Does It Get Any Easier?

[caseyandmikey]

Whenever I have to leave Mikey to go to school or take the dogs out he gets so upset. He screams and whistles as I shut the door. The other day he got so worked up he fell off his perch. Does it ever get a little easier to leave them or is it always hard? He has plenty of things to do in his cage and always has music and the tv on but I still feel guilty leaving him for any period of time. What do you guys do to ease their little tantrums and feel a little better about leaving them?

[Elvenking]

Lol...I wrestle with this every day I ahve to go to work..in fact..I took today off to just be with him. A 'bird day' if you will. They may look like they are gonna die without you...they don't...they find toys to play with provided you supply them...but yes...the emotional blackmail ensues when you try to cage and leave em. My heart wrneches every time I elave...but rest assured...they are okay. Try to provide a toy or a treat when the time comes....for Issac...it doesn't work..he wants out..and he will often go easy...but sometimes...its hard. Your baby will be okay...talk gently and reassure him as if he can understand you..they get used to the fact that you come and go eventually. Press on.

[Jane08]

I always put something in with them that they like so much that they forget that I am even leaving. Usually they are so interested in that they forget about me.

 

I also make sure I have positive feelings when I put them in as they can feel it if you are stressed or guilty and it makes it even worse for them. I always talk to them before I put them in and tell them that I have to go to work, you have to go in the cage and that I will be home soon and we will have some fun. At this point I get excited so they know everything is ok and reasuure them I will be home soon and of course I tell them how good they are. They now understand what this all means.

 

The thrill I get of pulling into the driveway after work and these 2 little heads looking out the window at me and then the big stretches and yelling for me really makes my day and this is what I focus on.<br><br>Post edited by: Jane08, at: 2010/02/27 07:28

[Elvenking]

What do you use as a toy as you do this? I talk to my baby as sweet as I can as I do this..some days he sits right down like he knows..other times he is totally against it. Lol. So cute. But he is so wondering about everything. He's face dwn in a food bowl at the moment.

[Jane08]

I usually use foraging toys or I make my own and put them in then it gives them something to do. Of course I also give them a treat for going in the cage, at the moment their favourite treat is a bit of sausage.

 

I sometimes make holes in a bell pepper and then place lots of food treats inside it and hang it in the cage and they love ripping it open. I use palm nuts, wrap them in paper and hide them in the cage. I also do this with grapes.

 

Just now I put fresh chillis on the birdie kebab stick and hung them in the cage as I know Kea adores them. She looks as soon as she gets in the cage to see what is there for her and races over to the chilli and sits for ages chewing on it. The joy I get out of seeing how happy she is with her chilli makes me forget about the guilt of leaving.

 

I take the core out of an apple and shove sunflower seeds in the outside of the apple all the way around and hang it in the cage. Takes them ages to take all the seeds out and then destroy the apple.

 

So really you have to find stuff that they think is fun and will keep the attention away from the fact that you are leaving.<br><br>Post edited by: Jane08, at: 2010/02/27 09:54

[caseyandmikey]

Thank you everyone for your responses. Be careful taking days off to be with your baby Elvenkking you may never want to go back. It's so hard to lock him up even though I know he has plenty of toys and a huge cage. But there really is no better feeling than coming home to their whistles and talking.

Jane08 that is a good point about having positive feelings thank you for that reminder. You have some fantastic ideas for foraging toys. They can be so expensive but I do have one. I will be trying those ideas with apples and peppers for sure. Thank you again

[ajlinva]

Wow, Jane08 I love your foraging ideas! Thanks for sharing and karma to you! I am going right now to core an apple

 

Post edited by: ajlinva, at: 2010/02/27 17:17<br><br>Post edited by: ajlinva, at: 2010/02/27 17:17

[Xtreme575]

Ya! Those are great foraging ideas that won't cost the earth!!! I love them. I also clip clothes-pins throughout the csge where he will need to work to get to them, as well as in easier spots where he can unclip and hold the clothespin in his feet as he splinters them. He also loves chopsticks wedged between the bars that he can chew on.

 

I make sure I explain what I am doing just before I leave. He watches me as I tell him, and then is usually moving toward a toy even as I'm walking out the door.

[jessdecutie18]

For me, it doesn't get easier to leave them. I just had 3 weeks away from my baby, the longest time ever. My husband took care of her, and she was fine... but she sure was happy to see me again

 

I like to give her a bit of her favorite foods before I leave... that way she has something to do as soon as I'm gone rather then dwelling on the fact that no one is there.

 

She will call as I walk out the house and I yell back 'See you later!' When I come home she calls again loudly and I say 'Hey Yoshi!' or 'Comming!' and run to get her It gets me excited to come home and see her

[Elvenking]

At this point, this is just something I deal with, the mental guilt of having to watch as he makes little coos that sound so sad as he claws the paper at the bottom. I know he gives up shortly after I leave though...even so...I am always sorry. I will be home soon baby! He does get to listen to Reggae and Smooth Jazz while I am away though. Hope he likes that.

 

I cannot take many days off work, so it's not going to happen much. But I might be able to work from home a couple times a month. I also don't want him to get used to unusual situations that I cannot sustain. I come home and am reassured by the veggies all over the bottom of the cage and the wood shavings from toys that yield them when he chews them. If I came home and he was on the bottom still....I would die!