Raposa

I know how you feel; like Obi, Jenna is not much of one for cuddling. But she let me pet her head this morning after our shower ~grins~ I was playing peek a boo with her with a towel and when she poked her head out she let me pet it! Funny how something that little feels like such a huge thing, isn't it? ~chuckles~

Those are such delightful pictures of Harrison! She is gorgeous, and obviously a happy bird!

Pumpkin, I bet when the time comes for you to get a grey, you will be a super "mom" to your bird!

I've started clicker training with Jenna, more to develop communication and bonding than to get her to do interesting things, but I am hoping it will be useful in other ways. Right now I'm trying to use it to help Jenna get accustomed to a harness. We've made pretty good progress; she'll stick her head through the harness and let me drape it over her but I have not yet figured out how to get her wings into the harness correctly since she is not fond of being handled all that much. We'll see how it goes!

Jenna flies to me and lands on my head a LOT. She gets tangled up in my hair, and she gets annoyed when I take her off my head. But I think she tends to go for my head when she has been startled. I guess I am her safe person, and the higher she can get on her safe person the better she feels when she's been startled. I hope she will eventually decide that other parts of me, like hand or shoulder, are better perches! lol

Maybe Obi is just getting used to her new home still. Greys seem slower to adjust to change than some birds; she just might need a little more time. There's a breeder who calls herself the African Queen who has a cd of wild greys, maybe it would help to play something like that for Obi?

Jenna has made some progress with the harness, let me tell you what we did. Do any of you work with clicker training? I got some advice from another forum about the harness and we tried it . . . so far so good. What we did was first work on "targeting" (where you get the bird to touch a chopstick or something similar and reward them for doing that). She did that inside her cage really well for a couple of days, then started doing it outside her cage as well. So I held the target through the halter, and little by little, shortened it so she had to poke her beak through the harness to touch it. Last night, she poked her little head ALL the way through the harness, I praised her abundantly and gave her treats, and we stopped for the night. Then, this morning, we gave it another try. This time, she put her head through the harness and let me drape the harness over her, and was perfectly calm and happy. GREAT progress. Only now I have to figure out how to get her to let me put her wings through the harness, since she is not particularly fond of being touched. Anybody have any ideas on that?

I had my eclectus for 15 years, Lovelylew. I got him when he was 2 months old and finished his handfeeding myself, and he went EVERYWHERE with me. He was a very friendly guy, would go to anybody to sit on their hand, and talked up a storm. His death was a terrible, unexpected blow. But I DID end up with a beautiful new baby Jenna girl! Jenna likes to be around people, and will fly to me, which I love. She likes to land on my head rather than my arm, which I don't love, but at least she is coming to me! She's interested and cheerful and smart, but she does not want to be touched much. Maybe that will change as she gets more comfortable with me, after all she's only been home for a week and a half! And maybe the same will go for Obi with time and patience . . .

I am new to greys, but I have read that training (like clicker training or positive reinforcement training of other kinds) can help you to develop a good relationship, even with a bird that does not "prefer" you. What do you more experienced folks think?

Uh huh, and once he learns to fly, WATCH OUT! :laugh: He will be king of the roost!!!!! Although I beet he already is

Thanks, Lovelylew. I am having to show a lot of restraint because my eclectus (who died suddenly just after christmas) was a VERY cuddly bird ~smiles~ Jenna is her own little self, with definite opinions and a strong will! :lol:

Lovelylew, my Jenna is not all that excited about being touched either, so I am interested in the responses you got. Jenna will fly to me, wants to be ON me a lot, but does not particularly like to be petted. Every once in a while she'll let me give her a neck scritch. I want to harness train her, but since she does not like handling all that much I don't want to rush it. I sure hope she gets more relaxed about being handled as she gets more comfortable in her new home . . . BUT I did start "targeting" with Jenna over the weekend, and she's catching on! She's a smart little girl ~beams~

Wow, the paper towel bib is a good idea!! I will give that a try. I have been wanting to take my baby places with me, but she is fully flighted and she loves to fly . .. in fact, it worries me a bit, even at home. She's flown into windows and walls a couple of times, and that scares me. I'm considering a one time wing clip for her, but I'm very ambivalent about it. At any rate, wing clip or not, she needs to learn to tolerate the harness. I have an aviator harness for her, MUCH easier to work with than the feather tether, which I had for my last bird, butI have not yet attempted to put it on Jenna.

Jenna had ANOTHER shower this weekend, and she really seems to like it!

Char, I bet Simon will come around. Bring him in and put him on a perch and let him watch without getting wet . . . maybe that will help!

~grins~ Where else could you talk about taking a shower with your bird and have people understand?

I can't whistle, so I KNOW Jenna did not get it from me! LOL

I don't know, but I'd sure like input on this . . . I have a gas fireplace in my living room, where Jenna lives

Evolet sounds about as precious and perfect as she can be! I know how eager you are to have your baby home :woohoo:

~smiles~ Thanks Judy. People are quick to tell somebody else what they have done wrong, it is nice to occasionally hear about something we've done right! And Wendy does a fabulous job with her babies

Char, isn't it fun to hear them chortle and sing? I just love it!!! Jenna has a lovely voice, and I'm sure Simon does, too! Jenna was DNA tested, so I know she's a girl, but you definitely do get a feeling for that kind of thing!

Jenna has been home only since Saturday, but I thought I'd take her into the shower with me to see how she did. I brought her in and put her on her shower perch and just let her watch for a few minutes; she was calm and watchful. So I took the handheld shower and aimed it toward the ceiling, letting the water fall gently on her. Jenna fluffed up her feathers and tried to catch the water with her beak. She did GREAT! Of course, I told her how wonderful she is (I do that about a thousand times a day) I am so proud of my little girl, and more and more impressed with the great job the breeder did in socializing this baby bird. (I called the breeder to tell her that last night, and it made her cry ~smiles~) She loves her babies, that is for sure. YAY for Jenna's first shower!!!

Siobha, what a wonderful idea! I will immediately move the cage so she can get the oatmeal spread out more evenly! ~giggles~

LOL Sorry, Judy, I did mean the Nursery . . . a forum within a forum, perhaps? Sorry for the confusion! And yes, Jenna makes me smile just thinking about her ~beams~

Thank you! ~smiles happily~