Not so friendly Derbyan

[Derbyan_Frank]

I was talking about training as a means of giving him attention/interaction/mental stimulation as opposed to petting and cuddling. In that way he should get the attention he needs without also sending mixed signals.

[Cage Cleaner]

Gl

[Pajarita]

I was talking about training as a means of giving him attention/interaction/mental stimulation as opposed to petting and cuddling. In that way he should get the attention he needs without also sending mixed signals.

No, no, no, let's NOT confuse things. Cuddling is not only ALWAYS good, it's absolutely necessary for a parrot. Psittaculas are not considered 'cuddlers' but they do enjoy spending quiet time with their owners (riding their shoulder and such) and that is also absolutely essential for a happy parrot. Training is not necessary at all, and the only mixed signals one sends is when one touches them inappropriately which is easily avoided.

[Derbyan_Frank]

I must admit that I am at a bit of a loss for what to do at the moment. I've tried adding new toys to his play perch/play gym, keeping a bowl of food and water nearby that he can always access, and attempting to get him to chew on a small toy (like those tiny shoes, a large nut wrapped in paper, etc...) but nothing seems to keep his interest. He seems completely intent on chewing up my upper arm. I feel that this isn't allo-preening as he is taking large mouthfulls of cloth (and skin) and chewing pretty hard. I suspect preening is meant to be a wee bit more gentle...



Most worryingly is that when I do so much as turn my head to look at him while he is sitting on my arm he will pin his eyes and nip at my face. He hasn't gotten close (yet) but I really, really don't like the way this is going. Today was the first day when he attempted to bite my hand when I was trying to get him to step up off my arm (I was trying the firm but gentle "No" and moving him off me). If I attempt to hand him a toy to chew on rather than me he immediately threatens to bite the hand holding the toy.

The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is to provide him with toys that are more interesting than my shirt/flesh. Does anyone have any recommendations for good foraging toys? I feel like that might help give him something more to do and maybe burn off some of his energy. (I've been trying to help him exercise so his wing muscles, etc., are strong enough for him to fly safely once his flight feathers have grown back).

[Wolf]

I think that he is trying to shred the shirt material and that your skin being underneath it is just incidental. I also think that his actions are such that he is claiming the shirt as his property and is defending his " right" to it. These actions would seem to me to be the actions of an older bird that what I thought. Do you have any pictures that you could post here for us to see him? In any case if he is getting aggressive towards your face, I would try to limit the extent of where he is allowed to be on you, such as not allowing him on your upper arm and just on the forearm or hand so that he can not bite at your face.
Toys, foraging or otherwise are always an interesting topic for me. Birds usually have to be taught what a toy is and how to use it, such as watching you place a favored treat in a foraging toy and or showing them how to get it back out. Any way, use you imagination about them. Birds in the wild don't actually have toys and don't actually play with them. They use items that, in captivity, we call toys to learn how to procure food and to learn self defense.
I think that target training him as suggested by Cagecleaner, would be good for him. Here is a link for you with the basics of target training viewtopic.php?f=11&t=227

[Pajarita]

Hmmm, I am afraid I don't agree with you on this one, Wolf. That doesn't look like chewing on the shirt and mistakenly grabbing the flesh too hard. Parrots are too smart to make that mistake plus they have an incredible control over the strength they apply when they use their beaks - they use their beak the same way we use our fingers. I also don't think that he thinks the shirt is his and he is defending it... I think he is biting the human.

Now, don't get discouraged. You've had this bird for a VERY short time and he had been completely neglected while in the petstore plus it is a psittacula and it's not easy bringing them back from disaffection.

Yes, try target training. VERY short sessions, mind you, because he is still in his honeymoon period (I know it sounds stupid to call it 'honeymoon' when he is biting but it's the only name we have ).

[Wolf]

You may be right, I wouldn't swear to it either way, I thought about it and was originally going to go with the parrot was actually trying to bite. I opted to give the bird the benefit of my doubt and thought that in either case that target training might be the best answer regardless of which it turned out to be.
You have much more experience than I do, so you may very well be right as to what is happening.

[Derbyan_Frank]

Here is a picture of Frank. He's very, very slowly changing colors and the bird store said he was DNA tested as male but we shall see.



You'll notice his tail is a bit scraggly. He was in a rather small cage while at the bird store. He has a few new tail feathers coming in (bright turquoise!) so his tail should hopefully be getting back to normal in a few months. I plan to get him a larger cage once I've started my new job next month.

[Wolf]

Yeah the bird looks a little scruffy and I am sure that this will begin to change for the better as time progresses. One big point that I should point out is that this bird is a female and not a male regardless of what the pet store may have told you. While there are other ways to tell as the male and female feathers are different in coloration the easiest way to tell with this species of parrot is their beak. In the adult male the upper mandible is red with a yellow tip and the lower mandible is black. In the adult female the entire beak is black. And in the juvenile of this species, the beak is orange regardless of it being male or female. This species of parrot matures between the ages of two and three years. I can't tell from the picture but does the bird have a band on either of its legs?
When I answered earlier concerning the bird chewing on your shirt, I had considered that the bird may have been actually trying to bite you, but opted for giving the bird the benefit of my doubts as I was thinking that this was a younger bird. It seemed to me that the bird would most likely be hormonal if it were trying to bite you and that did not fit quite right of the bird being a juvenile, even though this is not the only reason for the bird to resort to biting. I now believe that you still have a young bird, but that it is an adult as well as being a Frankie as opposed to a Frank.

[Derbyan_Frank]

Yes, Frank/Frankie has a band on his/her right foot. It's entirely possible that he is a she but my understanding is that they start out with orange beaks that turn black, then either stay black (female) or the top one turns red (male) after they hit sexual maturity at about 2-3 years of age. I suppose the vet can always help me figure it out if it's important to his/her care.