# HELP! Training issue!!!



## KttyKt1131 (Apr 28, 2014)

I am almost at my wits end. I have a 2.5 year old cockatiel named Loki. He is the love of my life and I would do anything to keep him happy and healthy. I rescued him a year and a half ago and he was fine, but a little grumpy at times and anxious. I figured it was due to him being in a new home, who knows what happened to him before, and he's a baby. I just loved him, cared for him, talked and sang to him, and gave him head scratches anyways. I figured he'd grow out of it once he settled in and got used to me. In some ways he has, but he's still a very grumpy bird and it's driving me insane. 

1) He makes angry noises at himself in the mirror and screeches at his reflection. Sometimes he sings to himself and gives himself kisses, then he goes full on attack mode.

2) He is pushing his boundaries and wandering to not so safe places he's never gone to before (like under my dresser where there is a surge protector and a bunch of cords). I have tried blocking it off but then he get's REALLY pissed about it and I have to put him away for being naughty. 

3) He fights and bites HARD when he isn't getting his way. He can't eat everything I eat, he can't go in certain places around the house, I have no way of knowing EXACTLY how he wants his scratchies today (sometimes he LOVES beak scratchies, sometimes he he wants no part of it, but he acts like he does.

4) He tries to mate with my moms hand. She lets him because he always seems to calm down afterwards. It's weird. He doesn't try it with me. 

5) He was having issues with flying in to mirrors and windows and not letting me pick him up when I needed to stop him, so I clipped his wings. I feel like a horrible person. Since then he has gotten depressed, sullen, and even more aggressive. 

6) My mom and I go to pick him up off the floor and he full on attacks and draws blood.

7) He has crazy separation anxiety. He doesn't pluck or anything, but he screams and cries when we are leaving the house and he screams and cries when we come back home. I have no idea what happened in his former home (the rescue I got him from said someone found him on their property, but his wings were clipped, so I'm thinking someone gave him up because they couldn't keep him anymore and they didn't want to be judged for it). Once he opened up to me, we realized he could say "Be a good boy, OK? I love you! Have a good day, OK? Did you have a good day?" Someone obviously loved him before... and since I have had him, he hasn't learned any new words. He's trying to say "pretty bird" but it's rough. And he knows the first part of Saria's Song from Zelda, but he adds his own "flair". 

He is out of his cage when one of us is home and not in the shower. He has a whole bunch of toys that get rotated out and he LOVES to shred empty tissue boxes (sans plastic of course). He gets eggs, chicken, and various veggies multiple times a week and wants to eat everything I eat (he doesn't get the bad stuff, which pisses him off because he wants that the most). If I lay down to take a nap, he comes over to nap with me. We have snuggle/kissey time and we sing together and it's lovely. He's not a bad bird. He's a sweet boy. I feel like it's just hormones, being a lone male bird. But it all seems to keep getting worse. His "punishment" is being put back in his cage to decompress. But it is only a temporary solution. I have trained horses, dogs, and cats before, but birds confuse the **** out of me. I have never been a bird person but a budgie fell in to my back yard 4 years ago and I now have 2 budgies and Loki due to various rescuings... SO! I really need help figuring out how to train him and what helps or hinders progress in making him less angry/ anxious and more happy/ easy going. 

Can anyone help me?


----------



## JoJo's Mom (Oct 20, 2012)

He sounds really hormonal to me... have you tried giving him 12-14 hours of darkness at night? Maybe lay off the eggs and chicken, as they are very high in protein,and only feed it occasionally. I would also take the mirror out of his cage, as they can get very attached to it and that can cause some issues. You need not feel badly about clipping his wings, its for his safety, and it can help them become a little less aggressive. Also I wouldn't let him "mate" with your mom's hand. Another hormonal behavior is trying to go to places like under the dresser, that is what they do when they are looking to build a nest. Just some suggestions...you can read more about hormonal issues here: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=32330 Hope this helps...


----------



## KttyKt1131 (Apr 28, 2014)

So I tried putting a mirror in his cage when I first got him, but he fought with it a lot so I got rid of it. His cage is on my dresser which has an attached mirror on the back. He sits on a lampshade in front of it and "grumps" at himself most of the day. Should I try covering it up? I don't have any other place to put his cage that is away from mirrors. Also, he likes to wander in to the kitchen and talk to himself in the dishwasher/ fridge/ microwave reflection. He has a BIG problem with wandering around, but I don't want to lock him in his cage all the time. I generally bring him with me if I leave the room, but sometimes he's napping or totally content by himself. Then "the happy wanderer" waddles out looking for something fun to do. My mom is getting older and can't see or hear well. I'm afraid she will accidentally step on him, but at the same time I don't want to keep him cooped up. We could leave him out of the cage, with my door closed, but then he would scream because he is alone. Or should he only come out if someone is in the room/ interacting with him in some way? Ugh. Birds are so confusing...


----------



## JoJo's Mom (Oct 20, 2012)

I would be careful about letting him just wander about, you are right that it's a risk. Someone could step on him very easily, or many other things that could accidently injure him. My bird isn't out all the time, and he is perfectly happy. I take him out at random times during the day and spend time with him, the rest of the time he is in his cage. Do you keep toys in his cage? For his safety he should be in his cage when you can't be there to supervise him. Were you able to read the article? It really is very helpful. Birds are kind of like kids. What they want sometimes isn't necessarily what is good for them.


----------



## Francesca (Apr 30, 2015)

I've been going through this too, and your advice has been spot on JoJo's mom.


----------



## JoJo's Mom (Oct 20, 2012)

Francesca said:


> I've been going through this too, and your advice has been spot on JoJo's mom.


Thanks Francesca


----------

