Coming home this weekend! Are we ready?

[Karlys]

Our baby cockatiel is coming home this weekend! I'm especially glad because she's become more skittish and "wild" since she was moved from a tub with 4 other babies to the cage with the 10 or so other cockatiels. The change makes sense, of course, but I'll be glad to get her out of there and get her back on track to being a sweet companion.

We've got her a big flight cage, four stainless steel bowls (for water, pellets, chop, and seeds), a bunch of manzanita wood perches, ladders, toys, Harrison's food, fresh vegetables (including greens, peppers, and broccoli), dried mung and garbanzo beans, a seed mix from My Safe Bird Store, millet, unsalted sunflower seeds for treats, and a travel cage. Am I missing anything?
Also, we made a wellness exam appointment for her for Mon with an avian vet at the exotic animal hospital we take our bearded dragons to.

Finally, what are some things we can do to make her feel comfortable when she gets home? Should she be kept out with us or should she go into her cage right away?

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

Congratulations on your new baby! Also, great that you already have a wellness appointment set up with an Avian Vet! It sounds like you have most of your bases covered, honestly.

Just want to point out, in case you didn't know, make sure you soak and cook the beans before offering them to your new baby. Beans should always be cooked (some can also be sprouted, I do not know whether mung and garbanzo can be off the top of my head) before feeding, they can be toxic if given uncooked.

As far as whether you should keep her out or put her in her cage right away, I suggest putting her in her cage at first. Put her in and allow her an hour or so to settle in and take in her surroundings. At that point, you can offer her the chance to come out, if she wants to. If she does, great. If not, let her settle in until she's more comfortable. It may be just another hour or two, or in may be a couple days. I don't think it is always necessary to let a bird settle in a new house for days or weeks before you handle them, but if she seems nervous or afraid, don't push her. Still talk to her or read to her while sitting calmly next to her cage, however, if she doesn't seem comfortable at first. It will help her become more comfortable with you.

I hope this helps answer some of your questions!

 

[itzjbean]

Yay congratulations!!

I'm assuming that she may not be exactly tame when she gets to you if you describe her as skittish in a cage with other tiels. In this case she may need some extra time to adjust to being by herself/not hearing or being around other birds. She may be scared of you for the first couple days, in which case I would advise you not to let her out of the cage until you can gain some of her trust. Do you know if she is flighted or if she's clipped?

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

My experience with BB..he was super tame when he came home with me. I set up his house while he was in his take-me-home-box and when I scooped him out,her ran up my arm to my shoulder and started doing his baby chirps.
He hung out with me for a few hours before I showed him his new digs and he went right in to it..easiest transition I ever saw.
and I'm able to put my finger in his cage and he jumps ight on to come out.
I guess they are all different.


Jim

 

[Karlys]

Well, to make a long story short, she came home today!!

I had a Drs appointment, so I told my SO to go visit her without me to ask if she could come home Sat or Sun. They said she was all ready and that she could come today! My SO sent me a text that said that she wouldn't be ready for a couple weeks, maybe even a month, because she hadn't been eating. He let me stew in that disappointment for a few mins before sending a pic of her in her cage at our house! I was mad at him for pranking me but, in the end, I'm so ecstatic.

She spent a couple hours being scared and not really moving but now she's slowly exploring her cage. I've intervened a couple times when she looked like "What have I gotten myself into?" But have tried to remain hands off and let her figure out her cage by herself. We taught her step up over the weeks of visiting and, without the other birds, she is very easy to handle. She hasn't been running away from our hands. She's eating some millet right now too so I really think she's settling in nicely. Oh and she is clipped but she does fly short distances. She has done it already a few times to get from perch to perch.

Is sneezing something to worry about? I've only heard her do it once but it surprised me.