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Updates of my parrots and seeking advice

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Updates of my parrots and seeking advice

Postby Erfan771 » Sat Feb 09, 2019 5:54 am

Hi forum

In this thread i would like to give you some updates on my birds and ask you advice whit some issues im encountering while raising and taming them. My baby tiel Eagle (4 months) is getting stronger and i hope healthier since im feeding him gloop and following pajaritas advice in one of my old threads im still looking forward to get him a mate and here occurs my first question:

Since there is no DNA testing aviable in my country I'm still not sure of his gender but I'm closer thinking that its a female since till now Eagle wont sing and the patch on the cheek is more light colored i think. So i was wondering if its really that important to get him a mate of the opposite gender or not? If not i would just look for a healthy bird thats not too old so they can get used to each other or maybe i look forward to rescue a tiel.

The other issue is regardings my quaker parrot Cookie. If you came across my last thread you probably know the sad story about Cookie loosing his mate. It was a real lesson for me and after the accident i secured all my windows whit a strong metal mash from outside and a screens from inside so now its impossible for a bird to escape even when he leaves his cage although my wife was a bit upset saying that i made our house looking like a cage but at the end we agreed that this is the best way keeping our companions in a safe enviroment. So after i painted the bird room and let the paint fully dry i moved cookie and eagle inside the room and gave them couple of days getting used do theyr new enviroment. Then i started trying to tame Cookie and gain his trust. We made awesome achievements and after couple days he would take treats from my hand trough cage bars and couple days after that he would take them whit the cage door open straight from my hand. I knew that it would be a challenge do tame him since he is parent reared i think but i used the search area in the forum a lot to gather information and couple days ago he almost stepped up for me. He put his hand on my hand to get the treat and then got a bit scared and moved back again but then i knew that whit enough patience i would hopefully getting his trust to step on my hand.

But now we have a problem:

My son always asked me to get him a some budgies because he likes watching them and he finds them very funny so now that we got the bird room i got a big cage whit two pairs of budgies and all what they need. My son is very happy and he helps my changing theyr water and food and cleaning theyr cage. The problem is now that my quaker Cookie changed after seeing and hearing the budgies. He hardly won't take any treats from my hand and when i try to tame him he is always distracted moving back and forth in his cage. Since he still wont step up i cant just take him to my bedroom to train him there and im getting frustrated and dont know how to go on.

I know that these are problems some of you already encountered so i would be glad for some advice!
Erfan771
Parrotlet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 22
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Cockatiel, Quaker parrot and budgies
Flight: Yes

Re: Updates of my parrots and seeking advice

Postby Pajarita » Sat Feb 09, 2019 10:18 am

You don't say how long ago you put the budgies in there but, if it hasn't been very long, it's just a matter of time. He is, most likely, distracted by the new birds but he will get used to them and will go back to paying attention to you. There are two things that work every single time with birds regardless if they are parent-raised, wild-caught or hand-fed and already tamed: patience and persistence. If you keep on doing the same thing, every single day, at the same time, whatever it is you want to achieve, you will get it. Quakers are one of the most affectionate species of small parrots and they not only love but also need physical attention and this will work in your favor. Why don't you try getting him in a small cage that you can carry to the kitchen to work one-on-one with him? If you wait until mid-morning, when he has had his good healthy breakfast of fresh food, and put his high value item (I would use a roasted peanut in the shell because I don't know of a single parrot that can resist them) in it with the door open and wait for him to go inside, you can carry it to the kitchen. It might not work the first or the second day because they are VERY smart and he is going to figure out you are trying to trick him but, eventually, he will go in.

It doesn't really matter that much to tiels if their companion is of the same gender when it comes to company because they are more flock oriented than pair oriented. I always try to find them mates because I believe that this is the best situation for them but two females or two males get along just fine too.

I had to laugh when I read your wife's comments about the house looking like a giant cage because my husband still complains (after all these years!) "This is NOT a shelter! It's a family house!" :lol:
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Updates of my parrots and seeking advice

Postby Erfan771 » Wed Feb 13, 2019 6:23 am

Thanks for the answer pajarita.

I got the budgies since a week now.
I tried it whit the small cage but he gets too nervous after entering it. Im thinking about moving his cage to our bedroom wich is next to the bird room. The bedroom is bird safe and very quiet. The only problems going to be my wife because shes goin to get mad if cookie starts screaming at sunrise :lol: . You think its ok to keep his cage covered for couple hours in the morning or will it mess up his solar schedule?
Erfan771
Parrotlet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 22
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Cockatiel, Quaker parrot and budgies
Flight: Yes

Re: Updates of my parrots and seeking advice

Postby Pajarita » Wed Feb 13, 2019 9:44 am

Bedrooms are not good places for birds because it's almost impossible to keep them at a strict solar schedule. And, yes, if you do not expose the bird to the dawn and dusk light while it's happening, it will most definitely screw up their endocrine system.

One week is nothing in terms of time to a parrot - everything with them takes a long time.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Updates of my parrots and seeking advice

Postby Erfan771 » Thu Feb 14, 2019 10:49 pm

Hhmmmm...there is an other idea.

His cage is not extremely heavy and got wheeles and like i said the birdroom is next to the bedroom, so what do you think if i keep him in the birdroom and roll his cage to the bedroom for taiming

I think I'm a bit overreacting like you said one week is not much its just that i was building a relationship whit cookie gaining his trust then suddenly we been back to zero so that got me shocked what made me move his cage to other locations a lot the last days but i think that made him even more stressed so i think i will place him in a suitable spot in the birdroom for now and let him calm down for a while then if its ok i will roll thw cage to my bedrom for taming.

I noticed aswell when i giving Cookie and my tiel out of cage time that Cookie likes Eagle (tiel) and walks after him wherever he goes and never attacks him. When i leave the room and come back later i see them hanging out togheter on top of Eagles cage. Will his connection to another bird like Eagle slow down or prohibit his bonding to me ?
Erfan771
Parrotlet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 22
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Cockatiel, Quaker parrot and budgies
Flight: Yes

Re: Updates of my parrots and seeking advice

Postby Pajarita » Sat Feb 16, 2019 3:32 pm

You are going to do very welll by your birds because you seem to have a natural empathy that gives you great insight into their behaviors - yes, you guessed right, moving them from one room to another all the time stresses them out unless they are flying back and forth on their own but even that takes time because they are not natural explorers so, although eventually they do venture to a different part of the house, it takes time.

And no, their bonding is actually a pretty wonderful thing and it will not prevent him from bonding with you. I took in a four year old female quaker from a couple who loved her but did not really know enough to give her what she needed so she screamed a lot (the reason why they gave her up). She did not say a single word, did not know her own name, did not eat a good diet, etc. But she now flies all over the place, comes or responds when I call her name, speaks several phrases (and knows what they mean), eats a great diet (you should see her stealing bites out of the lettuce when I am preparing the tray to feed them!), obeys commands and loves me to pieces (my husband says that she is spoiled rotten :D ) and has a boyfriend (male African Redbelly). They do not share a cage yet but this is only because I had been planning a trip and my husband did not feel confident enough to handle both of them in the same cage (the male bites). They are together all the time they are out of their cages, eat together, fly together, spend hours preening each other and get into all kinds of trouble also together but she still loves me! Let me tell you something she does that melts my heart. She knows what 'Give me a kiss?' means and gladly lifts her little face for me to kiss when I ask her and, at night, when I go around closing the blinds and saying good night to them, I ask her to give me a kiss and she moves close to the bars and puts her little face right against them so I can kiss her and, when I do, she says: 'Que rico beso!' (what a nice kiss!). So, no, bonding with another bird is not going to prevent him from bonding with you.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Updates of my parrots and seeking advice

Postby Erfan771 » Tue Feb 19, 2019 6:41 am

Thanks for the compliment pajarita but i think I'm just trying to do the right thing and sometimes are far away from it, still i try to make no mistakes and research before trying something and if i made a mistake i learn from it but you can defiantly tell that im gaining experience specially whit all the kind support of this forum !

I fixed cookies cage now in a spot in the bird room and let him alone for a while then i thought that he needs some out of cage time again and thats where the problem began. He wouldn't fly back to his cage anymore ( before i used to serve dinner and he would fly back ) then he stayed on top of the budgies cage and slept there for the night because i dont wanted to grab him so he won't panick. The next morning he still wouldn't move to his cage so i put a food and water bowl outside so he wont starve or dehydrate. Then suddenly around midday i heared a bird scream and when i looked i found that cookie just bited a female budgies finger trough cage bars and she was bleeding. Gratefully the injure wasn't that bad and after treating the wound i knew that i couldn't let him outside on his own anymore. So i took a bucket and trapped him in it and took him back to his cage. I didn't used my hands so he wont get more scared off hands than he already is. Then i left him alone for a while, then i came to give him a treat that he wouldn't take so i left it on one of his perches and guess what he done, he took it all the way to the other end of the cage and threw it outside the cage, wich made me feel really sorry...

Today he won't take treats from my hand but he will eat them after i leave them on his perch so i think with enough patience we can make some progress like before.

If you got any advice how i should approach him for taming please feel free to tell me and do you think its ok to prevent him from out of cage time for a while till he gets used to the new birds and calms down a bit ?

It surprised me aswell to hear from your female quaker and her story gave me some new toughts. I heared before that if you got a tame bird and get it a mate that's not tame the tame one will in time bring his mate to trust you and become tame aswell. Altough i heared this about same species birds it may work whit cookie and eagle. I mean what if i let them share a cage? I would defiantly supervise them the first days but from what i seen they really like each other. Then i could give eagle treats and pet him and make him step up and maybe whit time cookie would follow up ? But will eagle be happy for cookie as his mate since eagle is a aviary species ? If not there's no point moving them togheter....
Erfan771
Parrotlet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 22
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Cockatiel, Quaker parrot and budgies
Flight: Yes

Re: Updates of my parrots and seeking advice

Postby Pajarita » Tue Feb 19, 2019 7:07 am

I would not put two birds that are not mate bonded together in the same cage. It's playing with fire. I think the problem here is that you are thinking in human time frames... with parrots, you have to have A LOT of patience. Parrots will not starve out of despondency -only stupid humans do that. If you put out only gloop and produce in the morning and seeds in the evening, he might not go back to his cage the first, the second or the third day but believe me that, if he gets no other protein food but the one that you are putting in his cage, sooner or later he will go in. The key to this working is for you not to feel sorry or worry too much about his going hungry and allow him to figure things out for himself - like i said, they are highly intelligent and can add 2 + 2 and get a 4 out of it. Give him his breakfast and, two hours before sunset, open his cage and let him out. One hour later, take out the breakfast and put seeds on a paper plate (or a piece of cardboard) at the bottom of his cage and leave the room. Once it's completely dark, go and see if he went in, if he did, close the door to the cage - if he didn't, leave the door open but, in the morning, if he is still not in, take the seeds out and put the gloop and produce in it and repeat the procedure until he starts going in by himself. If you wait him out, he will. I promise you! The trick is NOT to change things around and keep on doing the exact same thing every single day because, if you give in and catch him or give him a treat because you feel sorry, he will not make the connection in his brain. I allow my budgies to come out every morning but they all go back in when I put the gloop in their cage. It took me days and days of waiting until later in the day for this to happen but as they got used to the routine, they started doing it without a problem. And it's much easier if the lure is protein food - I could not do it with the budgies because the cats are out when they get dinner but they do like their gloop although not as much as seeds so, eventually, Duke (the boy who is always the first to go for the food) went in and then Flora (which is also a big eater) and, after that, they all went in. You just need to be patient and persevere with tough love.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes


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