I found my feathered friend :)

[iEgg]

Things seem to be progressing just fine with Skip!!

 

This morning I lured him out of his cage by holding a banana chip and having him fly to me... Worked perfectly

 

When it comes to handling him his biting has become less frequent, less pressure and less damage. Skip seems to think that my glasses be another one of his toys, what do you recommend for shiny plastic toys? Are there random household items I can use to make him a toy like that?

 

When do you think he'll start to use his perches? He still only hangs onto the sides of the cage with his claws and beak.

Edited October 12, 2010 by iEgg

[judygram]

When do you think he'll start to use his perches? He still only hangs onto the sides of the cage with his claws and beak.

 

For right now that may be where he feels more secure, just let him decide when to use the perches but he seems to be settling in to his new home and you are doing a wonderful job with him, at least he can fly and it must make you feel so proud when he flies to you, he is a cute little bugger too from the pictures you shared, what a sweetheart Skip is.

[Jingles]

Sounds like you guys are doing great!!!

 

He's a cutie

[iEgg]

For right now that may be where he feels more secure, just let him decide when to use the perches but he seems to be settling in to his new home and you are doing a wonderful job with him, at least he can fly and it must make you feel so proud when he flies to you, he is a cute little bugger too from the pictures you shared, what a sweetheart Skip is.

 

It really does give me a good feeling seeing him fly to me. Skip & I aren't making much (if any) progress on the step up command, however he seems to have associated me holding and open palm at his cage door as the symbol for "Hop on." He did that 4 times today and surprisingly climbed on nicely (no bites or anything) right away. Comparing Skip now to when I got him on Friday, he is entirely a new bird. He's so much more active, he's goofing around in his cage and I really love seeing that in him.

 

Speaking of flying.... Skips wings are clipped. I'm thinking that after his first molt I'm going to let him keep his flight feathers. One again as I type this... I hear flapping. Skip hopped on his perch. He was on the natural grapevine one and now he's on his sand perch :D

Edited October 12, 2010 by iEgg

[Jayd]

This is really good, Skip may never step-up, but his palm hop-up might be his thing, sounds good, open palm, say "hop-up"...YEA...Jay d

[Luvparrots]

Oh I love the sound of flapping wings. All my birds are flighted now and they all fly differently. Ana Grey as swift as a jet. Louie like a cumbersome helicopter. Sully like an ancient rocket with only one landing place in mind. I hope you will let Skip be flighted.

[birdhouse]

Wow! What a whole lot of progress & so quickly! He really is a little champ, isn't he!?!

 

When you cradle him in the palm of your hand he knows he isn't going to fall. That may become his version of stepping up, so you've already accomplished that one. Really encouraging to hear about him flying to you when you when you offered him a treat. He's playing & doing normal happy bird things. That's awesome!

 

You said he climbs the bars & has started trying to sit his perches. If he keeps flitting to them but doesn't stay put, he may be having problems with grip & balance. Keep trying different types & sizes of perches until you find what he's comfortable with. It's just going to be trial & error for a little while.

 

How about a small ladder? He could 1 - go up 2 - use his beak & 3 - rest his body against it to perch. I don't think he'd do well with plastic unless maybe it had grips molded into the rungs. I'd lean it from one wall of the cage to the other, maybe half the cage height at first & put the base of the ladder thru the bars at the bottom of the cage for stability.