What do YOU do when your fid is grumpy?

LoveBird<3 · 6/10/14

Fids, inevitably, get grumpy sometimes. When they do, what do you do? Do you leave them alone, or do you take them out to play? I'm curious to find out.

Ankou · 6/10/14

Peanut's grumps are much less aggressive than they were when she was younger and more hormonal, but I take her out and put her on her play area and leave her be. If she wants to interact, it's on her terms (let her come to me, leave when she wants. Even more so than usual, I mean.) Usually though, since she's out all day when I'm home she becomes grumpy while she is out, so getting her to bed is the real issue.
Some days she just isn't interested and we might have 30 minutes of direct interaction all day while she does her own thing.

I'm also extra careful to not do things I know annoy her like touch "her" things (some of which are mine,) because she's more likely to bite and has a shorter fuse. If I am going to get bitten, I guarantee it's going to be on one of these grump days.

When she was younger and would occasionally refuse to come out of her cage I would prop the door open and leave it up to her if she'd come out on her own or not. Sometimes she'd sit in there and grump all day.

JAM · 6/10/14

Ours can sulk where they please. Generally they prefer to sulk in their cage and if it is their out of cage time they get to sulk with the option of coming out to sulk on the playgym.

M-Star was an awesome sulker. She would sulk at any point and anywhere, even on my shoulder. She would pout and lean away from me not wanting me to touch her but making a point if not leaving me because she was there already. :lol:

If I turned my head towards her she would turn her back on me. :rolleyes:

Anne & Gang · 6/10/14

our tiels are out of their cages, every day..all day..grumpy or not. If grumpy, then I usually try and leave them be and not interact too much.

InTheAir · 6/10/14

I know the secret irn whisperer words that makes the gloomiest irn cheer up instantly.

It's "Does anyone want treaties?" It is like a switch, they hear the words and are suddenly friendly and engaging. It hasn't failed me yet, even when Nila does his demon-eye-fluff-face that means he's outraged that I would have the audacity to leave him at home in his cage and then come back when he's trying to have a nap!
But neither bird ever stays grumpy for very long when left to their own devices anyway.

Wasabisaurus · 6/10/14

I try to give Wasabi a head scratch. :lol:

That is, if I need a finger amputated. I leave him aloooooone. Same with the cockatiels. Sashimi despises us all the time, so we leave him be unless it's for medicine. Snuggles is only cranky when it is time for meds. After meds, we praise him, then leave him time to recover before speaking to him again.

solo · 6/10/14

Solo id grumpy ALL the time so i never force interaction with him , he comes to me when he needs me which is normally when he wants a nap in my neck or food

love my grumpy chicken monster

if he is throwing a tantrum its a whole different story though , he will run around like a mad thing attacking thing and lunging and making his super furious face screaming :wideyed:

at this point for everyones good i let him cool off on his own in a cage where he usually ends up having a long nap

Kathrin · 6/10/14

It depends on what you mean by grumpy

When my Alexandrine is screaming, it means she wants my attention and I try my best not to come running and give her attention (as this will just lead to more screaming in the future). When she is actually grumpy, I leave her to do what she wants to do. I can usually tell by her body language that I shouldn't touch her at that time and I leave her to rest and settle. I wouldn't actually say that she is grumpy. Sometimes this may just be due to the time of day (she likes to fly big rounds of the house in the morning) and so I let her have active play time. It could also be because she is paying attention to something else in the room or outside the window. I think it's important to let your bird do what it wants to do. The reason birds appear grumpy is because they are showing us with body language how they feel

VictoriaVague · 6/10/14

Titus gets bitey when grumpy. It's like he's torn between wanting to be with you and wanting to murder you. Usually he'll sneek up to me and take a chunk of arm meat. So I try to leave him to his own devices.

Mizzely · 6/10/14

I keep my hands to myself

they also do not get shoulder priveleges which is usually fine with them because they are too grumpy to enjoy it. I just open their cages and let them do what they want in the bird room.

Cyreen · 6/10/14

Grumpy mean I respect their space, wherever that may be. Really, the only one of concern is Mayu when her breakfast is delayed and then it's just best not to invade her space (at the cost of fingers) until after she's eaten. No worries.

Jeddy · 6/10/14

I treat him just like my hubby- give him space.

webchirp · 6/10/14

Mizzely said:
I keep my hands to myself they also do not get shoulder priveleges which is usually fine with them because they are too grumpy to enjoy it. I just open their cages and let them do what they want in the bird room.

Ditto...I will try to give scritches and attention but if they only want to eat me, I will go love on another.

bicmeister · 6/10/14

When I'm grumpy, I'd rather be alone to my own devices. I allow my birds to have that same courtesy so I just open their cages in the bird room and leave. If he (mostly Chaucer) wants to come out, he will.

lupe · 6/10/14

Grumpy Elvis is usually soothed by an almond or a walnut...if that doesnt work then I do give him his space..

..he doesnt stay grumpy very long.. :bored:

.

Nikomania · 6/10/14

It depends. If their grumpiness gets out of hand, I put them back in their cages and take them out again later on. Or, if it's a strong pressured beak or bite, I'll first try holding their beak and gently saying, 'no bite'. If that doesn't work, then I give them the stink eye, say 'no bite' again and put them on a perch. Usually they'll fly back over to me after 'the perch', and act like nothing ever happened. :joyful:

LoveBird<3 · 6/10/14

Nikomania said:
It depends. If their grumpiness gets out of hand, I put them back in their cages and take them out again later on. Or, if it's a strong pressured beak or bite, I'll first try holding their beak and gently saying, 'no bite'. If that doesn't work, then I give them the stink eye, say 'no bite' again and put them on a perch. Usually they'll fly back over to me after 'the perch', and act like nothing ever happened.

Sometimes, I say, "No," and my bird looks at me and does a little growl. xD

danadear · 6/10/14

Sing of course! And dance like an idiot. Sometimes they will dance along and sometimes they will just look at me like I am mad. But they all seem to enjoy when I sing to them. Really cranky pants birds get to lounge in their own quarters for the day though.

Birdlove · 6/10/14

The tiel gets put on the floor to walk around or do as she pleases and the amazon chooses her cage. Either way we let them be. Though sometimes I'll tempt the tiel with singing and dancing.

rocky'smom · 6/10/14

when Rocky has the grumpies, it's best to give him his space. his grumpies come with nasty bites. i have had a enough of them, to know better. if he is not in or on his cage, then i will if need be towel him and return him to his cage. most of the time i can pick him up and get my thumb under his feet and then he goes to his cage. when we still had Tuffy, his grumps were more hormonal and that was the worst bites i had from him.
:tiel2:

and his mom

What do YOU do when your fid is grumpy?

Walking the driveway

Rollerblading along the road

Biking along the boulevard

Riding the Skies

Rollerblading along the road

Cruising the avenue

Rollerblading along the road

Meeting neighbors

Rollerblading along the road

Lil Monsters Bird Toys

Rollerblading along the road

Rollerblading along the road

Joyriding the Neighborhood

Biking along the boulevard

Biking along the boulevard

Rollerblading along the road

Walking the driveway

Rollerblading along the road

Jogging around the block

Joyriding the Neighborhood