birds, this is not an issue) and I will allow him time out on his own. I feel working with him one-on-one with no distractions may help him get over his fear. Cole is a very special part of my life and I can't bear to see him so stressed, or go to another home. Since I only have the room to move one cage, I will move him, and just make sure I am watching Marni more closely.

All of your help and support has gone so far. I cannot thank you guys enough for what you have done for me, being there and helping me to figure out what the best thing for me is. I believe with some cage rearrangement in the bird room, and Cole moving downstairs, I will be able to have better control of everyone and keep everyone happy and safe. Kimba may have to go, but I think it is for the best, and will reduce my stress enormously, which will also help the birds.

Thank you, thank you, thank you all for helping me start working on my future flock happiness.

 

[KatherinesBirds]

I am truly glad that you decided to work this thing through. Several times I almost gave up on Wiggles. Glad I didn't.

 

[HollyT]

I've only been following this thread, though I did comment on the other thread about MBS.

It sounds like solutions are finally coming. Taking things one at a time is helpful. Getting past being overwhelmed and panicked is the biggest step, I think so anyway. I find this in my work and in my home. Once we get past that the solutions come, because we see the facts of the situation for what hey really are.

I only have experience with budgies, cockatiels and a caique in my own home. So I could only ever truly offer advice on those.

I believe that you can find your solutions by continuing to educate yourself on the types of bird you have and concentrating on your birds behavior and needs.

It's a lot of work. Some species, like greys and caiques can be complicated. Ive also been amazed when we (yes I've done this too) mix our flocks. What I mean is having several species from different continents. There's a reason nature separates itself. As human beings we need to pay more attention to this. Bu if you're willing to give it the time the rewards will outweigh it all. We can make it work. Not necessarily they way we dreamed it but it can work.

I hope you'll keep us up to date on your progress.

 

[ciesana]

Good luck with everything. Thinking of you.

 

[Ming-Ming]

Sorry you're going through so many problems! I wish I saw this thread earlier.

I just wanted to say, with Marni, basically you got to just sit and wait it out. Caique hormones are nothing that I've seen compared to any other birds, and it is quite literally like a demon spawning out of their little bodies! Douglas is my BEST friend, and would NEVER hurt me, but when he is on hormonal rampages, it is fair game!
The main thing is to give Marni a lot of alone time, and only handle her when she calms down. I find when I give Douglas the opportunity to attack me, then he is more likely to do that.
During this time, I had to clip him, for the safety of Kyoko (and me!) and it has been working very well. He won't launch himself at me (phew!) and he is slower so it gives Kyoko a good change to escape. If anything, I really think you should find a way to separate her from the rest of the flock during this time. They really don't think straight, and Caiques are pretty bold little birds, so she could really hurt someone, or be hurt by someone else!

If she isn't stick trained, I'd work on that now. Whenever she starts to get all demon like, get her to step out on a stick, and let her go back into her cage to work off her frustrations. I usually give Douglas a treat whenever he goes nicely into his cage, so he doesn't relate bad behaviour to cage. But honestly, sometimes I am pretty much grabbing him with a blanket and tossing him (gently!) into the cage if he is being too crazy!

Good luck!

 

[PeaceLoveDreamer]

Sorry you're going through so many problems! I wish I saw this thread earlier.

I just wanted to say, with Marni, basically you got to just sit and wait it out. Caique hormones are nothing that I've seen compared to any other birds, and it is quite literally like a demon spawning out of their little bodies! Douglas is my BEST friend, and would NEVER hurt me, but when he is on hormonal rampages, it is fair game!
The main thing is to give Marni a lot of alone time, and only handle her when she calms down. I find when I give Douglas the opportunity to attack me, then he is more likely to do that.
During this time, I had to clip him, for the safety of Kyoko (and me!) and it has been working very well. He won't launch himself at me (phew!) and he is slower so it gives Kyoko a good change to escape. If anything, I really think you should find a way to separate her from the rest of the flock during this time. They really don't think straight, and Caiques are pretty bold little birds, so she could really hurt someone, or be hurt by someone else!

If she isn't stick trained, I'd work on that now. Whenever she starts to get all demon like, get her to step out on a stick, and let her go back into her cage to work off her frustrations. I usually give Douglas a treat whenever he goes nicely into his cage, so he doesn't relate bad behaviour to cage. But honestly, sometimes I am pretty much grabbing him with a blanket and tossing him (gently!) into the cage if he is being too crazy!

Good luck!

Luckily, Marni IS stick trained. It has been my only saving grace these past few weeks. Without the stick training, I would be a bloody mess every time I went near her. But I am going to wait it out. Marni is a little angel normally... a little bit naughty, but sweet as anything, and I know this is just hormones. It will come and pass, but I am working my hardest to try to deal with it.

Thank you for the advice and your experiences with Douglas. It helps me to see I am not alone with having a sweet caique gone devil.

 

[Zombie]

If I were you, I'd take Sheldon out of the kitchen right away. In a tiny place like yours, there is really only a quarantine when it comes to diseases that are transmitted by touch - they're all sharing the same air when doors are opened and shut. I think a vet-okayed Sheldon who is still pretty much vulnerable to whatever your birds might have in the kitchen is trumped by the need to get Marnie or Cole to be alone.

I'm not sure why you ever let your birds mix, to be honest. Wouldn't the problem of birds flying into other birds' cages be solved by not letting them mix, or am I missing something?

As for Cole, it's up to you if you clip or not. However, my personal experience is that birds gain confidence when they aren't clipped, even if they do crash land. Just another two cents added in.

Edited for mistakes.

 

[Welshanne]

Hope things are settling into a good pattern now? Once you take deep breaths and assess the situation you are now in, I am sure you will find the solutions needed. They do say a month in a birds life is just like one day to us, so you have to give both your birds and yourself lots of time. Good luck.