Hey all, I've had Chick since January 19th(ish), I got her at 4 or 5 weeks old. So that puts her at around 8 months old, maybe 9 months. She used to be the sweetest baby, would quietly and politely sit on my shoulder and not make any fuss. Wasabi (one month younger) would also be 'allowed' to perch on my shoulder with her and they'd both just sleep or preen me. As soon as she hit the 6/7 month mark, she became very hormonal and mean. It started once her cere became brown.
She will bully Wasabi, and is extremely jealous over me. If he tries to perch on my shoulder, she'll instantly chase him off. I'm constantly having to play a game of cat and mouse where I see Chick becoming territorial and I move her away or put her in the cage for time out. It doesn't really help. They usually each choose a hand to perch on, but then after a few minutes, Chick decides the hand Wasabi is perched on is better and will go try to bully him off! She also randomly bites my ear and cheek for no reason, usually when preening me gently she'll snap into a biting mood. It's also accompanied by loud squawking. It's like she's trying to tell me something but I can't figure out what, I wish I could because then I could at least address it!
I can't tell if it's sexual frustration, or just hormones, or what. It might be discomfort from moulting (I let her bathe every day to help, and give egg food supplements)? I've taken the advice given on this forum and was instantly putting her into the cage for time out with a strongly worded "no biting" so she could associate that with the punishment. It hasn't really helped, if anything it made her more jealous seeing Wasabi out with me whilst she was inside. She'll still do it over and over and over. I increased their sleeping time to 14 hours, and followed the routine religiously thanks to my automated lighting. No bueno!
Is there light at the end of the tunnel, or is she always going to be a big meanie? She's generally a very happy bird, but it always seems as if she's frustrated over something. I can't tell whether it's frustration in wanting to be closer to me and for me to reciprocate behaviour a mate would do (regurgitating or preening back, etc), or if it's her itchy feathers irritating her, or just her raging hormones turning her into a hot and confused mess.
They generally share their cage well. Chick rules the roost, literally. She'll occasionally chase Wasabi away from a food bowl, or toy, or whatever, even though I've got tonnes spread throughout the cage. She could be having fun in her own corner but as soon as she sees Wasabi having fun on the opposite side of the cage, she'll go chase him away (this only happens rarely, not constantly). Right now they're happily preening, Wasabi is singing and dozing off, and she's perched staring at me from within the cage. At night, I have the lights set to dim slowly over an hour and it stops at a gentle night light setting that's dark enough to sleep but light enough to have a little bit of vision. It's usually fine, but sometimes there's bickering over a perch at night and Wasabi will just submit and move off. But in the mornings they're always sat beside each other.
Chick is very, very obsessed with me. As soon as I get home from work, I let them out until bed time and spend as much time as possible with them. She does the excited vibrations as soon as she sees me, and will run all over me and let me cuddle her. I never touch her back, only her head. Spending time with her is difficult though because she's such a nightmare to deal with, so it's usually easier to just let them out and sit in the living room whilst keeping an ear open (though lately they've been preferring to stay in the cage if I'm not there). I tried the gentle reprimands with Chick, and after a couple of months of that not working, I've started using my finger as a way to 'bully' her back by softly pushing it against her beak if she's trying to bully Wasabi, or bite me. It works for a few minutes but then she's back at it, and I don't know if this will encourage aggressive behaviour. Argh! I ignore her when she attacks my fingers as it's not painful. But when she bites my ears or neck or cheek, I have to react as it's painful.
Since Wasabi has gotten better and healthier, he's able to stick up for himself a little. But it always ends up with him submitting and moving off after his momentary bout of courage in standing up to her. Any help would be appreciated! Or at least break the bad news by telling me this is how Chick is always gonna be
She will bully Wasabi, and is extremely jealous over me. If he tries to perch on my shoulder, she'll instantly chase him off. I'm constantly having to play a game of cat and mouse where I see Chick becoming territorial and I move her away or put her in the cage for time out. It doesn't really help. They usually each choose a hand to perch on, but then after a few minutes, Chick decides the hand Wasabi is perched on is better and will go try to bully him off! She also randomly bites my ear and cheek for no reason, usually when preening me gently she'll snap into a biting mood. It's also accompanied by loud squawking. It's like she's trying to tell me something but I can't figure out what, I wish I could because then I could at least address it!
I can't tell if it's sexual frustration, or just hormones, or what. It might be discomfort from moulting (I let her bathe every day to help, and give egg food supplements)? I've taken the advice given on this forum and was instantly putting her into the cage for time out with a strongly worded "no biting" so she could associate that with the punishment. It hasn't really helped, if anything it made her more jealous seeing Wasabi out with me whilst she was inside. She'll still do it over and over and over. I increased their sleeping time to 14 hours, and followed the routine religiously thanks to my automated lighting. No bueno!
Is there light at the end of the tunnel, or is she always going to be a big meanie? She's generally a very happy bird, but it always seems as if she's frustrated over something. I can't tell whether it's frustration in wanting to be closer to me and for me to reciprocate behaviour a mate would do (regurgitating or preening back, etc), or if it's her itchy feathers irritating her, or just her raging hormones turning her into a hot and confused mess.
They generally share their cage well. Chick rules the roost, literally. She'll occasionally chase Wasabi away from a food bowl, or toy, or whatever, even though I've got tonnes spread throughout the cage. She could be having fun in her own corner but as soon as she sees Wasabi having fun on the opposite side of the cage, she'll go chase him away (this only happens rarely, not constantly). Right now they're happily preening, Wasabi is singing and dozing off, and she's perched staring at me from within the cage. At night, I have the lights set to dim slowly over an hour and it stops at a gentle night light setting that's dark enough to sleep but light enough to have a little bit of vision. It's usually fine, but sometimes there's bickering over a perch at night and Wasabi will just submit and move off. But in the mornings they're always sat beside each other.
Chick is very, very obsessed with me. As soon as I get home from work, I let them out until bed time and spend as much time as possible with them. She does the excited vibrations as soon as she sees me, and will run all over me and let me cuddle her. I never touch her back, only her head. Spending time with her is difficult though because she's such a nightmare to deal with, so it's usually easier to just let them out and sit in the living room whilst keeping an ear open (though lately they've been preferring to stay in the cage if I'm not there). I tried the gentle reprimands with Chick, and after a couple of months of that not working, I've started using my finger as a way to 'bully' her back by softly pushing it against her beak if she's trying to bully Wasabi, or bite me. It works for a few minutes but then she's back at it, and I don't know if this will encourage aggressive behaviour. Argh! I ignore her when she attacks my fingers as it's not painful. But when she bites my ears or neck or cheek, I have to react as it's painful.
Since Wasabi has gotten better and healthier, he's able to stick up for himself a little. But it always ends up with him submitting and moving off after his momentary bout of courage in standing up to her. Any help would be appreciated! Or at least break the bad news by telling me this is how Chick is always gonna be
