now I'm confused..

[SillyFids]

this morning was great for the little one and I...we ate breakfast together (she took food from my hand) and she stepped up and came on my shoulder & played in my hair for a little. She even let me pet her beak! We sat together for probably 20 minutes...she explored the couch and would sit and take little cat naps, I would pet her or her beak while she dozed off - and she was fine with it! Well I had to shower so she got on her stick and we went back to the cage, where I put her on top (she's good at staying there & will go in the cage if she doesn't want to be up there)

So I come back from my shower and she seems terrified of me. Jumps from her cage onto a bookcase we have and starts screaming. I was surprised since we had just spent good time together - she went back in her cage and clung to the side for dear life, won't let me near her without fleeing - if she sees my hand coming she's gone. Now she's been chirping like CRAZY, nonstop. She's never been this vocal before and I don't know what to do!


Any ideas on why she seems to have forgotten who I am?:confused:

[linda040899]

Step back and think about visual changes made as a result of your shower. Is your hair done differently? Did you use make-up that she's not seen before? What color clothing did you put on? Nail polish, particularly red, can be frightening.

Some birds recognize us visually. Others know what we sound like. How well I remember getting a short hair cut (previously had long hair) and getting contact lenses at the same time. I came home, only to find that my Quaker Parrot was terrified of me. Problem? She knew me by appearance, not by sound. My Cockatiels were fine because I still sounded like me. It took my Quaker 3-4 days to let me near her again!

[LauraO]

It may have been you had something on that terrified your baby. Even my tamest of lovies gets nuts if they see me with a strange hat or form of clothing they don't like the color of or that's really bulky.

Just give your lovie some time to calm back down. It's adviced (through my personal experiences) to not go near your lovie or try to handle them during this time. Just reassure them with a gentle voice and let them calm down and things will go back to normal soon enough.

It's upsetting and difficult when my african grey gets this way. If he gets phobic or upset about us cleaning, making too much noise, he falls off his cage, etc. he's a mess for the whole day. We've learned to just talk sweet with him, give him plenty of space and right off any interactions with him until the evening and next day and things have worked out much better then when we tried to reassure him or play with him.

Good LUck:)

[bookworm0550]

i agree, you probably looked different to her. did you have a towel wrapped around your hair?

[QuantumAM]

Yeah, maybe you were taking or wearing something really bright?
Try not to take those stuff near them, or they might freak out like my bird did when I brought my bright orange bottle towards her. :lol

[LovelySydney]

I had no idea that birds reacted differently to colors!

Are there any I shouldn't wear or is it entirely the birds preference?