Bored/Boring bird

stickyfeet · Snr Member Joined: Oct 04, 2008 Posts: 66

Ok, I've searched all the "entertainment" and "personality" forums, and I think I have the opposite problem, and I don't see anybody else here with the same problem.

I think the Kakariki is healthy, he eats and drinks, is not fluffed up, gets lots of sleep at night, stools look healthy and there's lots of them, etc...

However, this bird spends most of his day sulking on his perch, moves around a bit to get food, then returns to his perch with it to eat it... that's about it. Sometimes he bobs, clicks, and makes a squeaking sound at his mirror. This is what he's doing now, but he only does this when the radio is turned up loud or when I play my guitar and sing really loud. I cannot keep this up all day.

I am aware his cage is smaller than would be ideal, however, he doesn't use any of the space available to him anyway, and also his door is open as long as I'm home, and when he comes out he does the same thing, he flies to a spot in the apartment and just sits there looking down on everything like a little eagle. I believe he would be happy to sleep there too, he shows no inclination to return to his cage.

I have provided him with a piece of rope, toilet paper tube, ball with a bell in it, dangly rubber thing, etc. He doesn't play with any of them, except once or twice I've seen him lick the rubber thing (but that's because he flings his berries around and then finds spots later where the juice has stuck).

OK, so steptoe, I know you're going to see this, so how about some ideas on how I can make life a little more fun for this bird. He doesn't like any of his toys. He readily learned to hop onto my finger in order to receive a treat, and will do this now inside and sometimes even outside his cage. However, this is not a fun game for him and I think I've reached a dead end. He is not willing to stay on my hand for longer than it takes to take the treat. I actually don't care if he sits on me or not, but I would like to see him play or run around a bit more. Should I continue trying to get him to sit on my hand inside his cage? Or should I just turn up the radio real loud and leave him alone? That is no fun for me, of course.

He is not territorial about his cage, will not bite, is not particularly frightened of us, and doesn't seem to like his toys or anything else except his food. Last time he was out he stood on the floor under a table, picking at the carpet.

Actually right now he's running around in his cage and sqwawking because the radio is turned up loud. He seems to like certain songs. Is this the time to go and try to interact with him, or should I wait till he calms down and go interact with him when he seems bored? I think the problem is that he's bored and he doesn't like me. This frustrates me because I'm eminently likeable.

The music he likes is terrible, by the way. I don't know if I can listen to this all day just because the bird likes it. There must be some way to combine his love of bad music and food to make him like me more. Think

Steptoe · Site Admin Joined: Oct 06, 2004 Posts: 4550

How long have u had him, how old is he?
I ask this because occassional we get the old bird that is just lethargic
We used to keep these in the early days but found they where lucky to reach 12 months before dieing.

A reputable breeder culls anything that looks defective or latagic...There are some who are just in it for the money, and will sell anything off the the pet shops, who generaly dont know any different.

I have a gut feeling unfortunatly Im gessing right right here.

Thankyou for you seaching forums 1st...
Yes as admin I can see the server logs signlol

Instead of bored boredom personality try lethargic

stickyfeet · Snr Member Joined: Oct 04, 2008 Posts: 66

Yes, it does sound like he might be old. I hope not. The store where we bought him had purchased two birds from a breeder, and we were thinking of trying to contact the owners of the other bird to see what their experience was like. We bought him about 6 weeks ago and were told he was a few months old. Of course this might only mean he was purchased from the breeder a few months ago.

We thought maybe his lethargic behaviour was a result of a traumatic experience at the pet store. He was gradually becoming a little peppier until he became ill last weekend, now he is better but his behaviour is quieter. We were thinking that he's terrified of humans and is trying to be as quiet as possible.

But the old age theory makes sense, unfortunately. He has a metal ring on his right foot, do you think any info on that tag might tell us how old he is?

Is there any way of determining his age by looking at him?

Steptoe · Site Admin Joined: Oct 06, 2004 Posts: 4550

My mistake above "old bird" should have been "odd bird" wall

which rather changes the post

I would contact the pet shop, let them know there is something wrong with him.
Has he plenty of 'meat' on his chest, doesnt feel real boney
And does he look bright, alert in the eye?
1 or both of these are a very good indicator.

Pet shops are rather secretive as who they get their birds off
The tag, could be traced if belongs to a local bird club or something, but generally rings are used to id different blood line , season hatched etc.

Old kakariki so slow down a bit, but to about the level of a budge unless they have nearly reached their "used by date" (as I tell the father in law )

stickyfeet · Snr Member Joined: Oct 04, 2008 Posts: 66

Oh... well, actually, he does have bright eyes and seems alert, and he's fairly plump. I mean, he looks like a healthy bird. I only know about budgies.

Today he seemed pretty bright, I played with him a bit more than usual, and he bounced around and made a clucking sound, splashed in his bath, and flapped his wings. even poked his head out the cage door but when he saw we were looking he quickly retreated. I really do think he doesn't trust people. He frequently stops screwing around in his cage and becomes still when he sees us looking at him.

Seeing as he was so recently ill, I think I will wait a while before pronouncing him defective. The last two nights I have put him in a dark room to sleep before 8 o'clock at night, and this has resulted in more activity in the morning.

I kind of like him, to be honest, so I think I'll try to feed him properly, continue to interact with him as much as possible, make sure he gets lots of sleep, and see what happens. Our house just has to be more fun for him than the pet store.

Here's a picture of him here, it's the only good one we have so far.

Steptoe · Site Admin Joined: Oct 06, 2004 Posts: 4550

Splashing around is real good sign

Seems he is very alert to your eyes and maybe your teeth
Try to adviod direct eye contact and showing teeth
Is his cage bright colours or does he tend to blend in?

If u give him a background that blends with him
I have noticed kakariki that are in bright flights with backgrounds the cant blend with are not as confidant as those that can use their natural green camofage...Remener these are parrots that live in very shaded, green sub tropical jungle.

stickyfeet · Snr Member Joined: Oct 04, 2008 Posts: 66

We have noticed that he becomes more active at night, when the light is dim. He is not in direct sunlight but his cage is in a well-lit area. We bought a "natural spectrum" light for him and we took it off one day after we bought it because he spent the whole time it was on sitting like a statue. Once we turned it off he became more active. He appears to prefer dim lighting. I am going to look around for some kind of "plant" backdrop to put on the wall behind his cage, so he can feel like he's hiding. I'm keeping my eye out for a good shoe-box too.

He has been growing more active each day. We have increased the amount of time he spends in his dark "sleeping room" to about twelve hours. Now he has a bath every day. Like I said before he is quite willing to climb onto my hand in anticipation of a piece of food, but today I was sitting by his cage and he opened his beak at me, like he was threatening to bite. This makes me happy because I want him to have some spirit.

His will to live seems to be on the upswing. I am convinced that for whatever reason the pet store environment was harmful to him and he's been taking a while to snap out of it.

Thanks for taking the time to discuss some of his behaviour with me. I can see there is a lot of learning to do with a new species. I am only used to Budgies and of course they come from a totally different environment.

Steptoe · Site Admin Joined: Oct 06, 2004 Posts: 4550

stickyfeet · Snr Member Joined: Oct 04, 2008 Posts: 66

Good news. Today he voluntarily came out of his cage, and then went back in an hour later. He went to the bookshelf and made a hiding place for himself under a standing picture frame and lurked in there making clicks and squeaky sounds. Then he went back to his cage for lunch.

stickyfeet · Snr Member Joined: Oct 04, 2008 Posts: 66

Just an update here for anyone who's been reading this. Probably as a result of better diet, and more sleep, and just getting used to us, the kakariki has really come to life over the last few days. He comes and goes in and out of his cage, flies around, chatters nonstop at the top of his lungs, scampers around on the floor and on all the shelves, getting into and tipping over everything, throws his food all over the place, and makes a game of seeing how close to our heads he can fly without smacking into them.

So he's not bored or boring after all.

Steptoe · Site Admin Joined: Oct 06, 2004 Posts: 4550

Good stuff