Bird Crazies: while he is very clever he is also very stupid

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Pet Island > Bird Crazies: while he is very clever he is also very stupid

Antoine Silvere: Nov 25, 2008; Are these soap bubbles?; Grimey Drawer

Hello Bird Crazies, I recently went to my local Omar's Exotic Birds store and took a few pictures of all the nice birds there:

This is a 40(!!!)-year-old Cockatoo named Gretchen and she is the store's mascot. She seemed pretty friendly and would say "hello" and "hi!" to people around the store. She got very mad at one of the employees when she tried to put more bedding in her little bowl, though.

Here are some young Macaws that were hanging around.

This is where they kept most of the baby :derptiel:

s. Most of them were a little skittish but two of them were more than happy to step up on my hand and my girlfriend's hand and receive head scritches :3:

I'm not sure what kind of bird this is (parakeet of some kind?) but he was hanging out in the corner of the cockatiels' area. Seemed to keep mostly to himself.

This little guy's name is Rocky. He's a orange-headed (??? forgot the name on the little sign) Conure and used to live with a family who lived in an apartment complex. Apparently his occasional screams became a nuisance to their neighbors and they had to choose between giving him up or getting evicted :smith:

He was pretty sweet though, he would step up to my hand most of the time and only bite me, like, 30% of the time he was there! I was very tempted to try and take him home. Hopefully someone nice does

The store also had a bunch of finches and canaries, some budgies, a pair of lovebirds, and a bunch of other birds that I forgot to take pictures of because I was too busy admiring them.

# ¿ Apr 21, 2015 01:19

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 17:08

Antoine Silvere: Nov 25, 2008; Are these soap bubbles?; Grimey Drawer

I took another trip to Omar's so here are some more birb pics (sorry they aren't very well-shot):

This is a baby African Grey that they had at the store. From what I could tell the few times I've been there, the owner who bought the bird brings the foldable chair every day and just hangs out with the bird for several hours. :unsmith:

Here's an orange finch that made car alarm sounds and I thought that was pretty funny. Here you can see it studying its subjects :v:

Here's one of two Jenday Conures they had there. Seemed pretty friendly.

Blue Macaw baby named Ricky. Some stoner kids came in and he climbed on their arms and bit their fingers :parrot:

Here are some baby :derptiel:

s. One of them loved to climb onto shoulders and chill out, as you can see in the first pic.

Some Illiger Macaws. Whenever one would squak, the other would too, so I called em Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum

Fancy English Budgie that was hanging out with the cockatiels. He seemed pretty happy to climb up onto my finger but disliked scratches. Eventually he climbed to the top perch of Cockatiel Mountain to oversee his subjects.

And finally, the reason I actually went to the store in the first place: to pay off the deposit on the GCC at the bottom of the pile! He seemed pretty friendly, would mostly nibble my finger with some hard pinches occasionally (seemed like he was testing the waters). Stepped onto my hand without too much hesitation. When I went to give him head scratches he seemed to protest at first (kind of like this...annoyed screeching? dunno how to describe it) but eventually would let me scratch his head til he fell asleep :kimchi:

The store employee said it would be about 3-4 weeks till I could take him home, as they still have to ween him off the formula. Pretty excited to soon be a bird-haver! Any general tips? We used to have birds at my house when I was a kid but looking back at it they were kept in cages mostly and were probably really unhappy

I'd really like this little dude to be a velcro bird.

Also, shoutout to Chaosfeather for suggesting I hold Gretchen: she is probably the sweetest bird I've ever met. She would hop up on my arm and go straight for the cuddles. Although after getting a closer look at her she seemed awfully bare of feathers on her back

I can't imagine she plucks them, she gets a lot of attention at the store and seems pretty happy. Could it be a molt? I couldn't get any good pictures of it.

# ¿ Apr 28, 2015 21:59

Antoine Silvere: Nov 25, 2008; Are these soap bubbles?; Grimey Drawer

LITERALLY A BIRD posted:

Antoine, all you need to do to have a velcro bird is give him love, attention, and scritches. The more time spent with him the better: even if you aren't focused on him specifically, letting him cuddle against your neck or hand while you gently caress around on your computer will make him very happy. Talk to him a lot, respect his boundaries, but don't show fear or anxiety if he bites you. GCCs are on the nippy side, they think they're total badasses when they're really just tiny fluffy love sponges.

Good to know! I definitely plan on letting him chill out with me at my desk and will give him lots of love and attention. Bites don't really worry me, although I've heard (in this thread and other places) that you should "discipline" your GCC if they bite you by placing them on the ground? I know that hitting and screaming at them is a big no no (and I couldn't if I wanted to, look at that face), but does the ground thing work? Won't they just fly/climb up your leg or something?

# ¿ Apr 29, 2015 01:18

Antoine Silvere: Nov 25, 2008; Are these soap bubbles?; Grimey Drawer

LITERALLY A BIRD posted:

Conures are not ground foragers, so most times they don't like being set on the floor: it makes them uncomfortable and anxious (unless you are my bird, who grew up around a cockatiel and constantly flies onto the ground to find snacks). It's a good disciplinary method because some alternatives (putting them in their cage, yelling at them) may have unintended associations (getting time alone, getting attention). However, with biting specifically, just ignoring/powering through their bites is usually the best way to go. If you flinch or pull away, the bird's going to realize that he can hold power over you. If you don't respond to his bites, he will learn other, better ways to communicate with you: expressive body language, a phrase or a sound, ringing a bell or doing a trick. When a bird bites you he's trying to say something, and it's best to teach him to say those things different ways.

Ah, I see. When you put it that way it makes a lot of sense, thanks! Looking forward to bringing my new friend home

# ¿ Apr 29, 2015 02:29

Antoine Silvere: Nov 25, 2008; Are these soap bubbles?; Grimey Drawer

zbeezy posted:

This is very informative and helpful!

Ditto, thanks for the info Eejit!

# ¿ Apr 29, 2015 09:55

Antoine Silvere: Nov 25, 2008; Are these soap bubbles?; Grimey Drawer

So it looks like my bird is finally ready to come home from the bird store (they were keeping him there to ween him off the formula for about 6 weeks after I paid for him). Anything specific I should know/have when I bring him home? I know that a sizeable cage, food, and toys/perches are a must, but is there anything else? Also, I've read that it's best to let your bird get used to its surroundings for about 3 days before trying to take it out of the cage (while still being around and talking to it to get it used to your presence). Any truth to this? If he seems friendly and willing should I let him out to hang out with me?

You've all probably been asked this question a million times but I just wanna make sure :ohdear:

# ¿ Jun 17, 2015 19:01

Antoine Silvere: Nov 25, 2008; Are these soap bubbles?; Grimey Drawer

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'll see what mr bird wants and let him hang out with me if he so chooses

# ¿ Jun 17, 2015 23:49

Antoine Silvere: Nov 25, 2008; Are these soap bubbles?; Grimey Drawer

Battle Pigeon posted:

# ¿ Jun 18, 2015 21:40

Antoine Silvere: Nov 25, 2008; Are these soap bubbles?; Grimey Drawer

hey everyone look at my new bird

This is Galileo. I named him that cuz I'm a huge space nerd and because of his Great Red Spot :v:

here's some pics of him in his new home:

Still need to get him some fresh fruits and veggies to munch on in there. So far he's been a Good Bird and steps up on my hand willingly and hasn't bitten me (yet). He'll occasionally let out one or two loud chirps when he wakes up and wants me to take the towel off his cage or right after I leave the room, but he quiets down after that and mostly grumbles to himself. I've been making sure not to go to him when he screams until he's been quiet for a few minutes so I don't encourage him to yell.

Stupid question time:
- Is there an easy/safe way to tie the cuttlebone to the cage wall? Right now it's just in one of the food bowls cuz it didn't come with a tie. Can I use one of those plastic-insulated metal twisy things, or would that be harmful to the bird?
- When I hold him in my hands he tends to like...nibble? my hand very gently, almost like he's licking it. Is he trying to preen my hand, or does he think it's one of his toys (he does a similar motion to those little fingertrap things in the upper left of the last picture, only much harder). He hasn't bitten hard yet but I'm a little worried this might lead to that. Is this normal behavior?
- Is there One Weird Trick to Get Your Bird Off Your Shoulder that I can use, in the bird store once he got to my shoulder he would avoid my hand at all costs and stay up there nibbling at my shirt. Since I'm worried I won't be able to get him off me on my own, I haven't let him get up to my shoulder just yet. Any birdhacks you guys recommend?
- I've accidentally woken him up the past few days after his bed time because of getting water from the kitchen. How bad is this? I feel bad every time it happens

# ¿ Jun 22, 2015 22:13

Antoine Silvere: Nov 25, 2008; Are these soap bubbles?; Grimey Drawer

Kenshin posted:

- you don't really need cuttlebone for conures, particularly since you're feeding him some fresh foods

- affectionate preening. Look out if you've got a scab (or birthmark, or anything else!) on your hand because it'll be coming off if you let him! Far from stopping him, you should encourage this affectionate behavior as it will help teach him what appropriate touching is (so he learns that he shouldn't bite)

- you just really need to reinforce that "step up" really means "step up now whether you want to or not". It can take some time with a new/young bird. One thing I did with Alexis early on was if she refused to step up off my shoulder, I'd start slowly laying down on the floor, forcing her off my shoulder (onto my chest) where I would just unceremoniously pick her up. She learned soon enough!

- not bad at all, don't worry about it. He'll learn to sleep through household noise.

Good to know, thanks! I don't stop him when he's just ~~licking~~ preening me, when he starts to chomp on my hand (albeit without much force) I make him step up. The lying down on your back trick makes sense, I'll try that.

Edit: I remembered another dumb question: what makes a good treat for a GCC? I've got a bag of millet strips and another bag of assorted goodies (cheerios, various nuts, etc) that I can use, just wondering which they like best that would make for the most effective positive reinforcement.

Antoine Silvere fucked around with this message at 22:38 on Jun 22, 2015

# ¿ Jun 22, 2015 22:36

Antoine Silvere: Nov 25, 2008; Are these soap bubbles?; Grimey Drawer

Kenshin posted:

If it's a "chomp" without any force behind it, and you're ok with him doing it, it's ok to "wrestle" back a little bit and be playful.

I do this all the time with Alexis and over time she's learned appropriate play-nips. I very rarely need to make her stop because she knows not to bite down hard. Keep in mind that little love-nips and being a little jerk on purpose (as long as it isn't harmful) are just part of how these birds maintain bonds in the wild.

Hmm, when you say wrestle back, what do you mean? I'm guessing I don't chomp her back, right? :confused:

anotherblownsave posted:

Galileo is awesome, and beautiful.

Thanks! Your :derptiel:

s are v cute themselves

# ¿ Jun 22, 2015 23:25

Antoine Silvere: Nov 25, 2008; Are these soap bubbles?; Grimey Drawer

Kenshin posted:

Nah, I mean wrestle back with your fingers.

For example, Alexis will sit on my hand and place her whole beak around my finger. I'll wiggle my fingers around a bit, and use one of the other fingers on my same hand to poke at her belly and wings and tease her. She'll be basically "wrestling" with my hand.

Ohhh, I see, that makes way more sense, haha. Thanks!

# ¿ Jun 22, 2015 23:41

Antoine Silvere: Nov 25, 2008; Are these soap bubbles?; Grimey Drawer

have some pictures of my narcoleptic bird:

did i mention how fuckin tiny he is? he's a v small GCC. not that i mind of course. Galileo has a penchant for nibbling on my mouse when he's on my desk but the runt can't even tear a hole in an unfolded napkin :v:

# ¿ Jun 30, 2015 00:57

Antoine Silvere: Nov 25, 2008; Are these soap bubbles?; Grimey Drawer

Shirec posted:

So adorable! How old is he again?

A mere 4 months old! Hatched in February

# ¿ Jun 30, 2015 05:49

Antoine Silvere: Nov 25, 2008; Are these soap bubbles?; Grimey Drawer

CROWS EVERYWHERE posted:

This is Bitey! This pic is from last night, the one I sent to my family and friends to let them know I finally have a birb. He's had an exciting day and is ready to go to sleep.

that bird is fuckin adorable

# ¿ Jul 2, 2015 00:56

Antoine Silvere: Nov 25, 2008; Are these soap bubbles?; Grimey Drawer

"Uh, do you mind? kind of in the middle of something here"

in other news Galileo is kind of(???) potty-trained. He seems to not want to poop on me and hasn't yet. However the way he communicates he needs to poop when I'm holding him is to chomp on my fingers until I either put him on my desk, the ground, or on top of his cage :nallears:

guess it's better than nothing!

# ¿ Jul 5, 2015 09:29

Antoine Silvere: Nov 25, 2008; Are these soap bubbles?; Grimey Drawer

Battle Pigeon posted:

Do GCCs make squeaky IH IH IH/EEE EEE EEE noises when they're protesting at you for whatever reason? Like a really loud pissed off squeaky toy? Ohtori got some foam on him this morning and was screaming that noise in protest at having a tiny bit of water on him to wipe it off, and it made me realise I've never heard Inko make an equivalent or anything like it. He just shuts down and maybe gets to biting, or makes the weeeee weeeh sound at best

Galileo (yellow sided GCC) will make that noise whenever I pet him in a slightly-less-than-perfect way. Or when I try to get him off my shoulder and he doesn't wanna. Or at any minor inconvenience, really :shrug: