Emmy & Dutchs Progress

[Wingy]

If they eat bread or oatmeal you can hide ground up pellets in that. You could also try grinding them, mixing with some seed, maybe some nuts, adding a bit of water just to hold it together, and shape into treat sticks. To dry it again place on a cookie sheet in a warm oven.

[katana600]

Your update saying "nothing new" means to me, no news is good news. You are doing a fantastic job getting to know these two. We had a rough time getting Gilbert acclimated and switched to pellets and tried lots. Some of it was just a distrust of change, plus he was suspicious that I might poison him or something. LOL. I have had a lot of rejection in the past two years, but I don't hear " I hate you, go away", but "maybe some day... not yet". I am sure you have heard of offering the "iron fist" to Dutch to avoid a bad bite, but I recently read something that makes good sense and also would have saved the tip of my finger from two deep puncture bites. It is a natural thing to hold out your finger and hope they come over to you, but if you offer a finger that is perpendicular to the beak the only path a bite will take is a puncture, where if you offer your finger parallel with the beak, the sharp tip of the beak will more than likely encircle your finger and pinch without a puncture. Does that make sense? You are just a natural with Emmy and Dutch and will have many years of evolving along with them, but you are off to a better start than many rehomes. Way to go!

[MiracleAces]

This is an incredible thread. I just spent the last hour reading everything and watching all your Youtube videos. Both Emmy and Dutch are so lucky to have you. My heart goes out to you. You are giving them both a wonderful chance at a better life.

[MissOMalley]

Thank you everyone for the kind words! I truly appreciate it!

 

Well, it has been some time since I've updated. A little has changed in the flock. It seems that Emmy and Dutch are switching roles. Dutch is becoming much more of a companion. Emmy is starting to display a lot of territorial behavior to Dutch or anyone else who come near me, or her cage. She lets me in her cage just fine, but everyone else is not welcome. She has even bit me a few times when I tried to intervene in altercations with Dutch. They do the whole beak wars act frequently. It doesn't seem overly aggressive, but it doesn't seem healthy physically or mentally for either of them. I have decided that playtime will no longer be together . Emmy doesn't even seem to enjoy playtime out of the cage now..she spends most of the time watching Dutch and pacing her territory. They are housed in separate cages, but in a smallish room temporarily. I have contemplated moving them to separate areas of the house, but it's not possible right now because we have 2 indoor/outdoor cats with strong instincts. The cats are typically outside in nice weather but it's been entirely too cold here in Indiana. I worry about the separation because they have been in the same room for over 10 years. I will be moving sometime soon, so I hope to try the separation in the new place and see how it goes. Emmy doesn't really let me touch her very much anymore either...which is fine but I feel it is connected to her territorial behavior. She used to love being scratched and would curl up beside me and sleep. Once Dutch starting coming around more that all changed...

 

Dutch is quite stubborn, but very entertaining! I still can't handle him, but he has no fear of being close to me. He follows me around and sits right beside me. He has a fascination for getting close to my face, which I am not comfortable with. He was on my shoulder once. I don't think he knew what he was getting into though. I was leaning against some pillows when he climbed up on them, then down on my shoulder. He just stayed there. I even got up and walked around. He seemed nervous, but not as much as me. I was convinced I was going to lose an ear or eye, but no, he was great. I was surprised at how well he behaved and that he wasn't aggressive at all. He hasn't shown interest in doing it again, and that's fine with me. He does let me rub his beak even when he's out of the cage. His fear seems to be of my arm. He will not step up to my arm, and definitely not a perch that I'm holding. He is learning all kinds of new songs including Lady GaGa's "Poker Face"..pretty annoying song but he likes it. He also whistles Iron Man. I am learning to identify many bird calls. It seems that he and Emmy have learned a lot of bird calls from living in my grandmothers house. She has owned and rehabilitated many animals through the years. So far I've caught on to robin sounds, dove cooing, owl calls, cardinal calls and sparrow chattering. They also both make sounds like a dog...not like real barking but kind of how a child sounds when they imitate dogs. It's pretty funny. I've heard of greys "barking" so I wonder if that is what I'm hearing. They also do a lot of screeching. It doesn't bother me too much but if I'm too close it hurts my ears!

 

We have successfully transitioned over to Harrisons pellets. Emmy still dunks some of hers in her water bowl. They are also snacking of Nutriberries sometimes. I am really just trying to get them to accept as much food as possible just in case there is every a shortage of anything and so they have good variety. Eating isn't much of an issue around here! They get warm beans and or a salad of some sort every morning, which they really enjoy. I am going to start fine chopping some of their salads as was suggested by LuvParrots. Dutch I think enjoys ripping chunks of food apart, but I think Emmy would prefer it in smaller pieces.

 

At this point my main concern is figuring out how to make Emmy more comfortable and less territorial. I bought her cage before I met her...so I didn't know the extent of her disability. She mostly stays on the bottom of her cage which is only about 2 feet off the ground. It's set up with blankets and what not to keep her comfortable. I did put a level/shelf up high for her, but she avoids it like the plague. I am trying to find a better cage for her...something that's high off the ground, but still large enough that she can climb up high. She almost needs a small animal cage. It's just tricky finding something with flat space but also climbing space that works for her.

 

Oh and here's some recent photos!

 

Dutch decided to eat my paperwork that I was working on.

 

Dutch on my shoulder.

 

Since Dutch isn't terrified of the camera now, I can finally take some pictures!

 

Pretty Emmy

 

Special Emmy!

[Timbersmom]

Good to hear from you and glad to hear Dutch and Emmy are doing OK. It seems like a new world every day with them sometimes. Never boring at any rate!

[katana600]

Rachel, these pictures are just beautiful. I wonder if hanging a sheet over one side of Emmy's cage so she can't see Dutch's cage would give her a little "privacy" and help her calm down again. You are gifted to have gotten so far with these two, it is much more complicated working with two at a time. Great job on getting them on a good diet too. You are a natural mama.