Little bird rescues

[Bird woman]

Fids update, Mathew went to the doctors yesterday and the doc said that he acts like a totally different bird. The sinus infection is gone , he is much stronger and healthier. I had him do liver testing and tox screen and another full blood panel , waiting for results. No seizures this time and he was real calm. I've been taking him for rides in the car and he really enjoys it, also started him flying and he can go about 30 feet now and lands well. Buddy the little bare eyed is a little lover boy but I can only put him in outside avairy with the big birds , he's pretty darn bossey ,what a beautiful bird he's turning into. 8 years on cockatiel seed and no one could handle him. He comes to me everytime and loves and cuddles me. Alyah the little goffin also thinks she's a big bird and wants to rule the roost in her room. Attacks my husband every chance she gets. Her head is slow healing, every time it starts looking real good she scratches it open again. I work on her finger nails everyday to keep them blunt. I fear I'm going to have to put a collor on her unless somebody has a better idea. she had her blood work done last week and all was good. Lilly and Riki are doing great , Riki stomping around like she owns the place and Lilly stuck to me like gorrilla glue. She is pretty hormonal right now , I can't even file her fingernails and she starts panting. lumi and max the Quaker and LSC are sharing a big cage now and have there own private area outside. Go figure they would become the best of friends. They even protect each other if the big birds get to close.l rehomed Casper and Sammy 2 of the greys I get daily updates and pics. Really happy with campers new mom but not so much with sammys , I fear I might of made a mistake there and that's hard to admit. There's a legal mediator involved and he was medeating for her now he's in my court.Im trying to get him back as there was no money involved and a trial period adoption. Hope I don't have to resort to the court system as I am fully prepared to do so. I really didn't need this right now. Delilah the grey that had her pooper fixed is doing very well and is totally bonded with my husband. There's a new kid on the block I was a little reluctant to talk about but need some thoughts on his behavior. His name is Nigel and he's a LSC came from the woman that runs that north west bird club , she said he was loved and cared for but had to be given up because the man had diabetes and Nigel would bite his toes when he wanted up . Well long story short a bunch of BS to sort through again. Nigel is pretty skittish and high strung . When he came scared to death and I've found out since then passes around at least 4 times in last month. He seems to want to be with my husband or my house keeper but always bites them after interacting with them. I thought it might have been due to sudden movements or bringing 2 hands up simotaniously . He is afraid of me but will jump right up on my arm when I ask him to. I pack him around , dance with him , take him outside and do all the care , now he even leans in for a kiss if I ask him for one but he's still won't come to me like he does my husband. The problem is my husband keeps getting bit and HARD !! Nigel has never even tried to bite me. But the bird acts like he wants to be with my husband. Nigel won't climb on me but will get up on my husband or the housekeeper when ever they sit down but always bites the hell out of them. Any thoughts outside of the patients part??? I'm pretty sure he's going to end up on my side of the fence as I'm the only one not afraid of him and he's making progress with me every day. Ordered a huge 7 ft. By 3.5 ft cage for Huey and Mathew for the winter going to start doing the new bird room this next week. That's about it I think I covered it all. BW OH HAPPY DAYS !!!!!

[Pajarita]

Thank you so much for the update, BW! I've been wondering where you were and was getting ready to send you a pm asking if everything was OK so I am happy to see it was just a case of not having the time to sit down.

Now, as to advice on the biter... well, it's impossible to give without been there and observing the interaction. Is it possible that the bird is biting them because he doesn't want to be put down? Is there anything that is similar in their actions prior to getting bit? I mean, if they are just sitting down with him quietly, does he still bite? Does it happen after a certain period of time -like after half an hour or something like that? Because, usually, when birds bite without an apparent reason (to us), there is something that triggers a memory which makes them do it - but, sometimes, it's just that they learned to do it from their previous owners and even though the circumstances have changed, they just keep on doing the same thing out of sheer habit.

I don't remember Sammy's particular situation and I am sorry that you find yourself embroiled in a dispute about his ownership - was there a contract signed? Because if there was, it's a simple thing to enforce.

[Bird woman]

No contract, I screwed up!! Always been a good judge of character , never will I ever adopt out another with out one. I have many ways to get the results I want , honestly I wouldn't have had a problem if she wouldn't have been caught in so many lies and stayed in contact as agreed with updates pics and a couple of home visits. She is the one that got the mediator on board who as of now is firmly on my side. She lied and deceived him to the point that I had to do a lot of P.I. Shit to show him what was really going on. Any way I'll get it handled one way or another, I feel so horrible making that stupid mistake and just pray Sammy is okay. As for Nigel I thought also it was because he didn't want to get down or maybe sudden move or bringing the other hand up so he felt trapped but this is not the case.they are not nips but full on I'm going to rip you apart bites. I've only delt with fear, jealousy and I want that, give it to me bites , never have seen anything like it. As for the way he is with me , in the beginning he was scared , shaking but always jumped on my arm when I persued him. Now I can just hold my arm up and he jumps right on , still nervous but not shaking. He has never attempted to bite me but won't come to me like he does my husband when sitting on couch etc. Same way he is with my housekeeper. Both of them won't have anything to do with him now cause after he gets his arm pits scratched and about 15 or so minutes of hanging out on them there going to get lambasted every time! They don't even have to move and dam he bites so hard. Well I'm going to run with the ball and do a lot of quiet one on one with him. Hell after getting ate up by huie nothing can compare , still no feeling in middle finger. That horror show is still going on but I'm dealing . Any suggestions on alyha I really don't want to have to put a cone on her . A band aid if it wouldn't pull out feathers when taking it off or new skin ???? And yes I have been so busy and in about 3 weeks harvest time and then I will be going frickin crazy !!!!! LOL BW ( I need to get updated pics.)

[Pajarita]

I have never used a cone on a bird that was not there due to surgery... Actually, thinking back, the only bird I've put a cone on was PrettyBird when she got her leg surgery because she had the external fixator with the pins coming out of her leg into that metal frame thingie and I was afraid she would pick at her flesh trying to get the pins out. I did not even put a cone on the mutilators - come to think about it. Not that I am completely against a cone, mind you! It's only that I think that cones must be terribly stressful to birds and if I am already dealing with a stressed out bird it doesn't seem like adding stress would do much good... Have you considered the tube collar instead of the cone? They say they work just as well and they appear to be less stressful, no?

I tell you, one thing I learned doing rescue (dog, cat AND bird) is that no matter how good a judge of character one thinks one is, there is always somebody out there that is a much better 'faker' than one is a character judge and will fool you. It's real hard rehoming birds and that's why I only do it to people I have known from before and have proven to me that they will be good - unfortunately, there aren't that many of those...

[Wolf]

Regarding Nigel, I am sure that you have already checked to see if he still bites your husband and housekeeper when they are alone with him, but since you did not mention it I an curious if he still bites them then.

I have a feeling that there are probably two separate things going on, similar to the way that Kiki was when she first came to live here. Kiki actually chose my Lady to be her special human shortly after arriving here although I did all of her care and let her out of her cage most of the day while my Lady was at work. Kiki would freely come to me when my Lady was at work, but would repeatedly bite the _ _ _ _ out of me. Then she would go to my Lady when she came home. Then she decided that I was her favorite person and stopped going to my Lady except to bite her. But this did not save me from getting bitten as she continued to bite me relentlessly for nearly the next year. Then one day she asked me for a head scratch but kept putting up her open beak whenever I attempted to give her a head scratch. I finally just went for it and she quickly grabbed my finger but did not bite. It appeared that she wanted to know if I would trust her even after all of her biting me. The only thing that I could figure was that she was mad over the way that she had been treated before coming here and just had to work it out of her system.

I don't know if anything like this might be occurring with Nigel, but it might be worth trying to find out more about his past to see if you can see any possible reasons for this behavior there. It could also be possible that he sees the entire house as his and has actually chosen you as his special human and is telling your husband and housekeeper to leave. Don't know, but it is a thought.

[Bird woman]

You know I have repeatedly tried to get more info. Out of this woman but she keeps telling me that they are so heart broken over having to rehome him they can't bear to talk about him. I know that's a load of B.S. !!!! I would always welcome any and all questions about any that I have rehomed. I did manage to get it out of her that this was the second home she tried , the last one she had to take him back. Nigel bites weather alone or with somebody else in the room. He will come to me and even give me long kisses pushing his little nose hard on my lips for a very long time now. My husband and house keeper are pretty sketchy people compared to me. I'm very calm and mathotical with the fids and nothing they can do bothers me. Well maybe Huie gets to me a little , but I've learned how to adapt and am very careful with him. . Nigel is a little more nervous than what I'm used to but I don't push. Really he seems to want to be around my husband and that breaks my heart cause he won't have anything to do with him except at a safe distance. Maybe that makes Nigel mad .. He is calming a bit when he jumps on my arm and does a little wing flitting , like he displaying and several head nods . Instead of running off my arm now he will step off calmer. Small progress, baby steps. Oh another thing I do not raise my other arm when he is on me but am going to start to do that slowly. I had my husband give him his bowl of food at dinner time the last time he bit him and Nigel wasn't even on him and he met his hand with a vicious bite. Nigel will follow him all over through the house wanting his attention and it's sad. I know the difference between attention seeking because that little goffin alyah is like a heat seeking missle where my husband is concerned ( seek and destroy is her motto) if she was any bigger it probably wouldn't be so funny. Also Nigel is a bit of a picker , pretty nervous little guy , I think I'll get one of the recipes from pajarita and make him some calm down tea. any ideas ? I'm sure he will end up bonding with me eventually and that would be for the best, my husband only deals with the fids when he wants too or on his terms. Me I will do anything and everything for them I love them all soooo much. BW . Oh one thing she did say is that he was previously a male bonded bird and they got rid of him because the guy had diabetes and Nigel would bite his feet when he wanted to be picked up. Lumie my little LSC will bite my foot to let me know she's down there and she wants up so I didn't find that unusual. Nigel has never bitten are feet as of yet.

[Wolf]

Given that Nigel bites them, but not you, I would think that even if he is still a bit nervous that he is already trying you on for his special human. Still the biting may be unrelated to his choosing a friend and for the most part I would think that the reasons for it are rooted in his past.

[Bird woman]

I'm pretty sure your right wolf , just the short time I've spent with him I'd say he's probably been passed around a lot more than what I've been told. Even my old man said to get rid of him but that's not going to happen . He will be my sweet boy , I'm always up for a challenge and do what I want most of the birds want to eat him anyway so what's one more He can't even come into the girls room or he gets promptly run out , by all the girls. It's our space and we don't share. This was a pretty hectic night , finally all the birds are in bed. Have a good evening and pajarita how about a calm Nigel down tea recipe. We can drink it together BW

[Pajarita]

I am now using 6 drops of valerian root and 1/8 teaspoonful (but heaping, not level) of theanine in 4 oz of water for Pookey (the theanine is supposed to take the edge off anxiety but it's also good for the liver) and it seems to be working as she is beginning to calm down. But you can make him a nice, strong, linden and chamomile tea - it's not as strong as the valerian and the theanine but you might want to start with that and see what happens. Oh, btw, AviCalm is theanine so, if you can't find the theanine by itself, you can always order AviCalm.

[Bird woman]

Thank you !!! Major concern today, found bird poop with fresh blood in it this morning after everyone was done with breakfast. It was a pretty big poop and several of the birds were just finishing up and hadn't even left the cage yet. I've separated everyone and locked everyone down with clean cages with white paper towel under everyone's butt. Okay just checked papers again and it's Huey for sure. Called vet again he can't see him until Monday morning,said to keep him or her??? Caged bring in fresh poop sample and cut back on food. Never had a problem with this one for 17 years , healthy and strong as an ox. Could this possibly be linked to the Mathew and Huie bonding and trying to get together the last 7 weeks? Huie is the aggressive one in the relationship ,Mathew is very submissive to him/her??? Not much chance of injury except under there cover on cage at night and I would have heard anything out of the ordinary going on. Absolutely no sign of illness or slowing down, eating normal. Seems to be more purplish than red , like what I saw this morning . I'm pretty upset about having to wait till Monday anybody have any ideas what else I can do till then??? BW