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Re: Our cockatiel Hannibal

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 2:51 pm
by hadla
fugu99 wrote:Thanks, I heard about sun conures and their tendency to be aggressive and loud. We are actually looking at Caiques now, just because theyre so darn irresistible. We wont be really looking into getting one until next year though, or when we move out of this one bedroom apartment. We need more space. Caiques are aggressive but not loud in particular, and even if they arent the best friend for Hannibal we'd like to get one. With more room we can keep birds in seperate cages, or rooms if need be. I really do think we need to bite the bullet and buy another cockatiel to keep Hannibal happy. I think thats the only way, really. I hear green-cheeked conures are sweet though, they show off in the store.

Hannibal has been going through spring molt... gah its been terrible. I think hes beginning to feel better. For the last two days hes had a fever (you can tell, his feet were really hot) and hes been acting miserable. He makes needy little chirps that sound like hes in pain, all those new pinfeathers pushing through. Hes also exhibited the need to be left alone... the 'dont touch me' attitude... and he almost bit Tony when Tony went up to his cage the other day. Solution.. get a towel, transfer him to the closet so he can take a nap and reset his mood. Poor guy. Right now hes devouring the back of the computer chair, though.
lucky! I love caiques!
wow, ive never seen a tiel act like that.

Re: Our cockatiel Hannibal

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 12:29 pm
by fugu99
hadla wrote:lucky! I love caiques!
wow, ive never seen a tiel act like that.
Yeah caiques are so cool, we found a breeder nearby that looks great and later in may we are going to go have a look... Ive never seen a bird before that loved to spend so much time on its back! Caiques are crazy, like puppies or something.

Hannibals behavior doesnt follow the norm per se of all cockatiels, we actually shrug about his behavior and say, "hes unique", and he really is. Tonys had lots of other cockatiels before and Hannibal is the biggest baby, the most needy, has the most personality, of all the other ones he ever had put together. So what hes going through in molt and also hormones, because its mating season, is because hes a single male bird and for the most part he probably believes hes human because hes part of our 'flock' and he doesnt understand his hormones or how to keep himself in check. We have to help him learn to keep himself happy and make himself feel better, whether its taking a nap or giving him a distracting treat or giving him a bath. He was like this the first year when he reached maturity. Some birds continue to have a problem with it (lol he just asked me 'whatyadoin, prettyboy' from behind my back... okay now hes going through all his vocabulary) and some birds dont have a problem with it. You may not even notice it with some birds, and if you have birds in a group you may not notice either, I think they probably help teach each other how to deal with things. Its also probably good to find an activity that wears out a bird with this kind of problem, because they dont have any energy left to have a bad reaction, like attacking you. They take a nap, and its like a reset button. I feel pretty bad for him though. Its day 4, I think hes probably doing a lot better today. Sounds happier.

Re: Our cockatiel Hannibal

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 3:20 pm
by hadla
I'm hoping to get a caique in the future, just don't know when... Can't wait to see pics when/if you do get one! Just be prepared to give Hannibal as much attention as you currently do :P I'm afraid to get another bird right now because I don't want Dory to feel like she has to compete for my attention!

I guess I'm just not used to males, I've really only had females the longest. I'm glad I have, too, because I know how loud males can be! and it's interesting when they lay eggs! I just hate throwing them out once they're tired of them XD Pidgey seems to think Ken is part of his flock so whenever he doesn't see Ken but hears his voice, he screams for him. We actually have a vet appointment for him today, Ken is worried that his feet hurt him somehow and that his feathers aren't growing like they should.

I love hearing 'tiels talk! If you can get a video of him talking, that would be so cool! Ken and I think Angelous might be able to learn to talk later on because he has copied Dory's usual call.

I hope Hannibal feels better soon! Too bad there isn't something to give them to calm down hormones!

Re: Our cockatiel Hannibal

Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 11:24 pm
by fugu99
Thanks Hadla, I passed on your good thoughts to Hannibal. After four days hes feeling much better, back to his sweet self! He went in the shower today with me too, he loves showers. He rounds his (shoulders, i guess you should say wings) and closes his eyes and gets himself all under the water and just enjoys the feel of it and the warmth. I think he enjoys fluffing himself up afterward too. I really really need to get more pictures of him on here... and I wish I had a video camera, I would love to get a video of him singing/talking/goofing off. He is a really big goof, and hes constantly either singing or talking, when he isnt napping or eating. Infact, he sings with his mouth full... hes a real clown. I dont think getting a Caique will result in us neglecting Hannibal at all. Hes our son! lol. But really, he demands so much of our time that we couldnt possibly ignore him, he eats dinner with us, he sings when we play videogames (he loves RockBand and Call of Duty) and he sings to our feet, he gets jealous when we cuddle, and when he feels like it he wants snuggles from Daddy so I dont think we will have a problem. We manage to find enough time to spend with all the fish and Hannibal, and Hannibal enjoys the hobby too.

Re: Our cockatiel Hannibal

Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 2:16 am
by hadla
lol a bird who loves rock band and feet

Re: Our cockatiel Hannibal

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 4:21 pm
by fugu99
Heres some new pics of Hannibal! Chillin on his cage.

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Re: Our cockatiel Hannibal

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 2:46 pm
by hadla
hes so cute! i love his yellow head XD

Re: Our cockatiel Hannibal

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:55 pm
by fugu99
I need to get a picture of him after eating. Tonight we had mexican hamburger helper and he had a bit. His beak was so messy. It looked like he had a beard made of meat and cheese. Plus he stepped in it so his feet were meaty. Ugh. Birdy bathtime lol.

Re: Our cockatiel Hannibal

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:55 pm
by fugu99
I need to get a picture of him after eating. Tonight we had mexican hamburger helper and he had a bit. His beak was so messy. It looked like he had a beard made of meat and cheese. Plus he stepped in it so his feet were meaty. Ugh. Birdy bathtime lol.

Re: Our cockatiel Hannibal

Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 12:47 am
by hadla
lol! i need to start cooking stuff just for dory...

Re: Our cockatiel Hannibal

Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 10:31 am
by rocky23
nice bird mate, we also keep them i've got 5 in total and the oldest one if 24 years old, he's also a right character. a grumpy old sod is what he's nicknamed, he can do the tune of the tellyphone and can so the simpsons theme tune. he also goes into attack mode when you try and take his food away

Re: Our cockatiel Hannibal

Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 10:39 am
by xrayjeeper83
I had one before, that thing was EVIL....it hated me. Would bite me if I reached into its cage. Gave it to a friend of my exwife and that thing loved them. Played in the tub with them and would kiss them and everything. Guess im not a bird person

Re: Our cockatiel Hannibal

Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 3:00 pm
by hadla
xrayjeeper83 wrote:I had one before, that thing was EVIL....it hated me. Would bite me if I reached into its cage. Gave it to a friend of my exwife and that thing loved them. Played in the tub with them and would kiss them and everything. Guess im not a bird person
sometimes, they just dont like males or females. my fiances birds love him but dont really like me.

also, dory does the attack thing when i take out her bowls to clean them! its so funny cause she never bites.

Re: Our cockatiel Hannibal

Posted: Sat May 07, 2011 10:18 pm
by fugu99
xrayjeeper83 wrote:I had one before, that thing was EVIL....it hated me. Would bite me if I reached into its cage. Gave it to a friend of my exwife and that thing loved them. Played in the tub with them and would kiss them and everything. Guess im not a bird person
Thats too bad. To be honest Im not really either, all the birds Ive had try to bite me at times, but they get moody and are very self-sufficient, they dont always like to be cuddled. They like to choose when to love on you and they get in moods. Sometimes from hormones or molting, they can get really mean. They take a lot of patience. And yeah, sometimes they just dont like people, for whatever reason. Its strange. My husband is a bird guy though, he has a way with animals.

Re: Our cockatiel Hannibal

Posted: Sat May 07, 2011 11:42 pm
by fugu99
Some recent images of Hannibal enjoying dinner after we were done. We dont let him have a lot, but we cant stop him going for it. Well, thats not true. Hes insistent but he doesnt attack and wont get mad if you take it away. But as soon as we sit down to dinner he wants to join us, and we've found him jumping onto the table to eat before we even sit down. He has to wait till were done because he tends to make a mess, and also puts his feet in it, blech.

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He has that happy look in his eye in this one. He likes pasta and meat.

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Messy face. Sometimes he gets so bad he gets a food beard (especially if its corn, Ill have to take a picture of that) and he gets it all over his face and head and feet. Thats usually worst when he eats pizza...
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Oh and I almost forgot to mention, if we lock him in his cage and dont let him eat with us, he climbs onto the bars and hangs there with his beak between the bars and pouts, and sometimes he'll yell (squawk) at us and bang on the bars with his beak. Or he will sulk in the bottom of the cage where we cant see him. Usually when we dont let him out because its something he cant eat.