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Screaming at foot...

6K views 31 replies 8 participants last post by  xxxSpikexxx 
#1 ·
Hi guys! Haven't been on in a while, and I wasn't sure where exactly to put this.... but I've got a question about Reno, my 25 year old

He likes to put his mouth on his foot... then he'll pick up his foot (with it still in his mouth) and he'll scream "eh eh eh eh eh" and smack his foot on the perch.

:wacko:

Any ideas? The noise is udderly annoying, and it drives me nuts. The behavior is hit and miss. This morning he was doing it. I told him to stop it, then I went and fixed my hair, and came back and he was tellin me how pretty he was.

I'll try emailing his previous owner (she had him for 14 years) but I'm not sure if I still have her email address...

Do any of you have birds who grab their foot, scream at it and smack it onto their perches???
 
#3 ·
I have never heard of that either, thats a new one for me, I know some talk to there foot but not screaming and banging it, hopefully its a game that will pass, I would ignore the behaviour any attention you bring to the behaviour whether positive or negative will just fuel it, you could try distracting him when he starts making this noise get him to step up or offer him a toy to take his attention away from what he was doing.
 
#5 ·
I hope this is NOT a game.... he's done it since I've had him.... I would assume before so too, but I'm not positive.

I did read about Ziggy talking to his foot... there was a video, right? :)

Reno doesn't really want toys. He swings on the swing... and sometimes will touch a toy with his mouth, but really, he just likes to sit.... and eat. And do nothing else. He's old. :(

The bummer is that Reno has taught Boomer things. Not only is Boomer now saying "Reno, such a pretty Reno" But now he's screaming that "eh eh eh eh" scream.

I usually whistle something nice, or meow, and then they'll either be quiet or they'll whistle the nice one, or Boomer will usually start meowing.

I can handle talking, nice whistles, and excessive meowing, but when they scream like you're killing them, that's a NO NO in our place. We're in an apartment complex, and of course we face the parking lot, which echos because it's in the middle of like 5 buildings. It's ok if I keep all the windows shut.
 
#7 ·
Hey...
My Ziggy does seem to have a serious foot fetish...along the same lines as you described. He often picks up his foot and talks to it, sometimes doing that loud cak sound as if he's yelling at it for something. He also likes to stick his foot in his mouth and just sit there...he does it pretty regularly. I did post a small video of him but that was just one part of it..he does more now. He doesn't bang it against anything, actually what mine is doing is quite harmless...just being silly.
 
#8 ·
Well, he's in the cage with my other three, and they've got:
2 swings
2 "arches" that have popcicle sticks
2 pear branches that they pull the bark off of
one store bought toy that came with Reno & Cousteau. (only Cousteau uses it, and it's to rub his head, since he won't let me touch it! LOL)
There is also a store toy with wooden stars and a bell.
2 toys I made with wood blocks, and "crispy chews"
1 mirror with bell
1 toy made with cardboard (cut tp rounds on a string)
1 rafia toy held together by bead

Reno doesn't play with them. Sometimes he'll mouth the rafia toy, but then he stops. I think he likes the swings, but it's getting hard for him to get on and off of them. I've got one really close to the wall of the cage. So, yes, unfortunately it's a situation of him NOT playing with them, as opposed to me not providing them. There's lots of toys for them, he just doesn't want them.

Reno is the lightest of the 4 now (and I did hang some mineral blocks in the cage, as you guys recommended in another thread of mine) Poor old guy.... I was talking to our local bird shop (which apparently is like "THE" place to go for bird needs around her... and I said "25" and they all were excited because that's really old! I know average is 15-22 or something. And for sure he IS 25.
 
#9 ·
I bought my cats toy mice for christmas this year :wacko: Not sure why they don't play anymore either. I hope Spike lives to be 25 years old, no wait at least 100 :love: I guess your doing all you can do, I would just make sure he does not hurt his foot. Iam not sure how he would do that though. The only thing Spike does with his one foot is lift it when I say Hi Spike but he does not do it often. I guess you will just have to except his foot fetish. My cat Sugar has a shoe fetish :wacko: Pets can be so strange sometimes, you got to love it :)
 
#10 · (Edited)
I GOT IT! I'm uploading the short video clip to youtube right now. Reno screaming with his foot in his mouth.... (might take a while to upload though...)





EDIT- here it is... very short, but you see, he has is leg in his mouth, and he bashes it down and screams that annoying noise! (and yes, that echo... Boomer now makes the noise too... :()
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKihZPJXvTw
 
#15 ·
Well... I guess I could start looking around for a vet. Maybe I'll get in touch with the gal who had him before- she's a vet tech I believe, or assistant. I think she said they saw birds.

This isn't an "all the time" thing. When everybody gets excited and talkative, then he starts smashing his foot around. The actual noise, he'll make sometimes, but with no foot action. Today he was doing it because the slider door was open, and it was lovely out, Boomer was talking, and Birdie was making noise, then Reno picked up his foot and started smacking it around.

I think it's a behavior thing, just because he does it when they're all taking and making noise but i'll look into an avian vet in the area.
 
#16 ·
I'm no expert by far but I would say it's a nervous thing. I would say that he is doing it when he gets anxious about the noises around him, then when you whistle or talk to him to get him to stop, that in a way is reassuring him that it's ok, he has your attention, so he stops. How long have you had him? Could he still be trying to get used to a new situation after having so long in his old home?
 
#20 ·
If it wasn't such a horrid noise, then I'd ignore it, and I've tried to, but our apartment faces the parking lot, which is a huge circle of like 4 or 5 other buildings, so it carries REALLY well.

They all get along, as long as nobody touches Reno, and the other three know to let him be. He came to me a few months ago, with Cousteau, and even the gal Jasmine (who's not emailed me back yet) said he doesn't really like Cousteau, but he tolerates him. Now that ll 4 live together, he tolerates the other two as well, though I think Reno would rather be an only bird. This isn't exactly an option for me, and seeing that he's 25 (26 some time this year) I don't really want to rehome him. Not just because he's super old, (and starting to display his age in his actions/balance) but also because this is only his third home ever, and I don't agree with rehoming animals constantly. Especially since most of the people around here seem to know nothing. (you should see the lost adds for pet birds down here... omg)
 
#21 ·
So if rehoming isn't an option and putting him in a room on his own isn't an option, what can you do? He obviously wants to be on his own, he's an old man now and I think that by biting and banging his foot like that, he could do himself some harm. If needs a quiet space just for himself now to finish off his tiel days just quietly and being pampered.
 
#22 ·
I can start screening new homes, I'd have to do it very carefully though. I've got a small cage that i could maybe put on top of their current cage for him, I guess it's not like he can fly anymore.

If I do that, do you guys have a timeline on anything? Like should I be able to see a difference quickly? Or is it nearly impossible to predict?
 
#25 ·
I don't think you should rehome him either. I think he's done his fair share of moving around in his life. What he needs is stability, not more change. If the cage is small then don't put him in there. It doesn't matter that he can't fly anymore, just because he's old doesn't mean he should be in a little cage waiting to die. Acctually it should be the opposite. He should be the most spoiled one.
 
#26 ·
Well, I think the cage is small. It's the one I got Boomer and his sister in originally. The store sells it as a "cockatiel/parakeet" cage.

13'deep, 17in wide, and 27high Looks like this one:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/ind...s=A-StorePrice-PET&parentPage=search&keepsr=1

He has two sticks and a swing. One water dish, one food dish. He has 3 hanging toys. I'll exchange the large perch for the rope one I've got later today, and I'll hand in his grape mineral block and a cuddle bone.

It's a lot quieter already.

And of course Aly, I wouldn't want to put him in a small cage and wait for him to die. This why I didn't want to put him in this cage anyway... because "I" think it's small.
 
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