Pumpkin is now afraid of me! HELP!!

[sweets66]

Hi all, I am in serious need of help!!

This morning I was sweeping our lounge (our broom is blue) and Pumpkin (my Cape Green) flew off his cage in terror! I tried picking him up, but he bit the hell out of me. I managed to get him back onto his cage beside his bud Georgie (Timneh Grey) and tried speaking to him softly and left him to calm down a bit. I removed the offending broom from the room. But now, Pumpkin won't come near me!! He won't let me touch him, tries to bite me and shakes in terror when I try to get near him! I am so upset, I can't stop crying!! PLEASE HELP!!

 

[Tom B]

Oh no, so sorry for you. Im not really an expert but i would just start again (just sit by the cage talking to him) and try and think of ANYTHING that could have been different about the room, what you were wearing etc and put that back to normal.
Hopefully someone else will be able to help soon.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[sweets66]

Thanks so much.

 

[roxynoodle]

He may be over it by the next day if you already had a strong bond

If not, go back to more passive interactions like talking to him, singing/dancing, giving him treats from your hand, etc, until he's ready to be handled again.

My conure still hates the broom, vacuum and all cleaning supplies after 13 years. It's best for me to do the cleaning after she's back in her cage.

 

[Cyreen]

It's important not to get upset, because that will contribute to Pumpkin's reaction. The less of a big deal you make of it, the easier it will be to calm him when he's spooked.

 

[yvette]

i agree....give him some time to calm down. Treats always work here! lol
Ozzy freaked one day cause I had a ball cap on. He was terrified. I left him alone for a few hours and talked softly to him, a few almonds and he was back to normal! lol

 

[JLcribber]

What happened this morning put Pumpkin into panic mode and scared the crap out of him. Of course he's going to be on high alert and wary of anything and anyone. Then you approached him right away while he was in that mode to get him back in his cage (which I'm assuming was somewhat of a frantic event also) which is only going to put him on higher alert and be even more wary. Now your crying and all emotional about it which is not going to help but actually prolong it.

Once in that high alert/wary (survival) mode it takes time for them to "come down" before they are truly calm and back to normal. Take a deep breath, relax and don't force yourself on him. Let him come to you and he will. Give it a day.

 

[danadear]

 

[sweets66]

Thank you to everyone for your advice, I will give him some time and see what happens.

 

[Kaylea]

Poor baby... It makes us sad to see our birds upset n feeling we don't know What to do to make it better,.. Skyler. Has her moods.. one day she wouldn't even let me hold her.. she bit my nose so hard I fried for hours... It wasn't just the bite that hurt but my heart was broken also.. I have found that when she's aggravated about something.. is best to let her be for a while... Then get her a treat and spend time with her loving on her.. she seems to forget What ever upset her... When I was crying she walked away from my husband which she never does..climbed up n kissed my cheek n said I'm sorry....it was the sweetest thing... It was like she knew!.. we always tell her were sorry if we accadently hurt her pin feathers or anything..and she's learned to say it also... Sometimes she says.. utho lol

 

[Wayne361]

As said above give him some time to cool. I would then do hands-off activities with him (if he allows)....i would start by targetting in cage to guage his reaction. If he is timid of you at first but starts to respond to this then he is coming around. Baby steps, target out of cage. Do training exercises with him that dont involve him being on you (risk of bite). If he responds well (which he should if you already had a solid bond pre-scared) then proceed to do more interaction. Watch the birds body language the whole time and proceed based on this.

Hope this helps,

Wayne