Hello and Request for Help :)

[Pajarita]

Aha! A birdy biscotti! Yes, you can easily do that with birdy bread and don't worry about denseness, the recipe I gave you comes out super dense (it's the pumpkin puree, mashed potatoes, grated veggies, etc that does it).

[mikella]

Exactly! Birdy biscotti! Haha I'm REALLY hoping he'll like it because veggies aren't going well... Even puréed to different consistencies.

Question: Online when you look up the sunrise time for each day, it's the time that the very edge of the sun peaks over the horizon. So, if sunrise is say, 5:50, how long before then is ideal to uncover? I've been going for 30 mins before sunrise each day, but it's not always exact, and some days it's been only ten minutes before..... (My husband uncovers him most days). This morning I uncovered at 5:20, and it was already slightly light out and he was peeping and making kiss noises (which he does with the teensiest bit of light). If it's any brightener, he's chirping when we leave the room. He starts chirping super early...... As soon as it's light enough that he can see ok-ish. He starts calling for us. And he's completely worked up until after husband leaves the house for work at 7:30. Then he starts to calm down for a bit and will finally eat... A little... Until he's dying to get out shortly after. He won't eat when my husband is home in the morning, he's too distracted. Anyways... What is the most important thing to keep consistent as far as uncovering and covering goes? How many mins before and after sunrise/set I'm assuming? And how many mins is ideal after actual sunset is ok? So after last edge of sun drops below horizon. Is it any PERIOD of dimming/brightening light that triggers their 'biological clock/etc.' or the specific quality of light during the twilight period?

(Wanted to add - I decided a while back that I want him to have a birdy friend and will adopt when Quigley is doing well and when I find the right bird... Will be quite a while before then, but I feel it's the right thing to do and will hopefully help Quigley quite a lot. Until then we'll try to suffice as buddies.)

[Wolf]

It is the specific qualities of the light that cause it to have the effect that it does. I live in a rural area that allows me to not cover my birds at night so I don't have this issue to deal with. It sounds like he is waking up because of being uncovered at this time, mine actually sleep through most of the twilight period at dawn and then wake up just before sunrise. I think that if it is dark enough to uncover him after the last person goes to bed at night that he might start doing like mine and wake up just before sunrise. I really don't know if it takes the entire twilight period or just a part of it to have the desired effect as nothing that I have read has had that information so I try to let them have full exposure to it.

[mikella]

Problem here is the artificial light from outside unfortunately... I'm hoping that when the leaves come in, it will be much more shaded, but still likely not dark enough.

He also stirs when I cover him - barrage of kiss sounds, etc.

He is insanely hormonal....... It's like he's on speed today, desperate to be under and in things, any dark little space he can peek into. Constant chirping and beaking and rummaging. There's just nothing I can do to help ease it. Some days are more intense and this is one of those days. Can't be comfortable for him.

[Pajarita]

No, it's not comfortable for him, that's for sure... his gonads must be huge after all these years of a bad light schedule, poor thing! But there is nothing doing until the days get shorter.

I don't go by the actual sunrise or sunset time, I go by the sky but I've been doing this for so long that I actually wake up as soon as there is any light in the sky and, apparently, keep a subconscious mental 'eye' for the sunset I also cheat a bit because I don't really change the time of their covering and uncovering every two weeks so, sometimes, I uncover them at the first sign of light and, sometimes, I uncover them when there is already some light -like, right now, I am getting up around 5:20 to uncover them but as the season progresses I get up at 5 am. Same thing with the covering, sometimes I do it when there is still the tiniest bit of light in the sky and sometimes I do it when it's completely dark. It doesn't seem to affect them much, at least not in the sexual hormone production department.

[mikella]

Ok great, that's exactly what I needed to know. I think we're doing just fine with it then.

[mikella]

So of course I just see a post from someone looking to rehome a 2.5 year old female green cheek a few hours away from me... I think we need more time with Quigley first though..... Right?

Also, I know there are no guarantees as far as bonding goes between birds. It's just not often I see posts like this around where I live.

General thoughts on this? Start keeping an eye out when Quigley is settled in the future? (Months to a year or something?)

[Pajarita]

Yes, I would wait until his endocrine system is under control and he has settled down and bonded more deeply with you and your husband before I get a female because, as hormonal as he is right now, he will bond with her and display even more aggression toward you trying to 'protect' her from you. I've paired three GCCs, Boca, the aggressive male, with Pichu, which was not really aggressive, just lonely and Codee with Pablo, a male peach fronted conure and I never had to move a finger to do it, they seem to bond very easily with other birds.

[mikella]

I do know there's no question that Quigley LOVES other birds... (perhaps obviously... Birds are meant to be with other birds... But Quigley really loves buddies). He was always with other birds and has a soft spot for budgies haha

So when the time is right, that is what we will do.



Other note: What's helping me deal with the situation at this point is realizing that he doesn't have a whole lot of control over his behaviour right now... It is so so clear how hormonal he is. I know firsthand how my hormones control me and make me miserable and vicious... That said, no blood has been drawn in a while. Still good bites and welts when it happens, but not blood. Less pure aggression and more 'pissy' aggression (wasn't sure how else to explain that)... Which makes me think MAYBE, if he wasn't in this highly hormonal state, he wouldn't bite me and perhaps would accept my hands.................. Who knows. We'll see. Also makes me wonder if Quigley's attachment to my husband is half because he lets him inside his shirt, which is his happy place and appeases the hormones.

[mikella]

Thinking......... I usually pull my hand away when he's running for it to avoid likely bites (for his sake as well as mine). Do you think it would be better if I didn't? Sometimes he starts nuzzling THEN bites. Was wondering if I should NOT pull away, maybe he would learn faster. And I was thinking perhaps I'm giving him the wrong idea too by pulling away. It kind of says 'I don't trust you, you're not allowed to touch my hands or come to them, etc.' I want him to be able to - he's just not allowed to bite. Sometimes I don't pull away and he immediately bites, sometimes he nibbles and then bites, sometimes he starts getting rough and I can redirect before hard bite. I had been trying to stick to the 'avoid bites as much as possible, don't give him opportunity to bite' thing but had started testing the waters a bit. Thoughts? Sometimes I know 100% he will bite immediately and I always avoid those...

He always RUNS to my hand though which makes it difficult to predict quickly exactly what will happen. Unless it's an aggressive run.