Why Can't I Say No?.

[Channti]

Well, three running fish tanks... plus one soon-to-be-running tank... plus two younger brothers....and I thought I was maxed out on pets (and in the case of the brothers.. pests)....

That was....Until Amanda called... She'd had this cockatiel for years.. he was born in September, 2001, so he's about eight and a half years old or so. She's always had an allergy to feathers, but her allergy got much worse in the past couple years, and she was no longer able to keep him. She called me asking if I'd take him... and I couldn't say no.

Silas is hand-tamed, with his wings currently clipped to make things easier on me (my house has high ceilings... last thing I need is Silas getting ticked off, flying up and sitting on a shelf out of reach somewhere (I'm sure he's spiteful like that). He's very camera-shy... the second he sees the camera, he hides, so these pictures took ages to get.

He hates me right now; which is to be expected... I'm a new face and he's in a new environment, but regardless, taking Amandas advice I attempted to get him out of his cage tonight to let him explore the new environment (after I'd bird-proofed it and vaccuumed the carpets). The result was a bird who took 2 hours to leave his cage, another half an hour to work his way down the quick improv ladder from his cage to the floor (an old wire VHS movie stand), and then me being bit and hissed at multiple times 45 minutes later when I tried to coax him back into his cage because I had to leave and wouldn't leave him unsupervised on my bedroom floor (cleaning birdy poo out of my carpet is NOT an easy job.)

I get the feeling Silas and I are going to have a lot of issues to work out over the coming weeks. A lot of tested patiences. A lot of birdy-bite-marks on my hands and arms. And eventually, something that MIGHT resemble trust and a friendship, although I'm expecting to curse his name many times before that happens.

Piccy's:

 

[Shelby]

Congrats on your new pet! Birds are great. I do not have the pleasure of owning one myself but do get to care for a green wing macaw at my boss's house. Once he gets to know you and trust you things will be better! In the meantime they are tough little critters and a crack on the beak when he bites you might make him stop it faster! At least it is a small bird. The bird I care for could remove fingers if she gets ahold of one! I've seen her snap a broom handle with her beak which is why when she gets fiesty she gets a crack on the beak! Then she yells at me to "stop it!" lol naughty girl that she is!

Also, birds do not like a lot of people around them. One at a time is usually best. If you try to pick him up, make sure your arm is higher than his feet. The do not like to step "down" and it will cause him to bite you. They much prefer to step "up". If you pay attention when he is going down his "ladder" he will use his beak for balance and climbing. Hence the reason you will get bit if he has to step down onto your arm! Good luck! My boss has had birds for years and I've learned a lot from him. If you have any questions let me know and I'll ask him

Buster (female green wing macaw)

 

[seffieuk]

Loved reading that

I nominate photo no. 3 for potm along with Shelby's boss' bird, Buster

Who will second?

Seffie x

 

[sorgan]

I have a budgie named Stanley, he like silas hated me when we first met.

The best thing to do Is sit near him, look at him and talk. Say nice things to him as he will know if your being rude!

Set up a perch in your room, this becomes HIS 'outside' space.
Now every day after talking to him open his door and put your hand with one finger extended near the door, if he wants out then he will need to hop onto your finger.
If he bites close the door and leave the room, he will hate this and will assume he was bad fir biting.

If he hops onto you finger say nice things and put him onto his perch, if he falls off (attempting to fly with clipped flight feathers) pick him up and put him back (this further builds trust) if he will allow it rub the downy feathers beside his beak like your itching a scratch, this is one of the only places a bird can't preen and he will love you for it.

These birds are smart and social, please don't leave him alone and locked in all day as it would be a cruel fate for such wonderful birds.

Ps a radio being left on low in the room when your out is a nice thought as the birds love the sound of music and voices.

Good luck.

 

[Channti]

Silas and I are still going through the power-struggle. I've taken to leaving his cage door open when I'm in the room, in his line of sight, but not directly with him. The few times I've done this, he'll climb out of the cage and on top of it. Once he's on top of the cage, I've been talking to him, walking towards him, and attempting to get him to step onto my arm. Silas hates fingers (Amanda informed me of this), so my fingers are always covered when I approach him. Sometimes he hisses at me and flaps. When he does that, I walk away and reapproach in about 20 minutes. On a few occasions, he's climbed onto my shoulder and walked around my back/arms/shoulder. He explored my couch this morning. Discovering that the fabric could be bunched and bit.

I think within the next week or two he should be a little more comfortable with me. I'm already noticing a difference after just a couple days. I might cook up some pasta and plain popcorn (two of his favourite foods) and offer them as "treats" for good behaviour (but obviously not too frequently). I learned yesterday that he adores the leaves on celery (which I happen to have in large supply in the bottom of my fridge), so I might try that too.

He's currently sat in his cage with the door closed for trying to eat my calendar. (lol)! although I might try to pull him out again in a little bit.

 

[sorgan]

Stanley likes toes, not so much bare toes but toes on socks. He likes to dhow his affection of toes by biting them.
Stan also sites on the edge of the fish tank watching the clowns, he likes water but won't go in it. He will stick his head under running taps though.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

I will second both of those nominations Seffie, allthough a Cockatiel is not in my good books atm....

Since moving house, our bird's cage is now in such position just about 10m from where my computer is situated...... by the window so that he can see the outside world and the other birds outside and he communicates with them in a never-ending shrieking scream that cuts through bone right into the marrow and reverberates in the body.

I've tried to reason with my wife to move him to the furthest room on the other side of the house, but she refuses to give in and tells me to just ignore the bird.... have you ever tried to "ignore" the sound of a foghorn when a ship comes into the harbour?..... On the first day in the new house, (my wife was still sleeping) I found a nice big box which she unpacked and his cage just fitted nicely into this box... guess what I did?

However, it is not a patch against a Patagonian parrot (Bart) we once looked after for a friend who was away on holiday... Fortunately at that time I still had the SPCA, and moved it to the offices where there was no-one around to hear him... That will drive one crazy

 

[Channti]

Silas and I are continuing our power struggle. He's associating the word "Home" with returning to his cage, and "out" with coming out. He's fine with me as long as it is JUST me in the house. The second there are other people home (even if they're on the other side of the house) he starts acting up (and in a house with 4 other people besides myself, there are frequently others here). Yesterday was the first time I'd left him home alone. I got a phone call at work from my mom; Silas was shrieking and rattling the cage door anytime anyone walked past my room. My mom is terrified of him, and he can sense it, so when shes around him, he spooks really easily. He calmed down once I was home.

My only issue now is that once he's on my shoulder, he likes to preen himself and my hair, but if I reach up to move my bangs, zip up my sweater, or scratch my head, he hisses and lunges at me. Each time he does that I've been returning him to his cage without a treat.

When he goes back to his cage nicely after behaving himself while out, he gets either a celery-leaf, a couple sunflower seeds, or a chunk of millet.

Hopefully he's a little less angry as time goes on. The whole lunging at me, biting and hissing thing... it's getting really really old really really fast!.