| Help! A Lovebird's Bad Habit! - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| ERIK DAVIDSON |
Ok, here's the story...
My boyfriend Erik, got a lovebird, BeBe, almost 15 years ago when he was a
baby. He was hand fed, and bonded with Erik. I've lived here now for about 1
1/2 years, and we've also acquired two cats along the way. The bird does not
come out of the cage as often for obvious reasons... he might become a tasty
snack!
BeBe has developed a really bad habit, and I don't know what to do deter him
from doing it! He's regurgitating... A LOT. He probably regurgitates about
75% of the time he is awake. The other time is spent acting out sexually
with a wood block on a chain. The wood block distracted him from the
regurgitating for a short time after I gave it to him, but he's back to it
again. I've tried changing his toys frequently. I've also tried cutting down
how much food and water I give to him, but the poor little guy was always so
thirsty because he didn't stop the behavior when I did that. So I don't do
that at all anymore, it's just not nice.
The problem with the large amount of regurgitating he's doing, is that fruit
flies breed in it. 100's of them! Even when we cleaned it out everyday, it
made no difference since he continues to keep regurgitating anyway. Last
spring, we resorted to putting him outside, so our house wouldn't be
infested with the fruit flies. However, it's getting cold at night, and I
think he should come back inside. However... there are still fruit flies
breeding in his cage.
I have no idea what to do. We've talked about finding another home for him,
but if we dislike this behavior and are considering giving him up, I doubt
someone else will tolerate it either. I've tried looking up this behavior
online, and have never found anything (other than it's a mating behavior) on
it. We've even talked about getting another lovebird so he won't be bored or
lonely, but don't know if he would be territorial about it since he's always
been alone in his cage.
Does anyone have suggestions?
Thank you so much!
Kelly
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| AlanWilliams |
"ERIK DAVIDSON" <cayenne333@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:%Um0d.607$lX.216@trnddc04...
> Ok, here's the story...
>
>
>
> My boyfriend Erik, got a lovebird, BeBe, almost 15 years ago when he was a
> baby. He was hand fed, and bonded with Erik. I've lived here now for about
1
> 1/2 years, and we've also acquired two cats along the way. The bird does
not
> come out of the cage as often for obvious reasons... he might become a
tasty
> snack!
>
>
>
> BeBe has developed a really bad habit, and I don't know what to do deter
him
> from doing it! He's regurgitating... A LOT.
Does he regurgitate for a toy/someone or is he just regurgitating onto the
floor of the cage?
> I've tried looking up this behavior
> online, and have never found anything (other than it's a mating behavior)
on
> it.
In the case of mating behavior, the lovebirds regurgitate for each other and
into each other's beaks. Has he been to an avian vet to check that he has
not got some kind of infection or blockage that is making him throw up?
It's possible that BeBe is very lonely, bored and feeling extremely
rejected. How would you feel if someone locked you in a cage because they
wanted to bring two lions into your house and then, to add insult to injury,
put the cage out in the garden? Then they try to starve you and let your
cage become fly infested.
> We've even talked about getting another lovebird so he won't be bored or
> lonely, but don't know if he would be territorial about it since he's
always
> been alone in his cage.
Until you find out what is wrong with BeBe and have "fixed it", it would be
irresponsible to bring another bird into the house.
> Does anyone have suggestions?
(1) Take BeBe to a qualified avian vet ASAP.
(2) Start cleaning the cage and changing the water however many times a day
it takes to keep it fly-free.
(3) Bring the bird back inside. Shut the cats out of BeBe's room and allow
the bird to interact with Erik. IMO you should keep well out of the way at
that time as well.
(4) Keep your fingers crossed that BeBe will not to haywire when let out of
the cage.
> Thank you so much!
>
>
>
> Kelly
Alan (hoping he hasn't been trolled and looking forward to Molly's
comments!)
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| ex WGS Hamm |
"ERIK DAVIDSON" <cayenne333@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:%Um0d.607$lX.216@trnddc04...
> Ok, here's the story...
>
>
>
> My boyfriend Erik, got a lovebird, BeBe, almost 15 years ago when he was a
> baby. He was hand fed, and bonded with Erik. I've lived here now for about
1
> 1/2 years, and we've also acquired two cats along the way. The bird does
not
> come out of the cage as often for obvious reasons... he might become a
tasty
> snack!
>
>
>
> BeBe has developed a really bad habit, and I don't know what to do deter
him
> from doing it! He's regurgitating... A LOT. He probably regurgitates about
> 75% of the time he is awake. The other time is spent acting out sexually
> with a wood block on a chain. The wood block distracted him from the
> regurgitating for a short time after I gave it to him, but he's back to it
> again. I've tried changing his toys frequently. I've also tried cutting
down
> how much food and water I give to him, but the poor little guy was always
so
> thirsty because he didn't stop the behavior when I did that. So I don't do
> that at all anymore, it's just not nice.
>
>
>
> The problem with the large amount of regurgitating he's doing, is that
fruit
> flies breed in it. 100's of them! Even when we cleaned it out everyday, it
> made no difference since he continues to keep regurgitating anyway. Last
> spring, we resorted to putting him outside, so our house wouldn't be
> infested with the fruit flies. However, it's getting cold at night, and I
> think he should come back inside. However... there are still fruit flies
> breeding in his cage.
>
>
>
> I have no idea what to do. We've talked about finding another home for
him,
> but if we dislike this behavior and are considering giving him up, I doubt
> someone else will tolerate it either.
You are wrong there. Most dedicated bird owners will not only tolerate this
behaviour but allow him time out of his cage too thus giving him a better
life all round.
>I've tried looking up this behavior
> online, and have never found anything (other than it's a mating behavior)
on
> it. We've even talked about getting another lovebird so he won't be bored
or
> lonely, but don't know if he would be territorial about it since he's
always
> been alone in his cage.
Lovebird introductions need to be done very carefully or else there could
be serious fighting.
> Does anyone have suggestions?
Yes, chuck the cats out of the house for a few hours every evening and let
the lovebird come out of the cage.
> Thank you so much!
You are welcome.
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