[Kitty]

I tried to get a bit of relief with Rio, but my efforts did not have the desired effects, sadly.
My daughter took Rio to her home 4 weeks ago! He was great with her and her family for about 2.5 weeks, then he began the same thing he had been doing to me. The regurgitation on her, only going to her, screaming when she left the room, dive bombing, etc, etc, etc.
It only took about an hour for him to understand I was here, and he turned all his attention to me! Even going so far as to biting her if she came near me.
Now, I am at a loss as to what to do. He no longer will bathe, play with a toy, or even enjoy treats (he once loved)...his attention is solely focused on me, and being on me. Any attempt to get him off of me, results in him biting and me bleeding.
For more than a year he was such a joy to be with.
I can live with occassional nips, but I do not know if I am up to the task of him being so possessive!
I'm willing to try any other suggestions... oh, the mirror did not work, he really never bothered with it!?!
Help?!?! Thanks for listening!

 

[ginziputzi]

Well that is disappointing news. So bizarre that he started the same behaviour with your daughter. Have you taken him to an avian vet to have him checked out and to discuss this behaviour? I wonder if there is something hormonal going on that is abnormal and if they can treat it. It concerns me for rehoming if this is the way he’s going to be with everyone. That won’t last long unless you’re able to find someone who can deal with this type of behaviour.

 

[Kitty]

Hi My Friend from the North.... I'm so glad you responded...
He had been doing SO well here, but alas, it all went haywire! Actually, it got so bad, last night, with me, when I tried getting him in his cage earlier then he had wanted, that he went with me full force, even going for my hair. It was as if he was angry with me for leaving him...even though he, obviously, loved hanging out with my daughter. He behaved very well when my Granddaughter was feeding him, although I made sure she did not put her hand in his cage.
I have not taken him to a see a vet yet. Unfortunately, I am in the process of figuring out what is wrong with my senior dog. I have already spent all over $800, just in tests and that number will rise. I just do not have the funds now.
I would not want to rehome him and not know for sure, it's just so bizarre.
I will bring him home with me tomorrow, and just deal with Rio until he either grows out of this stage or I can get him to a vet...
Kitty

 

[Kitty]

Well that is disappointing news. So bizarre that he started the same behaviour with your daughter. Have you taken him to an avian vet to have him checked out and to discuss this behaviour? I wonder if there is something hormonal going on that is abnormal and if they can treat it. It concerns me for rehoming if this is the way he’s going to be with everyone. That won’t last long unless you’re able to find someone who can deal with this type of behaviour.

Well that is disappointing news. So bizarre that he started the same behaviour with your daughter. Have you taken him to an avian vet to have him checked out and to discuss this behaviour? I wonder if there is something hormonal going on that is abnormal and if they can treat it. It concerns me for rehoming if this is the way he’s going to be with everyone. That won’t last long unless you’re able to find someone who can deal with this type of behaviour.

Oh...I have not yet tried to clip his wings, as the other gentleman suggested...I can try that when I get home!?!?

 

[Rubydoo252]

If you feel confident, wing clipping can be done at home (it takes two people - one to hold and one to clip). I have always paid for someone else to do it, though, because Tumi HATES to be restrained and will bite hard. Places should be willing to do it for a small amount of money. At this point, it seems worth a try. It changes the attitude of some birds, but if nothing else it prevents the divebombing. I second the avian vet need, though. I know money doesn't grow on trees, but it is worth locating one and asking them how much it costs for their check ups. My vet charges about $70 for our annual exam, and due to the tiny size of our creatures does not have us do blood tests or anything without cause. They also will clip his wings if I need it.

 

[ginziputzi]

Oh Rio. Dude - seriously! You have it made where you are! Stop being such a stinker!!

I totally feel your pain about the cost of care for a senior dog. My girl Paris (who passed last December) would have cost me a small fortune had I not had vet insurance since she was a puppy. As Dana said, I do find that the costs for these small birds are considerably less than for our 4-legged furballs. Something to keep in mind for now. I get that it is also a lot to manage two vet issues at the same time and you have your own health to manage. Lots going on for you, my friend.

Wing clipping will be a good plan for sure and is cost effective. At this point, anything goes! I will keep thinking on it, see if I can find anything else to try. I see how hard you are trying - you’re such a heart! We are here for you both!

 

[Kitty]

If you feel confident, wing clipping can be done at home (it takes two people - one to hold and one to clip). I have always paid for someone else to do it, though, because Tumi HATES to be restrained and will bite hard. Places should be willing to do it for a small amount of money. At this point, it seems worth a try. It changes the attitude of some birds, but if nothing else it prevents the divebombing. I second the avian vet need, though. I know money doesn't grow on trees, but it is worth locating one and asking them how much it costs for their check ups. My vet charges about $70 for our annual exam, and due to the tiny size of our creatures does not have us do blood tests or anything without cause. They also will clip his wings if I need it.

If you feel confident, wing clipping can be done at home (it takes two people - one to hold and one to clip). I have always paid for someone else to do it, though, because Tumi HATES to be restrained and will bite hard. Places should be willing to do it for a small amount of money. At this point, it seems worth a try. It changes the attitude of some birds, but if nothing else it prevents the divebombing. I second the avian vet need, though. I know money doesn't grow on trees, but it is worth locating one and asking them how much it costs for their check ups. My vet charges about $70 for our annual exam, and due to the tiny size of our creatures does not have us do blood tests or anything without cause. They also will clip his wings if I need it.

Dana Thank you! I fear you have me pegged for being brave! Rio does not like being held either. I've had his wings clipped, when he was younger, but I never did it myself! We have a wonderful local bird store that does it all! They will also refer a vet. (I can call an ask about the fees?!?)
For as much as I don't like doing it, it will indeed stop the dive bombing....perhaps it might even remind him who's boss (clearly he is)!
At this point, all I can do it try and see where it leads us!
Again thank you....K

 

[Kitty]

Oh Rio. Dude - seriously! You have it made where you are! Stop being such a stinker!!

I totally feel your pain about the cost of care for a senior dog. My girl Paris (who passed last December) would have cost me a small fortune had I not had vet insurance since she was a puppy. As Dana said, I do find that the costs for these small birds are considerably less than for our 4-legged furballs. Something to keep in mind for now. I get that it is also a lot to manage two vet issues at the same time and you have your own health to manage. Lots going on for you, my friend.

Wing clipping will be a good plan for sure and is cost effective. At this point, anything goes! I will keep thinking on it, see if I can find anything else to try. I see how hard you are trying - you’re such a heart! We are here for you both!

You, MY friend always seem to say words of comfort. That is a great gift!
My condolences regarding Paris!
My Frank, the dachshund, die what little consisting it brings me, at least will be with my husband when he leaves me. He'll be on to bigger and better things!
Although, Rio could have easily ended up there last evening. He is ALWAYS on me and when I went to sit on the sofa, I came within a hair's breath of crushing him with my elbow.
Give me strength!
Please know, I am trying... only because he was such a delightful little thing not all that long ago.
I will keep you posted!

 

[Kitty]

You, MY friend always seem to say words of comfort. That is a great gift!
My condolences regarding Paris!
My Frank, the dachshund, die what little consisting it brings me, at least will be with my husband when he leaves me. He'll be on to bigger and better things!
Although, Rio could have easily ended up there last evening. He is ALWAYS on me and when I went to sit on the sofa, I came within a hair's breath of crushing him with my elbow.
Give me strength!
Please know, I am trying... only because he was such a delightful little thing not all that long ago.
I will keep you posted!

Ok, that is pretty awful typing....I hope you get the gist of it... sigh

 

[ginziputzi]

Haha! Don’t worry about the typing! I actually do know what you meant. You make the same mistakes/get the same autocorrect that I do. So annoying but funny to read when it’s someone else.

I did not realize your husband had passed. 💕 You do carry a load, my friend. I am glad you get a bit of comfort from my words - they’re just the truth. And it is obvious how hard you try and how brave you’ve been. I know Paris is hanging out with my beloved Mom, eating all the things her pancreatitis prevented her from eating, poor girl. She is in tremendous company, that’s for sure. I will keep Frank in my prayers along with you and that little stinker Rio.

 

[Kitty]

Haha! Don’t worry about the typing! I actually do know what you meant. You make the same mistakes/get the same autocorrect that I do. So annoying but funny to read when it’s someone else.

I did not realize your husband had passed. 💕 You do carry a load, my friend. I am glad you get a bit of comfort from my words - they’re just the truth. And it is obvious how hard you try and how brave you’ve been. I know Paris is hanging out with my beloved Mom, eating all the things her pancreatitis prevented her from eating, poor girl. She is in tremendous company, that’s for sure. I will keep Frank in my prayers along with you and that little stinker Rio.

Ha, My husband would have left a window open for Rio if he behaved this badly when he was around! (ha, no...) The past few years have def been, at the least, chaotic! I try to keep remembering, it could always be worse!

 

[aanyka]

Ha, My husband would have left a window open for Rio if he behaved this badly when he was around! (ha, no...) The past few years have def been, at the least, chaotic! I try to keep remembering, it could always be worse!

Heart felt condolences on your loss' and to have your little guy acting up as well.

My boy has been acting up lately as well. I told him if he doesn't shape up I will change his name from Mochi to Scremlord..dark lord of the screm. I am putting it down to a change in our routine. When I got him I wasn't working for the first 6 months and he was an absolute dream. Then I started working and he was spending alot less time out of cage and not with me. I tried to get him out as much as I could when I would get home. He was unhappy but seemed to be good. Well I had a minor fender bender last month and we are still waiting for the car to be repaired. So I have been back to being home full time and we were both soo happy at first. Suddenly he has become very agressive. Mostly when he thinks he was going to put him up. He has become a bitey, scremy little pear with moments where he seems his usual sweet, spicy, self. I have assumed maybe he was getting hormonal and I have been putting him out of the cage in his room (I have a spare room). I don't use my hands since he loves pets but flies away if you try to scoot him and he does not perch on fingers...fingers are for loving and feeding not sitting I guess. lol He usually sits on my shoulder so I lean towards or get close to a perch or cage and fortunately he gets off. Although there has been more than a few occasions where he just keeps flying back to my shoulder (lol). I just keep at it till I make it out of the room. I leave him in there for 2 - 4 hours. He always ends up going back into his cage after awhile. This seems to be helping. I think he was getting hormonal/over attached because I spent so much time with him.

Maybe something like this might help? I encourage you to not use your hands to put him away if you can, especially if he is biting. Try to get him to get onto a cage by leaning next to it or something like that?

 

[Murdoch]

I'm sure we would all agree that these little guys need a routine. They don't want to be programmed to our schedule. They demand their own needs be met first and foremost. With Zelena if I can plan as much as possible to follow a routine it seems to help.
I also agree that Rio needs to see her vet. Things found only with a blood test, like Borna virus, are extremely painful and could create aggressive behavior. They can't tell us they hurt but they can show us their pain with aggressive behavior for sure. Good thoughts to everyone.
Murdoch

 

[Kitty]

Heart felt condolences on your loss' and to have your little guy acting up as well.

My boy has been acting up lately as well. I told him if he doesn't shape up I will change his name from Mochi to Scremlord..dark lord of the screm. I am putting it down to a change in our routine. When I got him I wasn't working for the first 6 months and he was an absolute dream. Then I started working and he was spending alot less time out of cage and not with me. I tried to get him out as much as I could when I would get home. He was unhappy but seemed to be good. Well I had a minor fender bender last month and we are still waiting for the car to be repaired. So I have been back to being home full time and we were both soo happy at first. Suddenly he has become very agressive. Mostly when he thinks he was going to put him up. He has become a bitey, scremy little pear with moments where he seems his usual sweet, spicy, self. I have assumed maybe he was getting hormonal and I have been putting him out of the cage in his room (I have a spare room). I don't use my hands since he loves pets but flies away if you try to scoot him and he does not perch on fingers...fingers are for loving and feeding not sitting I guess. lol He usually sits on my shoulder so I lean towards or get close to a perch or cage and fortunately he gets off. Although there has been more than a few occasions where he just keeps flying back to my shoulder (lol). I just keep at it till I make it out of the room. I leave him in there for 2 - 4 hours. He always ends up going back into his cage after awhile. This seems to be helping. I think he was getting hormonal/over attached because I spent so much time with him.

Maybe something like this might help? I encourage you to not use your hands to put him away if you can, especially if he is biting. Try to get him to get onto a cage by leaning next to it or something like that?

Hi and Thank You!
Sounds like Mochi is on the verge also.... let's hope he does not go to the dark side!
Rio never sat on my fingers ... for the moat part, before all this started, he just flew to his cage when he wanted to or when coaxed. Since the raging hormones have kicked in, I cannot get him in his cage, if he does not want to go in!!! He will kick, scream and fight me the entire way. In times of desperation, the only protection I have is my portable home phone....he is, I guess, deathly afraid of it! I can usually just hold it up and when he sees it, eventually he does to the cage.
I'm hoping that when I get his wings clipped, next week, he will ease up on that, as well as his other rude behavior! As they often say..."Let us pray!"

 

[aanyka]

Hi and Thank You!
Sounds like Mochi is on the verge also.... let's hope he does not go to the dark side!
Rio never sat on my fingers ... for the moat part, before all this started, he just flew to his cage when he wanted to or when coaxed. Since the raging hormones have kicked in, I cannot get him in his cage, if he does not want to go in!!! He will kick, scream and fight me the entire way. In times of desperation, the only protection I have is my portable home phone....he is, I guess, deathly afraid of it! I can usually just hold it up and when he sees it, eventually he does to the cage.
I'm hoping that when I get his wings clipped, next week, he will ease up on that, as well as his other rude behavior! As they often say..."Let us pray!"

So sorry for what you are going through. It hurts our hearts when our little feathered children go on a rampage. I will keep you and Rio in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[Kitty]

So sorry for what you are going through. It hurts our hearts when our little feathered children go on a rampage. I will keep you and Rio in my thoughts and prayers.

Just when I think I am going to let him fly out the window, I see a glimmer of his old self. After a severe bite on my knuckle, I was angry and got him back in his cage (not easy)...I let him sit there for a bit. A few minutes later, he started doing 360° circles on his perch! I had never seen him do that before!?! He looked like a circus performer! The more I kept clapping and saying "Good Rio" the more he did it! I'm surprised he didn't get dizzy and fall off the perch.
This is something that we had worked on when he was a "wee" bird!
None the less, I have already made an appt to get his wings clipped, to see if that helps. I'll update soon! Thanks all...Kitty

 

[ozzie3860]

Just curious. Have we go him clipped yet?

 

[Kitty]

Just curious. Have we go him clipped yet?

You will never believe my sad tale....I actually came home in tears today....
I took Rio earlier, for his wing clipping appointment. I arrived at the bird store to find a young gal there, not the owner.
Rio does not let anyone put their hands in his cage, so I suggested she use a towel to avoid being bit. The gal took EVERTHING out of his cage and she refused to use a towel. She basically chased him around the inside of his cage until he got tired so she was able grab him.
In addition to the wing clipping, I also asked for his nails to be clipped and his beak be filed.
I was happy that I finally was able to get Rio clipped and perhaps gain a little control back over him. He has bitten me and drawn blood every night this week.
I got home and put his water and food back into his cage. I walked into the living room and he actually FLEW onto my shoulder.
I couldn't believe she "botched" a wing clipping.
I just sat here and cried. I have followed every suggestion to try to keep Rio. This was my last hope and this did not even go right.
Some days are just better than others.
I have made a follow-up appointment, with the owner for tomorrow.
I will let you know how this goes tomorrow evening Ozzie.
I don't think it could go much worse?!? Could it?

 

[Rubydoo252]

Lightweight birds can be very determined flyers. Tumi has special notes in his vet file that when he needs clipping (he is normally flighted, but I clip him when we travel) that they should take an extra feather than normal. Sheer determination can keep them in the air. However, it is the common and established practice to TOWEL a bird to restrain them, so there is a chance that she did not clip properly since it sounds like she did not know how to handle a bird at all. Chasing a bird is a horrible thing to do to the bird!

 

[Kitty]

Lightweight birds can be very determined flyers. Tumi has special notes in his vet file that when he needs clipping (he is normally flighted, but I clip him when we travel) that they should take an extra feather than normal. Sheer determination can keep them in the air. However, it is the common and established practice to TOWEL a bird to restrain them, so there is a chance that she did not clip properly since it sounds like she did not know how to handle a bird at all. Chasing a bird is a horrible thing to do to the bird!

Oh, I so agree Dana.... it seems like no matter what I told this young gal, she did just the opposite! He could have gotten terribly hurt. When I called the bird store, she actually said, when I told her that I live rather far away, that she drives further than I do!!!! WHAT!?! She is an employee and gets paid to drive there, I am a patron and it costs me money every time I walk in the door!
Rest assured I will be speaking with the owner.
Rio is very clever and you cannot keep him down for long but I so want this to work!
Thanks for your help!