ratospunks
Checking out the neighborhood
- Joined
- 5/21/25
- Messages
- 1
I've been having problems with my male cockatiel, Bruno. I love him so much — he's been my buddy for about six years, and he's around that age too. He's always been such a gentleman: got along with everyone, loved scritches, and although he can't sing in tune to save his life (lol), he tries — and I think it's the cutest thing ever.
However, it's been about a year since he started showing really bad behavioral issues, and they've only gotten worse. My family and I always let him wander around the house, and it was never a problem. We'd put him in his cage when it was time to sleep, and he even used to go back there on his own. It was great.
Then my mom, who thought the cage took up too much space (and honestly, she wasn't wrong), decided to get him a smaller one. Unfortunately, the one she got is really small — it's actually a hamster cage that we now only use for transport. It doesn't physically restrict him, but it's definitely not comfortable or spacious for a bird.
I don't know if these things are connected, but I’m mentioning them in case they’re relevant. The thing is, he’s always had a bit of a chewing habit. It used to be manageable — we mostly blamed it on the fact that my mom’s furniture is all soft wood. I always made sure he had something appropriate to chew on, but I guess the furniture was tastier.
It wasn't a big issue before. He didn’t spend that much time chewing, and we could usually just call him away. But lately, he’s become extremely territorial. He tries to claim little corners of the house as his nest, and starts attacking us if we get near what he considers “his” space. He even screams at us — and it’s the same sound he makes when he’s accidentally hurt — just because we confront him.
It’s gotten really bad. He seems to be in a bad mood and irritated most of the day. He even climbs inside the oven through a small opening at the bottom and refuses to come out. One time, we didn’t know he was in there, turned the oven on, and he started screaming because it was heating up — but still wouldn’t come out on his own. I had to rescue him. I felt awful. I know that must have been terrifying for him.
He also has a very strange behavior that only happens when he's on the arms of the sofa — yes, I know it sounds weird. We even took him to the vet about it a while ago, and she prescribed a mild sedative. What he does is, he taps his beak repeatedly against the sofa arm until he regurgitates his food, and then he eats it again. I’m not sure how healthy or normal that is for him, so I try to keep him away from the sofa arms whenever I can.
Now, he rarely sings, seems constantly distressed, and although he still enjoys my scritches a lot, sometimes when I stop, he suddenly becomes aggressive — like I owe him more and he's mad that I stopped.
I don’t know what to do. I just want my buddy to be happy again. Has anyone else experienced something similar? Any advice would be really appreciated.
However, it's been about a year since he started showing really bad behavioral issues, and they've only gotten worse. My family and I always let him wander around the house, and it was never a problem. We'd put him in his cage when it was time to sleep, and he even used to go back there on his own. It was great.
Then my mom, who thought the cage took up too much space (and honestly, she wasn't wrong), decided to get him a smaller one. Unfortunately, the one she got is really small — it's actually a hamster cage that we now only use for transport. It doesn't physically restrict him, but it's definitely not comfortable or spacious for a bird.
I don't know if these things are connected, but I’m mentioning them in case they’re relevant. The thing is, he’s always had a bit of a chewing habit. It used to be manageable — we mostly blamed it on the fact that my mom’s furniture is all soft wood. I always made sure he had something appropriate to chew on, but I guess the furniture was tastier.
It wasn't a big issue before. He didn’t spend that much time chewing, and we could usually just call him away. But lately, he’s become extremely territorial. He tries to claim little corners of the house as his nest, and starts attacking us if we get near what he considers “his” space. He even screams at us — and it’s the same sound he makes when he’s accidentally hurt — just because we confront him.
It’s gotten really bad. He seems to be in a bad mood and irritated most of the day. He even climbs inside the oven through a small opening at the bottom and refuses to come out. One time, we didn’t know he was in there, turned the oven on, and he started screaming because it was heating up — but still wouldn’t come out on his own. I had to rescue him. I felt awful. I know that must have been terrifying for him.
He also has a very strange behavior that only happens when he's on the arms of the sofa — yes, I know it sounds weird. We even took him to the vet about it a while ago, and she prescribed a mild sedative. What he does is, he taps his beak repeatedly against the sofa arm until he regurgitates his food, and then he eats it again. I’m not sure how healthy or normal that is for him, so I try to keep him away from the sofa arms whenever I can.
Now, he rarely sings, seems constantly distressed, and although he still enjoys my scritches a lot, sometimes when I stop, he suddenly becomes aggressive — like I owe him more and he's mad that I stopped.
I don’t know what to do. I just want my buddy to be happy again. Has anyone else experienced something similar? Any advice would be really appreciated.
