Hi everyone

[banco]

Hi everyone,

I am a new parrot owner - I've previously had quite a few budgies when I was younger and have now taken the plunge with my new 4 month old dark green Quaker - Apollo.

He's only been in my house for three days so it is very early days for us both.

I've done my research and hope to put a lot of it to good use but I must admit, I sometimes feel like I've taken on too much. I'm trying to just let Apollo be, until he settles in to his new home but it's hard. I'm sure he has purred at least once and has squawked a lot, sometimes when I sit working at my desk. I just wish I knew what the triggers are for his calls.

I'll see you all on here,

regards,

Phil.

 

[Laurasea]

Welcome!! No need to let jim sit in the cage! If he want to be out and be with you get him out!!
I set up perches on the outside of cage and on top to make it an easy play gym.
Have lots of treats to feed by hand, pumpkin, safflower, sunflower, and popcorn mske good treats. But I feed mine tiny taste of stuff all day long.

I can't spend much time on this reply, but I will come back to share more.

Calls are because social wants to be with you, also they are a vocal species , abd he could be bored. Tgey are very social need lots of contact time, very active.

I never force a new bird out. I sit right flush with cage have treats ready. House safe. Let tgem come our abd explore on own. Most likely will come over and climb on you. Just hang out and talk abd treats. Don't worry about any training stuff right now. You are just making freinds.

If gets spooked and flys. Wait till he lands tell him he's OK and walk over and offer hand most will be more than willing to be rescue, and take him back to cage either on tip or let him go in but keep door open and continue making freinds.

 

[Laurasea]

Ok I share this cuz has lots of great stuff. I don't use clicker cuz they annoy me, but I do shape behavior i just say good birdie instead if clicking.
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/stress-reduction-for-parrot-companions/

You do want to create a flock call,call, whistle, i use wolf whistle.

Start offering veggies, quakers really love veggies!! Offer on those metal burd skewer, or spread out in junks in a shallow dish. Mine love Swiss chard, while fresh green beans, bell pepper, red chili peppers, zucchini, broccoli, really there isn't a veggies I offer they don't like! I give a little boiled egg ir strategy twice a week. Plain cooked oatmeal or quinoa a couple if tines a week..

Its a real good idea once you guys are friends to weigh on a kitchen gram scale once a week. A 3% weight-loss see a vet. Most burds will loose weight when sick.

I hooe you share a picture of yiur new baby!! A quick way is to click advanced under text box then click paperclip choose pic, click upload on far right, when loaded close window abd post

I have a better article on reading burd body language but this one is good too.
https://www.petcoach.co/article/understanding-bird-body-language-what-your-parrot-or-your-o/

Ok here is the one I like
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/bird-behavior/
Quaker definitely do tail wags when happy confident or proud. Like if I really brag abdcswet talk mine I get a tail wag. Or after a flight or big leap or rgey figure out a toy ill see a tail wag.

 

[Scott]

Welcome aboard Phil and Apollo!! Great advice above from Laura, and three days is just the beginning of honeymoon phase! Check out this popular thread, plenty of generalized advice for bonding and building trust. http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

Feel free to ask specific questions while Apollo is settling in!

 

[banco]

Thank you Scott and Laurasea,
Unfortunately, Apollo isn't tame yet and is petrified of my hand, I've started doing the walk so close to the cage and back off technique but he's very skittish at the moment. He's been out of his cage a fair bit today and is fairly relaxed while I'm keeping an eye on him. He's been in and out of his cage so I'll just have to wait for n opportune time to get him to bed as he won't go anywhere near my hand for the moment.

I'll have a good read of the articles you linked, thanks a lot,

Phil.

 

[wrench13]

Welcome and be welcomed!

I find that getting parrots to do anything involves some mind sets. Gradual desensitization for one. And that is a wide scope catchphrase. Some parrots accept new things fairly easily and quickly, and some take forever to accept them, and everything in between. The other is to accept that rate of change what ever it might be. We can always try to expand that, that's desirable, but not to push too hard, that's difficult. Let Apollo find his bearings, sea legs, learn the lingo of the house.

Quakers are SMART! Keep that in mind.

 

[Laurasea]

Awww look at that green baby!! Still so young.
You can use a treat dish . Walk up day hi put a seed in tge dish and walk away , when yiu see him take it say good bird. I layer good birdie into everything, so they know what it means. I say good birdie when they est, when they fall asleep when they take a bath. They learn quick.

Don't be fearful or timid, or worried when you approaches him. He is reading your body language. So you want to be happy, calm confident. Like i know you are scared buddy, but there's no reason for that silliness, I got it all under control, I will keep you safe. Because if tgey see yiu be timid it makes them think there is something to worry about.

I just got a pet store quaker who had a huge phobia of hands. So I dropped trying to train. And fed treats by hand all day long, ( at furst I out in dish next to me) he loved being sweet talked tho. And soon come up fir kisses but would run when he saw my hands. Target training helped. Took 2 months, to get him over fear of hands.

This little baby definitely wants to be part if a flock and feel safe. So keep up the chatter abd brief trios to say hi and give treats . Reapeat hundred times a day lol, really multiple times everything few minutes. I started out standing on opposite side from him, and always let him be tge one to move towards me and treat dish.

Its so worth it when you earn trust, even if slow going. Create routine and rituals, explain everything to him . Be predictable.
Reason everything everyone shares with yiu, you never know what tip will work fir you.

I so wish I could give you both hugs!! Poor little baby its so scary starting out fearful I'm a new place. No matter how fearful and aloof he might act, he is watching everything you do and learning, and is smart with a huge social drive.

 

[SailBoat]

Great photo! Yup, they are very smart and at their rate, they will open-up to you. A couple of tools that I use are:

Adjust your vantage point!
- It is always the fault of the Human
- It is never the fault of the Parrot!

Only good things happen when Humans are around!

 

[Flboy]

Welcome! I see a devil in that look!

 

[Laurasea]

I hope you will start a thread under quakers or behavior, and document your journey with Apollo.

It can help celebrate milestone, micro progress, and share frustration.

When I brought home Orbit, and he was so fearful. It really brought home to me the struggles of those newer to parrots. And what they must go through with a fearful new parrot. So I want to be supportive to you and Apolo . People have gotten frustrated, disappointed, and we have even had some give up and. But please have no doubt in your heart , you can and will make friends! People befriended wild caught adult parrots in the past.

When I was making freinds with Orbit I would play with plastic bottle caps then put on top of cage and he would come and investigate. Things .move faster when you can give treat by hand or hand off toys and interesting things.

If you aren't at the point he takes things by hand. Then you work at shaping that in little steps. First you put treat in a treat dish and walk away. After he always come quickly to get. Then yiu wait to out treat in dish until he takes a step towards you, and you keep shaping till he comes to the bowl to wait for treat, and then takes from hand. Sometimes you can move through this quickly or it can take longer.

 

[banco]

I hope you will start a thread under quakers or behavior, and document your journey with Apollo.

It can help celebrate milestone, micro progress, and share frustration.

When I brought home Orbit, and he was so fearful. It really brought home to me the struggles of those newer to parrots. And what they must go through with a fearful new parrot. So I want to be supportive to you and Apolo . People have gotten frustrated, disappointed, and we have even had some give up and. But please have no doubt in your heart , you can and will make friends! People befriended wild caught adult parrots in the past.

When I was making freinds with Orbit I would play with plastic bottle caps then put on top of cage and he would come and investigate. Things .move faster when you can give treat by hand or hand off toys and interesting things.

If you aren't at the point he takes things by hand. Then you work at shaping that in little steps. First you put treat in a treat dish and walk away. After he always come quickly to get. Then yiu wait to out treat in dish until he takes a step towards you, and you keep shaping till he comes to the bowl to wait for treat, and then takes from hand. Sometimes you can move through this quickly or it can take longer.

Thank you Laurasea,
if I'm honest, I'm struggling at the minute, Apollo is very fearful of me, I've sat and read a book to him, moved slowly around him and speak all the time to him. He won't entertain me giving him treats, either by hand or in a bowl - he responds to the clicker but I can't reinforce his good behaviour with treats as there's no way of giving them to him. On the plus side, he seems to be happy when he's out and about and on his cage, it's just getting him to trust me that is where the work is.

Thanks,

Phil.

 

[Laurasea]

Dang it, I wrote you a looong reply, only to loose it.
Its early days , you will get there, i know its frustrating, but yiu will get there. Remember I told yiu it took 2 months to have big progress. He was screaming and running from me, hiding, charging and bite me, I had it all, but we got there!!

Put a plate on tge bottom of his cage abd try all sorts of stuff to find his favorite, popcorn, peas, grapes, pumpkin seeds ir other seeds spread out so you see what he chooses first, peanut butter, a bread or cracker crumb..you will find his favorite.

Move normal, lol, don't be all weird slow.

Set up lots if stuff and perches on the outside of his cage, I use fishing line and ceiling hooks to hang swings and spiral ropes just a few inches above the top of the cage. Lots if stuff to do and build confidence.

I set treats in the same spot on opposite of cage abd backed off till he took, then slow I would stand closer...until I was standing by treat when he came to take this can be days or weeks.. I sweet talked and bragged on him.

I bragged on mine ehen he came out if cage, when he ate his food or did anything. He started thinking he was a rock star lol. Tgey know when you are bragging on them!

Having a rock solid belief that you and he will be buddies one day!!

Read any of the other threads were people are working on making friends.

There is nothing wrong with either of you. You are just learning each other, and learning and layering trust. By the end of this you may have ideas that will help other in their journey! Don't see it as a struggle, but as a journey