In my experience parakeets can be pretty fickle in all matters. One day they love spinach, the next day they won’t touch it…same deal with certain toys, perches and even favorite hangouts. It also extends to flock favorites that are humans! It can be a pretty harsh feeling when the parakeet that was your best friend one day favors someone else the next and Toby’s been playing some games with my heart lately!
Ever since Patrick clipped her nails (which she HATED) she has been a little mad at me and absolutely obsessed with him. It makes zero sense, I had nothing to do with the clipping and yet somehow earned all the blame. At any rate, if he and I are both available to her she wants to be on his shoulders at all times and completely eschews me, or even worse, acts like I’m trying to take him away from her and starts biting me.
She had been very interested in him for weeks to begin with and then he cut off all his hair, exposing his ears at all times, and now she’s even more in love!
As soon as she hears him stirring in the morning she starts flock calling to him loudly, and then once he’s in the same room the calling out intensifies. He has to greet her immediately, and if she can’t come out to be with him she goes a little nuts, yelling and flying around inside her cage.
He’s totally frustrated with the whole thing and considers it unwanted attention, which drives me nuts! He works from home a few days a week and the incessant yelling is not at all compatible with his work on the phone. Not only that, but when she’s out and on his shoulder she gets very excited and vocalizes super loud in his ear, which he finds really painful.
We have talked about it and would both understand the obsession a little better if we thought there was a “romantic” component, but she’s not in breeding condition and there’s no evidence that she’s seeking any kind of physical satisfaction. Just a friendly shoulder and the companionship of an ear.
I’m trying hard to be chill and just ride this out, she’s been exclusively a fan of his for a few weeks at a time before, but this is stretching out into the month plus category of shunning! She’s still a good girl for me, and if Patrick’s not around we can be friends, but all bets are off once he walks through the door. I suppose for now I have to take the friendship that I can get, and know that her affection will loop back around again to me at some point
I had two budgie hens previously and they both didn’t like me, but liked my husband, despite me doing all cleaning, feeding and general slaving. I’m wondering if it’s a female thing and you’ll both just have to put up with it.
One hen would even hiss at me and fly off if I was near her, but be perfectly willing to stay where she was when my husband approached.
You could be the competition!
That all sounds very familiar, I am definitely their primary housekeeping staff! I think the shine is finally coming off of Toby’s obsession with my husband, he was giving her a reaction every time she annoyed him, I kept trying to explain that he was perpetuating the whole thing, but it took him a while to catch on. Now that he’s not inadvertently giving her positive reinforcement of the behavior she’s backing off, which is good for all of us, especially since I’ve been getting a bit more love in the past couple of days.
Our other girl Kelly really just can’t stand either one of us 🙂 but I suppose that’s not uncommon with lady budgies! I’m very excited to get a boy next, it really sounds like they are a whole difference (nicer) ballgame!