Help! >< I don't know what to do about this...

[Miyaki]

I posted the "Issue with the bird tent" thread and later said that I had to remove it because my birdy was regurgitating on the strings. It was disgusting because one side of his beak was covered in regurgitated seeds and fruit and there was literally a small pile of his regurgitation around the string.

Okay, well, I gave it back to him in his new cage and just made sure there was no way for him to reach the strings so he could regurgitate on them. He was being very noisy all day before I put the hut in while I was gone. When I put it in it worked out excellent, or at least it did at first, he sat in his hut and was very happy and quiet and enjoyed being in his cage just as much as being out of it.

About a week later I noticed his butt facing the other way out of his tent so I peeked over and saw his beak covered in his regurgitation again! And a big pile right at the back of his happy hut. I hated to do this but I removed it again, cleaned it off and put it somewhere he couldn't see it. Once I removed it he went back to the way he was before in that cage. VERY VERY NOISY. Like just screeching non-stop if I wasn’t in view. Which makes me sad to leave him when I'm going to school (but this isn’t the point of my problem).

Anyways. He is in his upstairs cage right now and I've noticed that he's started to regurgitate on some of his perches. I seriously don’t know what to do. Is it normal for birds to want to regurgitate on everything? I really want him to have his house but it’s disgusting to see I pile of bird puke and I doubt it's very good if it gets all over their beak as well. Can someone please give me a hand! I don't know what to do.

[Janie]

In my experience, it's is normal for some birds.....and I have one of those, too. Shy gacks to his birdie buddies (huge piles every day) and if I take them out, he finds something else to gack on/to. His brother did it but rarely and not for long. Shy shows no signs of slowing down. I weigh him often just to be sure he isn't losing weight and he's holding steady so for all he gacks, he replaces it with more food....to gack! :rolleyes: Fortunately, he has never gacked inside his cozy! I'm sure he would if I removed all other possibilities.

[Miyaki]

So should I just keep the cosy out for good then? I've tried everything I could think of and still he gacks all over it. I really want him to have his cosy because he really does like it and it keeps him quiet when I'm not home or if I need to do homework and he's playing the "I'm gonna run all over your keyboard so you cant do any work!" or the "I'm gonna chew on your text books/homework so you can do any work!" games.

[Janie]

I'll tell you what I did....I bought 8 birdie buddies at a bird fair. They were cheaper there, about $4.00 each, and that way I could put in two "fresh" ones every day if necessary.....yes, he likes to gack on TWO! :rolleyes: Cozies/happy huts are more expensive (I haven't seen them for much less than $10.) so that's more costly. If you could have one or two spares and then spot clean the one he gacks on for a day or two before having to wash it and put in another, that might be an option. I can spot clean Shy's birdie buddies and usually can get two days, sometimes three, out of them before washing and replacing them with clean ones. I'd just hate to see you remove something that he's so attached to. If he is definitely a male and not going to go into a nesty hen mode due to the presence of a happy hut, I would hesitate to take it away from him. I do remove my happy huts during the day and replace them with swings but my birds spend most of their days outside their cages and don't seem to mind or notice.

[LauraO]

A lot of people have had success with removing the tent during the day and returning it to the cage only at night. This helps with some of the overtly hormonal behavior and puts the bird on a schedule so they know when they will be getting their tent. I would always explain to the bird what is happening along with using some key words like bedtime and goodmorning before taking and returning the tent. The regurgitation is natural. Lovebirds can become enamored with inanimate objects and show the thing affection. I would just make sure you keep the tent clean and disenfected.

Good Luck:rolleyes:

[B.B.]

Miyaki,
My lovie, B.B. is also a gacker. This is something he does on whatever toy is available, be it his tent, or a birdie buddy or even a hanging toy. He gacks and eats it, which is mighty gross, but it seems to make him happy and it keeps him busy. I think of it as his day job! :whistle:

I have read up on this site and some people have reported their lovebird does this behavior for a while and then gives it up. I don't think it is anything to worry about.

I make my own little "tents" for B.B. out of a single pant leg. This is alot cheaper than buying pre-made nests. This way, you can remove the tent every few days and hand wash it. ;)

All you have to do is cut off about 10 inches of the pant leg, stick a piece of cardboard inside about half way down (to form the platform they sleep on) and fold the ends of the pant leg up to form the tent. Then cut little holes through the four layers at the top in the front and back of the hut and put screw fastening hooks through to hang it. I put a piece of towel in there for cushioning, which can be changed if it gets poopy. I could send you a picture if you are curious.

B.B. particularly likes certain types of fabric for chewing on, (between gacking bouts) cotton chino or stretchy elasticised athletic materials are his favorite. Also, I have heard they have a special liking for nests in a color similar to their own, which seems to be true.


I hope this helps!
Angela and B.B.

[Asue]

Regurgitation is a normal behavior.
Lovie's will feed anything that will accept it, like toys or perches.
Mikey likes to gack on his toy ball, and that gets a good washing almost daily because he cakes it with gack. :x

If there's a foul smell or the up-chuck looks brown and made up of whole seeds, there might be a bacterial infection that needs to be treated.
Only a vet can say for sure.

[thebubbleking]

Or you can buy a partner and they can feed each other and keep each other company if they get along.
As linda would say just be happy hes not a macaw!