Eva is doing well

[angiemw]

We got Eva about a week and a half ago. So far she's doing really great! She wasn't hand held hardly at all. Infact the breeder had so much going on in her life that she wasn't able to get the birds use to human hands. So I came in here and looked up how to train a bird. In less than 3 minutes I got her to take a seed from my hand. After she wouldn't even come to the side of the cage I was standing at. She was afraid of me. I have her on a strict pellet and fresh vegie diet. I only give seeds as a treat for training. Well, it's working. I can now pet her, I can get her to touch a chop stick, and hubby even got her to get really close to stepping up. She got one leg on his finger then licked him. She wasn't trying to bite him, she just kept touching his hand with her tongue. LOL Silly thing she is. But she's really come further than I had known she would. I'm so grateful for the suggestions and tips on this site. It's really awesome! I got so excited I could have just screamed and jumped up n down. LOL But I didn't want to scare Eva or the two dogs. LOL I'm still trying to get her to step up. Hope to have her do that by next Friday when she goes to the vet. I'm sure the vet will be pleased with her as it is. She was hatched March 4th. and only once did my hands hold her before she had feathers. I have a few pictures I tried to add but I don't know how to make them fit. It said that they were too big. She's a GCC. and so pretty. I just love her already!

[liz]

Welcome to the forum.

[angiemw]

Thank you Liz. I actually got this site from another parrot forum when I was looking for ways to train Eva.

[AuraKiwi&Jala]

Hi Angie
I am very exited for you hope your little darling is stepping up boldly already
I just adopted 3 sibling GCC s myself 4 days ago ( i couldn t bare the thought of someone separating them)and they are responding really rapidly as well
Keep us updated!

[angiemw]

Thank you. So far she's not stepping up but she's doing well with her progress. She's just putting that one foot on my finger then keeps touching my thumb with her tongue. LOL I'm sure she will learn in time. I am afraid to take her out of her cage at the moment. She's not clipped and I don't know how to do it. She's going next friday to get a checkup and clipped. I just love her so much. I wish I had gotten more than one now. But they are all gone. I guess this is meant to be for now.

[marie83]

Why do you want her clipped?
it's up to you of course but i would seriously reconsider and do your research on it if you haven't already.

[AuraKiwi&Jala]

I agree, my little bunch came clipped ( very short might I ad) and I hop the wing feather grow in ok)
You would tie your cats legs together woul you

[cml]

Please read Michaels article on clipping, and why it is bad. There are many myths, and some vets and breeders just clip on routine, when its a very counter productive thing to do.

[angiemw]

I keep hearing clipping wings are good, then I hear it's not good. I just don't know now!

[marie83]

Well why do you want your bird clipped?

If you think it is because it will make a tamer bird, thats incorrect, it just forces the bird to be somewhere it may not want to be or will make the bird defend itself or become fearful because it cannot get away from a bad situation or something it's not comfortable with.

If you think it will keep your bird safe, again have another think, more clipped birds have accidents than unclipped birds because they cannot stop themselves from falling or get away from something that might hurt them or fly into something accidently because it still thinks it can fly.

If you think it will stop escapes then again that is untrue, loads of clipped birds are lost each year because it lulls the owner into a false sense of secuirty. Pretty much any bird can fly if it gets frightened or in the right air currants.

If it's because you don't want to parrot proof the house then again I would rethink that one, birds are clever and if they want to get at something they will, flighted or not. Theres also that risk of false sense of security again.


On the other hand birds, like all animals need exercise to keep them healthy, climbing along a playstand and round their cages is not enough to keep their heart, lungs, muscles etc in good condition. Boredom, frustration, excess energy, fear etc can all lead to behavioural issues- screaming, biting, route tracing, plucking, mutilation... need I go on?

Many many other reasons not to clip too. Thats not to say there isn't the odd circumstance where wing clipping is the better option but those instances are very very few and far between. I've only ever spoken to two people with a legitimate reason for clipping and that was only when they had exhausted all other options.