Hello and Request for Help :)

[mikella]

Any suggestions for things to add to diet during his moult?

[Wolf]

Sometimes playing with another keyboard works and sometimes it doesn't. If you are using a desk top computer then when he removes the first key or two, you hook a new one up and let him play with the older one. It is still a 50/ 50 chance whether he will continue to play with it or if he will want the new one.
Feathers are made of a type of protein and for him, you don't want to give any more protein, so no, I can't think of anything you would need to add.

[Pajarita]

Well, actually, it's not so much a matter of increasing the total amount of protein (which I also do a bit during molt) but of giving them 'better' (more complete or more specific) proteins so while I still give them the same amount of seed mx for dinner, I add quinoa, hemp and sesame (lots of good methionine - the little ones get the quinoa, sesame and the hemp but the larger ones get only hemp and sesame because they don't seem to like quinoa too much so what I do is add it to their birdy bread) as well as mix a bit of sprouted seeds in their gloop once or twice a week.

[mikella]

That's a good idea Wolf, but I work on a laptop Oh well... Need to just accept that I can't work at home for now.

Pajarita, I'm going to give him a touch more of the grains at breakfast and will add hemp and sesame to seeds. My mom has a big bag of organic hulled hemp seeds, I'll get some from her - as for sesame, does it need to be organic or no? Will pick them both up tomorrow. I've been noticing he is much more hungry for seeds than he usually is.

I just feel the need to say....... Even though he is a little monster (for now), I am beginning to grow so attached to him. I wish you guys could meet him. He is a special little guy.

[Pajarita]

I am sure he is! GCCs are all little characters but, in my personal opinion (and this has no basis on anything scientific, mind you, it's just the way I feel), the 'mean' ones are smarter and more interesting than the ones that never complain or rebel. I love them all but I admire the 'never say die' ones that take a long time to convince that we, humans, are not all bad. They are survivors!

[mikella]

They certainly are.....

Quigley is so saucy it's unbelievable. He likes to lean against your hand/arm, and be rubbed with your other hand... And he bites when you stop rubbing his head/neck... He gets so angry. And if you keep telling him no, and not rubbing again yet, he bites harder and harder with each 'no'...... I'm trying to start to break this mean little habit and put him off of me - only rub again when he asks nicely in some way. A lot of the time he bites for the sake of biting - he'll be rubbing his head on your hand and all relaxed and just HAS to end it with a good little PINCH. NIPNIPNIPnipnipnipbitebitebite. All the time. It's just how he is. He gets very pissy at you very quickly. Always wants his own way haha When you put him down somewhere and he doesn't want you to, as quick as anything before you get your hand away, CHOMP. Nasty boy.

I do think he'll start being nicer with time. But I bet he'll always have an attitude.

At least the pure aggression is decreasing... The really nasty stuff. Husband still bleeds almost every day tho.

Still working on the hair thing every day. Even if he didn't attack my hair, I couldn't really trust him being on my shoulder yet. He just bites too much. But little by little we'll get there.

[Pajarita]

Mikella, when you see an undesirable behavioral pattern (stop rubbing, get a hard nip) you need to be prepared to redirect. The ideal is to do it every single time and to find the 'trick' that will engage his attention for a period of time long enough to break the pattern and, if at all possible, start a new one that is not undesirable. For example, keep a toy with a bell or a squeak near your hand and, when you are ready to stop rubbing his head, put the toy in front of him so he would bite it instead of you. If you can manage to get a noise going when he bites it, better still because you might be able to train him into either ringing the bell of making the 'squeak' as a sing of his displeasure. And, when he does, praise, praise, praise, rub his head a little and immediately give him a high value item as a reward.

Even when we don't really accept a bad behavior (they nip, we say Ouch, we put them away for 5 minutes, whatever), if we allow it to continue, we are, in a tacit sort of way, promoting it. Of course, sometimes, we don't have a choice because the behavior appears out of the blue but this is not the case here because you have identified the 'antecedent' to it (stop rubbing). The idea is to ALWAYS offer an alternative (the redirection) that will become more attractive to the bird than the original behavior -hence the praise and reward after the redirection.

[mikella]

Hmmmm yes, this makes sense. Will be back when I have time!

[mikella]

Ok, this is going to be really tricky to do with Quigley bc he nips probably 4 billion times each day, but I'm beginning slowly. I also only have two hands He insists on being cuddled up to one while the other hand scratches him - no third hand to swoop in with distraction haha So I've been trying first to always hold something for him to chew in the hand he's cuddled up to, and sometimes a pen also in the hand scratching. He switches so quickly from chewing that to chewing my hand though - but I am praising when he chews the RIGHT option I'm getting the hang of it. Will keep trying to find 'the key'/what will work best in each situation. Need to get a little stuffed toy - will do so later this week. DEGREE IS DONE COME THURS. But I have a boat load of work to do before then......... I will get there. Then I can BREATHE and relax a bit. Long long time coming.

Husband very discouraged with Quigley. Bleeding every day with good little chomps.... Don't know if it's that I can handle him better so as to avoid those types of bites or what..... If he's being easier on me for some reason (?) ...I think it's just my whole approach that vibes better with Quigley right now. Quigley is still obsessed with husband, but it is harder in a way for them to be together tho. He gets incredibly riled up - even when they've spent a long time together, he will chomp in a way I just don't get bitten anymore.... Very unpredictable with husband. (Well, with me too, but the bites just aren't as bad typically.) He hasn't even been able to be on husband's shoulder for a long time now without biting. I really feel like it's in the whole approach tho....

Still really a struggle.

He's out all day every day unless he's eating breakfast/seeds or I have to go out. He won't even rest in his cage - he screams. We have to be within sight all the time, and even still he is not content (as in, not calling) unless he's on us - which means life stops. I understand he needs us, and that is ok. I need him to be nice to us though so we can function. There MUST be a good end to this sometime. I will keepkeepkeep working and try these new approaches now with distraction.

He is just such a bitey bitey bitey boy. (Who also demands to be inside your clothes and EAT THEM literally to shreds from the inside out.)

1. Likes hemp seeds, was peeping away picking at them.
2. Going to hunt down a FANNY PACK. Just occurred to me yesterday - how PERFECT would that be if he liked it and would hang out in there while I do stuff?! Trying not to get my hopes up too much, but it would be FANTASTIC Worth a shot!! I think it is a possibility.

[shiraartain]

I read through until page 16, then gave up and just skipped to the latest post. Michael stated it earlier, but Mikella, it would be great if you started another thread so that people who haven't been along for the whole ride could help out and keep up. You could start it off with a quick background.

Anyways, great to see that Quigley has progressed so much in the past few months! You got him after we got our adoptees, but you're already at the petting stage while we're at the "thank you for not pulling my hair out of my head and I'm sorry for whatever made you try to bite off my finger" point. Granted, they ARE different species of different ages, but progress is progress! I was afraid your lasts posts would be about giving up on him. It is a total relief to find you didn't.