Timbersmom

Hi Beth and welcome! I'd love to see pics of your "creations" and of course of Jake also when you can. We love pics! I can only imagine how excited you must be. I'm a new bird owner myself (rehomed TAG), and had no idea what I was getting in to. You've obviously done your research and are ready. Good luck!

Good post Ray, thanks and keep them coming

Congratulations! Anxious to see the pics

oooo more good ideas. Thanks Wingy!

Teri, I'm still keeping a bath towel in Timber's room in case of a real emergency (fire or the like). Not pretty, but I'd use it if I had to!

I love to see that blush! I've only seen Timber do it when we are having a really good scratch session. I've never heard him growl (yet). Of course, you have a baby and I have a rehomed adult!

That's a good point Sara, you need to consider the reasons why you want him to step up. I say this because as a new bird owner I had some pretty unrealistic (and a few bizarre) ideas about what owning a bird would be. Some of the info and videos online had me thinking I should be training him to step from finger to finger all the time and teaching him tricks. While I'm not saying there is anything wrong with training a bird to do things, my reality is a little different. Your bird needs to step up for emergency situations, when you must move them, etc., but that is pretty rare for me. Timber comes out of his cage when he wants to come out, and we have a bedtime routine which involves him going in under his own steam, not via a step up. My non-emergency reasons for having him step up are just to spend more time with me. I really let him choose that. For example, I tell him I am going to the living room and say "wanna come?" If he does want to he will move toward me and step up, if he doesn't want to he goes in his cage. Most of the time, he wants to go now. I learned from someone here (it was Sara I think) that rehomed/rescue birds can have a bad association with the "step up" command word so I avoid that because it wasn't working well with Timber. I want Timber to be a companion, not a trick bird. I suppose it goes to expectations, as well as what you and your bird enjoy. They do need to be mentally stimulated, and I'd say games and training would do that. When we get a little farther down the road I may introduce some training, but for now we are still finding our way!

I guess Timber is just lazy. If he can't make pretty quick work of it (like cardboard and paper) he seems to think it isn't worth the effort! Or, it may just be the impatient grey temperament

I think it will work. Your bird sounds like Timber when you mentioned that he acts like he wants to be with you. I always thought Timber looked at me with longing but just couldn't bring himself to trust me. Turns out, I was right. From everything else I've read here, most of them are just slow to adjust and slow to trust because of their cautious nature, but they get there! I can commiserate, because a couple of times I was close to tears (and I'm not a crier) thinking we were never going to make any progress. Not to mention being brought to tears by bleeding wounds

I have recently been through the same situation. I rehomed my TAG, Timber, in early June. Like you, the first day and second day he stepped up when I asked him too. After that, he bit me every time I tried. With Timber, it was a matter of him deciding he could trust me and it took a few weeks. I've posted here several times about this and don't want to repeat myself. As Dan said, the honeymoon is over. That doesn't mean that things won't get better though. I stopped trying to get him to step up. I started working on getting him to trust me and realize I wasn't going to hurt him and just let him adjust to us and his new environment. I kept up the scratching through the cage and let him come out when he wanted too. Then I started touching his beak (quickly) or his feet so he would be used to my hands and know I wasn't going to hurt him. this probably went on for a month or more. The day finally came when he let me pet him (dropped his head) but he was still leery so that was slow going too. Now, he lets me pet him and give him scratches pretty much any time, and the last couple of weeks he has started stepping up. As someone on the forums told me, make sure the step up experience is taking them somewhere they want to go. If it gets a negative connotation they are more and more unlikely to do it. So, I try to take him somewhere he wants to go rather than just making him step up for the sake of obedience.

It is so hard for me to tell if Timber is "enjoying" himself or not. I've been taking little outings with him now that he will get on my arm. We went and sat at the picnic table for awhile and spent some time on the front porch (as well as going to the basement and upstairs) over the weekend. He doesn't freak out, scream or anything, he just sits there. So, how do you tell if they are enjoying it or just tolerating it? I'm trying to give him new experiences and spend as much time with him as possible, but I really don't know if he sees it as an adventure or a chore.

What great news that he called you "mom!" I was just telling the family after Timber said "Dakota" this weekend that Timber will probably never call me anything because he hears so few people call me anything. I'll be lucky to get a "hey you" Safe travels and blessings to you!

Since you gave him the walnut that started all this, does that make you the godfather??

Amazing stuff! Joe sounds just like a toddler doesn't he?

Welcome and good luck! If you have any questions, just ask. I'm new myself, but someone here with experience always has the answer you need!

Yes you can. We are all more adaptable than we think we can be and so are our birds!

Thanks Nancy, big too us too! Funny about Jake's first word! They always do the unexpected don't they? That's part of what makes it so much fun

Wow, cool! Thanks for the video. I haven't seen anything like this before.

Very informative, thorough post. Thanks!

Just don't turn your back on him. There isn't a room in my house where I am willing to leave Timber alone if he is out of his cage. Too nosy, and too anxious to shred everything he can! Between electrical outlets, wires, and things I would assume are toxic (not to mention my 4 free roaming cats), he is never unsupervised when out. I remember seeing a video of a cat that used the toilet like that and even flushed. I don't think my crew would buy it though.

LOL Wonder where she learned that??

Always great to hear!

LOL True! Someone told me once that if someone was bothering you just act crazy and most of the time they will backoff. Probably true! Just start whistling and clicking and see how fast they scatter.

Timber said a new word last night! Big deal for a not-so-often talker. He said Dakota (my son and his favorite's) name. I've been careful to say goodbye Dakota and hello Dakota when he comes in and out and was hoping Timber would pick it up. Dakota came home from college for the weekend last night. He said he went in the living room and Timber was saying "come here" which he does pretty frequently. Dakota would respond, "no, you come here." Finally he said he heard his name "Dakota" and thought I was calling him from upstairs. Then he heard it again and realized it was Timber! Not rocket science I know, but he definitely recognizes "Dakota" is the name associated with my son. Woohoo

Wow, that looks great! I wish I had the room/ability/ingenuity to have one of these. For now, Timber will have to be happy with the porches, which he is except that he wants me to stay there with him the whole time he is there!