Our feathered friends, birdbrains, and wingnuts

[gealach]

@brokenEMT, the bright blue cere means your budgie is staged for breeding....

I was thinking it was hormone related, just weird that his cere hasn't changed before since he's an old guy now. He certainly is pretty!!!!!!!

 

[Still Standing]

I was thinking it was hormone related, just weird that his cere hasn't changed before since he's an o...

Just consider he is a late bloomer...it may have been influenced by bringing in a second bird, Cicero, into the household. With Pippin having been an only-bird, he had no competition for mating possibilities...not that he would mate with the cockatiel. But having a second bird caused his natural instincts to bloom and he is now ready to procreate. Are you sure your cockatiel is male? If being a female, this would really explain the change in Pippin.

 

[Changing4Best]

I think I saw a cardinal fall out of a tree today! I just saw this red flash of something falling straight down to the ground, but it landed behind a tree, so I could not see for sure if it walked off!!! I was concerned, but I was busy and could not go and investigate. SIGH... it was freaky though!

Then it occurred to me that birds do have to die sometime. How sad. I suppose if one had a heart attack, it would fall out of a tree. Poor little thing. It is heartbreaking.

 

[gealach]

Just consider he is a late bloomer...it may have been influenced by bringing in a second bird, C...

Yup, Cicero is definitely a boy. But since the addition of another bird is the only thing that's changed, that must be it.

 

[bellbird]

My budgie has been acting really aggressive the past couple of weeks.
I'm thinking it might be hormonal - an increase in testosterone, as I'm guessing he's recently reached sexual maturity. I'd estimate he's about 10 months.

He's been making very irritated chchchch noises, when I can't figure out any stressor.
He also will act playful and when I go over to his cage like I normally do and put my hand in to get him to hop onto it, he sort of rears backwards, lowers his body, his pupils suddenly constrict and he'll peck at my hand.

Does anyone have any experience with a similar thing?
I miss how he used to be. All day now he makes those irritated noises.
And if so has anyone ever tried a product like this: Dead Link Removed
I came across it when I was googling the subject.

 

[Still Standing]

Yes, hormonal changes and molting can cause a grumpy bird. I have never used the product you are asking about but it might be worth a try. I am wondering if your budgie is deficient in vitamins, too? Search the net and see if you can find other parakeet owners who have dealt with this problem before. Another suggestion is that your bird is showing signs of being attracted to the opposite gender than yourself or another person in the household. Your bird is about the right age to start displaying his preference in people. Having a grumpy bird can be a challenge. I hope you are able to figure out his problem. If all else fails, he may need a cage mate.

 

[littleoc]

My female cockatiel gets incredibly territorial when she’s “in heat,” but switching her from seeds to Harrison’s Birdfood (not sure if available outside the U.S.?) really helped a lot.

She’s old now so it happens a lot less.

 

[Changing4Best]

My niece saw a bald eagle the other day when I was talking to her on the phone. She described it to me, mostly shocked how HUGE it is! I wish I had been there.

 

[bellbird]

Another suggestion is that your bird is showing signs of being attracted to the opposite gender than yourself or another person in the household

My budgie is male and I'm in an all female flat. My dad is picking tweeter and I both up tomorrow to go home for a few days so it will be interesting to see how he is around my dad.

I am wondering if your budgie is deficient in vitamins, too?

I added in some nutrient feed in with his seed this morning and will continue to do that for a while to see if it helps :)
I do give him fresh vegetable/fruit each day to supplement the seed, but could be that he needs extra.

Search the net and see if you can find other parakeet owners who have dealt with this problem before.

Some people suggested ignoring the bird - no eye contact/interaction when he is squawking, to try to train it out with negative reinforcement.
I messaged my friend who's almost finished her vet degree about it and she's going to look into it and also ask some bird-specific contacts she knows, so hopefully they will be of help.
She did suggest putting in a mirror in the cage this morning, which I did. He was very intrigued by it, but then I've been out at medical appointments all day so I'm not sure how it has gone :)

My female cockatiel gets incredibly territorial when she’s “in heat,”

Yeah this could fit.
What's in that Harrison's food?

 

[Changing4Best]

I live way out in the middle of "nowhere." Like, this place is 2 hours by car from the nearest "big city."

I love it out here in the mountains. There is a hay field across the street from me diagonally, trees everywhere (it is a National Forest called the Nantahala) and well, there are BIRDS everywhere too. So, for instance, last week we had a flock of geese settle into the hay field for a few days. There always seems to be a large carrion bird of some sort circling above the field too. Often more than one. In the trees I see cardinals a lot, also blue jays. There are crows, I don't often see them, but I can hear them calling almost always during the day. In the bushes there are flocks of sparrows and chickadees. I've seen starlings, robins and mockingbirds often.

So I have no real need to keep a bird of my own. I have 100s of them right outside of my doors and windows! None the less, I have thought about getting a bird sometimes. I used to have one. I think I mentioned him earlier in this thread. His name was Chee-Chee and he was a Mitred Conure. I miss him. We had him for about 15 years, but then he was stolen from us. We had a relative, a distant one, taking care of him for us (while we were out of town), and then they said to us that he had died. However, the cage was not available to us after that. They said they threw it out. Yeh. Right.... This was within 24 hours after the bird had supposedly died. We think they sold the bird, cage and all. That is what my husband suspected anyway, and he knew his relatives much better than I did. So, my baby Chee-Chee left our lives too soon. I often wonder where he is and how he is doing. I hope his new mama or papa is taking good care of him, because Conures can live for 40 years or so and he is likely still alive!

I have a pet guinea pig. I wonder if I could put a bird cage on top of his cage. I have no other place to put it! I live in a small apartment now, alone.

 

[Still Standing]

Totally understand the loss of a bird. I had a Goffin cockatoo (a small breed) that I named Ziggy. He used to ride my shoulder or cling papoose-style off the front of my shirt. He was the most loving bird. And we had Mikey, an African Grey. They were raised together and were cage mates. Mikey was my husband's bird. But, Mikey began to get aggressive toward me. He favored men. We had a pastor who was from Africa and when he saw and heard Mikey, he said it was like being "back home". He said the sound of an African Grey to him was like us thinking a Robin's chirp was comforting. So, Steve said he would give both birds to he and his family if he wanted them. Of course the pastor was thrilled to have the parrots. I was devastated. I had no intentions of giving Ziggy away. Hubby's reasoning was that the birds were cage mates and would not do well on their own. I really miss Ziggy. He was my buddy.

 

[Changing4Best]

So sorry for your loss, @Still Standing