Any advice on new baby

[Iggy's here]

Hi Everyone,

Four days ago I brought home my new friend Iggy an 8 week old blue quaker. Several years ago I found a rainbow lorikeet (I live in Australia) that was a 'runner' (a baby parrot who due to nutritional deficiencies did not grow flight feathers and so falls to the ground during maiden flight and cannot return to the nest). I took him home and called the wildlife rescue people only to be told that their policy was to put them down. I decided to keep him. It was an incredible journey. He was VERY wild, but after a lot of research, work and patience we became great friends...he was a very loving bird. Eventually, with an excellent diet he regained his ability to fly, and one day (with mixed happiness and sadness) he flew off with his flock never to be seen again.

Since that time I have missed having a parrot friend and have been waiting for the right time to bring a parrot into my life. Now that my son is five and beginning school my husband and I decided that the time was right and so we purchased a little blue quaker.

Being hand raised I expected him to be really cuddly and tame, but seeing as the breeder has so many birds I think that the time he actually interacted with humans was quite limited. Today is his fourth day here and he seems to be settling in now.

Unfortunately he was weened on seeds and so far does not seem interested in much else. I have given him brown rice, lentils, orange, blueberry, salad greens, carrot, corn, and raisins. But he ignores them.

I want to use food as a means of positive reinforcement...but now am not sure what to do as he doesn't seem interested. I am trying to teach him to step up and he did at first probably when he was more nervous, but now shies away. He lets me scratch him around the head a bit(which is great because it is something that took months with my lorikeet). I feel that right now building trust is the most important thing, but I am unsure how to engage him, and fear if I leave him alone too much as he seems to want I will miss the opportunity to develop a good relationship.

Any advice?

Edit: Iggy was clipped when we got him ...but we intend to allow him to become a flighted bird. We have VERY high ceilings and I am wondering how that will factor in because I have found nothing in the discussions about what to do with high ceilings where he can't be reached.

Thanks

[Michael]

http://TrainedParrot.com/Tough_Age
http://TrainedParrot.com/Socialization
http://TrainedParrot.com/Treats
http://ParrotWizard.com/Book

High ceilings don't matter... high places to land are a different story. You either gotta get up on a chair, recall train the parrot, make high places unlandable, or contact me for a custom built parrot recovery perch.

I have a few parts for Parrot Recovery Perches left if anyone needs one. They are expensive and custom built but portable and convenient for getting a parrot down from a high place in a bind. I used to take one with me to all my shows and indoor flying locations until I realized that my parrots don't land in high places or will recall back down to me.

[Iggy's here]

Hi Michael, I really appreciate your reply and found the links you provided very helpful.

I am curious as to whether I should keep putting seed in Iggy's food bowl (as this is what he is used to) or whether I should feed him pellets and other healthy food and keep seed as a treat that I and family hand feed to help reinforce bonding.

Anyone ?

Thanks

[Iggy's here]

Iggy has begun to enjoy a variety of foods. I have given him puffed amaranth, blueberries, fresh corn, goji berries and porridge with juice. He tried them all...but the corn was the real hit...and the porridge the flop.

The corn was such a hit that I tried using some kernels to work on some 'step ups' . Hmm but now that I have run out I wonder if it was a mistake because now when he comes onto my hand he start chewing my skin...pretty gently, but still with a bit of force-- as though he hopes to extract some corn from my pores.

[LadySaphine]

Peanut used to do that as well after a training session. She would nibble my hands (read: bite them like they were walnuts) for more seeds. Normally, though, when a seed was in sight she was well behaved. Try not to react to the bites (saying 'no' is a reaction, so say quiet) and don't give him any treat food after he's done something wrong, or he will start to learn that bites = corn!

And about the breeder: I went to a bird fair last month and I noticed that too- people had TONS of these, loud, noisy Quakers, all untame. They were like 25-30 in one cage, but obviously they had come from an aviary. They were are bundled together. It made me wonder how you would tame ANY of those birds... they definitely think they're birds, not humans.

[Graeme]

You could try fruit as a treat, I give Bailey our Sun Conure, Sunflower seeds, he loves them. But he also loves apple, so to mix it up a bit, he gets both when training.

You mentioned nibbling fingers, I am going through that with Bailey, when he perches on my arm or hand, he is constantly nibbling and sometimes biting. He will also make a bee line for any small scratch or cut and nibble at it until it bleeds, he likes the taste of blood, it's like living with Dracula

When he does this and I am seated, I will quickly raise my are to fling him off, if I am standing I will quickly drop my arm.
Hopefully he will learn to understand that if he wants to perch there, he has to stop nibbling or biting.

[Iggy's here]

Thanks lady Saphine and Graeme for your replies. Iggy is not totally wild...certainly not like Blue the wild lorikeet I rescued, but not as comfortable with humans as I had hoped. Maybe my expectations were too high. If I am alone with him he lets me give him head scratches for a few seconds and he will sit on my knee...well he would also sit on my shoulder if I let him.

He is still very wary though...but it has only been 1 week he has been here.

The breeder said they had about 100 birds in total. They get their kids to handle the babies so that they are used to people, but kids lose interest in things fast and so probably don't handle them that much.

Food is still an issue. I have run out of corn. I put pellets, amaranth, chia seeds flaxseeds in his bowl, but after a little nibble he looked at me and started bobbing his head...so I added a some seed (which he picks out and leaves the rest...even the sunflowers!).

He is not really interested in fruit. I've tried raisins, blueberries, banana and orange so far with minimal interest. I'll have to get some apples.

I tried soaking some oats and pellets in juice...once again he had a taste, but not much more.

I hope I can get him away from a seed based diet and onto a diverse diet.

Thanks