Newbie with Eastern Rosella - please advise

[Tinder]

Found out a little more about “Joey’s” history today. His first owner was an elderly man who had to rehome him due to ill-health & being unable to care for him properly. He has had him for approximately 2 years. Joey’s name is in fact “Rio”!!
(do you think he’ll mind me changing it to Joey or should I stick with Rio!?)

The man gave him to a couple who run a pub & asked them to find a new home for him. The couple considered keeping him but as they were downstairs in the pub a lot of the time and Joey upstairs on his own they too decided to rehome him – hence him coming to me. The second owners had him for a few weeks. I’m not sure if the original owner ever handled him or let him out of his cage but I know the second ones didn’t – probably why he’s so inquisitive & chirpy when he’s out.

(NEWSFLASH!!! Just seen Joey playing with one of his new toys – pulling at his ropey dangly toy with his beak! First time I’ve seen him show any interest since putting them in yesterday yeeeah!

[Mum2rory]

Go Joey aka Rio, he is happy! good sign if he is playing. Well done!

[rebeccaturpeinen]

Hi again

That must have been a scary situation with the tv... my Jo doesnt really land there, she did for a while but I have always scared her away. Its a pretty bad place for her to sit for lots of reasons. It would also be REALLY bad if she would poop there because of the grill, if the poop would get in there it could in worse case cause a shortcut. So I chased her away saying NO. She stopped landing there after a while. Or you could put a wood piece, like a shelf right on top?

What I have noticed with Jo is that she is very resilient... when something happens it doesnt take her long to get over it. She screams it off I often wondered if this was her personality or maybe something about the Rosella. But it sounds like Joey is kinda the same!

About the colours... I have a Crimson Rosella, so Jo has different colours than Joey, she is bright red and blue. I read a bit about Eastern Rosella, they are so beautiful. Ive read that females are a bit duller in colouration and they have an underwing stripe (whatever that means ).

Oh and about the "biting"!! In the beginning Jo often acted like she was gonna bite and I was really scared of the first bite but than I decided after a while that I might as well get it over with and see how bad it actually was... so I called her bluff and she gave this rediculous little nibble, I was looking at her saying 'are you kidding me?? Thats it??' She has never bitten me more then that nibble, she still acts like she is gonna bite sometimes but I always call her bluff to show her I aint going away and I aint gonna hurt her. That lead me to be able to touch and hold her beak. (wich is a great way to get them used to your touching since they cant bite; learnt that from Michael, he has written an article about it ) http://theparrotforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=3150&p=18976&hilit=touching+beak#p18976
They can bite though... when I went to pick her up from the birdsitter I asked them to put her in her carrier as she wasnt stepping up and I didnt wanna be the 'bad guy'. He put on gloves but could feel her biting through the gloves!

Jo also likes classical music... and country She will chirp along happily.

I havent been able to make a video yet, she is being a little camera shy. But Ill get there.

I dont think he minds if you change his name... new life, new start. And maybe he wasnt that happy or close to his previous owners so it aint even sure he knew his name...

One more tip on toys... baby toys!! I often go into second hand shops and look for simple baby toys. If these are baby-safe they are most likely also parrot-safe. Just look for any paint coming off and stuff like that. Nothing small that he can bite off and maybe swallow. My Jo likes biting on different kind of textures. Just give the toys a very good cleaning.

So how is Joey doing now, has it been a week since you got him? Does he get along with the rest of your familly?

[Tinder]

Hi Rebecca,

I was on here earlier but didn’t see your post until just now, sorry. I was actually reading some of your earlier posts to see how your training progressed with Jo & see what tips I could pick up . Jo seemed to get used to you a lot quicker than Joey is though - she was eating out of your hand quite early on wasn’t she? I’m nowhere near that yet with my Joey Boy!

The tv incident was terrible. I still really guilty & a bit of a failure . Luckily he escaped unscathed. He’s been up there once since but like you did with Jo, I said “No, no” to him & approached him pretty close which made him leave the tv and fly off to perch across the room. My husband is going to rig something up behind there so that the ventilation holes are covered without being blocked, a shelf of some sort. What I really need a.s.a.p are some alternative high places he can land on – it’s the fact that the tv is wall mounted & high up that attracted him to it – been looking at play perches/tables etc & will have to get something very soon.

We are making slow progress but I know it’s gonna be a long road! When we first got him he’d cling onto the back of his cage if I went anywhere near it. (He still does that with my husband so I’ve told him to sit with him and sing songs in a girly, high pitched voice but that one hasn’t happened yet lol!) Most of the time now I can put my hand inside without him moving. He still looks freaked out but usually stays on his perch whilst I put his food & water in and clean his tray out etc. He moves if I put my hand or any other object too near him though. I’ve tried putting food through the bars to feed him with but that one’s a no-no for now. So…I think I need to go back again & just start resting my hand inside the cage for a while & not attempting to go near him until he starts to accept that better?

I’m definitely his favourite person up to now though! He still seems a bit scared of my husband. My husband hasn’t read any of this stuff on here though – he never really gets as involved in things like this as I do, researching it all etc. (I knew before we even adopted Joey that he would end up being my boy & that I’d be the one doing all the work with him which is fine by me ).

My daughter is good with him. She’s only 2 but already knows to approach his cage very slowly & not to startle him. She says “Aaw Joey lovely isn’t he?” and then tries to go up to his cage but for now when she does that I get her to sit on my knee next to his cage instead so she can see him (and him see her) without freaking him out too much. Sometimes she’ll bang her toys about & I’ll tell her not to bang as we don’t want to scare Joey (but then feel guilty for telling a 2yr old not to play!). I was concerned whether the general boisterousness of a 2yr old (she’s a real chatterbox!) would bother him but it doesn’t seem to. Yesterday she let out a really loud belly laugh & set Joey off chirping & whistling – so I think toddler laughter is a sound he actually likes believe it or not!

In the same way you’ve been admiring the Eastern Rosellas I’ve fallen in love with the Crimsons! They are just gorgeous & the blue & red together looks absolutely beautiful. Re: the sexing of Eastern’s – someone asked me today what colour the underside of his tail feathers are & they are blue – apparently another confirmation of his manliness lol! (Females are green)

His name is staying as Joey I’ve decided. When I call him Rio he doesn’t seem to respond to it – other than perhaps looking a bit sad but that could be my imagination lol. He just looks like a Joey to me. My husband said maybe he associates ‘Rio’ with a bad experience

I’ll have to try Joey with the Country Music station as a change from his classical lol. I put some music on for him this afternoon and he was stood on one leg looking really chilled bless him. (I’ve only just discovered one legged perching in a bird that’s moving around fine means a nice relaxed birdie & not an emergency vet visit lol)

That’s so cute about Jo’s “ridiculous little nibble” lol. I really really expected to get hurt if/when Joey ever bit me but his nibble was also cute in a “please don’t make me hurt you, I know you’re a pathetic new bird mummy who hasn’t got a clue what she’s doing so I’ll forgive you just this once” kind of way!

One last question for you if you don’t mind – do you ever play videos on Youtube or wherever to Jo of other Rosellas (or other birds) I ask because I have done & Joey goes nuts, doing “the chirp” I only hear him do for me now & again & walking up & down his perch looking round for these birds. I was thinking though is it not a bit cruel to make him think there are birds there when he cant actually meet any of them. Watching his reaction has made me wonder whether he needs a mate actually but his cage is not big enough for two & I’m still learning so its not something I can seriously consider yet. I just don’t know if I’m doing him good by playing these or making him feel lonely?

Thanks for your post rebecca, nice to hear from you again

[rebeccaturpeinen]

Hi!!

Jo was pretty good from the beginning but as soon as something too scary happened she would go one step back so it is slow progress. Like for example we got her in May and our vacation was planned for July... we couldnt bring her so she went to a bird sitter. Right before we went on vacation she was almost sitting on our hands feeding but when we came back from vacation the birdsitter had to grab her and that ofcourse made her scared of hands again. So its two steps forward one step back all the time. But its fine; I had a lot to learn, had never had a bird before so slow is fine by me .

I have a perch mounted on the wall which is her favourite place te be when she is out. It has some toys hanging on it and it is right next to her tree and climbing net. Ill try to take some pictures She now has enough courage to run around on the desk and table... she looks so proud when she is doing that... doing everything she isnt suppose to

I know some people wouldnt agree with chasing Jo away from the TV but I think it is so important because she can really get hurt so I prefer to scare her away to really make her understand it is not ok.

I think that is a good aproach to just hold you hand in and let him get use to it... so he understand nothing bad is going to happen just cos you got your hand in his cage. Have you found out what his favourite treat is yet? After you have had your hand in the cage for a while without him freaking out, you could put treats in so he understands it is not a bad thing but a good thing. It might have sounded like I had fast progress with Jo but after that vacation it look atleast a month for him to really accept the hands again. So dont be disouraged

That is funny with your husband It was my husband that wanted to keep Jo in the first place! We both didnt have ANY experience and we had two dogs so I initially just wanted to take her to a sanctuary but my husband said 'noooo, Ill take care of her'... ya right I knew he wouldnt and that I would end up doing it including all the research but the bond between me and Jo is so strong now. My husband got a bit jealous I think and just gave up. He will try for five minutes sometimes and just sais ' she doesnt like me'. That secretly makes me smile thinking 'thats right, Jo is mine, go play with your dog'

That is so funny about the standing on one foot thing it gives me flashbacks... when I first saw Jo preening I was panicking because I thought she was pulling out all of her feathers and I was gonna end up with a naked bird and she would be cold

Jo doesnt have any problems with loud noises... my dogs can get pretty wild sometimes when they play and sometimes run into Jos cage but she doesnt mind, just continues what she was doing, maybe looking a little annoyed at them.

She is relativly quiet most of the time... the only time she will scream is when she is bored or when she falls... then she screams at us like 'why did you push me?!' even though we werent even close. She doesnt like to admit her own clumsiness... it must be us that push her, she wouldnt fall down by herself...

And yes, we do play videos for Jo every once in a while and Jo loves it. A lot of people have recommended doing this as birds are flock animals. I dont think at all this is bad for them. I too have considered getting another bird exactly for this reason but we dont have the space for it now. Plus I cant imagine not giving Jo all of my attention. I wouldnt get her a mate or anything... usually when you get a mate they will bond to eachother and not to you so when I get another bird it will be something completly different like a cockatiel or a sun conure. You wouldnt be able to just put another bird in the same cage anyway, it could be that Jo wouldnt like the other bird even if its suppose to be a mate. There would have to be slow inttroductions which means there would have to be a seperate cage. But another bird in a second cage would also be considered as a flock member so it would be company for Jo.

Its really great to share these stories with another Rosella owner!! Looking forward to hearing about your progress

[Tinder]

Hi Rebecca,

I’ve had to go to work today so haven’t had as much time with my Joey boy . My husband has been looking after him instead. I was a bit worried leaving him, not because I don’t think my husband is capable of caring for him but because he wont call Joey his “darling little one” and say “I love you” & make all those gooey noises he responds so well to like I do lol! I almost wrote him a care sheet last night before I went to bed with “do’s” and “don’ts” until he told me that wouldn’t be necessary!

I saw Joey for a couple of hours tonight before his bedtime – we then covered him & normally he goes quiet & to sleep not long afterwards. Tonight though he started to chirp & chirped on & off for a good 20 minutes before he settled! I’m working again tomorrow so I’ll miss him again! But after that I’m on 2 night shifts (which I don’t mind so much as he’ll be asleep anyhow) & then off for my usual 6 days – so lots of time to re-bond with him then. I read something that said even hand tamed Rosellas can become untamed quite quickly unless they get daily handling & interaction so it’s understandable the progress with them is slow. Does Jo ever chirp & whistle for you if you leave the room for any length of time? I’ve noticed the last few days Joey frequently does this – it’s cute, like he just needs to know where we are when he cant see us.

Your husband sounds just like mine! Full of enthusiasm at first but then just not as prepared to put the same work in as us! My hubby also says “he’s still scared of me” then just walks away & gives up! He gives Joey attention by talking to him, whistling etc but wouldn’t read up on Rosellas like I (and you) have to find out how he can maybe rectify it.

The only time I’ve seen Joey come down low when out of his cage was after the tv incident when he managed to land on the small table I’d placed his perch on – then proceeded to roll back & forth on the perch for a minute or so whilst chirping to himself! I cant wait for him to come down more often. To see him up close outside of his cage every day would be wonderful & to see him deliberately being cheeky & mischievous like Jo would be even better!

I’m glad to hear you don’t think the videos do any harm. He goes wild for ‘em! Plus I like watching those lovely rosella vids too

The feather preening part of your post made me laugh – that’s exactly the kind of thing I find myself thinking every day. I have lots of experience with cats & a little with dogs but, like you had, no previous experience with birds. I obsess over things like…”Why is he blinking at me?” (is he happy, excited, scared, nervous?)…”why is he staring at me without blinking now? (is he happy, excited, scared, nervous?)…. If he’s staring at me or looking a bit nervous I keep talking to him but look away from him, sometimes even turning my body away & then find myself thinking “this is what a horse whisperer would do but is it effective for birds?” lol. I also spent much longer last night than I should’ve googling images of ‘bird poo’ to see if his looked normal.

Jo’s reaction to when she falls is also hilarious To think she blames you for her falls is just too funny! Isn’t it amazing how so much attitude can come from something so small!? She sounds like such a little character!

Well my bed is calling me …it’s also really great for me to have you to compare notes with and I look forward to posting lots more about our little beauts! Joey sends a big hearty Rosella chirp (followed by a wolf whistle!) to Jo

[rebeccaturpeinen]

Ya, Jo really is a character

How did your husband do on Joey duty??

And you googled bird-poo??? Too funny!! Bird poo can look a bit different depending on what they eat. If they eat lots of fruit like apple it will almost look like water.

Jo usually wistles after me when I leave the room. Then I answer. I cant wistle though so I usually do a little song It goes something like this: Jo-jo is a little booooooo, jo-bi-bo-bi-dooooooooooooo

Kind regards,
Becca

[Tinder]

Hi Becca,

Husband did fine on Joey duty although he stil maintains Joey doesn't really like him. I've told him to read Michael's parrot training blog & do a bit of work to get to know him - but i know he won't lol.

That little, made-up song you sing to Jo illustrates perfectly why they prefer us I'm always saying soppy things to Joey & singing to him. I sit for ages singing 'Do-Ray-Me' over & over again 'cause I know he loves that song! He also loves the Barney song "I love you, you love me .." etc - another firm favourite lol.

To answer a question i missed in your previous post - Joey's favourite foods are nuts (cashews), apple & millet spray so far. I started doing the hand feeding through the cage a couple of days ago. I think I'll stick with the millet for now though 'cause that one has allowed me to get closest to him so far. Tonight before bed he came out of his cage for a little while & actually seemed more responsive (to the food) than when he's inside his cage. Maybe 'cause he knew he could fly off if I got too close? He also discovered today that we have tropical fish! He perched on top of their tank (the top is completely closed over & very secure) & hung his head down over the edge so he could look in the tank & watch the fish! Good news too is that he hardly goes anywhere near the tv now & when he does a quick "No" and a move towards him makes him perch elsewhere.

Tonight we had fun playing a little game where i would only say "Hello!" (in a lively voice) to him if he came to the end of his perch nearest to me. I ignored him if he went back to the far end of the perch. It took him a few goes to catch on & then he started running up & down his perch really quickly, getting his "Hello!" every time he came up to me! It was good fun for the both of us

I ordered some new perches for him today - 2 'smart perches' in different sizes and a rope perch. He only has 2 dowel perches (the standard ones his cage came with) at the moment so I want to get him ones that are better for his feet & ones that I can position in different places to make him move about his cage more. Do you have any particular perches you like for Jo? There's just so many to choose from isn't there!

Another question for you - how long does Jo spend out of her cage each day? Does she climb out on her own & go back in when she's ready? This is what Joey does at present and he usually comes out a couple of times, sometimes for an hour or two - other times for just 10-15 minutes or so. Sometimes I open his cage and he just stays put!

Chirrups & chirps to Jo!
Julie

[viki]

my few suggestions would be to try and keep the diet as similar to what it was before he came to u. as a change of diet can cause extra stress, but once u think hes doing well change...mayb a few weeks or so...you could try adding a small few pellets to his seed and mayb that will let u know when hes ready.
also i found the best way to retame my birds was to give them food from my hand at first tru the bars and then outside the cage...he will learn that way that ur hands are nice.
putting ur bird to bed wen hes so chatty may make him think ur punnishing him, he may not unstand. i usually let my birds begin to grind their beaks before i cover them as this id a sign they r sleepy or relaxed, also if u use side lamps instead of the full light to light the room late in the evening it will encourage him to wind down himself
good luck and let us know how ur getting on

ps i want to get a rodella...beautiful bird arent they

[Tinder]

Hi Viki,

Thanks for the advice! I haven't chnged Joey's diet drastically yet - apart from adding in some extra sesds & fruit & veg (his diet when he came to me consisted of a parrot mix with little more in it than sunflower seeds and monkey nuts ) . A lady on another forum has given me a recipe for a homemade diet that incorporates different seeds & herbs etc - it sounds great and I'm gradually going to introduce him to that. I started the hand feeding a couple of days ago. No real progress as yet but I'll persevere!

Tonight he's been a right little rebel lol. I've been trying to get him to stay in his cage since about 8.30pm but he was having none of it. Every time I approached his cage he'd fly back out or crawl up very quickly before I could close it so he didnt have to go to bed! I always turn the lights down low when it gets to around that time & try to give him notice (ie. it's "bedtime soon Joey") but tonight none of this worked lol!

I've also noticed him flying a lot closer to me, coming lower & almost brushing past my hair a couple of times tonight - he's definitely trusting me more & more and getting cheekier with it! He's so cute & inquisitive, but as his confidence grows so does his naughtiness. The reason i've tried to keep him to a "bedtime routine" is because I have a 2 year old who always has us up early so I'm just concerned that he wont get the 10-12 hours I've read birds need if he decides he's having a late one!

Rosellas definitely are beautiful & as I think i'm starting to find out...definitely birds with attitude too