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Post by lesleyk on Apr 22, 2012 0:15:38 GMT 10
Hello, thank you for allowing me to join your forum. My husband bought me a female alexandrine, age not clear. We have had her for two months. I love her but she definately does not love me. She accepts my hand but won't allow me to touch her in any way. I have the bites to prove it. She adores my husband. I wouldnt mind but I clean her cage, make her vegetable delights, shop for toys, replace her water every day, clean her cage and spray her with misty water, put her to sleep and say good morning to her every day. I talk to her and sing to her and she does listen and plays with my hair but the minute i try to stroke her, she goes for me big time. Is there hope for me or will this continue for the next twenty years  Just one more small question - she scrapes her beak a lot on the cage. I am afraid that she is damaging herself. You can see where she has removed the red outer skin of the underbeak and also the sides of her top beak. Should I worry? She has a big calcium bock in her cage which she doesnt use. I havent taken her to a bird vet yet but I have checked and there are two in an adjoining town. Apart from that she looks very healthy. Thank you in advance to anyone willing to give me advice. Much appreciate. Lesley Attachments:
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Post by gumby on Apr 22, 2012 9:28:52 GMT 10
Hi Lesleyk, My name is Scott, i am a breeder of Alexandrine parrots. In my personal experience with these lovely parrots, they tend to bond to one person, they seem to select the person for no apparent reason. At least she tolerates you, which you would know about if she didn't like you the Alex has a mighty bite, if she wanted to really hurt you she could quite easily, i have had my breeding Male sink his beak right through my finger and out the other side. My advice would be to learn the birds warning signs(they do give them) early signs include contraction of the eye pupil, it means back off ! She may eventually let you touch her, but don't try to rush it. The beak scraping on the cage i suspect is just beak cleaning, all my parrots do it, sometimes on the wire sometimes on the perch or if it's convenient for them my clean shirt,lol. You could get her one of those calcium perches, great for keeping tame birds nails trim if you place it where the bird has to use it to feed, then she may clean her beak on that as well. Finally you cannot tell a birds health just by sight, have a look at her bum and see there is no droppings sticking around,it's not a pleasant task but take good note of her healthy droppings on the bottom of the cage, look at her feet that the skin is in good condition and colour, look at her eyes they should be bright, look at her feathering, it should always be neat,tidy and bright. Then take good note of the birds condition because a change in any of these conditions could be the first signs of your bird being sick. It sounds like you have a perfecly healthy Alexandrine and i wouldn't worry about the layer of red scraped from her beak, at least you won't have to trim her beak  I hope this helps. Cheers, Scott |
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Post by avinet on Apr 22, 2012 12:42:34 GMT 10
Hello, thank you for allowing me to join your forum. My husband bought me a female alexandrine, age not clear. We have had her for two months. I love her but she definately does not love me. She accepts my hand but won't allow me to touch her in any way. I have the bites to prove it. She adores my husband. Hi Lesley and welcome to our Forum The first thing I have to say is that if you were looking for a cuddly, scratchy parrot then Alexandrines are not a good choice - they are great birds but not in general touchy birds. We live with 12 Alex's in our house, all bar one were hand raised by us and they range from around 20 years old down to 4 years old, and of both sexes. Only one of them will allow me to scratch and cuddle, the 20 year old male. A female around 12 years old will often but not always allow a cuddle. The remainder will not allow any touching, but love to be shoulder birds, to be talked to and be around us. Alex's are just not touchy types of birds. Also, while there are exceptions, they are more likely to bond with a human of the opposite sex - as with your female bonding with your husband. If she will happily step on your hand, sit on your shoulder, and enjoy you talking to her then that is likely as good as it will get with her  . They are a bird that you have to accept under their terms I'm afraid. And you are quite likely to have her for much longer than 20 years. A reasonable lifespan to accept is 30 to 40 years, and 50 or more years isn't unheard of. The beak is nothing to worry about and, as Scott has said, a calcium perch in front of her food dish is a good idea. A parrot's beak has a layer structure, much like an onion - and the outer layers peels off occasionally towards the tip and edges. A beak is continuously growing from the base and this peeling is why a normal beak doesn't get overgrown. If you want an Alex that loves you and not your husband, then you might have to find a nice male - but regard an acceptance of scratches as a big bonus  cheers, Mike |
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Post by lesleyk on Apr 22, 2012 15:12:33 GMT 10
Dear Scott and Mike, Thank you so much for answering. I appreciate your generous input. I'm glad that I don't have to worry about her beak. I have been doing some serious reading up about alexandrines and have seen her eye pinning me before she lets me have it and now I have fewer bites as a result I do watch her very closely and check her poops. Her bumb looks perfectly clean but maybe I should ask my husband to hold her and take a closer look. I am learning her body language slowly. Her feathers are lovely, eyes clear and feet look OK. She really is beautiful. PS. I hope she doesnt outlive me because no-one will take care of her the way I do! She probably will. |
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Post by lesleyk on Apr 26, 2012 17:38:12 GMT 10
Hello again, Our girl is just fine but I have an interesting observation. We noticed that she likes to cuddle under blankets on our bed. So this morning I put a towel (puffed up) on the bottom of her cage and she is loving it. Pulling at it, burrowing underneath it. Should I leave the towel and obviously replace it every two days with a clean one. Should we continue with the towel or maybe its not a good idea. Is this a nesting instinct. I am so happy she likes something because she ignores her toys. I noticed from her bird droppings in one place that she is not active when we go out to work. I would love to receive your opinions. Thanks experts  |
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Post by Robyn on Apr 26, 2012 19:40:53 GMT 10
Hi there Lesley, what a beautiful girl you have there. However i would discourage the cute nesty behaviour. It really isn't a good idea. As we are heading into breeding season for the Alexandrines. Offer her some natural branches to chew on. A link you might be interested to read. pamelaclarkonline.com/uploads/Hormonal_Behavior.pdf |
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Post by lesleyk on Apr 26, 2012 23:34:17 GMT 10
Hi Robyn - Ooops. Towel has been removed. Thank you!  |
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Post by lesleyk on Apr 27, 2012 0:06:03 GMT 10
Hello again Robyn, I have just read your link. I can't believe how many things we have been doing wrong. I have told my husband not to touch her anymore, just talk to her. I have been slowly dropping seeds in favour of pellets but now will continue with renewed vigour. I realise how totally inadequate I am as a new parrot mommy. Just worried that because she tolerates me and I am her care giver, if my interaction with her is enough for her to feel satisfied as part of our family. We dont have a sleep cage, I will check prices but from now on will cover her much earlier in the evening. You know what they say about "best intentions". Thank you for your amazing forum and support. Lesley  |
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Just one more small question - she scrapes her beak a lot on the cage. I am afraid that she is damaging herself. You can see where she has removed the red outer skin of the underbeak and also the sides of her top beak. Should I worry? She has a big calcium bock in her cage which she doesnt use. I havent taken her to a bird vet yet but I have checked and there are two in an adjoining town. Apart from that she looks very healthy.
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