by chibi-tori on Tue Aug 12, 2008 6:52 am
I suspect George is angry with both of you for leaving him. Cockatiels do show their emotions very bluntly, and he probably is showing his separation anxiety by biting. One thing however, is it possible the folks you have left him with would harrass him? Perhaps he was making too much noise and trying to gain attention from his surrogate parents, or even the people would do something like cover his cage or do something else to get him to stop whatever they are annoyed at. Please, never shove a bird away from you as it could, depending on what type of surface he's on could damage his legs or toes by bending them. I would suggest spending a lot of time with him when he's not in a biting mood, and allow him to ride your shoulder or any other type of activity that would show him you are still part of his flock. I notice whenever I am away from the house and that has been quite frequently as of late, Gizmo, my little buddy, will let me know in no uncertain terms he's mad at me. He's never aggressive to the point of biting, but he will completely ignore me for some period of time and refuse to get on my hand or anywhere else. This type behavior is consistant too.. Every time I leave him for a full day, that evening, I get the cold shoulder till he warms back up or gets over his mad. Again, try to provide him with a time period where there is nothing distracting and he can understand you are not going away because you don't like him. Think of George as a small child.
HTH
Sam
Hi, my name is Sam, and I'm a 'tiel addict !
Smokey, Gizmo, Missy, Pixie, Patches, Suzie, Chirp, Lil 'bit, J.J., Bandit, Daisy, Cuddles, Cappy, & Shelly