upatsix.com - Your Source For Pet Bird Information

My little Bailey, who laid at least 4 eggs every month from December 07 till September 08 has become very affectionate.
She'll land on my shoulder, nudge my cheek, to let me know she'd like some scritches, enjoy those scritches for about 10 minutes, then ... then she'll get close to my eyes and 'preen' my eyelashes and the eyelid crease just above the eyeball. The first few times she did this, she couldn't control her sharp beak and ... it would hurt a little. But now, she's as gentle as could be and i take her behaviour as a 'thank you' for giving her some attention.

She's flighted and is out of her cage for about 10 hours a day. And yesterday there was a Red-Tailed hawk resting on a tree about 100 feet from the house ( I live in an urban residential neighbourhood, so I was quite surprised to see this bird ) but Bailey panicked! I was astounded that she would instinctively know that this bird of prey was a threat!

And I'm curious, do you 'tiel owners get preened too?

Thanx
Pete

Others will most certainly weigh in, but i don't think it's healthty for her to lay eggs so continuously.

All my tiels will preen me except Fresh Baby who is the house "diva".

My birds preen me too.

If your girl is laying 4 eggs a month, I would have her checked out by a vet, she is depleting her calcium and protein sources and this can lead to becoming egg bound, which is a medical emergency.

To kick her out of the egg laying cycle, make sure she is getting 12-14 hours of dark every night. This will make her think it is winter and not a good time to lay. Also make sure that she has a grate in her cage and cannot reach the cage papers to make a nest. Limit access to small dark places that resemble a nestbox and limit skritches and petting her to head and neck area only. The back and wings are sexually stimulating places to pet any bird, male or female. Also, rearrange her cage every 1-2 weeks so she isn't as comfortable and doesn't feel like she has a safe nesting site.

When she does lay, make sure you leave the eggs until she gives up on them. She should sit 18-21 days and then give up on the clutch, then it is safe to remove the eggs.

My Boh-Boh likes to preen me also. He usually likes to sit on my shoulder and preen my hair. He also likes to sit on my head and snuggle down into my hair. If only they made birdie diapers...

Rosie likes to preen me too. She will sit on my head and preen me for a bit, then herself, then she will preen me and then herself on and on. She also loves my eyelashes when I have mascara on silly girl.

Thanx all!
And no need to worry about my little Chronic Egg Layer. I was concerned last November and December and January when, no sooner would she come off her eggs, after about 25 days of sitting, then she'd be looking for dark cupboards and want her tail scritched. I went to the vet, he weighed her, and she had gone from 113 grams to 121. He then stated that she certainly wasn't losing weight, her poops looked good, so ... if the egg laying isn't affecting her adversely, let her keep doing it. And I figger that, she'll lay an egg every 2 days and will lay for about 7 or 8 days, then, all she does is come out for food. And MAN, can she eat! Seeds, nuts, veggies, pellets, and after an hour or so of flying and feeding, in she goes for at least 12 hours, sometimes over night she'll sit on her eggs, in a kitchen cupboard I might add, for as much as 15 hours!!! She'll come out and have her enormous poops!

So, she hasn't laid an egg for a couple months now, but she's become nicely affectionate. And will not go anywhere in the house without me. And I was just wondering how common it is for a bird to be this affectionate! Apparently, this is very normal!!

What a little cutie.

Thanx again
Pete

" let her keep doing it."

But I would add, don't do anything to encourage egg laying. That means denying her access to nesty places--like the kitchen cupboard. And limiting scritches to head and neck area. Definately no scritches to the tail area. Or even her back. Just because she isn't losing weight doesn't mean she isn't developing a calcuim defiency. I have a friend whose bird began having siezures & it turned out the bird was calcium deficient. Just curious, was the vet who said to let her keep laying so many eggs an avian vet?

"she's become nicely affectionate. And will not go anywhere in the house without me. And I was just wondering how common it is for a bird to be this affectionate! "

You may be developing a "Velcro" bird I have two--lucky me. It can be challenging, however, because while both my Velcro birdies adore me, they aren't keen on each other. While neither of my birds is a 'tiel, I think the following description applies to 'tiel Velcro birds.

Velcro Birds

I have a little lovebird that goes in and out with me.
Her feet are made of Velcro—it's plain as plain can be.
My body is her play gym; my shirt's her napping place.
She's always doing something to put a smile upon my face.

I have no need for worry beads—I rub her feathered head,
And cuddle her against my cheek before we go to bed.
She likes to lie upon her back within my open palm.
Then my thumb can rub her beak; it makes us both feel calm

Now don't misunderstand me; she is no shrinking violet.
When I irritate her, her beak becomes quite violent!
Let's sing the praise of Velcro birds; everyone should have one.
Cuddly mood or feisty mood, they are a ton of fun!

Bubblelady 10/08

Oh, I forgot to mention. Gussie preens me, too. She preens my hair a lot. She would like to preen my nose hairs as well. I don't allow that--both because of the germs--yuk--and because it doesn't feel good

An addendum to the above poem. What it's like to have two Velcro birdies who don't like each other.

Sibling Rivalry

Gus is on my shoulder.
Buddy's in my shirt.
If Gussie steps on Buddy
Gussie's toes are going to hurt.

I try to give each half of me,
One left, the other right.
But they are liberal little birds;
For the Left they both will fight!

My shoulders seem the same to me
Except the left one bites.
Gus had better figure out
Buddy's territory rights!

Bubblelady 10/08