First Step Of Getting A Bird Home

[MindieJ]

Hi there, I am going to be getting a Senegal Parrot in a week. It will be my first one. When I get it home should I leave the cage open and let him explore? Or should i leave it closed and just let him adjust to the cage and surroundings inside the cage first? Also should I try to handle him as soon as i get home or wait a while?
Thanks!

[Michael]

If the bird is social (like a handfed baby from a breeder), you can spend a brief period of time with the bird before putting it in the cage. Then give it a few hours to explore on its own but then give some more attention later as well. If it is parent raised, rehomed, or full intents and purposes "wild," you may be better off leaving it in the cage for a bit before giving too much attention.

Just remember not to provide more attention/interaction than you would expect to in the long run.

[MindieJ]

Awesome thanks Michael! He is going to be rehomed. A couple is selling him because her husband thinks he is too loud when he watches tv. Kinda sad. But I plan to give it a lot of attention and train it as well. I just want to make it as sociable as possible. I read up on your matterial on how to get him out of the cage and on to me or a stick. I want to know as much as possible before I go get him so he doesnt hate me right off!

[Michael]

Yeah, in that case you may want to give it a little more time/space so it doesn't get too scared/uncomfortable about all the changes (unless you are really certain it's a super social bird and needs the immediate attention). Make sure that your role is all positive up front and avoid doing anything abrupt or allowing others to do something scary. Once the bird is adjusted, it's not so much of a big deal but if on the first day a decoration falls down and the bird was looking at you... the fright could become associated to you.

[GlassOnion]

Welcome!

Firstly, I wanna let you know is that your bird will be going through the 'honeymoon' stage when you first bring him home. Due to an abrupt change in environment, the bird becomes very cautious and on its best behaviour for a month to a few months. You may not notice the bad traits yet, but be expecting when/if they hit you!

I would set up a fairly solid schedule right off the bat and set boundaries, as the bird will grow to expect what when as well as learn what is okay and what is not.

[MindieJ]

I've never had a bird where I had a scedule. What is your idea of a schedule? Any examples?

[kaylayuh]

I've never had a bird where I had a scedule. What is your idea of a schedule? Any examples?

A few people here do scheduled feedings instead of free feeding. I free feed, but I also have a particular schedule for when we have fresh foods. We also have a weekly schedule where particular things happen on certain days. For instance:

Tuesdays and Fridays are garbage days here. Even though newspapers are changed daily, we clean perches and toys on Tuesdays and do a deep whole cage clean on Fridays. On Sundays, we have bath time. Any nail trimming that needs to be done on the budgies is done on Sundays.

Our daily routine is normally just the time we wake up and the time we go to bed. The birds are woken up no later than 7:30 in the morning. Their fresh fruit for breakfast comes by 8:30. Cages are completely open all day from that point forward. Bed time is at 8:30 in the evening. Everyone is in their cages and covered by that time.

[MindieJ]

Wow thanks! You guys have been sooo helpful. I will be getting up at 8 every morning and opening the cage. But i leave for work mon-fri at 1:30pm. So I should prob close the cage then? I dont want him getting hurt outside the cage while im gone. I hear that pellets are best to keep in their cages all the time and fruits are good for rewarding when they do what is asked. I do plan to train the bird as much as possible. He is two years old right now so i think i am still getting him early in life. I just want to start off on the right foot.

[kaylayuh]

I would shut the cage if you're going to be gone. Mine is open all day because I'm here all day. But I do occasionally leave the doors to both cages open if I'm going to get the mail, running across the street for some newspapers, or down the block to the dollar store. I wouldn't recommend that to most people, but even though my birds are fully flighted, they stay on their cage tops or play gym if I need to run out for a minute. And I never leave them unsupervised for more than ten minutes.

[GlassOnion]

This is how I do it.

I feed them two distinguished meals twice a day; however, there is a dish of pellets and water available at all times. My birds will peck a few times throughout the day for a quick snack, but they won't eat much because.... pellets don't taste that good.

I would use millet/seeds/nuts as training treats because birds like them the most, and cause the most amount of motivation as opposed to persay, fruits.

There are a few foraging stations/toys I have set up in the cage with seeds/millet. Foraging is how birds eat in the wild and it also provides great mental stimulation as well as something for them to do during the day. I highly recommend you look into foraging.

Personally, I'm against having cage doors open all day as I feel it causes lack of structure. I feel that leaving an open entrance all day gives them too much power and freedom, which could turn into rebellion and aggression and hormones come along, and give them a good chance to fight for flock leadership. I know there are owners that do this without any problems, and that's cool. Just make sure you weigh the pros and cons and make a decision that works for you.

Everyday, I lock my birds up for at least 4-6hours in their cage. This is to enforce independence and to play with toys by themselves. Constant, unstructured amounts of attention CAN lead to over-bonding and the lack of self reliance in the bird.