Elvenking Posted September 26, 2015 Author Share Posted September 26, 2015 (edited) I've changed Alfie's cage three times now I think. He had his original cage which was in my bedroom at my parents house then he moved downstairs to a corner cage. When I moved house I got rid of the corner cage (too much vertical space and not enough horizontal space) and he went back to his original cage and was located in a hallway. Then when my housemates moved out I got him the biggest cage I could find and moved him into that. He also moved into the living room at that point. When I bought the house I live in now he moved with his big cage. Fortunately, Alfie is pretty good with change. He has moved house with me twice. I kept his original cage in case he ever needed to stay at my parents house whilst I was away but I'm going to throw it out because it's stuck in the garage and is starting to fall apart. I can't get his current cage out of the room without pulling it completely apart (it doesn't fit through doors) so if he does need to stay elsewhere then he'll go in a travel cage. When I go away on a couple of courses next month my lodger will look after him for me, so no worries there. Anyway, I digress.... Whenever I wanted to move Alfie I put him on the cage, then in it and let him get used to it. As I mentioned, I'm really lucky because he'll sit on a perch and observe everything closely, then he'll explore. He never really freaks out about changing cages/house/toys etc. He just likes to have time to sit and look at everything first. I'm finally at a place where I'm happy with his cage and because I now own my house I'm not moving any time soon either, so he shouldn't have to deal with any BIG changes like that for a while yet. I think Isaac is doing really well...he spends all day in his new cage now when I am at work. When I left this morning, he was climbing around more than the day before and looked like he was feeling out the cage pretty good. However, he has only pecked at his seeds and didn't go for his veggie bowl while I am gone....he doesn't seem to be eating in there too much yet. He gets plenty of food opportunity...she he makes up for it once I am home. However, I am trying to see if anything on that side of the cage might be scaring him...there are four spots for food and water. So I am trying to rotate too. I think he will make the transition. I have both cages side by side right now. He hasn't touched any of the toys...and I am not sure he does much but sit on the edge of his seed bowl while I am gone. I do always shove plastic bottles for him to chew on between the bars...he loves to gnaw on them to no end. Favorite of his. He has no problem continuing that in his new digs. All that said, Isaac has never been much for playing with toys that look like bird toys. LOL. Anyone have one of these characters? He loves taking all the utencils out of my kitchen drawers, playing in my cabinets, chewing plastic water bottles, tipping cups and bowls around the floor and flying with them in his talons. And of course always be on me or near me. Not much of a bird toy kind of bird. Looks like my bird toy store is the kitchen section at Target! Ha! I'll have to make some different toys. Anyway...comments and suggestions welcome. Edited September 26, 2015 by Elvenking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvenking Posted September 26, 2015 Author Share Posted September 26, 2015 (edited) I have plenty of space so I just put the cages side by side (touching). After Timber started spending more time in the new one than the old one, I removed the old one. I am hoping for a similar experience. I have his old cage next to the new one and I still let him sleep in his old one....for now. Isaac is his normal bubbly self through this whole thing. He is just not all the way in yet. I think a perch in the back of the cage was actually putting him off so I removed it. I brought each of the cage items close to him...and he bolted when I brought the perch that bolted onto the side of the cage. So I learned something. I wouldn't have guessed the perch. Edited September 26, 2015 by Elvenking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvenking Posted September 26, 2015 Author Share Posted September 26, 2015 (edited) Okay. Today he is all over the new perches and stuff...expanding his exploration. He is also eating in there too. I think within a week we won't really need the old cage. Here are the pics from before. Edited September 30, 2015 by Elvenking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 Wow, looks great! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 That looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Whoohoo, Issaac!! That is really a fine new set up! Is that the 43" model? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvenking Posted September 30, 2015 Author Share Posted September 30, 2015 Whoohoo, Issaac!! That is really a fine new set up! Is that the 43" model? Yep...it's the Jumbo one. It really is sooooo much bigger than his old cage. I could get in the thing! He is now really warming up to it. No problem with eating anymore. In fact...he ripped through a bowl of veggies today like I have never seen. Came home and saw bits of ground up veggies and a happy bird. Tonight....the first over-nighter. I think he is going to be okay.....he found "the spot" if you know what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezron Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I KNOW the wing flapping of which you speak. PLEASE try to give Isaac a cooked organic drumstick bone once a week. He needs sunlight and nutrients. When you find him after these episodes is he disoriented and spacey-looking? This used to happen to Brutus when he was less than a year old. The vet said he was deficient in calcium. Deficiency in calcium is caused by deficiency in sunlight because it converts a precursory form of Vitamin D into a form that makes calcium assimlable. If Greys don't get sunlight or some other form of equivalent light rays they become imbalanced and subject to seizures. I do not mean to alarm you. My only wish is to help others after what Brutus went through. He is fine now and has been for seven years. I am thankful for the vet we had when Brutus was just starting to experience these symptoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvenking Posted October 5, 2015 Author Share Posted October 5, 2015 I KNOW the wing flapping of which you speak. PLEASE try to give Isaac a cooked organic drumstick bone once a week. He needs sunlight and nutrients. When you find him after these episodes is he disoriented and spacey-looking? This used to happen to Brutus when he was less than a year old. The vet said he was deficient in calcium. Deficiency in calcium is caused by deficiency in sunlight because it converts a precursory form of Vitamin D into a form that makes calcium assimlable. If Greys don't get sunlight or some other form of equivalent light rays they become imbalanced and subject to seizures. I do not mean to alarm you. My only wish is to help others after what Brutus went through. He is fine now and has been for seven years. I am thankful for the vet we had when Brutus was just starting to experience these symptoms. Yeah...this usually happens around bed time and I JUST realized last night what I must do.....he needs a night light. I am going to try that. What happens is I will turn off the light for bed, and sometimes he will get scared. I'll go out there and turn on the light, and he is looking at the bottom of the cage as if it was trying to get him. I do not see anything at all. So I figure he is just having a problem with it being too dark. Getting him a night light for next to his cage. Isaac does get at least one chicken leg a week. I peel the skin off a baked chicken leg and he goes to town. One if his favorites for sure. He also gets red palm oil veggie pasta. He is also under a Full Spectrum lamp all day long. I am not sure why any of those things would be related to cage flapping, but in Isaac's case, it doesn't seem to make a difference. He likes it when I leave a little light for him. So I'll give that a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 It doesn't have to be anything other than that Issac is young enough that he's still doing flight exercises to blow off steam sometimes. Think of the guys who do their push ups before they get into bed. He's also young enough to resent his bed time. Especially if you're still up w/o him. Have you tried covering the cage? Some fids really do hate it. But if Isaac isn't one, it's a great way to help him power down. If he's getting night frights, it might be better to look for the source. From everything I've read light cycle & lighting seems to genuinely affect parrots. The wrong light temperature/color can actually put them off their food. Differences in the balance of day & darkness effects their sleep cycle & hormone balance. Artificially simulating the breeding season of long spring & summer daylight seasons can lead to more plucking. And he's looking awe-some right now & I'm sure you'll want to avoid that for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvenking Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) It doesn't have to be anything other than that Issac is young enough that he's still doing flight exercises to blow off steam sometimes. Think of the guys who do their push ups before they get into bed. He's also young enough to resent his bed time. Especially if you're still up w/o him. Have you tried covering the cage? Some fids really do hate it. But if Isaac isn't one, it's a great way to help him power down. If he's getting night frights, it might be better to look for the source. From everything I've read light cycle & lighting seems to genuinely affect parrots. The wrong light temperature/color can actually put them off their food. Differences in the balance of day & darkness effects their sleep cycle & hormone balance. Artificially simulating the breeding season of long spring & summer daylight seasons can lead to more plucking. And he's looking awe-some right now & I'm sure you'll want to avoid that for sure! If by flight exercises....you mean flying from one side of the cage...slamming into the other...then back to the other side and then down to the ground...appearing to be completely BLIND...yeah...he is exercising. He only does it right before bed...or in the morning before I have come out to open all the blinds. Does anyone recognize this behavior?? At first...I did cover his cage...but I believe I stopped because of this issue. He'll go quite a while and not do it...but lately...he is doing this again. Edited October 7, 2015 by Elvenking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 What your describing sounds more like a panic to me. GreycieMae will do that occasionally from external stimulus either visual or auditory - I never know what causes it as it's over by the time I get there. I believe we had an episode of it last night during the night because I went in to find her sitting on her food bowl. She never wakes up off her swing unless something has happened. We had a hawk attack them three times in the their aviary last night and I'm thinking she may have had some after affects from that (dreams maybe?!?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvenking Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 What your describing sounds more like a panic to me. GreycieMae will do that occasionally from external stimulus either visual or auditory - I never know what causes it as it's over by the time I get there. I believe we had an episode of it last night during the night because I went in to find her sitting on her food bowl. She never wakes up off her swing unless something has happened. We had a hawk attack them three times in the their aviary last night and I'm thinking she may have had some after affects from that (dreams maybe?!?). Yeah...sounds similar. Same thing...over by the time I get there. Startles my Conure and he is flying around. Exactly like something startles him and he is just too overcome to remember that he is in a cage. Thus the flying like blind analogy. I wish he would not do this. I might try to just leave the blinds crack so he can see the sun coming out in the morning. The night light I put in last night didn't help. This morning....I wake up to the flapping and I saw what I descried above exactly. WHen he stops, he is looking around and breathing like he saw something. There is nothing to be seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) I've always called it night frights. Almost as scary for us as them, I think. Is it bad enough to consider a small sleep cage for a while? One of my birds would jolt awake because he was slipping off his perch due to his extreme old age. Age not applicable w/Isaac, of course. But new perches & nail cuts might apply. Mostly, I've been able to find an environmental source. Sometimes some pretty subtle things including blinking power lights & things that that they hear which we'd ignore. I had a timer that turned the lights off & on that ticked just a little. But it really freaked out one of my love birds. Edited October 7, 2015 by birdhouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvenking Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 I just moved Isaac to a newer cage which is bigger. However, this all started long before that inside of his smaller cage. He's done it covered, not covered. This isn't the first time I have tried experimenting to see why. I was actually on the fence about getting him the new cage due to this....I figured he would be able to get more speed across a larger cage. Fortunately, it looks like he still can't do too much to him self. I just don't want a wing to get stuck in the cage bars or something. How much can you really do? I cannot identify a source that is there when this happens. He must hear or sense something stir, not know what it is, and just react. I always stay calm and talk to him softly telling him that everything is okay. Maybe I will try to leave the sliding door blinds open so the sun peeks in slowly. He never does this in the dead of night...not sure why he is inspired at bed time and first thing in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) I just thought about this. We get up early, 3am-4am-5am and I don't want my birds being disturbed. So I will run a white noise maker just outside of their bird room door to mask the sound of my wife slamming the bathroom door, microwave door etc. You may try running something similar for Isaac to see if it stops his night frights. Similar concept to a night light only your dealing with the auditory situation if that's what's causing this. I use two different things: we have a space heater that has a fan-only setting and I also have a regular turbin fan that is super loud (as fans go) and either of those do a good job of masking any external noise. Might take a few nights for him to get used to it. Set it far away and bring closer over the course of a few nights. I think that will help with him sitting there focusing on every little sounds he hears. I also use this tactic in the living room during the day when they get startled and need settling - bust out the tunes to mask the scary quiet. Edited October 7, 2015 by SterlingSL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvenking Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 I just thought about this. We get up early, 3am-4am-5am and I don't want my birds being disturbed. So I will run a white noise maker just outside of their bird room door to mask the sound of my wife slamming the bathroom door, microwave door etc. You may try running something similar for Isaac to see if it stops his night frights. Similar concept to a night light only your dealing with the auditory situation if that's what's causing this. I use two different things: we have a space heater that has a fan-only setting and I also have a regular turbin fan that is super loud (as fans go) and either of those do a good job of masking any external noise. Might take a few nights for him to get used to it. Set it far away and bring closer over the course of a few nights. I think that will help with him sitting there focusing on every little sounds he hears. I also use this tactic in the living room during the day when they get startled and need settling - bust out the tunes to mask the scary quiet. Excellent idea, I will run a fan that doesn't need to blow on him...just make the ambient white noise. That must be it! HA....I think you might have nailed a good idea, because sounds always send him bolting away. I will let you know how this works out. It makes sense though, because sometimes I have his humidifier running and I don't think he gets scared then. Could be the reason why he stops sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvenking Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 Continuing with Isaac's play area around his cage...put his atom back up in a new location with a long rope hanging down. I finally sat down and made a toy out the water bottle caps and milk caps I have collected over the last few weeks. So this is the second toy out of water bottle parts....REALLY recycling!! LOL. Anyway....he could not leave me alone while I was building these leather straps with water bottle caps. He was going for my fingers like, "Hey...those are mine...give them to me." I was really being over taken by him the whole time. I was trying to tell him to relax and that he would get it very soon. He wasn't having any of it.....he wanted it now. I did eventually get it built and it looks like this. Well...with how much he loved it...I figured I could hang it at the end of the rope hanging down and he would have a great time flying around with thing.....and he did! He was swinging on the rope and I was laughing my butt off. The pic is a little blurry cause it was my phone camera...not the best action cam. Man...there is no toy that makes him do anything like that! Ha! I have to find a way to keep making these for him. He was swinging from that rope....flying off on the up swing and landing on counter tops. Home made toys are the best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Maybe you need to start asking people at work to save bottle caps for you lol. Glad you found something he loves so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 That picture of Isaac at the end of that rope is exactly what GreycieMae loves to do as well. Only we use a plastic chain with a big 'ol cow bell at the bottom. Man she can get going around on that thing and make a HUGE racket and then she'll suddenly launch off of it into a wild terrordactyl strafing across the house. If she can spook the two littles into the air she'll chase one of them like she's some sort of predatory hawk or something. Too big for her britches sometimes. That toy really gets her going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvenking Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 That picture of Isaac at the end of that rope is exactly what GreycieMae loves to do as well. Only we use a plastic chain with a big 'ol cow bell at the bottom. Man she can get going around on that thing and make a HUGE racket and then she'll suddenly launch off of it into a wild terrordactyl strafing across the house. If she can spook the two littles into the air she'll chase one of them like she's some sort of predatory hawk or something. Too big for her britches sometimes. That toy really gets her going. Hahahahha...yeah...when Isaac gets into it and flapping....he will also fly off and give a battle cry! Exactly what I was hoping to see with this. Needless to say I will be collecting lots of caps. However, he does like wooden beads on the leather straps too. Things are shaping up for his play time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Success! What a neat looking toy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytness Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Who would have thought that bottle caps could become such an entertaining bird toy? Gonna have to try making one of those, too! Maalik loves his plastic chain with stainless steel bell hanging from the bottom, too. The more dangly and noisy a toy is, the better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvenking Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 I just thought about this. We get up early, 3am-4am-5am and I don't want my birds being disturbed. So I will run a white noise maker just outside of their bird room door to mask the sound of my wife slamming the bathroom door, microwave door etc. You may try running something similar for Isaac to see if it stops his night frights. Similar concept to a night light only your dealing with the auditory situation if that's what's causing this. I use two different things: we have a space heater that has a fan-only setting and I also have a regular turbin fan that is super loud (as fans go) and either of those do a good job of masking any external noise. Might take a few nights for him to get used to it. Set it far away and bring closer over the course of a few nights. I think that will help with him sitting there focusing on every little sounds he hears. I also use this tactic in the living room during the day when they get startled and need settling - bust out the tunes to mask the scary quiet. By the way...I have had the fan on for background noise for Isaac at night and he has not flapped in the cage once since I started that up. Looks like we may have a winner there. He is like me in this sense, because I also sleep with a fan running so that the quiet noises in the background cannot distract me from going to sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 That's great. Hate it when they flip out in their cages at night like that. Stressful on everybody/birdy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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