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Hormonal and Territorial

Kassiani

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...in a cage he’s been in for less than 24 hours, lol!

I haven’t been and won’t be messing around inside Opie’s cage for a while so he will feel safer, but he’s really been displaying at me for attention today alternating with lunging at the cage bars! I’m sure so much of it is being completely uprooted and in a new home.

It’s going to be a learning experience for me as we move forward! Love my sometimes cranky ginger man :swoon:
 

camelotshadow

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Lunging as he's in a new cage in a new home. Understandably he's going to take time to feel secure. Its good he is familiar with you so it should go faster.
Talk to him & offer treats. Play some soft music. He's in a new environment & is on guard.

Penny lunged a bit the first day or two when I would touch her bowls etc & she was really quite steady with me & did not really seem afraid but she was protecting her bowls. :xflove:

Try to let him have his space. Let him have alone time & don't stay too long around the cage at first. Just go by talk sweetly & give a treat. Let him take in the new home from a distance so he can lose some of his fear of the new home & not associate it with you.You don't want to add to his stress by trying to do too much with him now. Sure you know that but its hard not to want to shower him with love.
 

Kassiani

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Yep, I'm doing all of those things already :)

I never just linger around his cage with my nose pressed against it, lol! He'll get used to me...I'll get used to him. And he's had soft music playing most of the day and plenty of treats dropped in his dish. It's already lights out for everyone and he and Kuiper have dim lights on to help them see in case they wake up confused.
 

camelotshadow

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Yep, I'm doing all of those things already :)

I never just linger around his cage with my nose pressed against it, lol! He'll get used to me...I'll get used to him. And he's had soft music playing most of the day and plenty of treats dropped in his dish.
:geek:
Hard not to resist googling for hours into those hypnotic blue eyes of his!
 

Kassiani

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I moved my second security camera into the room with Opie to watch him and make sure he doesn’t get into trouble at night. He’s softly chattering away to himself as he falls asleep! It’s too cute :xflove:
 

budgieluv3

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I moved my second security camera into the room with Opie to watch him and make sure he doesn’t get into trouble at night. He’s softly chattering away to himself as he falls asleep! It’s too cute :xflove:
Adorable!
 

faislaq

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He'll settle in in no time. You're giving him security like he's never known. :heart2: I'll bet it's strange for him not hearing 40 other birds in the night: shifting, feathers rustling. At least he has Kuiper in there with him. :)
 

Kassiani

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Well, I moved Kuiper into the dining room so that he could hear and see the other budgies in the family room. He is very aware of them, they are clueless about him, lol! They can all hear each other during the day, and I don't think Opie would be disturbed at night by not having Kuiper in with him because Kuiper is quiet as a mouse at night!

He isn't sleeping on the perch near the heater, though, and that concerns me a bit.
 

Kassiani

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Opie has moved from being occasionally grumpy to not tolerating my giving him a treat through the bars at all. He will even try to attack me when I change his food bowl. So I’m reeling it all the way back to occasionally just sitting in the room with him and talking while I work. Plus I’ll drop a treat in his bowl as I come and go from the room. He hasn’t eaten much today.
 

MommyBird

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Don't they just make you crazy!?
Poor Opie is feeling kind of confused and stressed himself it seems.
That's the best thing to do is just be around but busy with other things and let him work it out all by himself for a couple days.
It's so hard when you just want to love on him. Go play with Jellybean and Jujube awhile!
 

camelotshadow

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I don.t recall...how long was he at rescue & if they knew any of his history before?

I guess its to be expected he's stressed/defending himself in a whole new world & he was starting to get hormonal/ Maybe the change/move will halt the hormones for a while but he still may be dealing with that too.

Does he have that sort of toy he used to like to sit next?

Does he have a place in the cage that he can consider safe?

Maybe a partial covering Back & side etc to give him a corner to go to if he feels threatened will make him more at ease.

:sadhug2:
 

Kassiani

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He was owned by a family who loved him to bits but had to give him up due to the health of a member of the family. He has been fed a seed and colored pellets mix his whole life. He's been at the rescue since about September 2020, and the rescue replaced the colored pellets with TOPS. He does have his safe space next to the heater with the snuggle toy he likes to flip onto his back--which he still does here.

I dropped some treats in his bowl a short time ago and just sat down. He came over the investigate and finally ate some of his food. He then decided to play with one of his new toys. I'm so relieved he's eaten something!

 

camelotshadow

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Oh, and my car battery died :facepalm: I have the charger on it now because "mama" has to go to the grocery store or we're all going to starve, lol!
Why did it die? You just used it for 2 plus hours just a day or so ago. Unless you left lights or radio on I'd wonder why the battery / alternator was not charging it if you did not know what drained it.

:sadhug2:

You should think about instacart or some grocery/food delivery service for those times when you really can't get out to shop. Its better than going out with a partially charged battery & not being able to start the car to get home.
 

Kassiani

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I've been playing music for Opie in hopes it would help him relax and that he would enjoy it. Jazz instrumental and just peaceful music. Anyway, I was sitting with him this afternoon, and an instrumental version of Bonnie Raitt's "I can't make you love me" came on. Without thinking, I started singing it because I know the lyrics, and Opie started to sway to the beat!!! I wish I could have caught him on camera!!
 

Kassiani

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The hormones are definitely winning at the moment with Opie. I've added some paper woven through his cage bars to shred along with the shredding toys he already has in his cage. I hoped that by sitting with him in his room quietly doing my work on the computer, he would get used to my presence as long as I wasn't paying direct attention to him all the time. Unfortunately, it only seems to keep him in a heightened state at the moment even when I'm not looking at him at all.

I've left the room and am currently watching him on the security camera. He has settled down, stopped screaming, pacing, and displaying for my attention. Unfortunately, he isn't really eating, which has me scared for him. Our vet appointment is on Wednesday, and I'm just praying he'll eat by then! :(
 

Kassiani

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I really don’t know what to do at this point! He is getting between 13 and 14 hours of sleep each night, I can’t really rearrange his cage because he is so cage aggressive at the moment, he only gets cold or room temp food, and he’s not really triggered by any of his toys as far as I can tell. And believe me, I’m not touching him at all!
 

faislaq

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He'll settle down. A safe, quiet home is a big change from a loud, busy rescue! And I'll bet he's eating just fine. :eating: Maybe not much, but enough. :)
 

NightOwls

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Some animals settle in to their new home quick - others are a bit more ornery. I usually try not to worry for the first week or two.
 
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