Obsessive Behavior Causing Issues

[bakedgewds]

Hello all! This is my first post here, I found this site while searching my issue and decided to try since you all seem very helpful!

Our 1yr 5m old female(?) GCC named Ivy has lately become very problematic when it comes to our 16yr old daughter. I understand she is most likely going through puberty and have a rough idea on how problematic that can become in itself. We were prepared for a moody teen bird. We were not prepared for a psychotic stalker bird.

For starters she eats a diet of zupreem natural pellets and fresh fruit daily. She does not eat vegetables, we’ve tried.
She gets 10-12 hours of dark sleep a night. We alternate her cage between two main rooms to keep things fresh for her.
We try to get her out of the c age for at least 3-4 hours a day, but this new behavior is making it very difficult.

The issue is she is OBSESSED with our daughter. Not exaggerating. Think “The Shining” but instead of Johnny it’s “HEEEERES IVY!”

She will start screaming if she even so much as hears our daughter. If she hears her bedroom door open Ivy takes off to try and get her. She’s not necessarily aggressive towards her, she just wants to be on her all the time. Our daughter isn’t a fan and doesn’t want anything to do with her. Ivy will literally stalk her outside the bathroom door, pacing and squawking, poking her beak under the door. She does the strut and will just not leave her alone.

This is very problematic because if our daughter is visible at all we can’t have Ivy out or else she is on her like fleas on a dog. If we try to pick her up to move her away she attacks us. Not a little peck or nibble, but full blown fly and aim for the eyes attack. My hands are so scarred from this angry little ball of green fluff.

I love her to death but my daughter comes first, and it’s becoming distressing how obsessed she is with her and how she completely changes when she is around.

I have a feeling she is courting our daughter and I don’t know how to make it stop as simply putting her in her cage and saying No in a firm voice isn’t working.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

Hello all! This is my first post here, I found this site while searching my issue and decided to try since you all seem very helpful!

Our 1yr 5m old female(?) GCC named Ivy has lately become very problematic when it comes to our 16yr old daughter. I understand she is most likely going through puberty and have a rough idea on how problematic that can become in itself. We were prepared for a moody teen bird. We were not prepared for a psychotic stalker bird.

For starters she eats a diet of zupreem natural pellets and fresh fruit daily. She does not eat vegetables, we’ve tried.
She gets 10-12 hours of dark sleep a night. We alternate her cage between two main rooms to keep things fresh for her.
We try to get her out of the c age for at least 3-4 hours a day, but this new behavior is making it very difficult.

The issue is she is OBSESSED with our daughter. Not exaggerating. Think “The Shining” but instead of Johnny it’s “HEEEERES IVY!”

She will start screaming if she even so much as hears our daughter. If she hears her bedroom door open Ivy takes off to try and get her. She’s not necessarily aggressive towards her, she just wants to be on her all the time. Our daughter isn’t a fan and doesn’t want anything to do with her. Ivy will literally stalk her outside the bathroom door, pacing and squawking, poking her beak under the door. She does the strut and will just not leave her alone.

This is very problematic because if our daughter is visible at all we can’t have Ivy out or else she is on her like fleas on a dog. If we try to pick her up to move her away she attacks us. Not a little peck or nibble, but full blown fly and aim for the eyes attack. My hands are so scarred from this angry little ball of green fluff.

I love her to death but my daughter comes first, and it’s becoming distressing how obsessed she is with her and how she completely changes when she is around.

I have a feeling she is courting our daughter and I don’t know how to make it stop as simply putting her in her cage and saying No in a firm voice isn’t working.

Ivy…sounds like an Ivan. It’s not that expensive to have a DNA test and I would want want one to confirm your birds gender. Mostly for you to understand what this behavior is all about and know it’s normal for any species to select and prefer one family member in a household. It’s that time of year and they are truly driven by hormones and that includes undesirable behavior towards us. Definitely keep him caged when your daughter is moving around the home, keep him off the floor- many small birds are either accidentally stepped on ( with poor outcomes) or attacked by other household pets. And definitely train him to step up to a hand held perch with length to it to save your fingers and relationship with him. NO shoulder time while it’s hormone season. I have six conures and only one of them is a biter. He’s great about stepping up on a perch for me …. But he would looove to bite me.

 

[bakedgewds]

Ivy…sounds like an Ivan. It’s not that expensive to have a DNA test and I would want want one to confirm your birds gender. Mostly for you to understand what this behavior is all about and know it’s normal for any species to select and prefer one family member in a household. It’s that time of year and they are truly driven by hormones and that includes undesirable behavior towards us. Definitely keep him caged when your daughter is moving around the home, keep him off the floor- many small birds are either accidentally stepped on ( with poor outcomes) or attacked by other household pets. And definitely train him to step up to a hand held perch with length to it to save your fingers and relationship with him. NO shoulder time while it’s hormone season. I have six conures and only one of them is a biter. He’s great about stepping up on a perch for me …. But he would looove to bite me.

I’m getting a feeling it is also Ivan. Thank you so much for the advice! We are quickly learning no shoulder time right now haha

 

[Kassiani]

I have two budgies who were legendary seed fiends. It's frustrating but the diet can be changed with patience and persistence. I say this because high sugar content in fruit helps fuel the hormonal season. If you can, cut some veggies up with the fruit and mix them together. Some veggies will be consumed as Ivy/an is going for the fruit. Then up the ratio to be heavier on the veggie side. Have you tried a pellet other than Zupreem? TOPs or Harrison's perhaps? That might also be helpful.

One of my birds had to have up to 14 hours of covered darkness each night due to hormones. And when I say darkness--I mean complete darkness. Room blackout shades, no digital or power indicator lights, nothing. Yes, that was a process getting a room set up in that way, but it really helped. Even now, when I get my boys settled for the night, the room is black once the last light goes out.

Good luck!

 

[bakedgewds]

I have two budgies who were legendary seed fiends. It's frustrating but the diet can be changed with patience and persistence. I say this because high sugar content in fruit helps fuel the hormonal season. If you can, cut some veggies up with the fruit and mix them together. Some veggies will be consumed as Ivy/an is going for the fruit. Then up the ratio to be heavier on the veggie side. Have you tried a pellet other than Zupreem? TOPs or Harrison's perhaps? That might also be helpful.

One of my birds had to have up to 14 hours of covered darkness each night due to hormones. And when I say darkness--I mean complete darkness. Room blackout shades, no digital or power indicator lights, nothing. Yes, that was a process getting a room set up in that way, but it really helped. Even now, when I get my boys settled for the night, the room is black once the last light goes out.

Good luck!

Thank you so much for the advice! I will keep trying the veggies. I’ve been working on a birdie bread recipe to try and incorporate them into her diet a little too. I’ll also definitely check out those food brands and try cutting back on the fruit.

I believe I need to push her bedtime an hour earlier as well.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

I will say I only give vegetables to my conures… no fruit. ( the pellets I feed are zupreem and Roudybush ) I don’t feed fruit because it attracts bugs. My birds love the mini peppers ( yellow, orange, red) , sugar snap peas, zucchini, some cooked squash, soft cooked beets, carrots, once in a while cooked corn on the cob is highly prized but I believe has some sugar so I consider it to be more treat than sustenance. The three youngest of the six conures are 14 years old. I offer whole pieces of the veggies ( 1/4 inch thick slices of squash etc) baby carrots, instead of a chop. Try different ways to see what your bird prefers. Not all of mine like the beets but if that’s what’s on the menu… it’s what’s on the menu. I vary vegetables every day.