Hello from Houston! (RBP)

[Wolf]

The sugars in fruit are fine as their bodies like ours are meant to use these sugars as fuel. It is the refined and complex sugars that cause the problem. Go back over this thread and on the 12th of Aug. I told you what I feed mine and right after that Pajarita told you what soft foods to feed him and also mentioned a thing called gloop that she feeds her birds. Well when you read the list of what I feed mine, think this stuff all cooked and mixed together is gloop. So I feed gloop and add fresh veggies and fresh fruit to it when I feed it to them and I give enough to last through the day. Then I feed a very high quality seed mix for their dinner. I like to make sure that they get plenty of carrots as well.

[Pajarita]

I tried to reply yesterday to tell you the same thing Wolf said. Basically, to bond first and train later because although the training works, it usually ends up backfiring on people who do it before establishing a deep bond. No mashed potatoes unless we are talking of home-made, with organic ones with the peel on, and no milk, butter, salt or anything -in which case, it's easier to just wash, cut and boil the potatoes and just drizzle some olive oil on them (my birds love the little red potatoes made this way). You have a baby in your hands and how he turns out as an adult and what kind of relationship you two end up having depends on what kind of care you give him right now so extra caution is needed not to mess up.

[Wewin02]

How will I know it is time to begin training sessions? He is softened up to the point of allowing us to give him kisses at times. It is also obvious that he enjoys his long out of the cage hours. He loves to sit around preening and napping out of his cage. He is still skittish on things around the house. (Example) I tried touch training him with a chop stick, and his perch is sitting on a plastic bag which makes a unfamiliar sound to him. He does not wish to venture off that perch to "touch" the pointer if it means he needs to set foot on that bag or anything. I still feel like progress is being made on his fear of things. He is usually mesmerized by outside noises when brought to the backyard or anything. (so mesmerized that kisses don't bother him at all =X)

[Wolf]

Basically you have only had him for 2 weeks, I personally would allow another 2 weeks for him to settle in, before beginning any training. I would use the time to strengthen the bond between you and him and to gat him on a good diet and then start with target training. You don't need to get in a rush as there is plenty of time and the stronger bond will make things go much faster and easier in the long run.

[Pajarita]

And get rid of the plastic bag under his perch. If you see there is anything he fears or dislikes, remove it. If it's something that is needed for his wellbeing, get him used to it very gradually and very slowly.

[Wewin02]

ohh okay Ill keep scary items away from him. I just wanted him to get used to common items that he will encounter around the house. But like mentioned before, he's only lived here 2 weeks. I need to learn how to help him adjust to his new surroundings slowly. I take him out of the cage and have been letting him hang out and nap for a couple hours out of the cage everyday before noon. Then hes back in his cage so I can sleep from my graveyard shifts haha. I am so anxious to get im used to head scratches. I love how Kili can just accept the head scratches and love and affection with no problems. I can not wait to get to that level with my RBP.

[Wolf]

Just keep up the talking and hanging out with him and you will get there. By the way in most cases when he wants you to scratch his head he will bow his head to ask you for it.

[Pajarita]

I only have one example so, obviously, what I am going to say doesn't really mean anything because one bird doesn't give you any real insight into a species behavior but my redbellied is one of the mildest-tempered parrots I've ever had (and I've had A LOT of them).

[Wewin02]

I finally got him to accept head scratches. It took some trust because he usually keeps one eye open as the other eye looks as if the scratching is blissful. Soon after I took him to a local bird store to inquire more about diet and other info on red bellies. The guy I spoke with there tried scratching his head immediately after getting him to step up on him. I told him how he literally just begun to accept that sort of treatment right before we got here. He let me know that poi's are usually much more well behaved to new surroundings and strangers than you'd expect. His stool is usually very watery but it must be from the watery fruits that he is usually fed. I added some roudybush pellets into his bowl and his stool has became a little more solid. Still trying to find a little bird gym and more suitable cage for him tho.

[Wolf]

Yes, if his poop is watery then it could be from too much fruit, try giving vegetables instead. All parrots tend to be more accepting of physical contact when in strange surroundings, but it is because they are stressed and more fearful due to the surroundings, so they want the extra reassurance from you. But this can backfire on you in the long run.
One last tip, while I am happy that you learned something on the outing to the pet store, I would be very careful about taking him to this type of place as the instant that you walk into the store with your bird, he is exposed to any disease that may be on the premises due to its have other birds in the store. It kind of defeats the purpose of ever quarantining you bird from new birds. So in my opinion this is a very dangerous habit to develop.