Life will never be the same... - Page 4

JustBitten · 09-04-12, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will0W783

Thank you so much for your information, JustBitten! I threw away any scratched nonstick cookware and we haven't used the remaining pan at all since getting Baby. I plan to keep the dogs in the upstairs whenever I have Baby out, whether he remains flighted or not. I'm more concerned with him flying into a wall or window and injuring himself, really. He isn't terribly graceful about flight, since he had no chance to even stretch his wings in his old home. My vet is a very well known avian specialist in my area, so I trust him. I brought some of the food Baby came with in to show him and he said it was good as long as I give him his fruits and veggies too. I am looking for a better all around food for when this stuff runs out though, and I will check into the one you mentioned. I want him to be as healthy and happy as possible.

He's eating a small hookbill-specific combination pellet/seed diet now mixed with Dr. Harvey's Perfect Parrot food (basically like a trail mix) and fresh fruits/veggies. He is a bugger about the fruits and greens though...he likes to toss them on the ground and go for the peanuts in his food.

Sounds like you are right on track and doing everything you should. More than happy to offer any assistance I can! Along with snakes and geckos, parrots are my favourite. Nothing quite beats having a parrot that is not truly a domesticated animal choose to come to you for affection and friendship, hey?

Parrots are pretty resilient and it looks like Baby is in good feather from the photos. Any improvement in his diet will likely show up in feather brightness and sheen after a few moults and may even affect mood. LOL, they can be as picky as little kids going for candy (another benefit of a pellet diet) and are horrible food wasters! When people complain about a few uneaten rats I always roll my eyes. If only they could see how much goes into my garbage can! Expensive little house turkeys... Kado is obsessive about washing his food in his water bowl so I'm constantly cleaning that too. And absolutely the worst smell is the poop produced by my Pionus and Cockatiel girls after they lay their clutches. They hold it for days and it's usually bigger than they are. I'm not breeding them, but I think they may be disappointed by that

As for inexpert flying... Kado is built like a fighter jet rather than a Grey cargo plane so his inexperience meant that he ran into the opposite wall so fast he didn't even have time to think about how to land. I pulled the drapes over the windows and did some off-the-wrist flight practice with him and now he manages a three point landing (beak and feet) on drapery rods and the tops of cupboards. They seem to pick it up pretty quick and rarely smack into anything too hard. Our cockatiel flies like a swallow and the Pionus like a slow helicopter. When Jack was learning to fly it was off of his original bad wing clip so he thumped the carpet routinely, but he can now do circuits of my parents house, even through doorways in the hall and down the stairs. If you are not against the idea, maybe let Baby stay unclipped and try some flight practice. He will be exhausted at first and won't fly really well because of atrophied wing and chest muscles, but it's like any other exercise. When he falls, just collect him up, reassure him that the world isn't over, and carry on. There are some great flight specialist forums and even some groups in the States that actually meet up and do indoor flying in unused grocery stores and similar buildings. It's not for everyone but they can at least be a wonderful resource for teaching your bird to fly if you are interested.

It's great to hear that Baby is connecting with you so well. The best piece of advice I ever got was from a parrot expert not too far from me. She said that birds from rough situations will become total lovers with their new owners for about a year, then they let you see their full personalities. Kind of like the change after people get married

Not to say at all that Baby won't be your hunny, just that they let you see more of their grouchy days and may get a bit unruly when they want to. She called it the honeymoon period, and while I thought she was nuts as I cuddled my new darling, I have to admit she was right. Live and learn

Will0W783 · 09-04-12, 02:21 PM

Haha, that's interesting about the "honeymoon period." Baby is not a total love, but is definitely warming up. I have bad days too, so I can understand that he will. I think I'll be happy to see more variety of emotions out of him; he was such a flat, withdrawn bird when he came to us. I am really enjoying seeing his curiosity and energy coming out now and his vocabulary and happy noises becoming more frequent.
My other bird, a baby conure, definitely has good and bad days. He loves to throw fits when he wants more food or to come out of his cage, and has days where he will just try to bite the everloving crapola out of me until I put him back in the cage, then other days he is just sweet little snugglebug. He's demanding of attention, loud and playful, but he's only 5 months old, so he's just a little tyke learning the ropes. We bought him a week before Baby came home, after years of discussion about the possibility of a bird. My fiance grew up with them so he missed having birds. John and I decided that we could probably handle a conure, and it would be somewhat like a parrot but require less hands-on time every day....little did we know that Baby, the biggest parrot responsibility possible, would be given to us a week later. I am very blessed to have both of them; they are wonderful birds and I could not be happier that I let them into my life.

I'm not against leaving Baby flighted- my only real fear is him either hurting himself like I said, or him escaping out a window or the porch door if one of us one day forgets he's out. My fiance is adamant that he be clipped though, so I think that it is a discussion we can have with our vet when Baby goes back in for a checkup. Right now I can see the blood feathers still and his primary flights are looking a tad frayed on the ends, so I imagine he will be replacing them soon.