[Plukie]

.........is all grown up! I think I know why he's been bitey... let's just say he is overly fond of his perch!!!! Oh dear, my little boy is a man!

 

[Laura]

oh boy now the fun begin's, poor Dooby or should I say poor "You" I am hoping Ollie stays a little boy forever yeah I know wishful thinking...lol

 

[Plukie]

Oh dear, you are making it sound very ominous.......what should I be looking for now, apart for a safety suit and thick gloves?

 

[Laura]

I found this site for you to read its actually very good for all of us that are coming into hormonal males

http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-beh...d-small-bird-behavior/hormonal-cockatiel.aspx

 

[Aly]

hehe- goodluck- I'm next after Laura.

 

[Plukie]

Thanks Laura, that was really interesting. I'll move his cage around tomorrow. He's been covered up earlier tonight......so hopefully by following those instructions, Dooby will be back on track a bit more. He's been particularly bad today, I know the toy that he's obsessing over now, so I'm going to remove that tomorrow as well. Sheeeesh, and the first person to suggest I get a female is going to be shouted at!!!

 

[xxxSpikexxx]

Looks like were all in this together. Spike and Dooby. We just have to wait for the other boys to catch up

 

[Bea]

I just want to say that i feel your pain, i don't have a frisky male tiel, but my budgie Blinkie is forever humping his toys. If i take out one toy he humps another, if i cover him earlier he humps anyway. If i take out all his toys then he humps the cage bars. I've given him up as a hopeless case. I'm sure Dooby will be a lot more sensible than Stinky Blinks though.

 

[Aly]

Sheeeesh, and the first person to suggest I get a female is going to be shouted at!!!

Get the man a girlfriend! LOL

 

[Plukie]

*slap*


Ok, so it says in that article to reduce daylight hours. Now, I might appear a bit stupid here, but does that mean artificial light as well? What I mean is, it is dark here by 5.00p.m. now and gets light around 7.00a.m. Usually, I cover Dooby up at around 8.30p.m. and uncover him when he wakes up around 7.00 or 8.00 a.m. I don't actually completely cover the front of his cage, so he sees us and starts moving around and chatting. So, should I be covering up the front a bit more? I know Bea said to leave the front part open so that they get a bit of light to help prevent night frights, but I could still cover up two thirds of the front. I'll try anything to get my little boy back on track, bless him.

 

[Bea]

He's already getting a good amount of time covered, but maybe cover him 30 mins earlier and uncover 30 mins later too. This may be an odd question, but is he near a regular source of running water? The sound of running water can put them in the mood.

 

[Plukie]

Running water? That just makes me want to pee!!! LOL. No Bea, he's nowhere near a tap or anything like that. I've just uncovered him now and the first thing he's done is to hump the perch!! When he's out of the cage, I'll take out that toy that is obviously taking his fancy and move things around a bit.

 

[Aly]

The sound of running water can put them in the mood.

I learned something new. Mine are near the kitchen in what should be a diningroom (it's now a computer/bird area) so they hear the water all the time...Hmmm- that may explain some of my crazy budgies.

Plukie- I would send Dooby to sleep earlier or have him sleep in (whichever is better), also move around all his perches and remove his "girlfriend"...I cover mine all the way-only had a couple of night frights in the last few years so they are ok that way. It all depends-just make sure it's dark and he thinks it's time to go to bed.

 

[Plukie]

Thanks for the advice. Today I have removed his "favourite" toy and moved a couple of others out of his cage, I've completely turned his cage around the other way. I left him to sleep in later this morning. He is now "making friends" with a different toy in his cage. I'll let him sleep in later again in the morning and see what happens. He's still been bitey today but obviously it's early days yet. Thanks for all the help.

 

[Aly]

How old is Dooby by the way?

 

[Plukie]

He's just coming up to six months old...........he thinks he's all grown up!

 

[Aly]

He's just coming up to six months old...........he thinks he's all grown up!

Feisty little boy!

 

[Bea]

Just keep reminding him to keep it in his feathers (a phrase i've developed for Blinkie) and pray he'll get over it.

 

[Plukie]

Well, today he seems like the old Dooby again!! He's tried to bite me a couple of times, but most of the time he'll step up and come for a tickle! So, maybe the big change around etc worked yesterday. Also, when he goes to his latest "favourite" toy, I start to talk to him or whistle &^&%$ Jingle Bells and it distracts him! So, fingers crossed (the ones I've still got left) hopefully he'll get over it pretty soon. I had to laugh this morning though, I've moved all his toys around and took out the "favourite of favourites" so this morning, he got on his perch, edged along sideways to a new toy and said "Tickle tickle!" It was like a chat up line. lol, I'm still giggling thinking about it.

 

[Laura]

so this morning, he got on his perch, edged along sideways to a new toy and said "Tickle tickle!" It was like a chat up line. lol, I'm still giggling thinking about it.

LMAO..... what a cheeky boy Dooby is or should I say man