It's love... uh oh

[LucyP]

hey all!

So Diablo is doing really well after her bout of illness. She eats like a little oinker, she has learned not to be afraid of her bird bath and she is a delight in everyway... except one

It's just a guess, but I think Diablo thinks I'm her boyfriend. When I get up or come home from work she's so ecstatic she's running all over the door ofher cage and hangs off it by one foot while i'm opening it and essentially is berserker until she can get to my shoulder and groom my hair, ears and eyelashes. (and she'd get at my nostril hair if I didn't keep discouraging her based on the fact that I wont' even groom my own.. yuck)
I'm an articled student, so I am out of the house quite a bit but she seems content enough to trash her toys (i stuff chinese finger puzzles with birdie treats and when i come home they are shredded and the treats are nowhere to be found). I take her on the bus with me to work sometimes and even take her on holiday by smuggling her tiny travel cage in my overnight bag onto the ferry.. (no horrible pet area for my beloved birdie!) but... I seem to have given her the impression that we're more than just flock friends.

Anytime ANYONE comes near her when I'm around she goes nuts. She ran at my dad like a bullet train out of Osaka with her beak gaping... across the floor and tried to get him. I was sitting on an armchair and my mom was sitting in hers and Diablo suddenly ran down my arm, across the coffee table... up to my mom's neck only to be thwarted by a mouthful of thick hair. If she doesn't bite, she puffs up and makes this really loud twittering nose and chatters her beak.
She is fearless! She tried to get at my dad's African Grey but since I don't leave her unattended I caught her and removed her from the room.

She goes into attack mode with anyone else but then turns around and is all sweetness and light to me with one notable exception: One of my friends was over and we were watching tv... and diablo was P.O'd as usual sitting on the arm of my couch... anyway, my friend decided to lean over and scratch my head to see what would happen... and guess what... Diablo exploded into a raging ball of fury and launched herself onto my friend's arm, eyes pinned, the works!

Will this stop??? Is this because it's summer?? I put her to bed early but she hates being covered up and usually twitters until i remove the cover on her cage.

I am terrified she's going to get all hormonal and frustrated and start ripping out her feathers or somethign. I have heard many horror stories and they are really worrying.

Can I do something to put her off? I don't know how to socialize her to others... my roommate takes her out when I'm nto arround and she's fairly agreeable he says. She lets him scratch her head etc. But as soon as I come home she starts up again (i did call her a Quisling... maybe she feels bad:p )

It's not a huge issue at the moment since my roommate is hardly ever around and most of the time it is just me and her. But... I am afraid that I'm causing problems! Is there anything I can do? Please help!

[AndreaFahy]

This is why I suggest species appropriate keeping, captive parrots get SOOO sexually frustrated and the only thing to cure that is a mate :) And you don't have to allow them to have babies, that is very easily avoided with parrotlets.

I have had this issue with different parrots. I was worried they would exhibit the same nasty behaviors towards ME once they paired with a real mate. They did not though. They were finally able to have a natural pairing and eased all frustrations and lightened up substantially.

[Pado]

I had this problem with my male. He then switched his ‘interest’ from me to a toy in his cage – I suppose because he was with the toy more than with me during the workday. This is when he decided to fend off everyone including me to protect his beloved toy.

It was sad for me to watch because I could see his need to be out of his cage - he would be friendly away from his cage but he became conflicted and would fly from his cage and then right back to his cage – he was torn between real interaction and being with his toy [aka mate].

I decided to get a female and he has calmed down considerably and is much happier – the toy is completely ignored now. He does protect the female at times [I noticed she has this distress chirp she does and he comes running or flying to her] but overall he is still very friendly and very content. He still enjoys his head scratches and riding around on shoulders and human interaction. But the calling to me and the over excitement when I come home is gone because he has her and he get the appropriate reactions from her.

But keep in mind cage size and supervision is very important when keeping a pair –

[ArtS]

Lucy,

First off, I deleted the second copy of this thread (first time I had a chance to use my super moderator powers :D ).


I suspect Diablo's behavior is caused by a combination of things, including her background, her socialization with other people and topped of with a strong dose of hormones. I suggest that you have some of your friends try to spend time with Diablo when you are not in the room.

Regarding the multiple bird option: you have a trade-off, you can either have a parrotlet that is strongly bonded to you - as you have - with all of the negatives and positives that go along with it or you can get a second bird and (hopefully) have them bond. If you get a second bird, you will still be in the picture relationshipwisem, but it will be a much lighter bond. This is assuming the two birds get along.

Regards,

Art S.

PS. This is my 500th post!!

[wiggletail]

Lucy,
I love the chinese finger puzzle idea! I'm running down to the five 'n dime party store today! Thanks - another reason I'm glad I joined this forum!!!

[ArtS]

Just make sure there aren't any bad dyes in the ones you buy.

Regards,

Art S.