first few days together...

[taylor_]

can anybody tell me how the first few days should go? should i let him do his own thing? that's what we've been doing so far, just opening his cage door when we're home and letting him wander out. how many days should i wait for him to settle in until i start trying to get him to step up and stuff? i'm a newbie! dish all the info you've got for this new bird owner

 

[dishgal1]

Just take it slow. Sounds like you are letting him do his thing. Leave the door open try offering him some treats with your hand. After he starts taking the treats try putting your finger for him to step on while holding a treat in the other farther back.....but let him learn to take the treats first. Then he may be willing to step up to reach the other fingers holding the treat.
Talk to him a lot, he needs to gain your trust. Some are easier than others. How old is he? Do you have pics?

He needs to feel safe in his new environment. Don't reach in his cage, that is their territory their safe zone, always let him come out to you. They are very territorial no matter how much they bond with you. What is theirs is theirs and what is yours is theirs as well. Green cheeks are really little clowns and are super great birds. They can be nippy, well they are nippy, just learn to watch their body language and you will know what is coming.

This being the 4th there aren't many people on the forum, but you will get more input later I am sure. I just popped in to check the forum.

 

[taylor_]

i'm not sure how old he unfortunately. i posted photos on my other thread entitled "meet crowley".

 

[taylor_]

so weird. he'll take pieces of food and dried papaya right from my boyfriend and i's hands, eats the pellets (even though it was being fed seed where we bought him from) like he's never tasted anything better, comes out of his cage and squawks whenever we leave the room or aren't giving him attention, but if we come near him he chomps down on us.

 

[dishgal1]

I think eventually if he is in the same room with you which he should be. They like being in the center of attention, I think he will eventually come to you. Probably isn't ready for you to invade his private area. It takes time, just keep talking to him and saying "good boy" .........when he gets ready he will come to you. Just keep giving him treats from your hand he will associate treats with being with you. YOU might even from where youare sitting tempt him with treats.

 

[dishgal1]

Was he bonded with someone else before you got him or was it a pet shop?
Was he hand tamed? Does he fly away from your hands or just bite?

 

[aufde]

When he squawks when you leave the room means you're making progress. Yoshi took a little more than a week to settle in and you'll be able to tell too. Yoshi got more vocal and played with his toys more. When I first brought him home, I was really excited to get the training/playing started, but you really have to be patient (and you're going to hear that a lot).

If he's biting when you try to get him to step up, use a small perch to step on instead of your finger. That way he'll figure out what you're trying to get him to do while saving your finger Once he knows that he'll get treats/praise from stepping up on command, he'll be less likely to bite.

Do what dishgal1 was saying, hold the dried papaya just out of reach and use a perch (or your finger if you're feeling brave) to bridge the gap. Make sure you say step up every time too. Repetition and consistency are key for training.

Hope that helps

 

[taylor_]

Was he bonded with someone else before you got him or was it a pet shop?
Was he hand tamed? Does he fly away from your hands or just bite?

as far as i know he's not bonded with anyone else, it was from a pet shop. hand fed and he just bites. at first it's just a nibbling bite like he's trying to figure out what we are then he finds a soft spot and goes for blood. it doesn't seem hostile, it seems more playful than anything.

the part that confuses me the most is if there's something in our fingers like food or a treat, he's fine, doesn't bite us or anything just grabs the food but if it's just our fingers, he's ready to bite.

 

[taylor_]

something cute that happened today while i was at work and my boyfriend was home playing video games; like i said, he usually hangs out on top of his cage or climbing around on it watching what we're doing. apparently everytime my boyfriend would look back while he was playing video games, crowley would have jumped off the top of the cage and started creeping towards him on the floor (my bf lays on the floor in front of the tv when he plays). SO CUUUUTE

 

[aufde]

Mine is nibbly like that too. You have to establish a difference between nibbling and biting. I'm still working on it, but right now I say "be gentle" when he's biting too hard, if he keeps going, I say it again then put him on the floor for a couple minutes. He's starting to catch on and he's pretty gentle most of the time.

Since Crowley is starting to bond with you, putting him on the floor and ignoring him should be a good punishment because he wants your attention all the time. I just realized, I don't know if he's clipped or not and that might not work Yoshi is clipped so when he's on the floor and can't get to me he changes his attitude real quick.

That's more of future reference since you can't get him to step up yet. I think for the first week, just spend time with him so he bonds more. Usually when Yoshi starts biting too hard he's already on my hand so it's easy to set him down. If Crowley isn't on your hand already, don't grab him and put him on the floor because you might just scare him and it'll do more harm than good.

 

[taylor_]

Mine is nibbly like that too. You have to establish a difference between nibbling and biting. I'm still working on it, but right now I say "be gentle" when he's biting too hard, if he keeps going, I say it again then put him on the floor for a couple minutes. He's starting to catch on and he's pretty gentle most of the time.

Since Crowley is starting to bond with you, putting him on the floor and ignoring him should be a good punishment because he wants your attention all the time. I just realized, I don't know if he's clipped or not and that might not work Yoshi is clipped so when he's on the floor and can't get to me he changes his attitude real quick.

That's more of future reference since you can't get him to step up yet. I think for the first week, just spend time with him so he bonds more. Usually when Yoshi starts biting too hard he's already on my hand so it's easy to set him down. If Crowley isn't on your hand already, don't grab him and put him on the floor because you might just scare him and it'll do more harm than good.

that's a great idea. i feel like i'm just being an over worried mommy. everyone is telling me that all the things he's doing already are good signs and it's only been two days. i gotta work on that patience thing you mentioned haha. and yessss he's clipped so it would definitely work. he's such a little attention hoarder. always gotta have everyone's attention

 

[taylor_]

he preens our hair too. it's pretty funny but ticklesssss so much.

 

[taylor_]

moments after i posted that last one about preening our hair, crowley jumped off the desk his cage is on and walked over to my boyfriend on the floor, stepped up onto him multiple times, then walked over to the couch i was on and kept flapping to try and come up with me. i bent down said step up and he hopped right on. then he walked all the way down my arm up to my shoulder and preened my hair and my eyebrows... he's an angel. i have nothing to be worried about. lol.