Hi Laurie , I have never had a problem with Armand until September. For 10 years this bird has been out and played with and we had a great relationship he had neve bitten me or been nasty except for some brief periods of screeching in the spring and fall for the last few years only. Something happened in September, I have no idea what. Nothing changed in his enviornment at all. Nothing happened outside his room or outside his window. Right now there is no play area for him outside his cage because I have moved him away from the other birds, they were really irritating to him. What really sets him off is the vaccum cleaner which I have stopped using around him and changing the papers on the bottom of his cage irritates him. This never bothered him before. If I have to go in to do anything inside his cage I have to do it carefully and keep everything in the front by the door. If I let him out on top of his cage then he will hold on to the top or door and looks like he wants to come to me. I slowly give him a finger to step up on but he won't budge and if I get too close he screams and attacks his foot. He is in a large size travel cage away from the other birds because he used to hang on the back of his cage and scream at my blue crowns all day. He always has been next to their cage, that never changed. I have stopped the weighing for now. If he goes to the floor he runs and there is no way he will step up, not even on a perch or a boing or anything and therefore I have to towel him to catch him or, as I have found, put his cage on the floor and eventually he will go inside by himself. Like I said, this started in September when what I will call the "hormonal" attack issue began. It seems odd that for the second week he was on the Baytril he was fantastic and for 2 months after that he was back to his normal wonderful self, he came out, he played, he snuggled, and now this happens again. I cannot believe it is because he is afraid of me or that I am forcing myself on him. The bird can't be afraid of me, then not be afraid for 2 months and then be afraid again, it makes no sense. Something else is happening here. Maybe something is there medically we are not catching!
It really is strange Donna. It can be so puzzling sometimes.
If it is medical then you'll have to keep working on that with the vet.
If it is behavioral then you really will need to carefully and methodically try and figure out what is setting him off. The next time he does something that is not normal or one of the behaviors that you would like to change like the foot biting then you should pay really close attention to everything that happened just before the incident. Write it down, what did you do, what happened in the room, was there a noise, anything, did someone enter or leave a room, what time of day is it? If you can keep track of exactly what happens immediately before (the preceding seconds before), during and after the incident you may see a pattern emerge. Once you evaluate the pattern you can start working on a solution. It may mean you have to change whatever it is that is setting him off (if you figure it out) or you may have to train him to do something else other than what he is currently doing when he is triggered.
Finding the cause of what is setting him off is the only way you can come up with a solution.
Whatever is affecting him is obviously affecting your relationship with him and most likely affecting his relationship with you. Even though well intentioned and sometimes unavoidable, every time you make him do something he does not want to do it will cause him to trust you less. Caiques don't take kindly to being told what to do, let alone forced. I am sure that you know this. I definitely don't mean it as personal criticism. I am just stating a fact.
Maybe he had decided that he no longer wants to allow you in his territory. His cage. If that is the case then you need to respect that. If you can get him to come out and go to another carrier or cage so that you can service his then you need to do that.
Are you able to handle him at all? Do you two have any positive interactions these days? No matter how long he has been your buddy, if the positive interactions cease and only the unpleasant ones occur, you will no longer be able to handle him. You may have to take a good look at how he is currently behaving and set aside an expectations that you have based on how he used to be. Start working with him as if he is a new bird and you have to win his cooperation and affection. Adjusting how you think of him may help you to arrive at a solution or at least a plan of attack.
What is the one thing that you most would like to see change first? Perhaps we can help you to work on one thing as a time.
Please keep us posted. I know everyone here really wants the best for you and your bird. Sometimes it can be a challenge but you already have 10 years invested with the little guy. Surely you can work it out. We are all here to support you.
