birdhouse

There are rules. There are guidelines. There are specific situations. Sometimes the best thing to do is go with your instincts. Maybe that was the smartest thing to do for Rambo when he saw this bright colored, humongous baby bird arrive! No doubt it will take some time to sort things out. That's just part of the fun & excitement of own 2 such magnificent birds.

Before Phenix would eat real food, he hated to get anything on his face. So I started to offer him greener bananas. Eventually, I found he'd eat them if they were pretty green by our standards. Now he's gotten to where he loves them no matter how ripe they are.

This is so great to me! People from all over the globe without a common language (except parrot )can share with each other!! ... maybe I'm just easily impressed but I think it's kind of awesome! Welcome Pandora! Really glad you decided to brave the translator! Looking forward to hearing more from you.

That first shot is so cute! But the third to last is my fav! Thanks.

Thanks, Dave. I was afraid you'd say they found some new problems with my fid's favorite fruit! Everyone expects their share whenever I grab a one. It makes me laugh because they very neatly eat every spec. They never throw any around. They're banana junkies, too.

HAPPY re-BIRTHDAY CRICKET!!!!

That's so great to hear! Hope you have lots more fun on your holiday together.

Maybe you could try taking out the things Kookie likes most, for a few weeks. Particularly the bananas, 1 type of nut & sunflower seeds which are filling. She might be more interested in munching on other things if she's less full. Most Greys don't seem to be too inclined to eat out of boredom. Although they might play with their food. If she's already full, she hasn't really got a reason to check out that other thing that doesn't really sing to her taste buds. My guys all eat greens differently. Charm likes big, wet leaves hung on the side of her cage. Kura prefers to eat her's all chopped up in a mix of other things. Phenix, likes foot sized stems more than leaves. For some reason, he won't strip the leaves himself. I'm expected to trim things down for him. But that's okay with me as long as he'll eat the good stuff.

Cocoa lives in parrot paradise & Sanggay takes her everywhere. You might enjoy reading his posts & they have some great pics. She's used to something as close to natural freedom as a harnessed parrot can experience. She's very different from a flightless bird who's seen some of the neighborhood from the illusion of security on a shoulder perch. I think this was meant as a possible stop gap measure for escaped, flighted birds who have some real experience in the outside world. Once a fear response dies out or if the overwhelming need for adventure kicks in, an escapee might be more likely to recognize a safe, habitual roost in it's own territory where we might catch them. So, hopefully, downgrading a situation which could have gone horribly wrong to a major scare.

I think they see fun wherever they find it. If it's new, it's exciting. If it's familiar, don't hesitate to go for it. I hate to be a downer, here, but I don't trust keys. I don't know what type(s) of metal they're made of or any possible surface coat say to help corrosion resistance. So, it goes on the BSTS (better safe than sorry) list at my house. Which is a shame because the birds really do like to play with them.

Thanks. Always nice to save a couple of bucks.

It doesn't matter what it looks like to us. Just that it looks like fun to the fids! If you look at some of our pics you'll see some things that are a little less than spectacular & speaking for myself, downright ugly. But my birds think they're way better than store bought. And I know they're way cheaper. I would only say no to the lettuce. It has no food value & will go yucky fast. Otherwise, go crazy! About your new hobby... maybe I should warn you that it becomes a temporary addiction for some of us. No cure. Just keep stacking them up until you get it out of your system. Always great to have a stock of toys to rotate.

What's in them that we'd want to keep to a limit, Dave?

LOL this should make for some good stories!

What you said about him wanting to stay high & his reaction to moving the play stand makes me think he's a little timid. Which may also be part of the reason he's hesitant to play with things. Let him sit at the table with you while you make toys & see what interests him. Start small & go slowly to build his confidence. Read his body language very closely. Don't force the issue with anything. BTW, he may be at the stage where the box is better than the toy, so to speak. If he's interested in playing with the pieces, that's enough for now. You can put them into a clean food cup & let him use them as foot toys. That might give him a reason to time lower in his cage. Learning takes time. It's a learning process for both of you. Don't expect anything. Just have fun with him.

It sounds like you two are doing very well. We tend to want everything now. But it takes a while to negotiate any significant changes with most adult greys. A month is really pretty quickly for Wallace to have accepted a new flock, life & diet. Even if it's only some of what you'd eventually like to accomplish with him. Patience + Time = Trust. There's no other way with a grey.

Sure they won't stay that way for long! Might want to get pics now, before it's too late.

I think you're very right about that. If they're outdoors all the time, they aren't as likely to take off. No fear & no need. I've read stories where pet parrots actually have free flight in their yards & don't leave. Unfortunately, most of us don't have the ability to live that way with our birds. We live in seasonally cold climates or otherwise hostile environments where there are predators. And a lot of us live in cities where that just isn't possible. Cocoa's a very lucky bird to be able to live such a great life with you & it sounds like she knows it. So glad she only gave you a quick scare, Sanggay!

Gee, I read the post title & I got excited. What a beautiful Christmas present! You could have named her Noel. How about some "before" pics of her new home?

... or Kali at her worst. Some days it's good to share that, too.

Thank you for showing everyone that a rescued parrot can be such a wonderful gift!!

Phenix is afraid of everything new no matter the size. But he's an extreme case from an abused background. Everything gets left within sight for days. Then I play with it for days. When he starts to be more interested than concerned, I can try it in the cage so long as I talk him thru it. But it won't be well received inspite of all this. If he avoids it, then I'll leave it & eventually, he'll probably play with it. Although, that can take months. If he looks alarmed by it, I'll usually leave it for a little while to see if he calms down. 50/50 that he'll calm down. If he growls & is openly afraid of it, it comes out in a couple of minutes. I'll usually try the whole process again in a couple of weeks. Most times, my ekkie gets a new toy, which is a nice fail safe option. I've also found certain things that will freak Phenix out, every time. For instance, he's terrified of see thru florescent plastic, for some reason. :confused:

There are 2 free parrot activity books on this site. http://www.parrotenrichment.com/ There are some good references for other things as well. Hope it helps.

I have a DeLonghi steam cleaner. I'll try it on almost anything because it's turned out to be a great little cleaner. The attachments weren't really meant for carpet, but thery'e still useful for light cleaning & fine for spot cleaning my Berber. It's really good for sanitizing the cages, too.

I hope no news is good news & things are getting better.