[suemartin]

Hello Everyone,
Aubrey is my new bird of about 3 mos. She came from the MSPCA and is 2.5 yrs old. Her 1st owner sent her there when she went to college and the next people kept only a short time "too loud". Her chest was plucked and she continues to do it. She also bites. She loves to be on your shoulder, but bites my neck pretty badly. I would to hear any ideas of what to do. I look forward to being part of this forum.
Sue

[Casey's Mom]

Welcome to the forum! Congrats on adopting Aubrey!

I'm assuming since she's been at the SPCA that she's been vet checked and the plucking is behavioural, not medical?

Shoulders are a privilege, so it sounds like Aubrey shouldn't be allowed up there until you can trust her more. Does she just bite you around the cage? Is she okay away from her cage? What's her diet like?

Others should be around with some more ideas!

Welcome!!!

[brandylaw]

Hi! And welcome!
Kudos to you for taking in a rescue!
So admirable!
Have you ever owned a birdie fid (feathered, furred or finned kid) before?
Most will tell you that it may not be a good idea to have a bird on your shoulder when they have a tendency to bite. You can work thru this.
I, however, am not one of those, as my fids are always on my shoulder.
Sigh....do as I say, not as I do.
I am soooo not a good example.
I believe a vet check is in order, to rule out if the plucking is a behavioral issue, or if the little tyke has some sort of medical issue.
Others will be a wealth of info, and keep us updated please!

[CharlieandDee]

Welcome to the forum

[suemartin]

Thanks for replying. She will let me put my hand in her cage as long as it's not near her. She bites no matter where she is. Sometimes it is definitely a defensive gesture but when she is on my shoulder she'll be fine and then reach over and bite my neck or arm- hard! her diet is all seed and some other foods(apples, nuts), but is resisting pellets. Sue

[Carrie~Anne]

Welcome

[Cantab]

Welcome to the forum

[Andie Wan Kenobi]

WELCOME!!! I am one of those that allows my QP on my shoulder...but he's too sweet not to! Bless your heart for adopting a QP, especially a special needs fid. There are TONS of threads about nipping and other behaviors, dig into those a bit, but I would encourage you to post in the behaviors section and give some more detail as to the instances she bites and so on. Again, WELCOME!!!

[Andie's Mom]

Hi and welcome to the forum...

I am a firm believer that the bird doesn't get to go on the shoulder until it earns it and then only if it will step up for you every single time you ask it to from where ever it is. Easier said than done...

If you've only had this bird a month she's/he is still getting used to you and will push his/her weight around if you allow it.

If you haven't read the book, A guide to Quaker Parrots by Mattie Sue Athon I would strongly recommend buying it. In it she covers Quakers and their behaviors and needs pretty much from A to Z Its well worth the price and you'll find yourself going back to it as reference many many times I'm sure.

As was mentioned, there is a conversion diet in the Diet and Health section that will help you to convert this little green bundle of feathers to pellets. It'll take some work, but it will happen if you are persistent.

No one has asked yet if Audrey's wings have been trimmed or not. I would recommend having them trimmed if they aren't already just until you get her tamed down to your liking, then if you choose to allow her full flight that's up to you.
You'll hear all the pro's and con's to that topic too I'm sure before long. So I won't get into that here.

But welcome once again to the forum...its a great place to learn about our wonderful quakers and a great place to make new friends. Lots of very nice people here who are more than willing to help when and where ever they can.

[equineRtist]

Welcome to the forum. What a blessing for the bird to be adopted by someone who cares. I let my Bo on my shoulder, but not Kiwi. She'd eat my neck for breakfast! She loves me as long as she is down on my arm or snuggled against my chest, but the shoulder is a no no!
Can't wait to hear more and see pictures.

[Janet & Dean]

Welcome to the forum. JUST BE VERY PATIENT MY BLUE WAS A RESURE FROM PA WERE IT WAS GOING TO BE KILLED AND HE IS VERY BITTY.WERE HE WAS THEY THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNYTHAT HE BITES, SO HE BITS AND LAUGH AT YOU. WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH HIM AND HE NOW IS LEARNING THAT IF HE IS GOOD AND DONT BITE HE WILL GET OUT MORE. HE WILL GO AS FAR AS SITTING IN HIS CAGE AND SAY IM SORRY. OUT PLEASE. SO A LITTLE TIME PATIENS AND BAND AIDS AND YOU WILL HAVE YOUR BIRD SITTING ON YOU WITH OUT BITING.
JANET

[Friedsoup]

welcome and thanks for the rescue 1st thing first get a "T" Perch then some wooden spoons place bird on Perch and put the paddles of the spoons into your hand the handles will look like a finger now approch from both directions at the same time he will bite at the sticks but only one at a time stroke him with the other and touch his head, toes,under his wings and give scratches with them do this for two minutes a day for as long as it takes for him to stop bitting at the sticks and then cheat the sticks back into your hand and replace with your fingers the bitting should be a thing of the past also used the spoons for stepups and stepback
The DVD Bird Tricks and Tips is a good value lots of imformation.

[Chelipepper]

hello and welcome to the forum =)

[tjgolen]

Hey Sue and welcome to a great forum! I joined less than a week ago and already I am addicted lol. Anyways, I too adopted a preowned bird and experienced similar problems - initially. Paco would enjoy being on my shoulder so long as my movements were slow, predictable and non-threatening. Sometimes he would get aggressive with his grooming of my hair and would sometimes make a hissing noise and start biting. At first I was resentful but after a while, I developed a system that has really worked out well for me. As many members have already mentioned, letting your qp reside on your shoulder IS a privallege and I taught PAco that if he were to bite or threaten with hissing, I would tell him sternly "No biting,Paco" and put him back in the cage. I have learned that he really desires attention and taking away certain privallages and ignoring him for a while is a valuable training method. It sounds kinda harsh but its what I think of as tough love. Hope this helps!

[arwenelle]

Tjgolen's method does work for some people, but be aware that this may teach the bird to bite when they want to go back to their cage. Luckily, this isn't always a problem. With Barlow, I say No bite and may "earthquake" her a little bit (move my hand up and down so she gets off balance). This way she has to focus on keeping her balance and can't bite me.