First Day Nervousness Questions

[munami]

Hey everoyne! My tiel Luna came home last night and I'm having all sorts of nervousness questions.

1. How do I know if she's full? It looks like her crop is filled but I'm unsure if I'm looking properly.
2. She just wants to hang out all the time? Don't get me wrong, I don't mind her just hanging out with me, but she won't eat or drink unless I bring her to it.
She doesn't want to play with toys unless I put her there but she is interested in the clicking of my keyboard.
3. How do I know if she's tired? She has been beak grinding but I'm unsure if she's tired or content.
4. How often should she be pooping?

Despite doing all the research I could, it's still a huge learning process for me!

 

[itzjbean]

Welcome Luna, to the family!!

1. If she's been properly weaned she should be eating on her own fine and deciding for herself if she is full. What are you feeding her?

2. Birds are known to be very social and if they had it their way, they would stay permanent on our shoulders. It's up to you to determine adequate amount of time out of the cage and with your new baby but a few hours a day is good. It is advisable to keep them in the cage for some time every day so they learn to play on their own and would be less prone for separation anxiety. DO you work away from home or yare you home all day? Getting her a play stand on top of her cage or in an area that you are at most is a good idea to purchase.

3. She will begin getting very comfortable, puffy and may even stand on one foot or tuck her beak into the back of her shoulder feathers as this is what birds do when they sleep. They sleep 10-12 hours a day and follow the same general times we sleep, throughout the night and maybe a nap or two during the day.

I STRONGLY ADRIVS YOU TO NEVER SLEEP WITH YOUR BIRD. It's okay if they sleep on you but do not fall asleep while they are on you, we have had multiple crushing deaths occur this year and past years because of careless people deciding to nap with their birds. If you are tired, and your bird is also tired, keep her safe by putting her in her cage and then pass out and let her out when you're up again. It's not worth the risk.

4. I'm assuming she's a very young bird, newly weaned around 2-3 months old? At this age they go around every 15-20 minutes. A quick trip back to the cage, play stand during these times and waiting for her to do her to go will help potty train her to go while not on you but you need to be consistent about this. Or you could do what I do and wear an old t-shirt with the intentions of being pooped on and just washing it or rotating old shirts out.

 

[noodles123]

How old is she? If she's too young, then you have a different set of issues than you would with a properly weaned bird who eats/drinks on his/her own. That having been said, even an older bird may eat and drink less the first few days (drinking is especially elusive).
Never ever sleep with your bird...one too many stories (seriously...frequent stories) about people's birds suffocating or getting crushed by those who love them most.
Build trust and establish independence---you don't want a bird who can't be away from you. Depending on the age of your bird, I would say not to devote more time now than you will be able to sustain forever, but a young baby (unweaned) changes that rule.

 

[munami]

Hey Jbean! Thanks again for always helping me out~

1. She's been properly weaned and around 4+ months old right now. Her previous owner had been feeding her mostly seed with daily veggies. I've been following his regime to make her feel more comfortable with the transition.

Currently she's eating a chop consisting of kale, carrot, broccoli, and peppers. She ate about maybe a little less than half a tablespoon this morning and the training treat of slivered almonds. I'm intending to add in eggs w/ shell into her diet and sprouted adzuki and garbanzo beans soon.

I remember from my previous thread people said that she will portion herself but I'm just a nervous nelly.

2. I am home most of the time, my house is maybe not occupied about only a few hours a week? I wouldn't mind having her out all the time but her cage is across from my computer. If she can see me, she starts calling for me to get her.
She only really plays with her toys if I leave completely or if I'm playing with her.

I only worry because I do intend on working part time eventually and I don't want her to forget how to exist without me.

3. Okay! She was doing that earlier so I put her back in the cage and let her get some shut eye. She got about an hour and then she was ready to play again. She got 11 hrs last night.

4. I don't really mind being pooped on, I just use an unscented baby wipe and then it's all good. However this brings up another question,

She poops very infrequently. She's only pooped about 6-7 times today but they've all looked healthy. She woke up about 7 hours ago. Is this a cause for concern?

 

[munami]

Hello Noodles! Also thank you for helping me out as always~

She's 4 months old and she was properly eating at her last home, mostly seed but some veggies.
That's a good piece of advice! I'll most likely try to make sure she can at least entertain herself for at least 3 hours a day.

Oh, I'd also like to add on I never intended to sleep with her! I've heard horror stories about not only birds but children.
I appreciate you guys looking out for me.