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Post by Shirls on Nov 15, 2019 10:55:06 GMT
Like Jane, I have a problem with Pip. She is an older lady now and she has got more stroppy with age and she must have been pretty old when I got her two or three years ago now. She has slimmed down a lot since being on the Milk Thistle which has made her a lot more active and a lot more bossy.
Of a night time it takes a good half hour to get them all to settle down to go to sleep as she has a routine: she starts off on one swing, then scritches to everyone who wants it until she gets fed up and then she moves to another swing, then it starts all over again. The second swing is NOT the one she roosts on, aftyer scritching for another fifteen minutes she then moves on to her 'roosting' swing. But absolute bedlam ensues all the while this routine goes on, no-one else (all males) knows where to go for the best. Jerry is ALWAYS trying to sit with her on her roosting swing, but she only allows him sometimes! So she scritches all the time at him until one of them gives up.
It drives me insane!!
Do you think harmony would reign if Pip was put into another cage every night time?
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Post by sweetpea on Nov 15, 2019 11:06:45 GMT
I don't know the answer but it does sound like pretty normal behaviour! Would she miss the argy-bargy on her own, or would she relish the freedom to sit where she likes without challenge?
On a smaller scale, Lennie will badger Perry for the small top perch until Perry gives way, then about 30 seconds later Lennie is off somewhere else!
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Oct 6, 2011 7:41:27 GMT
Marianne Marlow
Administrator
George, Daisy, Iris, Billy, Peter, Chipper, Dinku, Barney, Ayla and Rocky
Posts: 28,762
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Post by Marianne Marlow on Nov 15, 2019 11:21:18 GMT
I'm not sure of the solution. Currently I have all four in one cage for night time, this is something they insisted on. Blithe and Lemon would loiter outside Lucy and Georges cage and eventually refused to go in their own at night. I tried Lemon in with Blithe but he didn't like it, they all wanted to be together.
They all squiggle at eachother until they settle down, can take 15 minutes, but I just cover them and let them get on with it, as long as there are no crashes!
I tend to stay up 30 minutes after they are covered to make sure they have settled.
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Post by Shirls on Nov 15, 2019 15:59:36 GMT
I think tonight Iam going to leave them uncovered, so it gets naturally dark, which it pretty much is already and it's only just 4.00 p.m.!! Then once they are all settled, then cover them up. All this sqiggling and scritchering has been going on for quite a while now, with no let-up, poor newbie Buddy Boy gets so confused bless him. At least he gets out of Pip's way quick enough during the day, he knows already she is boss lady!!
We will see how it goes and report back.
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Post by stevex on Nov 15, 2019 17:53:03 GMT
It's quite amusing reading about everyone's night time routine with their birds, they are funny creatures (the birds) with their little idiosyncrasies.
I'm lucky with my two, there is a little argy bargy when I cover them up which amounts to which side of the mirror they want to roost, but it's all over in less than a minute and then they settle down.
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Post by criswell on Nov 15, 2019 23:08:46 GMT
It's interesting to know my birds aren't the only ones that get silly at bedtime. We have argy bargy here too. Randolph Carter was a right rascal every night for a few months wanting any swing that Dexter wanted. It helped that I moved the swings further apart so he couldn't climb from one to another and flying to a new swing is too much bother for him. Since Dean Stockwell started hanging out with them Randolph Carter has mostly stopped persecuting Dexter, even though Dean Stockwell doesn't sleep over with them. We tried a couple of times but Dexter got very upset because Dean Stockwell took his swing. So either Dean Stockwell takes himself home when he thinks it's time for bed but if he doesn't Randolph Carter will hold on a perch and flap like mad until Dean Stockwell gets he message that he can't sleep over.
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Post by Hezz on Nov 16, 2019 0:28:12 GMT
If you are wondering if Pip might like her own space at night (I doubt it ... who is she going to boss about at bedtime if she is in on her own? Bossing yourself is not fun!!) all you can do is try it and see. Sometimes these little birds are so smart, they astound us; other times I swear they have the attention span of a gold fish. Can Pip not remember from one night to the next which is the best swing for sleeping??
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Post by samwiseg on Nov 16, 2019 9:56:13 GMT
It's quite amusing reading about everyone's night time routine with their birds, they are funny creatures (the birds) with their little idiosyncrasies. I'm lucky with my two, there is a little argy bargy when I cover them up which amounts to which side of the mirror they want to roost, but it's all over in less than a minute and then they settle down. Oh stop showing off Steve
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Post by Shirls on Nov 16, 2019 10:00:56 GMT
I don't think Pip is that stupid actually, she is quite an intelligent birdie, well, I think anyway. Also I think Hezz that Pip likes to let everyone know she is boss and can have any swing she wants. I could try her in a separate cage but Jerry would have to go with her, and I think he is one of the causes of the scritchering every night as he wants to sleep with her on her swing and she doesn't want him to. Don't have a spare cage at the moment anyway. Last night was a complete failure about leaving them til it got dark! Shenanigans went on for hours! I will try this though for the next few nights and see what happens.
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Post by samwiseg on Nov 16, 2019 10:03:21 GMT
Oh dear! What are they like? Mind you, having four or more in one cage are bound to send them off into bickering before bed time - does skysmum get any of this?
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Post by Shirls on Nov 16, 2019 10:04:46 GMT
Skysmum has several cages though doesn't she samwiseg? Unless of course they all argue about one cage only!!!
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Post by samwiseg on Nov 16, 2019 10:11:55 GMT
Skysmum has several cages though doesn't she samwiseg? Unless of course they all argue about one cage only!!! They are BOUND to argue about their one cage surely?! If you have hens then I think it is a foregone conclusion
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Post by stevex on Nov 16, 2019 11:18:41 GMT
Skysmum has several cages though doesn't she samwiseg ? Unless of course they all argue about one cage only!!! I think she puts all the cages in the conservatory for half the year so she probably just shuts the conservatory door and lets them get on with it!
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Post by helenmat on Nov 16, 2019 19:01:02 GMT
We are trying Eric and Archie together in one cage for the first time tonight. Fingers crossed all will be well. At the moment they are sharing a piece of tender stem broccoli with not too much fuss.
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Post by skysmum on Nov 16, 2019 22:39:13 GMT
Oh dear! What are they like? Mind you, having four or more in one cage are bound to send them off into bickering before bed time - does skysmum get any of this? skysmum certainly does have this at bedtime . And yes stevex she shuts the door and lets them get on with it I go in to do the bedtime routine around 7.30 - 8 by which time they have already taken themselves back to the cages and the wise ones have bagged their chosen spot, sometimes they are all in the Hamberly and other times one or two are in the Montana. Wherever they are the doors get closed and the covers go on 3 sides, the lights go down and the ones that haven't bagged a spot start to mooch around, this is when the quacking starts and i leave them to it. I go back about an hour later and they have sorted themselves out and i drop the front cover, job done and all is quiet on the western front Little Flora Meep now sleeps in with the buds, her choice, she hurry's in and snuggles down in a seed pot , she cant have her basket in there because you can imagine the trouble i would get from Eve and Iris
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