Hello and Request for Help :)

[Wolf]

Since I don't have any conures, I can't say anything concerning Quigley's smell, I can't recall having heard anything about it before, but I don't know.
Glad to hear that you have him targeting a little, if you play with it a bit, I am sure that you can turn it into quite the game for you and Quigley. It sounds like he is beginning to come around some and perhaps relaxing a bit.

[mikella]

He's very good at it (when he feels like it) We started it a while back, really short sessions a few times a day. He caught on the very first time.

Can I leave that lamp on by beside his cage today? I have a 5 hour exam today, so he will be alone for three hours until my husband gets home... It's a little table lamp with a fabric shade... Is it ok if it's a ways away (plus the shade)? How far away? It's level with the cage... (Will get a different light fixture Thursday).

[Wolf]

The primary reason that I use a FS light for my birds is for their eyesight and not for the possible benefits of the vitamin D-3 manufacture. Parrots see into the UV spectrum which is invisible to us and so the better lighting of the full spectrum really just helps them to see normally. The lights that we normally use reduce a parrots vision so that to me it would be like walking around half blind. And as for color vision we are totally color blind next to what a parrot sees with the proper lighting. So for my purposes I never place the light closer than 3 feet to them and although my cages are constructed so that the light comes into the cage from the sides I place the light higher than the cages and pointed slightly away from them.
For production of D-3 it is recommended that the light be much closer than my placement, but with some of the things that I have seen that just scares the poo out of me.

[Pajarita]

I only use ceiling fixtures. No lamps, no clamps, nothing closer than the ceiling.

Yes, the more you take him out and the more you adhere to a schedule, the calmer he will become.

[mikella]

Super short on time, but -

The bulb is the full-spectrum one Wolf.

& Ok, will wait to use it until I get a different fixture for above cage. Tx!

This may sound nuts to you, and I didn't want to say it yesterday... but I think he is calmer with me yesterday and today because I had craniosacral therapy done yesterday morning. So my energy has changed. (Even when I FEEL calm, my energy is not always...). I really believe that he senses this.

[Pajarita]

Yes, they are incredibly empathetic and masters at reading both our body language as well as our tones of voice but it's also that he is beginning to realize he no longer needs to show aggression, that he is now 'listened to', and will get to come out and be loved on a daily basis.

[mikella]

Agreed.

Pretty calm again today so far. Yesterday and today he let me type on the iPad with one hand while standing up with it on counter and him on my shoulder or even arm without charging down/over to it. Still randomly lunges when he feels like it at my covered hand when he's on my arm. He knows very well it's in there. But I think this is a really good sign. And he was SO excited to see me when I got home yesterday and he was even on my husband. He's very chirpy today - calm but constant chirping, either soft squawks or loud chirps. I wish I knew how he's feeling based on this.

Questions:
- The chirping I mentioned above - can you decode or let me in on how he may be feeling?
- Pajarita: thoughts on smell? Not sure if you saw that post, it was a few back.
- When he cranes his neck up super long and moves back and forth in a wavy motion (hard to explain), I take this to mean excitement and interest. Is this right?
- Also been thinking that him pacing back and forth with a square look to the top of his head and his wings dragging a bit is 'Ooo I'm such a big boy, look at me' sort of attitude, like he's wound up/excited/proud of himself. Is this right?
I hope I'm right on those things anyways because I cheer them on and get excited with him haha

[Pajarita]

Birds are like people, some days they are more chatty than others so as long as he is not screaming, it's fine.

About the smell, all parrots smell... people talk about a sweet odor, a fruity one, etc but, back home, we called it 'dirty parrot smell' Having said that, I don't find it unpleasant or overpowering and, most of the time, I don't even notice it.

The dragging of the wings and 'dancing' is a mating behavior but he might also be asking for attention. Codee bobs her head up and down fast when she wants me to pick her up but they all have different quirks so he might be asking you for shoulder time.

[mikella]

Questions:
Should mating behaviour not be encouraged?
LOUD monkey-like screams? He does this once in a while when I'm not with him.
WHY exactly are my husband's hands ok and not mine? Does it mean that he trusts my husband but not me? Or?


He only seems to give me ONE hour about 1.5 (give or take) hours after he's out in the morning where he'll go in his cage to eat a little more and relax. I sense he's ready for it, and I take him back to the room and he goes right in. But an hour later, he's calling for me. This time I'm trying just sitting in the room with him for a bit, and he seems content with that for the moment. Actually, nope. He came out. Haha

While we are both adjusting, it is still VERY difficult. It's like having a baby that I need to carry all day but even doing things with one hand is difficult bc he will bite! I'll start to do something and no sooner do I start than I have to abruptly stop and scramble to get my hand inside my sleeve. This has been such a test for me... Patience, compassion, persistence... Important things have gone completely to the wayside because I owe it to him to care for him properly... I had no idea what I was in for and this was the worst possible timing (due to my university degree), but I made the commitment. He had no choice in the matter.

There are certainly positive changes happening though and I know this will continue.

Be back later.

[Pajarita]

What, exactly, are you calling 'mating behaviors'? Masturbating? Regurgitating?

I don't know why your husband's hands are OK and not yours. I would have to be there and observe both your interactions with him to see if I could find an answer. But, does your husband do anything with his hands when Quigley is with him? Because maybe it's because he doesn't really move them much...

And, yes, of course you did not know what you were getting into! No first time parrot keeper has or ever will (welcome to the club!)

Mikella, things are getting hugely better. In my personal opinion, he has shown great improvement and in a relatively short period of time. This is the worst time, it's like going through withdrawal for an addict but it will be over soon.