Bringing home New Bird!

[Pomlover2586]

Hubby and I purchased a White Bellied Caique today. His name is Iago(from Aladdin) and he will be 2 in June. We are going to get his cage and set his home up this week, and hopefully he will come home next weekend if everything is is ready!

So what are your tips and suggestions for making a new home transition easy for the bird? He seems very laid back.....wasn't afraid of new toys, lays on his back for anybody etc so I am hoping that easy going disposition will help him acclimate quickly.

We will be bringing home his current toys in his cage, so he will know those.....and we will be keeping his diet the same.

Other suggestions?

[brfussne]

YEAH!! Congrats on your new parrot, fellow Caique owner! As for acclimating Iago to his new home, do what feels right. If Iago seems very chipper & curious like Caiques usally are, allow him to explore and play with it. If Iago seems kinda quiet & reserved, give Iago his space and put him in his cage to rest and settle down for the day. You mentioned not changing Iago's diet, what diet is Iago on? If Iago is on a seed diet like my Caique was on when I purchased her, please try to switch it over to a pellet diet soon. Something with no artificial colors or ingredients like Zupreem has. I recommend Totally Organic Pellets or Roudy Bush. Seed diets are very lousy diets and not good for parrots at all. Also, we would love to see pics of Iago as well.

[Pomlover2586]

Iago is currently on a combo seed and Zupreem pellet blend. We will be transitioning him to a full pellet diet, but are debating between Zupreem and Lefabers. My husband carries both of these at his work, but the woman we bough Iago from recommends Zupreem because it does have a slight sugar content which is good for high energy birds like Caiques. Not sure how accurate that is.....will be doing some research first. From what I understand transitioning the food to pellet only can be a pain in itself so at first i think we'll go with zupreem to make it easier.

[brfussne]

"A pain" is an understatement! I've had my girl for 3 weeks now and I still can't get her to touch her TOPs pellets. But, she was on a ALL seed diet. your Caique is at least eating some pellets, so it's a good start for you! A user named Cage Cleaner mention a website where it tells you to put a bowl of pellets next to the highest perch available at all times, and only offer seed in a bowl 2 times a day at the bottom of the cage. As you slowly wean your Caique put less & less seed, and eventually take the seed away and replace with a treat or fruit/veggies. Do not mix seeds & pellets in a bowl. Parrots are very picky eaters and will pick out all the things they like before eating the pellets.

Here is the website: http://www.parrot-and-conure-world.com/ ... llets.html

[Cage Cleaner]

Ok

[Pomlover2586]

Is Lefabers a good pellet? We do not carry Tops or Harrison at our local pet store, and I'm not willing to purchase online (No Flames Please). Which is better between Zupreem, or Lefabers? They also stock Kaytee but I'm not feeding that garbage to any of my pets.