by flappybird » Tue Apr 11, 2017 5:53 pm
Sorry for the late reply.
The problem hasn't been resolved.
Bird age: approx. 10.5 years
Has been clipped her whole life, until we let her wings grow out last year, but then decided to clip again back in October. I requested a light clip, which apparently meant they only clipped two feathers on each side (3&4 primary), and that didn't really do much. It's hard to tell because she never really flies anyway. I will occasionally launch her towards the bed or couch if she is flapping a little because she wants to get there, and she'll fly over)
I think Wolf and Liz may have misunderstood, I was saying that the flesh around her keel bone was sticking out a bit more, which generally means the bird is gaining weight.
Most of the time she is always happy to eat, but at the same time, I don't want to just overfeed indiscriminately and actually make her overweight.
Michael isn't doing anything in particular when she does this noise. He is just present, and she is either sitting somewhere near him (windowsill, window perch, back of couch..) or on him. She just does it when she's around him for a while and not doing anything else (eating or tearing up some cardboard).
As for chop/gloop vs. pellets. She definitely eats more chop/gloop than pellets. In fact, she gets it every morning and most nights, and she always eats everything. The pellets are supplementary. I also give her some of whatever I'm eating when I'm around, as she wants it anyway and it's usually safe. Some examples are oatmeal before I add toppings, home-baked multigrain bread or sourdough, fruit, cooked grains/beans or lentils, veggies.
A related issue; I say related because it's related to her relationship with Michael as well.
As our time together progresses, she uses her contact call more and more. I haven't done anything to reinforce it as far as I know, and I've been trying hard to teach her not to use it. Her separation anxiety with Michael seems like an issue that just gets worse and worse. When she expects him to be home and he is not, she calls for him incessantly, which is normal I guess, but its AWFUL. Her whole existence is consumed with figuring out where he is. I am working from home a lot now, which I really expected to be a good thing because it would mean I would be home with her more, but it's really hard to work with her in the mornings and near the evenings because she's just wondering where Michael is. It's driving me a little crazy, to be honest, and there's nothing I can really do about it if he's not in the house.
If he's home, she's usually with him, but this is also unreasonable as she won't let him even go to the bathroom or step outside. If he does, she shouts for him intermittently until he comes back, shattering my ears in the process. I try to dissuade her by not "rewarding" her immediately: for example, if she's screaming for him he waits until she stops to come get her. I keep her with me or on her cage when he goes to the bathroom so she can learn that she can't always be with him when he's home. Neither of these techniques work.
I don't know how to quell this anxiety of hers, or how to prevent it from getting worse. She is certainly not being ignored and is not calling for attention. I try to give her plenty of attention an things to do, but she could care less. This is the only thing Luna does that I really hate.
ps. Pajarita: are Pionus considered conures? Nothing I've ever read indicates this..?