Eckobird Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 I saw your cage, its HUGE! It definitely needs more toys and perches in there. I don't understand why, whoever is telling you these things, thinks its not good to have a lot of perches and toys in the cage. The love to play with toys and they love to climb at this age. They need stuff so they don't get bored in their cage. This is what part of Ecko's cage looks like, notice all the different perches, and toys, and a swing. He loves them all and plays with everything in his cage. Apollo has a bigger cage than Ecko but it looks so empty, he needs more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loukas Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 Honestly I would even play in your cage! It looks like a toddlers bedroom! I dont know if he's telling me these things just cuz Apollo is still on 14 weeks or its just bad advice. From now on, every other day I'll add something new to his cage, whether its a perch or a new toy until it looks homey. By the way, is there a possibility that he could be afraid of certain toys and thus block his access? Should I sit and play with the toy and him the first time? Probably, lol. Sorry I figure things out as I write. So far I've hung a toy on either side of the perch up against the cage. He doesn't seem to be afraid of them as he attacks them often. I tried hanging them from the top rather than the sides but he reaches out to play with it and looks like its slightly to far for him or he might slip off trying to bite it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbpittman Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 What a beautiful cage for Apollo! He definitely needs more toys and perches. Dixie has 4 perches in her cage, all differing in diameter and length, one running across and 4 shorter ones that are specific to each food/water bowl and one up high for sleeping. All having different textures. I often will hang a new toy just outside her cage for a few days to get used to it before putting it in her cage. Sometimes just after a few hours if she wants the toy from the outside of her cage. I rotate her toys on occassion, giving her a new perspective on them as well. Great name on Apollo, I wish you both great success in your venture in life. -- Robin, Paul, Dixie, Sterling, George & Gracie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loukas Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 Apollo flew yesterday! What a sight! he seemed massive! He flew from one side of the room where his cage was all the way to the other where he latched on the the top of the curtains! I was hoping he wouldn't poop all over them, which he didn't but the only way I could get him off them was by offering his perch from his cage. I put him back in his cage at which point, while my arm was still inside the cage, he used it as a launching pad, took two steps and he was off again right back on to the curtains! He doesn't seem able to fly from the floor though, only if he's perched. Is this normal or will he be able to take off from a flat surface as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveyj Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 He sure will Lou hes only a baby but the more confident he gets the more he will attempt to fly from the floor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane08 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Yay for Apollo with his flight. You wait until he really learns to fly and then he will take off from anywhere, fly through small gaps in the door, whizz around corners. You will be amazed and in awe. Yes they can be afraid of new toys and you will see that by his reaction. It can help to play with the toy first to show him it's ok. If he is scared of it wait until he is used to it before you put it in the cage. That is great he isn't afriad so far. I also have many perches in the cage ones that are at angles others horizontal, different width, different surfaces. They love to climb from perch to perch. I then also go out and pick fresh branches and place them in the bars of the cage for them to chew on. They love to pick the leaves off and de bark the branch. Toys are a necessity and one toy is definitly not enough and yes this guy is giving you bad advice it's not because your grey is only 14 weeks old.<br><br>Post edited by: Jane08, at: 2009/07/10 14:10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loukas Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 Thanks for the info. unfortunately I don't think I'll see many acrobatics though as I live in a one bedroom apartment. I gues he could fly from the living room to my bedroom and back. Now that I see he is more confident in the apartment and with me, its time to at least teach him to step up. He has done it before but I believe that it was mostly accidents or he does it only to flap his wings or in yesterday's case to fly off. By the way, who is this Chet Womach guy? He is EVERYWHERE! Has anyone on this forum tried his "DVDs"? I've seen a couple of the free videos but I am not convinced. He's got these long long pages where he's trying to convince you that he's the best and has testimonials and all for pages before it gets to the product and the price. It looks like those "Build abs in 1 week" kinda businesses. But I had to ask cuz he is referenced everywhere. Speaking of training, every time I see him poop I keep saying "Go poop" just to see if eventually he'll learn what it means... Is this a waste of time? I would really hate it to be a waste of time cuz i tend to say poop 20 times a day! Also when I saw him nipping the power cords I removed them from his beak and sternly said NO. If I keep doing things like that, ie removed object and say NO do you think he'll learn that NO means NO? Thanks for the help team! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eckobird Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 YAY congrats Apollo for flying! Isn't it so exciting? I also live in a small 2 bedroom apt but Ecko gets around great and loves to fly around, he manages to do the sharpest turns into the bedrooms and it is quite amazing. I wouldn't worry too much about him flying and pooping at the same time, I have never seen Ecko poop while flying. Chet is a big NO NO! I would not recommend him at all. There a lot of threads on here that explain why people do not like it, just type his name in the search box and you will see what we mean. You are doing the right thing by saying go poop everytime you see him poop, it is not a waste of time, it is actually the first step of potty training so keep doing what your doing. Your doing a wonderful job. So how is he eating? What kind of fruits and veggies does he like? Is he a picky eater? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Adaya is 5 months old she was hatched on Feb 7 2009 she has a huge cage and she has 9 different perches and proububly 7or 8 toys in her cage and she loves it she climbs swings upside down chews on wood and has a very wonderful time in there. this is from the side of her cage so you can't see every thing her cage is 42'wide 36'deep and 72" tall so its huge but this will give you an Idea of what you can do to help make your parrot friend happy and healthy just click on the video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loukas Posted July 11, 2009 Author Share Posted July 11, 2009 Thanks for the vid! I've added a few more toys to his cage. I love the spiral rope though8 Ive got to get one of those. In the mean time Apollo and I are having fun outside the cage more these days, but he got tired after about 40 mins and took a nap: <br><br>Post edited by: Loukas, at: 2009/07/11 13:17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Thats so cute what a little sweetie he is. I just love sleepy birdie pictures That spiral rope thingy is called a boing and I have them hanging by the ceiling all over the house. My birds just love them they get on them and flap their wings like crazy and get it spinning and swinging like some kind of carnaval ride its so funny to watch.<br><br>Post edited by: Tycos_mom, at: 2009/07/11 13:55 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbpittman Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 What a great pic of Apollo napping....Dixie naps around 3:00 every afternoon, other than that, she's in constant motion, moving from one side to the other, on top of, down around, in, out, window to window, perch to perch...a constant ball of energy. Sterling on the other hand (9 yr old U2) loves to nap and I love to watch him nap....he's so sweet. Gracie and George take naps in their "treehouse", all cuddle up together. -- Robin, Paul, Dixie, Sterling, George & Gracie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loukas Posted July 13, 2009 Author Share Posted July 13, 2009 Hey all, hope you're doing well. Yesterday I discovered napping but today its scratching. I had him outside his cage all day and the second put him back he's on the ground scratching till everything is out of the cage. Well almost everything since he only does it on the same two corners. I've read that it could be either that he wants out, or that he's looking for food "that may have fallen out of trees" or that he's doing house keeping and cleaning. Honestly it looks like he wants out! He isn't eating anything fallen nor cleaning since it's always the same two corners. So now I have the issue that even though with 12 hours outside he still goes nuts when I put him back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 My Baby does this also drives me crazy because she does it in her seed and nut mix and will actually empty her bowl and send the seeds flying every direction she doing this because she knows it makes me crazy and that I'll let her out. Sometime she will do the same onthe bottom of her cage and thats when she is looking for food. I will usually just give her some fresh fruits and veggies when I see her down there scratching your lucky your bird only scratches on the floor I wish that's all mine did. She wastes so much food it not even funny. all for the sake of opening her cage and letting her out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loukas Posted July 13, 2009 Author Share Posted July 13, 2009 That's crazy! There's got to be something one can do. I mean I know they're birds and they tend to do it in the wild but if he does this every day for the next 50 years we're going to have problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loukas Posted July 13, 2009 Author Share Posted July 13, 2009 well I've realised that if I ignore him for a bit, after about 20 mins he stops the scratching and settles down. I guess there's not much else to do than that. In the mean time Im struggling to get him to step up onto my hand. He steps up to a perch whenever I offer it to him even before having the chance to say step up but when I put my hand in front of him he steps away. Maybe its because the first time he was out I blocked him from certain places (Ie under the tight couch he was trying to go) by using my hands and he's now confused Maybe, I hope, its just too early for him to step up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 I have a grate in the bottom on my grey's cage. Some prefer to remove them but I believe its more sanitary and keeps greys from getting poop on their feet. Leftover food and other droppings go through to the newspaper under the grate and I can gather up the debris and change the paper much more easily and my grey can't scratch the paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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