ZeljkaD
New member
I've recently acquired a 3-month-old blue alexandrine who up until yesterday spent a week with my mom until I could bring him home (parents going through a divorce, long story...). I've been told by the breeder that one can tell the gender only after the alexandrine is 3 years old by the feathers, so he/she got the name Alex. I'll refer to it as a 'he' in continuation just for simplicity sake...
He doesn't exactly like my hands, but if I offer him my sleeve, he'll instantly be at my shoulder, and seems that he was hand-fed. There are times when he bites so hard he draws blood, and others when he naps on my shoulder and lets me pet him. He doesn't fly much, and it appears he finds a sense of security while being near my hair or on my shoulder. (Maybe he's missing his nest?) By Friday I'll have some toys acquired and I'll start clicker training him so he stops making my hands look like I've wrestled a cat.
Given that I've finally brought him home and got him a new cage, I'm a bit worried on how to proceed. For the last 48 hours, he's been really restless and keeps wanting to go out on my shoulder, even when it should be sleep time. He's been out in the new room, lounging and napping on my shoulder, but whenever it would be time for him to go back to his cage, he's running away, hiding behind my back and on my neck, or biting my fingers when I try to scoot him up. I've managed to get him into the cage by a little subterfuge, but giving his somewhat frantic pacing of the cage and caws whenever I leave the room, I'm worried that he sees the cage time as punishment and not as rest. I haven't been able to soothe him in any way yet, which I suppose is normal since he's with me for barely a week and a half.
Any suggestions on how to soothe him and make it clear that the time in the cage is rest time and not punishment? I don't want to distress him unnecessarely, and I can't have him out all the time, at least until my university exams are done.
He doesn't exactly like my hands, but if I offer him my sleeve, he'll instantly be at my shoulder, and seems that he was hand-fed. There are times when he bites so hard he draws blood, and others when he naps on my shoulder and lets me pet him. He doesn't fly much, and it appears he finds a sense of security while being near my hair or on my shoulder. (Maybe he's missing his nest?) By Friday I'll have some toys acquired and I'll start clicker training him so he stops making my hands look like I've wrestled a cat.
Given that I've finally brought him home and got him a new cage, I'm a bit worried on how to proceed. For the last 48 hours, he's been really restless and keeps wanting to go out on my shoulder, even when it should be sleep time. He's been out in the new room, lounging and napping on my shoulder, but whenever it would be time for him to go back to his cage, he's running away, hiding behind my back and on my neck, or biting my fingers when I try to scoot him up. I've managed to get him into the cage by a little subterfuge, but giving his somewhat frantic pacing of the cage and caws whenever I leave the room, I'm worried that he sees the cage time as punishment and not as rest. I haven't been able to soothe him in any way yet, which I suppose is normal since he's with me for barely a week and a half.
Any suggestions on how to soothe him and make it clear that the time in the cage is rest time and not punishment? I don't want to distress him unnecessarely, and I can't have him out all the time, at least until my university exams are done.