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Goffins not a fan of wife

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Goffins not a fan of wife

Postby Sherlar » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:11 pm

Hello.
This is our first post on the site, so I hope I'm in the correct forum.
We very recently adopted a 6 year old male Goffin's cockatoo. I
He has all the intelligence and personality that their known for, and we're already in love with him. His previous owner rehomed him because he bit the owner's wife and kids when ever he got the chance.
He seems to have bonded with me rather quickly, but he doesn't care for my wife. He will take treats from her, and talk to her, but when given the chance, or asked to step up by her, he bites her. He even went so far as jumping from the top of his cage to her shoulder as she walked by, biting her several times on the side of the neck. He didn't quite draw blood, but came very close. He jumps on my shoulder also when I'm not paying attention, but he doesn't bite me, or even try to. (As I write this, he jumkped from his cage to his play perch, then flew about 5 feet to the sofa where my wife was sitting, climbed from her shoulder down to her hand, stole a pistachio, and flew back to his perch)
Our question is, how do we help him to bond with her, to see her as part of his family, without punishing him for biting? When he does bite, what action should we take?
Any advice would be wqelcome.
Sherlar
Parrotlet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 13
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: BG Macaw, Goffin cockatoo,
Flight: No

Re: Goffins not a fan of wife

Postby Pajarita » Wed Oct 10, 2018 11:07 am

Hi, Sherlar and welcome to the forum! You haven't said how long you've had the bird and that makes a lot of difference plus prior and current diet and light schedule are very important factors in bird behavior so without this info, the reply will be incomplete. But I am a bit surprised you ask this question because, taking in consideration that you have a macaw and sun conures, you must know by now that parrots are all mainly one person birds. I don't know the age of the macaw [it doesn't happen before they are four or five years old] or whether the sun conures are pets or breeding birds but, although macaws are much more laid back than any cockatoo and not really prone to biting, they would still show favoritism for one person over the others...

Male cockatoos that are overly hormonal [this is why we need the prior and current diet and light schedule] will be aggressive with anybody but the chosen one - which appears to be you. This is, unfortunately, a given. My own Linus Too will scream like a maniac and come running if I happen to have Sophie Gray on my shoulder or my hand when it's breeding season [and none of my birds is EVER overly hormonal because I am a maniac when it comes to their solar schedule and diet].

Now, just because this is happening right now, it doesn't mean it has to last forever so, please, tell us how long you've had the bird, what was his prior diet and light schedule and what it is now with you so we can give you the right advice.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Goffins not a fan of wife

Postby Sherlar » Wed Oct 10, 2018 11:45 am

We've only had him for about 3 days. The biting began on the first day we brought him home.
His prior diet was from Walmart; not sure of the brand, as we do not buy pet products from Walmart. As for his current diet, we feed Zupreem and Lefeber pellets, as well as various fresh fruits & veggies, and raw unsalted nuts.
His prior light schedule was primarily natural light, as he was in a glass entry way between the previous owner's shop and house. Currently, sunrise is about 7:30a and sunset about 6:50p where we're located.
He's now in our family room, so a few less windows, but the natural light cycle will be the same, with artificial room lights being on until about 10p.
Our Macaw is 27 years old, and favors my wife. We understand and expect favoritism, but don't expect the other people in the family to be attacked. Our macaw will step up for most people, and allow most people to pet and interact with him. He just prefers my wife over me or anyone else, and we're fine with that.
The Goffins came from a family where everyone was terrified of him, and ran away if he even looked at them. He had apparently bitten the wife several times, and all the kids as well. The previous owner's adult brother jumped about 6 feet while we were there when the bird simply looked at him, so he's conditioned to getting the fear reaction from other people other than his chosen person.
We have no problem with favoritism, and expect it. Mutilation will not be allowed, however.
So far, we've been putting him back in his cage when he bites, and [i]trying [i]to not show any other reaction. We've added several enrichment, play, and puzzle toys. We've discovered that his favorite treat (thus far) is pistachios. He's a very confident bird, and when he's behaving well, we both really enjoy interacting and playing with him.
Unfortunately, he doesn't give warning when he's going to bite, and seems to get angry quickly over nothing.
So, our question is: what steps can we take to help him understand that angry biting will not be tolerated, without altering his personality, or retarding his freedom of expression.
Sherlar
Parrotlet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 13
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: BG Macaw, Goffin cockatoo,
Flight: No

Re: Goffins not a fan of wife

Postby Pajarita » Wed Oct 10, 2018 12:35 pm

Well, going by what you tell me, the bird is overly hormonal and used to biting everybody and his grandmother :lol: but it doesn't mean it cannot be 'redeemed'.

For one thing, forget about having him exposed to lights until 10 pm because, if you do, he will continue overly-hormonal for the rest of his life. Birds [ALL birds] are photoperiodic and need to follow a strict solar schedule or they will produce sexual hormones all year round, year after year after year -which means their entire endocrine system is out of whack with the medical consequences this entails [depressed immune sytem, chronic pain, unpredictable and aggressive behavior, etc]. Now, there seems to be a common misunderstanding about the solar light schedule. People seem to believe that this means being exposed to natural light -and it does- but the key is for the bird to be exposed to both dawn and dusk without any artificial light being on in the room where he is kept so no light can be switched on until the sun is already all out or after the sun is halfway down to the horizon because it's the special light that happens during twilight and at no other time during the day that turns on or off their 'internal clock' that controls hormone production. And, unfortunately for all of us, bird keepers, there is no way to recreate this light with artificial ones because it's the gradually changing intensity, color spectrum and angle of the light that does it.

Now, macaws are notoriously low hormone birds while cockatoos are considered super hormonal because they are short-day breeders that would have two breeding seasons every year - if, to this, you add free-feeding protein food [pellets, seeds, nuts, etc] and a human light schedule, you always end up with a problem. It's not your or the bird's fault - it's the way nature made them.

Now, as to what to do... well, I don't believe in the 'don't show a reaction when the bird bites you' method. I think it's completely illogical and unnatural as well as useless [if it doesn't hurt, why stop doing it?!]. I not only show pain by loudly exclaiming an OWWWW!!! I also tell the offending bird he/she is a 'BAAAAAD BAAAAAAD BIRD!' and CAW several times, real loud, while moving my hand as a beak over his/her head [as if my hand was going to peck it -but I never actually touch them, of course]. Parrots can learn cognitive speech and understand our words and they are also masters of the human body language but the best way to reach any animal is to speak 'their' language so that's what I do: I react as a strong, healthy bird would to another bird attacking it [only the second bird would most likely bite the first one]. I don't back off, I don't make it believe that it did not hurt and that everything is OK, I show it that it did hurt [the OWWWWW] and that this behavior is unacceptable [the BAD BIRD thing] and I give them the cold shoulder for a while [same as another bird would do].

But, most of all, I don't believe in creating a situation where an aggressive bird will be allowed to bite me. I know that you wanted to make him feel good in his new home and that this is the reason why you allowed him to come out of his cage from day one [and I applaud you for it!] but I am afraid that this is not the way I would go with aggressive, overly hormonal birds -especially large ones that have a history of biting everybody. I take in birds that previous owners no longer want and, unfortunately, overly hormonal, aggressive males are very common in what are considered 'hormonal' species [cockatoos, amazons] because, in the pet parrot world, this is pretty much unavoidable given the conditions we keep them under and I have managed to get them all under control through a very strict solar schedule with 2 hour minimum exposure to dawn and dusk, a fresh food diet with limited protein intake and a protocol I have put together through trial and error and observation. I will tell you what I do and you decide what you will do but, in my personal opinion, you are rushing things too much. When I first get a new bird [and this is for ALL birds, bad or good, small or large, male or female, etc], I set up his/her cage [the same one the bird had from before] exactly as it was before [this is temporary, of course] and do not let it out for, at the very least, four or five days [and this is only for the super 'good' birds, mind you]. During this time, I spend many hours in the same room as he/she is talking, whistling, offering a treat here and there but never allowing the bird to come out of its cage or to interact physically with me - this is so the bird starts learning the new schedules and routines and to start getting used to me and its new home in safety for me and him/her. I praise them a lot during this time, calling them good boy or girl [this might not actually reflect the actual gender of the bird but what the bird is used to hearing] and pretty bird, telling them I love you, making kissy noises [the know what they mean], etc so there is only lots of positive and absolutely NOTHING negative from me [no scolding, no putting him back in its cage when he did something wrong, etc]. Then [and only if I don't see any type of aggression on the bird's part -displays, bluffs, etc] I allow it to come out for an hour in the evening before I serve it its dinner [I don't free-feed protein so this is always pretty easy to do for me as the bird will go back into its cage on its own most of the time]. If I see the bird is fine with this, I increase the time out of cage until it gets to the same as the other birds -which is pretty much all day long starting at dawn till two or three hours :roll: before they go to bed. But I do not interact physically with the bird at all [no asking for step ups, no shoulder riding, etc] until I can ascertain with a reasonable degree of certainty that the bird will not attack me and then, only when and if the bird wants it. It works for me. Sometimes it takes a long time and, sometimes, it takes no time at all -they are all different- but I always follow the same protocol. Of course, you need to get the poor bird to stop producing sexual hormones for it to work because any animal in pain and severely sexually frustrated is not going to be a happy camper no matter what you do.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Goffins not a fan of wife

Postby Sherlar » Wed Oct 10, 2018 5:44 pm

Holy wow!! Thank you so very much for such in depth information in in sight to parrots!! I am the wife writing this time. You really have a lot of knowledge of birds and understand hormones, diet and light effects on behaviors. My being a person of science, I agree 100% on that and their effects on people as well. I will apologize now for my inability to make clear sentences all the time due to my disease.

Light.
Let me make sure that I understand that we can turn house lights back on at night as long as we have the lights off for the sunset and sunrise. This we can actually pull off. IF I understood correctly. And the sunset and sunrise does take over an hour each way. How much time before and after the sunrise and sunset should we have lights off for?
I am sure this will help our B&G macaw as well, though he is much better behaved and trustworthy.

Cage
Yes, we can immediately stop having physical contact with the goffin. I was having him accept food from me, the wife, and he typically does pretty good, and he has jumped up onto my shoulders as I was turned away, and he actually behaved. He does try to bite, lunge, and has bitten a few times, though not hard, thankfully, and that has gotten him back into his cage and ignored. Even if it is feeding time and I was feeding him. So happy to say, he is not as bad as we were to believe per previous owner, though I refuse to run away or put on a show for him.

So, to make sure, you are suggesting we not allow him out of his cage, even though we screwed up and let him out for short periods as long as he was behaving. I think this is our 2nd or 3rd day of owning the goffin. I agree positive reinforcement is one of the best ways, and if I could just catch my husband doing a good behavior for me I would reward him! j/k. With the B&G, I do say "no" in a stern voice and show great facial expression to show I don't like something, but he is bonded with us, especially me.

Diet.
The last owner fed him a seed mix he would buy from Wal-mart, did not know the brand even, just that it had sunflower seeds. From what we could see in the bottom of his cage, most seeds were thrown out and were sprouting in the bottom of the cage with inches of bird poo. No fruits or veggies for him according to the owner, but sometimes would give pistachios when the owner was eating them. I was ecstatic when the goffin immediately ate Zupreem fruit flavored pellets.SCORE! (I then found out the owner forgot to feed him for about 36 hours) But I have not yet found a fresh or dried fruit or a single veggie that he will eat, even if that happens to be the only food to pick from. I could get him to accept the morsel from my hand, but would immediately drop them, unless it was Zupreem or the unsalted pistachio. (he gets 3 pistachios a day) No other nut will he touch. My only plan was to keep introducing fresh, raw, cooked, dried, etc fruits and veggies. Do you have a better idea? Shall I try making little healthy fruit\veggie\grain breads I see other people making? (I make very healthy foods for me, and then the not so healthy for the rest of the family, so there are always a great variety of fresh foods)

Oh, Larry wants to know about TV light. Larry loves TV.

And if you are ever in our area, you are welcome to stay in our crazy home and will make wonderful meals for you and I will even serve to you in bed!!

There was something else on my mind, but I have misplaced it.

Again, thank yo so very much for sharing your know;edge and trying to help us help birds. And I told my husband that if he brings another bird into the house, I will contact a divorce lawyer! There is only so much a person can do to help before they become part of the problem. Ie, the crazy cat lady. I am sure she started out trying to help all the cats.

Sherri
Sherlar
Parrotlet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 13
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: BG Macaw, Goffin cockatoo,
Flight: No

Re: Goffins not a fan of wife

Postby Dollie » Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:49 am

Hey !

Im a first time senegal owner, got my baby about a week back and his said to be 2 months old.

My senegal screeches ALOT. Like all the time. When I speak to him and when I’m quiet, when his in his cage or out (he is mostly out of his cage and sitting on me), when I let him walk around in the room his cage is in , its just very constant. And he will look at me and screech and my reaction is to think that he needs something or is trying to communicate with me and I have absolutely no idea what it could be. He only seems to quiet down when he’s tired.

If the constant screeching is normal then I’m okay with that, but is it ? Or does he need something that I’m not giving him ? He seems to hate being in his cage because whenever I walk into the room he jumps and screeches and tries to get out and I always let him out because its a very safe room he’s in. He loves to be on me, either my chest or shoulder which I love, when I put him on the floor he makes his way over to me so I know he doesnt Mind me constantly being around him. Is this screeching normal behavioir ? Is there anyThing im missing?
Dollie
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 3
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: African grey parrot
Senegal parrot
Flight: No

Re: Goffins not a fan of wife

Postby Sherlar » Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:37 am

Hello, Dolly.
You actually posted this question in a thread within the forum, not as a separate post. If you move it to the general forum as a post, I'm sure someone with more knowledge of Senegals will answer it better.
We've never owned a Senegal, but after a quick check online, it seems that senegals aren't completely weaned until - weeks old. If your baby is only 2 months old, there's a good chance it isn't weaned yet, and is screaming because it's hungry.
As I've said, you should get better info from more knowledgeable people, but in the mean time, you could try crumbling pellets like Zupreem or Lefeber, and mixing them with warm water to form a thick paste, and hand feeding your bird with a small spoon. When we hand feed birds that are beyond the syringe or dropper stage, we use a craft stick as a spoon.
Again, don't take my word for it. Get better info from someone more qualified, please.
Sherlar
Parrotlet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 13
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: BG Macaw, Goffin cockatoo,
Flight: No

Re: Goffins not a fan of wife

Postby Pajarita » Thu Oct 11, 2018 11:52 am

Hi, Sherri and WOW thank you so very much for your offer to receive me in your home and serve me meals in bed! It sounds like heaven to me [I only get a cup of tea in bed in the early am for my birthday and Mother's Day -and that only if my husband is not working that day :roll: ] but, unfortunately for me, I won't be able to visit you. I hardly ever go anywhere because of the animals -mostly because of the birds. I am going back home for a visit in February and even though there will be a family reunion, my husband will be staying behind to care for my 'babies'.

Anywho, let's go back to the subject at hand. Solar light schedule: I am afraid it means that there should be complete darkness for the bird once night falls naturally after dusk. Birds are the most light-dependent of all animals - so much so that, for them, light is like a nutrient. Nature made it so that even when they are asleep [eyes closed], their body is still registering whether they are exposed to light or not because they not only have photoreceptors cells in their eyes [like humans and all mammals have] but also deep in their brain with cranial bones so very thin that light actually goes through them reaching the brain inside [isn't that the coolest thing?!]. And even very low light makes a difference [there are myriad studies done on wild birds, chickens, etc that tell us this] so, after night falls and the bird is fast asleep in its cage, you would need to cover the cage completely [making sure that no light whatsoever is sneaking in there] UNLESS you put a sleeping cage in a room where no people are going to be going in and out all the time. I have birds that live cage-free in their own room and they don't even get the venetians drawn on their windows but that's because their room is at the back of the house with a second window on the side that faces another house so there are no street lamps or any other type of light shining into their room. The birds that live in cages in the living and dining room get both the venetians drawn AND their cages covered with black out materials PLUS no light is allowed in these two rooms [I even have black out curtains on the opening to the kitchen] and no noise [my husband always mumbles about not being able to speak in his own house because of the birds :lol: ]. Of course, this means no company after dusk and, in the winter, that means 3:30 pm but I've been doing this for a long time and everybody who knows me has made peace with this years and years ago [my family and friends think I am crazy but, as my kids say: "A good kind of crazy" :D ]. And tell Larry TV is 100% out because screens [TV, tablet, etc] give out blue light that inhibits melatonin production -and contrary to popular belief, although melatonin main effect is the hormoanl one on sleep patterns [it's called 'the hormone of darkness'], it's also an antioxidant, regulates blood pressure and it's directly related to the immune system function -especially in birds!

Diet: Please do not give your birds the fruity pellets. They are, by far, the worst of the bad. I've done research on parrots natural diets, dietary ecology, nutrition and their physiology for over 20 years and have reached the conclusion a long time ago that pellets are not and never will be the best dietary option for them [my birds eat gloop and raw produce for breakfast and seeds/nuts for dinner]. I can elaborate on this, if you wish, but, to make a long story short: they are waaaay too dry [parrots diet is 85-95% water and are not hardwired to drink a lot or during the day -I can explain in more detail, if you wish], have inferior ingredients [animal feed grade], soy [cheapest source of protein but with goitrogenic and estrogenic elements], man-made vitamins [not efficient] and, the ones you are feeding have artificial colors, flavors AND SUGAR!!!!!! And sugar is the worst thing about them because parrots never consume sucrose in the wild -so much so that they don't even have taste receptors for sweet so, if they cannot taste it, why is the manufacturer adding it to their food? Could it be for its addictive properties? I personally know of four macaws that suffer from diabetes [a disease that exists ONLY in captive birds] and three of them were fed the fruity pellets - you do the math.

As to getting a parrot to eat produce... well, I have to tell you that I don't have trouble with this but then I have been doing this for a long time and have tweaked things here and there as the years have gone by. And, most of all, I have patience and don't worry much over them not eating every single little thing I put out for them because experience has shown me that, eventually, they will end up eating a good diet. The trick is what I call the 'tweaks' but which, in reality, are the diet I offer them [VERY similar to their natural diets in terms of nutritional parameters], the schedule [same as they would in the wild] and their natural intelligence and hard-wired ability to imitate actions. I give them their raw produce while I am cleaning their cages which happens about one hour after they are let out [6:30 am this time of the year] and most of them like to start eating it outside their cages [I always eat fruit with them and, sometimes, a bit of the veggie], then I give them their gloop about an hour after that and put them back into their cages for about half an hour [they are so used to this that I have a few that would fly to their cage and go in on their own when I tell them to do this because their food is being served -and I have one that questions me if I am late :lol: ]. They only get one single treat at mid-afternoon when I put them back in their cages. I turn off the overhead lights when the sun is halfway down to the horizon and feed them dinner a bit later [this time of the year, I turn off the lights at 4 pm and feed them dinner at 4:30]. Their dinner is a measured amount of a good quality seed mix [budgie for the budgies, plets and small conures -cockatiel for all the others] but the larger birds get mostly nuts [human grade and toasted]. For example, Linus Too [he is an LSC] gets about 1/4 level measuring cup of ABBA 1600C with half a walnut, an almond and a pistachio [the nuts themselves vary from one week to the next so it could be filberts, pecans, brazil nuts, cashews and even an actual peanut -human grade and roasted- on occasion]. They also get two daily dosages of a mutivitamin/mineral supplement twice a week [so, in reality, they get 2/7 of the recommended weekly dose] - this is because they only really need it for D3 and whatever little lack there could be in their dietary nutritional intake [but the hens that lay get extra D3 - I do not breed them but I do strive for them to have a life as natural as possible so I get them mates and allow them to nest, lay and even incubate only no babies come out because I either switch the real eggs with plastic ones or hard-boil them. This way, they are happy because they are allowed to act on what their bodies are asking them to do and I am happy because I am not contributing to the terrible overpopulation problem we have.

Cage: yes, please keep him in his cage for a few days while he gets used to things. Allowing them to have free rein from day one seems the kind thing to do but, in reality, it can be pretty overwhelming and counterproductive because change stresses them out and staying in their known, familiar cage makes them feel 'protected' from the new humans and household. And don't think that because he is not biting as much, he is on his way to being always good because although I did not want to scare you on my first posting, I was actually quite concerned about a bird that is actually attacking on his honeymoon period [the flying out to a shoulder just to bite is an attack, not a 'normal' biting]. Birds are ALWAYS on their very best behavior during the honeymoon so a bird that attacks a couple of days into it, it's a VERY aggressive bird. Mind you, not that the behavior cannot be corrected. It can. I can assure you this. And I know because I've had several birds like him. But you do need to go slow and keep in mind that this is a learned behavior on his part [parrots are not hard-wired for aggression because they are not predators or evolved to live in a hierarchical society] and that correcting it is going to imply not only turning the 'clock' back [he needs to 'unlearn' the behavior] but also to prevent as much as possible any recurrence of it [because you don't want him to continue thinking that this is something 'done' in your house but you also don't want to 'punish' him by putting him in his cage when he does it because he will resent it as, after all, this behavior was not his first choice but something that humans who did not know how to deal properly with a parrot taught him].
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Goffins not a fan of wife

Postby Pajarita » Thu Oct 11, 2018 12:05 pm

Dollie wrote:Hey !

Im a first time senegal owner, got my baby about a week back and his said to be 2 months old.

My senegal screeches ALOT. Like all the time. When I speak to him and when I’m quiet, when his in his cage or out (he is mostly out of his cage and sitting on me), when I let him walk around in the room his cage is in , its just very constant. And he will look at me and screech and my reaction is to think that he needs something or is trying to communicate with me and I have absolutely no idea what it could be. He only seems to quiet down when he’s tired.

If the constant screeching is normal then I’m okay with that, but is it ? Or does he need something that I’m not giving him ? He seems to hate being in his cage because whenever I walk into the room he jumps and screeches and tries to get out and I always let him out because its a very safe room he’s in. He loves to be on me, either my chest or shoulder which I love, when I put him on the floor he makes his way over to me so I know he doesnt Mind me constantly being around him. Is this screeching normal behavioir ? Is there anyThing im missing?


Welcome to the forum! But, Dolly, I am afraid that you did not get this poor little thing from a good breeder. For one thing, a baby born two months ago is an off-season baby because they are only now going into breeding condition [off season breeders are usually pretty depleted, weak birds]. For another, he should not have been sold at only two months of age because he is not yet weaned [I assume the breeder told you he was but he was either not telling you the truth or maybe he/she simply did not know enough to be breeding] so, unless you are hand-feeding him three times a day and offering two kinds of soft food served warn and fresh twice a day [morning at dawn and again at dusk], he is a very hungry baby asking you to feed him. The other thing is that baby parrots need to have company 24/7... this is not my opinion, it's a scientific fact.

Now, I strongly urge you to correct this situation as soon as possible because this is a serious situation.
Studies show that babies that are stressed out while growing up [and I can't think of anything more stressful for a baby than being always hungry] remain high-strung the rest of their lives and that baby birds that don't get enough to eat develop eating disorders so, please, if you are not handfeeding and offering soft food, start doing it asap.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Postby Sherlar » Thu Oct 11, 2018 4:04 pm

Hum-bug. Do you know everyone in this area swears by pelleted food, and we do have lefabers, basically the same stuff without colors. I had read the ingredients and really didn't care for them, anything that has corn as it's first ingredient just makes my skin crawl, but went by what everyone was telling me. We have about 100lbs of pellets in our home right now. ( I bought in bulk to save money)All the finch, quail, rosey bourkes get seeds. The only veggie I can interest them in is a cucumber, split in half so they can steal the seeds. I make plates of fruits and veggies, and are always thrown out without anyone touching them. I have been successful with the conures and they will eat a few fruits now and cooked winter squash. The Macaw loves fruit and nuts and only cooked winter squash and cooked sweet potato for veggies. I continue to hand him other foods. The kale, a green leafy product, was actually thrown at me and his aim was priceless. He hates veggies.

Lighting. Apparently we need to buy a second house. :lol: . We are considering downsizing the finch with their walk in aviary, and that would allow a full bird room that would be easier to control. In our neighborhood, the sun never sets due to all the street lights and people have flood lights in their back yard. We used to live in the country where it was completely dark at night and I truly miss it. Life has a way of changing things when you don't really want it to.

My life dream, since I was a young girl,, was to visit Africa. People would ask which country. I would announce "all of them". So many cultures, so many landscapes. I once had a co-worker who's mother still lived in a country, and I no longer remember which one, central Africa. I went so far as to get a passport and had requested the time off work, but a civil war erupted and I was strongly advised by my co-worker, that it was no place for me to be. My heart sank, but I knew I was too naive of a person to go to a country that was experiencing a civil war. Now I have birds!! :thumbsup: And I am not well enough to go.

Back to the diet. How in the world do I get them on a fresh diet when they throw it at me? And when the goffin had a seed diet from the previous owner, there was sprouting stuff in all the poo and he said there were very few seeds the goffin would eat. And to buy fruits and greens from their areas would be far too expensive. Do I just keep trying with the fruits and veggies? and switch to a seed mix? and what is this "gloop" ? is that something you prepare for them?

Thank you!!
Sherri
Sherlar
Parrotlet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 13
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: BG Macaw, Goffin cockatoo,
Flight: No

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