Birdnut

Ouch! I bet that does hurt Tui. I will share my experience with a similar sort of injury. It was a different type of bird, but might be helpful. Our lovebird, Izze, is very cage defensive, as is typical of her kind. At one point, Gwyneth, the cockatoo, learned that it was great fun to tease Izze through the cage until she came to the defense, and then grab her by the beak. We only realized this was going on later, after we had discovered Izze with substantial crack wounds on either side of her beak and extensive bruising in her beak and face. She was very depressed in her manner, and it was clear the wound was painful. I began offering her soft foods, just as you are doing with Tui: oatmeal, baby food, applesauce, etc. We also put a radiant heat panel on the back of her cage to keep her a little warmer. We saw the vet the next day. He examined her and said we were doing what needed to be done, and that she would be okay. I had thought he might want to put some sealer on the beak to reinforce it, but he didn't want to do that, as it might still need to weep a little fluid as it healed. He explained how beaks grow and heal from the inside and outward (rather than from the top down, as I had thought). He really didn't do anything; just reassured me that she would be okay. Izze seemed depressed and really uncomfortable for a couple of days. After that, she pretty much perked up to her old self. I think her beak stayed rather sore for a week or so. She was back to eating her normal food within few days. The beak gradually healed and the bruising gradually went away. It took quite a while, but she is fine now. Needless to say, we took her cage out of the bird room, so she is no longer vulnerable to injury by the cockatoo. I know this was not the same type of bird or the same injury, but I thought it might be of interest. I would definitely consult with the vet, when you are able, to see if anything can be done, and, if nothing else, to reassure you.

Actually, a little training activity can be good to help build a bond. Maybe a little simple target training, if Tui has a favorite treat that you can use as a training treat. You can use a clicker or simply a word, like "Good!" Keep the training sessions short and fun, and be sure to end with a success, so Tui gets a big payoff at the end. Birds will learn to look forward to these sessions. This can be really useful for establishing a means of communication, which is very bonding. It can also come in very handy later as a way to help gain Tui's cooperation in going in or out of the cage, etc.

@Dan: Loved the play by play!!! Could we get a video of some of these ninja moves? For educational purposes, only, of course. Moussa is 6 mos., so I figure I better start brushing up.

Good one!!! You sure got the parrotlet right!

Tui is looking great. Third time's the charm! Ziggy is a cutie, too. I have a soft spot for conures ... they are funny little rascals!

Thanks for the fun pics. I needed that. Maybe Diego should consider modeling as a career. He can really strike a pose! LOL!

Hope your little robin friend is all right. Let us know. I have to confess the first thing I noticed in your video is you are wearing long sleeves. Here in Texas at 100F it made me whimper, "I want to be in Scotland."

Oh dear, I fear I was misunderstood. I wasn't suggesting at all that Issac was phobic. I don't get that impression at all. Merely recalling the fact that the article I mentioned referred to young greys playing rough with each other at a certain stage in their life. What Elvenking describes sounds like a young grey feeling his oats! Dave is so right on about not taking it personally! That was the first thing we had to get straight before we could work with any of our birds' behavior issues. Am looking forward to more tips and information, as I am learning a lot from this thread!

Hi, babysweet. Glad to hear that things appear to be working out for you and Jakob. Just wanted to comment on the high perch idea. It sounds like what Pamela Clark did was to raise the whole cage up high. Perhaps that's what you meant by putting his perch high to allow him to "perch near the ceiling." But if you were thinking of putting just a perch, itself, up that high, I would be concerned about Jakob falling. I don't remember whether you mentioned if he could fly or not. If not, I would worry about perching him that high, especially since you mentioned that he will occasionally throw himself backward off the perch, with no concern for his safety. All the best.

Awesome porch!!!! I love it! That is giving me ideas. Moussa is 6 months old, so no hurry ... still a baby. It is hysterical to listen to him practice his vocalizations sometimes.

Awww. That just brings tears to my eyes. Emma's such a honey.

Ouch, Stephen! Moussa isn't doing this type of thing (yet), so I can't offer anything from personal experience, but this reminds me a lot of the article that Jayd linked to in the thread about the phobic grey (can't seem to find that now). In that article, the writer talked about how young male greys go through a stage where they play fight with other young greys and how that rough play built their confidence. If true, this does support the idea that this is a developmental stage they go through. Sounds like Issac may be interacting with you the way he would one of his young grey buddies in the wild. Sounds like you are certainly getting some good advice from the others. I am noting all this and filing it away for future reference. That is one of the great things about this forum: we can learn from others experience (or at others expense) I will note that my conures do this type of thing, and they tend to do it when I am busy and distracted and not paying attention to them, such as when I'm trying to clean in the bird room

Awesome! I am so looking forward to our Moussa talking for us like that. It sounds like Calypso is also imitating the other birds in the house. We have other birds, too, and Moussa can now speak lovebird and sun conure! I was hoping that having other birds to imitate would not keep him from imitating us.

Nice!! What did you use to wrap that with?

Group hug!!!!

Duh! Of course. Now I remember. The vet from hell! All our windows have some visual obstruction in them. The ones that don't have blinds or shutters have various stickies and stained glass decorations. It's all very colorful! Someone who didn't realize what it was all about would probably think, Wow, those folks are really into window decorations!! LOL!

What a proud, regal, beautiful creature! I've been curious ... Issac (Newton?)

Does not compute. Huh? Why last update? (this feels scary)

Could you leave the paper off the bottom tray and just keep it cleaned off as well as possible? I wonder if that would work. I can imagine the grating would be a problem for Pippa.

Denise, very sorry for your loss. What a precious little baby you have. I don't have any expertise to offer in this area (you are getting some excellent help from Jayd), but will be anxious to follow your baby's progress. We loves the babies!

Beautiful, precious babies ... both of them: human and avian!

LOL! Thanks for the vid! We have a blue-headed pionus, Iris, and I just love it when she struts like that. My husband thinks it looks like some kind of Native American dance and he will start chanting when she does it...cracks me up!

This digging behavior is just normal grey baby behavior. I have seen others state that it is a nest cleaning instinct.

Can't wait to see!

I didn't hand feed Moussa myself, but I did give him supplemental feedings of formula and other soft mushy foods from a spoon. He's 6 months now, and he still loves to be fed something mushy from a spoon. He'll get really excited if he sees me stirring something with a spoon, and he'll come running and want some of it.