Caesar is mad at me

Filnyyena · 08-28-2008, 08:23 PM

I put him in his cage at 2:30 and left at 3:00 for school, came home just now and took him out of his cage, brought him upstairs like I always do and he flew off my finger and onto the floor..

I picked him up, he flew off again, and again, and one time he hit my mom's painting and squaked at me

And then the last time he flew away and went under the sofa and crawled to the wall beside the sidetable..I used a magazine and forced him out and put my hand on top of his wings so he couldn't fly and went back downstairs to put him in his cage.

He escaped my hands and flew AT the cage and when I tried to get him off to place him inside he grabbed on with his beak and wouldn't let go for ten seconds

I closed his door and he gave me such an evil look it broke my heart!!

What should I do? Before I left he was perfectly happy sitting on my shoulder, nibbling my earring (this time he got it off) and nothing was wrong.

From then to now something went wrong to the point where he is angry at me..Makes me so upset

K8IE · 08-28-2008, 09:02 PM

What type of bird is he?

Filnyyena · 08-29-2008, 01:49 AM

He is a Cockatiel.

I think it was because I was in a rush this morning and his water was cloudy because he threw his new food in it -_- and I couldn't change it or I'd be late. Also, my mom didn't get the special filtered water

Also when I got home I blew off his husks on his food..

He is still snippy at me, but at least will stay grounded on my shoulder.

I think it was out of hunger =/ But I can't be sure. There was a cat in our stand box..Maybe it was at my door too?

Very upsetting..

Edit: He tried poking my eye twice and was stabbing my cheek

I punished him by making him "Step Up" several times until he calms down and I replaced him on my shoulder..He was being aggressive with my jewelry (moreso than normal) so I put him in his cage..

When he was begging to be out with me again (pattering on the bottom and whenever I looked at him, he would shove his face against the bars), I took him out and no more troubles.

It is HARD not being able to understand critters

alphadoginthehouse · 08-29-2008, 01:22 PM

Was this the first time you had left him for so long? He could have been mad at you...birds are so different I wouldn't know how to deal with one. Good luck!

Filnyyena · 08-29-2008, 01:56 PM

This is the second day I left this late and it was only for an hour and a half.. So he must have been cranky about the water, food, and cat.. He is fine now thankfully

Last night he was misbehaving with my earring and necklace so I put him back.. After like two minutes he sidled down to the bottom bars and pitter pattered back and forth, when I looked at him he stopped an shoved his face against the bars

So I think he is over whatever was bugging him

Oh! Thank you for the support

I appreciate it greatly-

Nargle · 08-31-2008, 05:51 PM

**Looks at your sig** Sometimes birds go through an aggressive teenager stage. I'm not sure when your bird will mature, but Skittles (My green-cheeked conure) was a psyco bird from about 6 months to a year and a half! GCCs mature at around 2 years, and since he's just over 2, he's cooled off a lot =3 Sort of like how dogs go through a crazy puppy stage, but suddenly they learn some mannes and behave!

If I were you, I'd be firm with disciplining him. Nothing harsh, no screaming or slapping. Definitely don't do that. The stepping up thing is a good idea, and so is this "abandonment" technique. Young birds seriously CRAVE your attention, you mean the world to him. So if he is doing something that consistantly makes you turn around and leave without a sound, he's going to think twice about what he's doing wrong. But it has to be consistant! And no sounds. Loud noises are HAPPY sounds! If he's screaching and waking up your neighbors at 5 am, and you yell at him to shut up, or yelp "OW!" when he bites you, you're just encouraging him to do it more! Also, always act confident around him, even if you're afraid he'll bite. If you're all timid and shaky, you'll make him nervous, too, and in turn, he'll bite you out of fear. Just remember, he's living in YOUR house, so he's gotta follow YOUR rules, not the other way around =3

Just a little advice from a fellow bird-lover =3 Good luck with Caesar, he sounds like an awesome bird! n.n I'm sure he won't be nearly as much of a handful that Skittles was, lol!

Oh, and one more thing- Water bottles are a must!! We had a water bowl for Skittles, and he'd ALWAYS poop in it and dunk food in it within the first hour we put it in his cage! He'd also try to bathe in it (Not a problem with a cockateil, I don't think. Conures LOVE baths, though) and he'd splash water all over the floor and his newspaper. Lixit makes some awesome water bottles especially for birds that you can find at places like Petco or Petsmart. We got Skittles the smallest one, because we didn't need one of those giant ones, and it's SUPER durable (it can even stand up to his incesant chewing!) and comes with a red licky-ball which he was VERY interested in when we introduced it to him =3 (Birds are very sensative to color!)

Filnyyena · 08-31-2008, 07:30 PM

Thank you for your awesome advice! I think they have their first molt at around 6 months of age..then I can see if he is male or female.

As of yet, we have no problem with biting, although he likes grooming my fingers and nails and has progressed to my ears

go figure. And of course the usual shiny gold necklace and earrings bit..

And a water bottle is a fantastic idea! He is pretty good with his dish though. I clean it out every day/every other day depending on quality and availability. His favorite food dish is on opposite sides of the cage from the dish so he has been good about it. Only time he tossed food into it is when I switched his diet. Slowly converting him over to pellets..but they seem too hard for his beak so I don't know.

And yeah, he doesn't like baths very much

I am getting a spray bottle soon so I can mist him, and will look into the bottle too and retrain him to drink for it.

But it seems to me he only drinks from the dish when I hold him up to it..then he dunks his whole head in which is cute.

And Caesar is great. When he poos outside the cage..he does it away from me, like angles his body out..Lawl?..still lands on my chair though..not my shoulder though

He is just now getting more vocal and that is definitely a cry for attention. He doesn't screech but he mimics the outside birds and stares at me until I pick him up. I am getting better at it though. I usually just relocate him from his ladder to his food and he is content.

He can almost say "I Love You"! and he is getting used to me massaging his neck/head.

And I definitely don't hit him or scream at him. I am trying to get him trained on "Good Night Caesar" as a cue for no more pitter patter, and the only time I am physical is when I pinch my necklace when he is trying to bite it so he is unable to get at it..and if that doesn't work I relocate him to my other shoulder or just turn him around. One wrong hit can ruin him for life ><

I just let him nibble my earrings..but my necklace is over $300 >< Can't have that!

Thank you for the advice! I'll get the water bottle (heard it harbors less bacteria and can last longer) next trip to petco..Well, actually when I have more money ><

Nargle · 08-31-2008, 11:10 PM

I'm glad he's doing well! =3

But yeah, keep firm with the training! You seem to be doing well so far!

I dunno if this would work with a 'teil, but I actually potty trained my conure =3 As in, no more poops outside of the cage! He may not be smart enough to figure it out (No offence!! =D I dunno how trainable Cockateils are) but I could explain how I trained Skittles if you want n.n

Filnyyena · 08-31-2008, 11:25 PM

LOL none taken

my first cockatiel so I have no opinion on the species

Please do

I'd love to teach him to be potty trained!

Omg God help me I am being tough right now. I put him in his cage because my shirt is spaghetti strapped and he is hurting my shoulder..He was out for a good hour or so with me..plus more this morning/afternoon.

He is now pitter-pattering along the bottom and has has squawked thrice and increasing for me so far..

Must be tough >< Must be strong >< Have already replaced him twice now..

I hope he doesn't hate me

It is hard letting go..

Nargle · 09-01-2008, 02:06 AM

Alright, sure thing n.n

Potty training for birds!

1, Totally get in tune with your bird. Pay LOTS of attention! Find out exactly what he does right before he needs to poop. Skittles gets a little nippy and aggitated, and then he starts backing up and lifting his tail. You'll probably notice the tail thing, first. But I've gotten to the point of observing him to where if we're chilling, and he gnaws on my finger more then usual, I'm like "Oh! You need to poop, don't you?" Oh, and it doesn't hurt to keep track of how often he needs to poop. He'll probably poop every 15 to 30 minutes.

2, Pick ONE spot where he's designated to poop. While in his cage it doesn't really matter, but when you take him there to poop while he's out, it's gotta be very specific. Skittles uses the bottom perch next to the ladder.

3, This may seem a little mean, but every time he poops outside of his cage, you need to put him back in his cage on that specific pooping spot and give him a time out. Only like 5 minutes, but totally ignore him during that time. Sooner or later he'll put two and two together, and associate pooping out of his cage with getting ignored. And to make sure he isn't being sneaking and pooping while you're not looking, you need to glue your eyes on him!

4, Every time you sense he's about to poop, RUN to the cage and stick him in his pooping spot. Then chant something like "Go poop! Go poop!" that you can use as a command to get him to poop on command. After he poops, take him out and TOTALLY lavish him with praise. Lots of loud "GOOD POOPER!!" usually suffices =3 Also, even if he doesn't show it, take him to poop like, every ten minutes.

5, If he doesn't have to poop, he'll eventually let you know. Just keep saying "Go poop! Go poop!" until he suddenly does something different, like chirps or hops onto a different perch. It indicates that he's broken his concentration. If he does have to poop, he'll be concentrating really hard. But when he does this, take him out and lavish him with more "GOOD POOPER!"s and let him know he's done good. This step may take a while, but don't give up! If you just decide "Eh, it's been long enough," and take him out without any indications, he'll never learn how to show you he doesn't need to poop, and he might even end up pooping as soon as you take him out! o.o Sometimes it takes Skittles a long time to finally go. But when he doesn't have to, he's learned to put his foot on his ladder, and I take him out. He actually came up with the ladder thing on his own, I just took advantage of it =3

6, Be consistant! This might take months or longer to eliminate the majority of accidents, but the quickest way to see results is to never leave any gaps in your training. My mom gets REALLY mad when there are bird poop stains on the carpet or the couch, though, so I didn't mind all the effort =3

7, If he gets really good at it, you can train him to poop in more then one spot. Now Skittles can poop in three places- His cage, his playground thing, and his T-stand. The playground thing has a trey, and I put newspaper under the T-stand. But it's REALLY handy when he's in my room with me and I don't feel like running to the livingroom every 10 minutes =3

But yeah, there it is! It sounds simple, but it's actually kind of hard. I'm eager to see if you have any luck with it, though n.n

(PS! He won't hate you for having some alone time! Mothers don't spend EVERY waking moment with their children, do they? And you don't even have to teach Caesar any life lessons! A healthy dose of ignoring him every day won't hurt him, but instead keep him from going crazy without you later along down the road!)

Filnyyena · 09-01-2008, 02:23 AM

Thank you so much for you help

I will put that in effect immediately.

Strangest thing though, when I first got him he held it in until he went to his cage. I didn't think much of it at the time until he started going outside the cage..

Good thing they come out small and solid lol..not liquidy. I just use a kleenex or the hand-vac to pick it up depending on the location.

I know when he needs to poo already because of this

. He usually puffs up ten seconds before he actually poos. I'll keep at him now.

He has calmed down on his second bar and I lavished him with praise for settling down with key word "Good Night" and "Good Boy".. I hope we won't have too many days of pitter-pattering..It upsets me lol.

Thank you again for the advice

Nargle · 09-01-2008, 03:48 AM

Seems like you're off to an excellent start! =D Keep it up!

Just curious, but what do you mean by "pitter-patter?" Like.. running around his cage? Or is it a vocal sound he makes?

Filnyyena · 09-01-2008, 12:12 PM

Lol I put him on his top bar, he moves over to the side of the cage closes to me, slides down to the bottom of the cage, and runs back and forth along the bottom.

I am doing what you said about time outs.. He pecked my laptop screen >< I can't have him crawling over my macbook until he is potty trained..and then pecking my screen..and dislodging my shift key

I don't think that is covered in the warranty lol

Nargle · 09-01-2008, 06:09 PM

Lol! Skittles gets jealous of my mouse because I think he thinks I'm snuggling it XD He always runs up to the mouse and bites it, then tries to push my hand off with his body! Sometimes he'll even scoot my mouse over and hunker down in its place so I accidentally grab him, lol!! He also loves to run around on the keyboard and look down and study it very intensely =3

But yeah, poop on the laptop is not a good thing o.o Nor is dismantling it!

Filnyyena · 09-01-2008, 06:29 PM

Lol

That is absolutely adorable

Oh! Potty training is working well. I noticed his sign, put him in his cage and he went poo a second after he hit the bar. I lavished him with praise~

But I am worried about his beak..It seems to be overgrowing a bit and he isn't using his calcium or the other white round thing either.

Nargle · 09-01-2008, 08:55 PM

That's great! I'm glad it's working out for you! =D

As for the beak- You could get him some nice crunchy toys, like natural materials such as wood or rawhide. Harder food might help, too (I think you said he isn't on pellets yet?) But if it gets too bad, you can have a vet file it down. Skittles LOVES to chew, so I don't really have a problem with his beak =3 The top rung on his wooden ladder is GONE!

Filnyyena · 09-02-2008, 02:09 AM

Lol oh no

Caesar has to sit on the top step on his ladder. When I wake up? He is there. When I look over my shoulder? He is there. What he would do without it..I don't know

As for the toys, I have a few but he is disinterested in them..I see him playing more and more with his toys though. Once I get more money, I'll get him some more. I'll post a pic of it once I get my laptop back (friend is using it beside me). It is a bit barren, but all I can afford after those vet bills struck me lol >< Not to mention I owe my dad $400 for my part in my laptop and iphone.. Will be tapped out the next few months.

He likes to be on my shoulder more than the cage (probably because he doesn't know how to interact with his toys), but I am trying to show him that behaving in his cage will get him rewarded with cuddling in my hair. Also trying to teach him to step up his ladder to step onto my finger whereas he goes to the bottom left door now..

And yes, I am slowly converting him to pellets since I have a large bag of seed that the dude sold to me when I bought Caesar. Like, the 5 or 7 pound one for just one Cockatiel..its insane lol. But so far he only eats the pellets if I hand feed them to him..or else he will throw them at my head or on the ground to get around them

I think I'll have to be heartless soon and make the pellets most, if not all, the main feed of his day..

Thank you for talking with me and imparting your advice by the way

alphadoginthehouse · 09-04-2008, 06:35 PM

So, I take it he's no longer mad at you..?

Filnyyena · 09-06-2008, 01:26 PM

Lol no Alpha, he is quite content blowing out my eardrums doing the dog-call whistle..not the cat call, but like, when you call your dog to you oO Sorry lol, poor description

He is so excited once he learned how to do it properly

He is now trying to do the cat call lol!

He also likes to stuff his whole head in my ear..once he takes off my earring and throws it on the ground however.. rofl

Potty training is also good. A few accidents, but that is mainly because I was not paying attention lol =/ But it is going good over all. Time will well

He gives me a confused look whenever I praise him though ;p Kinda cute!

Oh! Just now he did a perfect cat call!! Good Caesar Good hehe!

MyCharlie · 09-06-2008, 02:26 PM

About his beak - are all of his perches made of wood? You can get some nice (I'm not sure exactly what they're made of) cement-looking perches. They're ridgy and rough and good for their nails and beaks both, keeping them in check. My old tiel used to rub his beak along it and we never had any beak issues. He rarely ate his calcium thingy either.

What about wing clipping? Do you have a place to get them clipped? We trimmed Ziggy's ourselves. It's really easy if you have someone show you how to do it.

Good luck! We need some pics!