Dora the Senegal Parrot

[Delrosario]

Yesterday it was nice, so i thought.. I take the whole cage outside and watch what happen.
She indeed loved it! She was on the front side of het cage, and watched there eye's almost out!

[Pajarita]

My dear, taking birds outside in the sunshine is wonderful but a baby is a fearful thing and you will want to avoid stressing her out as much as possible as there are studies that show that birds that are stressed out when babies, remain high-strung for the rest of their lives. Let me explain something to you. Parrots bred for pets are taken away from their parents before they can imprint on them so they can be hand-fed by humans and tricked into believing that humans are family. This is great for us but it's not great for the baby birds which are then kept in the light instead of the dark (as they should be so they can develop their vision correctly) and fed unnatural food by an alien (we are the aliens, obviously). We then proceed to wean them much too soon - I'll give you an example: birds mature differently going by their size, the smallest species develop faster than the larger so a lovebird, for example, will stay in the nest and see only the parents for 3 entire months before they even peep outside even though they are fully mature at two years of age (a macaw, on the other hand, is fully mature at four -see the difference?). You have been sold a three month old baby of a species twice as big as a lovebird and which would still be in the nest in the wild. Unfamiliar places are extremely stressful to species that are prey of other species (which parrots are) so taking a baby that should still be in the nest and see only his parents outside and exposing it to sounds, smells and sights that are completely unfamiliar is very stressful. What you thought was excitement (the looking around so intently) was actually fear. I am not scolding you, I am telling you this because then, years later, people wonder why their bird plucks and it's usually because of something they did that they did not know was wrong when they did it and I don't want this to happen to you.

Before you do anything, think of a little baby and what would be beneficial or harmful to him. And, if you have doubts, don't ask people in birdsites who might give you the wrong advice, see what the birds do in the wild and try to imitate it as much as possible. Mother Nature knows more than we do about these things...

[Delrosario]

Pajarita, who told who that Dora was staying full in sunshine?
She was coverd by a sheet. She is totally not stressed.....

[Eric&Rebecca]

If she goes very thin or gets very stressed then stop but a little fresh air... providing she out of direct sunlight and is quiet should be OK. Perhaps I'm totally wrong on that.

As long as its not stressing the bird... that's important and as you say she had access to shade and you were supervising so I don't see a huge problem.

Extreme caution should be taken however.

[Strawfrawg]

Delrosario, I have a 17 week old that I brought home a little sooner than you did. He was an early and independent little guy and so was already weaned when I got him, but I offered formula a couple of times a day until he turned it down after settling in.

Marvin started nipping around the time he began holding his food in his feet and really chewing on his toys. He can really nail me good sometimes. He is a very calm and trusting bird who could be handled freely from the start, and I don't suspect the nipping is from fear...neither does my vet, who attributes this behavior to the process of learning his boundaries and his world, which of course happens mostly via the beak. Fingers and skin have interesting texture, begging to be chewed. Follow Michael's advice about biting and I think your baby will get the idea. There's a lot of good advice to be found here, so keep asking. These forums have been a great help to me, and you'll soon be able to tell what will work for your bird's personality.

Re taking the bird outside...there are differing opinions about this, but I took my bird outside from the start for brief periods in good weather because he was such an easygoing little dude. In his case, it worked out fine. I am not as knowledgeable as veterans like Parajita, but I think tolerances vary from bird to bird and if yours is one that seems to roll with the punches, any activity that will be a regular part of a bird's life can be tried early, in moderation, if you have a good bond of trust going between you. Just remember that babies need a lot of rest and downtime. I know when Marvin has had enough of anything because he comes to/tells me so. Just watch your bird for information. Mine's been telling me what he wants/needs from day one.

[Strawfrawg]

Delrosario...I was just reviewing this here and thought the link might help you out with biting:

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=768

Most of Marvin's bites are the Displaced Play kind, I think. He chews everything with gusto and doesn't seem to realize he has to be more gentle with my body parts! The key with Marvin is that if I react strongly, he bites down harder and doesn't want to let go. I really think he is just being stubborn and doesn't want his "toy" taken away. Substituting a real toy usually does the trick.

[Delrosario]

Dora does "Target", Totally proud on her!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf73Pf-IUIY&feature=youtu.be

[Strawfrawg]

Congratulations! I'm glad she's coming along nicely!

What are you using for her training treat?

[GreenWing]

Your baby is beautiful but again Dora is a baby. I would honestly wait before starting target training. Step-up is ok though. Your bird will bite - this is called beaking and it's likened to a human baby touching, grasping. Beaking is how a bird explores. As the others say the bird may be opening her beak at you because she's hungry and wanting a feeding. It wouldn't be a bad idea to talk to Michael about consultations. Senegals are intelligent and complex and they need guidance and patience.