Parrot ownership has it's up and downs and last week, I hit a bit of a "down" - and given I often post about the good, here's a post about the bad, although there are worse things.
Often I might think about how good things are going, and think about specifics, only to have a wrench thrown in - this is something like that.
I was thinking about how much progress Léa had made with her "step up" compared to her first few months here; there was no longer any hesitation, didn't always actually have to say the verbal cue...things were going really well.
Then earlier sometime last week, she got spooked by something (I'm not sure what, might have been something out of the window) and she started flying around the room we were in. She did something similar a few months ago and back then, to avoid her hurting herself (she was a little frantic), I stepped in to get her to stop and calm down. This resulted in her seeing me as the "bad thing" and for two days, she was "weird" around me. I had come to the conclusion that this might have been similar to the panic attacks I read that young Red bellies were prone to (and I had witnessed Joey having a few when we first got him) and that it was just best to wait for her to calm down on her own before intervening.
Except earlier this week I didn't do what I told myself I would do - which was to do nothing. She was trashing around the room, flying from one thing to the next, while screaming and although I did my best not to get into it, after 5 minutes of this, it was getting to be a little much. The Boy and I were offering our hands for her to land on, but she ignored them and eventually misjudged where she flew and ended up crashing feet first into a wall and falling to the ground. And then I did what I shouldn't have done - to make sure she was ok, to look her over and, I won't lie, to get her to stop, I picked her up.
Thus, I became the "bad thing" - I was associated with this panic attack in her mind although I had nothing to do with whatever spooked her in the first place and since then, having her step up onto my hand has been challenging.
The weird thing is, I could understand if she was afraid of me in general for some time. But it's not the case. She will come to me over the Boy (who can still get her to step up) for head scritches, and even cuddles. She'll hang around me, she'll even go on my shoulder, head or even forearm. But the moment I offer my hand for her to step up, she won't comply most of the time.
There has been a little progress though, yesterday she kept going to a place she wasn't supposed to and she would step up on my hand when offered; she did so a little gingerly, but she did do it and would stay on until I moved her to something else. I have found out that she's more inclined to comply when I just offer the hand without the verbal cue; the moment I say those two words, she backs away. I came to this conclusion earlier when I had actually managed to move her on my hand - I don't think she had realized what had happened and I had her step off until she realized. I also reward her when she does well with a verbal "good girl" praise or an almond.
I honestly think she's trying to be a little defiant. Unfortunately for her, I can be stubborn as well and, putting hurt feeling aside, I've started to ignore her, letting her come to me. A few days ago, she decided to have what I call a "temper tantrum" - similar to the panic attack in the sense that she'll fly and scream, but in appearance, something more controlled than when she's really spooked. The perfect example is that that day, she started flying and screaming but I kept doing whatever it was I was doing. She would stop, fly and land in front of me, look at me in a "you know I'm here" way - and start again. She did this two or three times that day before she had enough and came up to me for me to scratch her head.
So we ended up taking two steps back - it's ok. Ironically, I should enjoy the little break from her climbing all over my hands. I'm sure with a little work and, most importantly, some time, things will get back to what they once were - as her trust in me was not entirely destroyed - I doubt she would voluntarily spend time with me and let me scratch or even pay peek-a-boo (which involves me covering her head with my hands and she just stands there) otherwise.
I had also spoken with a friend of mine who also has a Cape when this first happened and she said that hers also went through a weird phase, having severe temper tantrums when she tried removing him for his cage. This lasted for two weeks and then everything went back to normal. Hearing this, and seeing the way Léa behaves, just reinforces my belief that Capes love to be dramatic.
As I said, it's just a minor set back.
