Wingy

To bad. If you still had the shower doors you could use a spring rod as a large shower perch.

Nancy do you have shower doors or a shower curtain?

Jake is 16 weeks old and does this. I asked the vet about it, when we were there earlier in the week, she was able to witness the action and said it was baby behavior and that it was fine to gently pull my finger back ask if he wanted a scratch or beak rub (he loves both) instead. I usually offer the beak rub which then leads to him putting his head down for a scratch. I'm a softie and love giving him both.

Since it is the tip of her beak she may be using it as an additional foot to step up either to steady herself or to put your hand into a more comfortable position. Unfortunately you'll just have to endure while your skin toughens up. You can try offering a few fingers or a flattened hand instead of 1 finger. Pulling back will only confuse her if she is starting to step up because you are sending mixed signals.

Are you sure she is biting? Jake is very mouthy, the vet calls it tactile, and tests everything with his mouth first. He will grab my finger and really mouth it before stepping up. Sometimes it pinches or is uncomfortable, other times he pulls it forward for a beak rub, but most often he is just mouthing me before he'll step up. Something my vet suggested is when Jake's mouthing does hurt to say no bite in a stern voice and try it again but if he still hurts to just walk away and try again later. She demonstrated what she meant and had me try it. It isn't a yell, my voice does not get louder at all, it is a change to just a bit of a deeper tone only. She claims that by using a deeper tone I will show my displeasure and won't accidentally encourage the behavior, in this case biting, by sounding excited.

The small version will not be large enough for a TAG. I have the medium pack and Jake is a petite TAG at 290 grams. He wouldn't have room to move in anything smaller. Honestly if your baby is a chewer you might want to go with the Kings travel cage especially now that he knows he can chew his way out. You could always modify a large backpack to hold the carrier or better yet use the frame for an Alice pack or something similar. If you would rather push than carry you could modify a childs stroller to hold a King cage or even use a wagon.

I would be afraid I would do something wrong and cause more harm than help.

Jake has been home a week now and it feels like he's been here forever and just moments all at the same time. Every morning he does something that has me laughing through out the day. This little guy has my partner and I wrapped around his talon and has entwined himself in our hearts.

Your small town library may be lacking but it should be tied in with your state library. The head librarian should know how to obtain lending books from the state.

Jake is a small TAG and he weighed 290 grams consistently for 3 weeks while at the shop. He goes to the vet today so I will update it later this afternoon.

They both look very happy together. There is an excellent book on Quakers by Mattie Sue Athan. It might be available at your local library. If you don't see it ask the librarian.

You can get the A&E cage through Amazon far cheaper than the one offered at mysafebirdstore and almost the same price as the one on e-bay. http://www.amazon.com/Cage-Company-Play-Bird-Green/dp/B005N2F866/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342924665&sr=8-1&keywords=AE8003628+++A%26E+Playtop+Cage+36x28 or petco.com for the same price (less if you choose the sandstone color) as Amazon with free shipping http://www.petco.com/product/117983/AAndE-Cage-Company-36-X-28-Play-Top-Bird-Cage.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

Quakers are awesome birds and a lot of fun. They can be loud and their bite packs quite a pinch. They can be loud but that is usually limited to twice a day unless they are upset by something or need to tell you something is wrong. They are very mischievous and will "make a plan" to get what they want (think small child knows there are cookies in the cookie jar on the top of the fridge and they are determined to have one). Quakers are a favorite of mine and it was a choice between a grey and a quaker.

Some interesting things I've noticed. At 7:35 Jake goes into full on Taz mode. He flaps, flies, climbs, destroys every piece of food with reach, bites and cannot be distracted then he starts to beg. I've given him some warm oatmeal from a spoon once the begging starts. He takes 5 or 6 nibbles of the oatmeal but hasn't done the head pumping like he wants a hand feeding and that seems to relax him so I can put him in his cage about 8 and he doesn't do the ocd like pacing. I'm guessing this is his bedtime routine and the flurry around the shop began at 7:35 and they close at 8. Jake also thinks I get up way to early (I agree). I am up by 5 and he is not ready to get up then. I get his food and fresh water but he just glares at me with sleepy eyes.

She is learning about her beak and her world. How do things taste, is this for chewing, etc. I distract Jake and if that doesn't work I turn my hand ever so slightly so he has to adjust his feet. I also approach with my hand in a fist so it doesn't look like a toy.

Jake weighs in at 290g but he is a petite little thing.

He's had us cracking up. He loves his red bead and I mean really really loves it. Its to big and slippery for him to hold in his foot comfortably so he carries it around with his beak, then he sees something he wants to chew and yet doesn't want to let go of the bead. Then he starts shaking his head back n forth and of course the bead goes flying. He's hanging out now on his rope perch just relaxed and grinding his beak. We did have a bout of begging at the time when the birds were fed in the shop so I made some oatmeal and spoon fed him a few bites. That seemed to settle him down and he found a place to get comfy and relax.

We went to the bird store today to play with Jake for a few hours. When we walked in we were told that we could take Jake home. Woo hoo. We've had some play time and some eating time and now he's taking a snooze in his palace. He loves beads and has already figured out how to untie knots from leather laces.

I know its warm but have you tried wearing a long sleeve shirt when asking for a step up? Your baby might have had a bad experience with hands, even something as innocent as slipping off, or a previous caregiver might have worn gloves. A long sleeved shirt with long arms covering not only your wrist but down to the knuckles might help while your baby is getting to know and trust you.

Being at a good height never hurts. Its hard to be confident, steady and hold your hand/arm/body properly for a step up when you are reaching up and cannot see fully what is going on.

Hey Sophie, Jake here, I wish Paul and the girls would see that I like the smaller pellets. My mommy noticed that I dive right in to a fresh bowl of pellets searching for the smaller pieces and I gobble those up right away. I don't like having to hold my food to eat it. My feet stink ya know. Mommy said that I must not like my food seasoned with toe cheese. I had to sneak back and add this. The other day the man that came to visit me with the mommy lady said she needs to stop buying me toys until she knows what I like. Mommy lady laughed and told that man to pi$$ off and that a busy bird was a happy bird. She also said was going to spoil me rotten. Well I beaked her for using a bad word and then I beaked the man for saying no more toys.

Thank you.

Nancy I guess there are 2 kinds of head bobbing. There is a dancing kind which is the only kind I've seen and a head bobbing that is part of regurgitating which I've never seen. I honestly didn't know there was a difference. Its a good thing this discussion came up because I wasn't going to allow music in the house.

Jayd/Maggie is that roughly the content/quantity of fresh you feed daily? Do you spread it out over the course of the day or have a fresh foods meal time? I don't want to offer to much and overwhelm Jake but I don't want to offer to little either. What is the large dark object? It looks like a small black plum or dark purple grape. That meal looks tasty. Can I join you for dinner?

I really struggled with my babies name. Finally my partner came up with Jake. It is from that State Farm commercial that cracks us both up when ever it comes on and it also happens to be the stage name of the lead singer of my favorite band.