A little advice please? :)

[Mahraf]

Hey!First of all thanks for taking the time to read this post.
Well i finally named my lovebird.I call him Dash. We made a little progress aswell, he eats sunflower seeds from my hands..that is only if I'm holding the seeds with two fingers. Well i did say little progress
He doesn't really play with his toys, and barely used his cuttlebone. AND!! I really have no idea how to bond with him further :|
Any ideas anyone?

 

[Julie86]

I just got my Mulga on Saturday. I think we have bonded really well. She likes to sit on my shoulder. Was he hand reared? Khaleesi was and she seems to have taken well to my family. She steps up readily for everyone. She plays with certain toys and uses only a couple perches. I think she might be scared of some items! She also doesnt touch her cuttlebone very much but she enjoys her mineral block. She really likes the boing. She uses that to navigate to her favorite perches and she likes to preen it. Do you have one for him? He might enjoy it! I sit close to the cage and talk to her while she eats. I am home all day and her cage is in the main area of the house so that helps too. I will say hi when i walk by or just stand near the cage and talk to her for a minute.

 

[008kenichijouji]

Julie86, are you a Game of Thrones fan? Curious, because of your bird Khaleesi's name....

Oh yeah, back on topic! If you just got Dash, it'll take a bit of time for him to settle in. Also, sometimes, they can take a while to get used to their toys. They don't necessarily see the toys as "toys"... I just saw a picture of a moluccan cockatoo all fluffed up and the caption said: "New Toy? TREAT IT LIKE IT'S RADIOACTIVE FOR TWO WEEKS". And it's true! They might take to it right away, but a lot of times they will wait and wait...confirming if it's safe to play around with. So just give him some time.

It's good he'll take food from you. Maybe try some fruit and veggies to offer too, they love those as well. My conure loves dried papaya, and I use it only to help train her to step onto my finger and do other things. Praise praise PRAISE when they do what you would like, and give them a reason to look forward to working with you. Sound happy.

Birds take work, but it's worth the effort, so even a LITTLE progress is good progress. I've had a finicky second-hand sun conure for 4 years, and we go back and forth with hormones and how often she wants attention, etc....

If anything, just hanging around him will be good too, if he seems nervous. Let him settle in on HIS time!!!

Sounds like you have a nice little fellow though. Do you have pictures up yet? I'll have to look....

 

[Julie86]

Yes I am! My boyfriend introduced me to the HBO series recently and we watched it through the end of season two. Then i went back and read the books, but I am only into book 2 atm!
I need to give her time to get used to her toys too. It probably doesnt help that i have been adding toys and moving items around to make it easier for her to navigate her cage!

 

[008kenichijouji]

EXACT SAME THING HERE! Boyfriend and I watched all of the current HBO stuff, and I'm on page 170 for Clash of Kings! Haha, awesome. I love Game of Thrones!

Yeah, once you find the best set up, just leave it there for a while and let her settle in. She'll get comfortable and at some point, she won't even care if you change stuff around. My conure isn't bothered anymore if I add and remove things, but she still is pretty wary about new objects....

 

[Julie86]

I am on page 926 of Clash of Kings! My boyfriend has the audiobook and we are going to listen to it when we take our road trip this weekend, so hopefully I will be able to start book 3 soon!
Yeah, after rearranging yesterday, i figure things are in their set places for now. I probably took a couple things out prematurely without letting her get used to them but i can always add them some other time so i am not too worried about that.

 

[Mahraf]

Hey!Thanks a bunch you two.
Guess its time for me to start watching game of thrones aswell
Well i've had Dash for 6 weeks give or take.

 

[Julie86]

I have had Khaleesi for 5 days. I stay home with my youngest son all day, so i have alot of time to spend with her. She is friendly with my boyfriend but wont sit with him like she will with me. Do you work? Maybe that is why it is taking a little longer.

 

[008kenichijouji]

Oh man, I gotta catch up... and yes, Mahraf, you have to watch/read it!

Since it's been only 6 weeks....He still has a lot of learning to do. He'll catch on, birds are interesting little guys. Haha.

 

[008kenichijouji]

Where are you going for your roadtrip, Julie? I'm going on one with my boyfriend as well (no audiobooks though...haha)! We're going to Chicago to the Shedd Aquarium, and to visit a macaw I might be acquiring. Hopefully, we don't get any of that nasty storm that's supposed to skitter through the Midwest.....

 

[Julie86]

Yes I highly reccmmend you look into the series Mahraf!
The storm hit us last night! It wasnt too bad, at least as far as I was concerned sitting inside lol! We are leaving saturday and going to New Mexico. My kids dad is meeting us there to take the kids to his house in AZ for winter break. Then we are going to turn around and head right back. Just a weekend away but then we have to go back in two weeks to pick them back up. Hopefully we can finish the book in the two 18hr+ trips lol!
Khaleesi isnt going with us this time but i ordered her a travel cage and some new perches, so she should be going on the next trip! I got a cute picture of her beak covered in sprouts i will have to post!

 

[008kenichijouji]

Oh that's cool! Wow, long trip! I'll be doing that in a week... My family's heading down to Disney World next Thursday. 20+ hour drive from here in Northern IN, down to FL. Haha. Pics soon, please! I should take more of my conure...

 

[Mahraf]

Well there is work and collage.so more time huh??
I guess I'll watch the series.
I hope you get your macaw soon Kenichijouji
Where's Khaleesi gonna be while you're away Julie?I mean who'll take care of her?

 

[Julie86]

My boyfriends mother is going to take care of her for us. Then when we get her travel cage, we will be taking her with us the next time!