Jake has Arrived!

[MeganMango]

Jake the sennie has arrived. Poor guy is mortified, and his cage is a little small, but he has already accepted a walnut from me! He is a beautiful bird, and someone has already put an application in for him. I dont think it will take long for him to be adopted, and Im already a little sad about it. It will be bitter sweet.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Are you fostering him? Often foster parents have priority about adopting if you wanted to keep him

 

[MeganMango]

Are you fostering him? Often foster parents have priority about adopting if you wanted to keep him

I could adopt him, but I think two birds at a time is my limit. I want to be able to help more birds and work my way around different behaviors/special needs. Ultimately Dave and I hope to give a home to a bird that is otherwise unadoptable. If a good, safe, forever home comes along I will let him go. I will definitely be very vocal if I dont like the home, but the idea behind fostering is to help birds with no where to go.

 

[JamesC]

Good luck with the rehab. I took in a Sennie once that had been in a similar situation but not quite as isolated. She just sat in a corner and received no attention at all. Just got food and water occasionally. And her cage cleaned once every 6 months or so it seemed. It took me the better part of a year to bring her around but she turned into a very sweet bird.

I don't know if I could ever foster without keeping. I fall in love with them too easily.

 

[mtdoramike]

I'm actually quite surprised that a Senegal has wound up in foster care. In my area, they are one of the first birds to be adopted out and only spend a few days at a shelter.

 

[MeganMango]

I'm actually quite surprised that a Senegal has wound up in foster care. In my area, they are one of the first birds to be adopted out and only spend a few days at a shelter.

There seem to be a lot of them around there are three or four up on kijiji here, and they dont go cheap. That said, the rescue did tell me these guys along with the quakers go really fast. He is terrified of me, but in the last 9 months or so he has been learning step up with the lady who runs the rescue. He doesnt bite, but he is scared of people especially hands. Mango was pretty much the same when we got him, but we just kept bugging him and interacting with him until he got use to us. I think we will have more time than the lady running the rescue. I will work very hard to get him socialized and relaxed. Luckily all the rescue birds get chipped, and she maintains knowledge of where they are at all times. Even if someone adopts him, she has the right to pull him back if something goes wrong. Im hoping this gives us a chance to see how we handle more than one bird, and how we handle the adoption process. The rescue has already been a great resource to us as newish parrot owners.

 

[Shade]

Are you fostering him? Often foster parents have priority about adopting if you wanted to keep him

I could adopt him, but I think two birds at a time is my limit. I want to be able to help more birds and work my way around different behaviors/special needs. Ultimately Dave and I hope to give a home to a bird that is otherwise unadoptable. If a good, safe, forever home comes along I will let him go. I will definitely be very vocal if I dont like the home, but the idea behind fostering is to help birds with no where to go.

It's quite a good thing you want to do!
Good luck with it! I ended up fostering two that have stayed here - my two Meyer's - and I do believe that with the eldest, we have prevented him from going from more homes to more homes. He really doesn't like women and will generally attack any significant other to the guy he choses as "his" person, but I can deal with it. The other might have eventually been able to find a new home, but he has trust issues so I think stability for him is a very good thing

 

[MeganMango]

Jake is pretty nervous, his cage has been open all day and he comes out a bit then goes right back in. He will accept walnuts from us but nothing else. I feel so bad, he looks really unhappy. He eats, he has made a few peeps, and he preened, but he seems very upset overall. He hasnt played with any toys and he mostly sits in the corner. Poor baby has a long way to go.

 

[crimson]

Sounds like it's been a long day for both of you. Isn't that a good sign that he is coming out of his cage, even though he goes right back in?....and took a walnut from you??
Sounds like a little bit of progress Tomorrow is another day of new positive experiences

 

[MeganMango]

ya, Im actually surprised at how well he is doing. Sometimes I wish I could just explain things to him though. He looks at me like hes not sure whether Im going to feed him or punch him. He shakes like a leaf if I put my hands near him.

 

[ziggybird]

ya, Im actually surprised at how well he is doing. Sometimes I wish I could just explain things to him though. He looks at me like hes not sure whether Im going to feed him or punch him. He shakes like a leaf if I put my hands near him.

Poor little guy! You're doing such a wonderful thing! I'm sure things will get easier and he won't be so scared soon!

 

[JamesC]

ya, Im actually surprised at how well he is doing. Sometimes I wish I could just explain things to him though. He looks at me like hes not sure whether Im going to feed him or punch him. He shakes like a leaf if I put my hands near him.

My rescued Sennie was terrified when I adopted her. It was more than a month before I could sit near her without her diving to the floor and looking for someplace to hide. Probably another couple of weeks before she would accept any food from me at all. Didn't keep track of time but I would guess that it was half a year before I was able to touch her foot for the first time.

The one thing that I found that really unlocked her was "talking" to her. The best example is that one day I was walking by getting ready to go to work. She squeaked so I said "squeak!" back at her. And to my surprised she responded. Over the next 15 minutes or so we had a great "conversation". Made me late for work but it was worth it. After, I really made a concerted effort to talk to her as much as I could and she responded more and more. I believe we made great strides having frequent conversations like that. It wasn't that long after that she allowed me to touch her foot and she didn't flee from me.

It was a long process but definitely worth it in the end. I would try imitating the noises he makes back at him. If he responds as well as Kelly did it might help him relax and trust quicker.

 

[MeganMango]

ya, Im actually surprised at how well he is doing. Sometimes I wish I could just explain things to him though. He looks at me like hes not sure whether Im going to feed him or punch him. He shakes like a leaf if I put my hands near him.

My rescued Sennie was terrified when I adopted her. It was more than a month before I could sit near her without her diving to the floor and looking for someplace to hide. Probably another couple of weeks before she would accept any food from me at all. Didn't keep track of time but I would guess that it was half a year before I was able to touch her foot for the first time.

The one thing that I found that really unlocked her was "talking" to her. The best example is that one day I was walking by getting ready to go to work. She squeaked so I said "squeak!" back at her. And to my surprised she responded. Over the next 15 minutes or so we had a great "conversation". Made me late for work but it was worth it. After, I really made a concerted effort to talk to her as much as I could and she responded more and more. I believe we made great strides having frequent conversations like that. It wasn't that long after that she allowed me to touch her foot and she didn't flee from me.

It was a long process but definitely worth it in the end. I would try imitating the noises he makes back at him. If he responds as well as Kelly did it might help him relax and trust quicker.

Jake is really starting to open up, he gave me trouble this morning for not giving him enough nutriberries

We also had a similar "conversation" this morning that consisted of returning kissy sounds and peeps back and forth. He is taking food from my hands now, and he has come out from his hiding place. We leave the cage open (it opens from the top) and he came out last night while we were in the other room. I couldnt see him so I went up the stairs while talking so as not to scare him. Turns out he can fly! He flew to Mango's cage (Mango was on my shoulder luckily), panicked, flew to my shirt, flew to Dave, then flew down stairs and hid in the corner. I walked really slow over to him and waited for him to stop shaking, he stepped up really nice, but when I tried to carry him back to his cage he kept flying to things. He found his way back to his cage, and then gave me a dirty look :09:! Im really falling for his vulnerable-tough guy attitude!

 

[aliray]

They are awfully cute birds and I love to watch their eyes, they are so expressive. What does Mango think.? And it sounds like your falling in love

 

[MeganMango]

Mango is a little insecure, but he hasnt shown any aggression. If I give something to Jake or talk to him for a while Mango starts to peep and beg. I make sure I always play with him, talk to him and praise him lots and that seems to help. He has started to really call if I leave the room, and he wants to be on me a lot more, but I hope that once he realizes he is still our baby he will get use to having Jake around. Their cages are close enough that they can see eachother and talk to eachother, but they are far enough apart they cant physically interact. This may have to change now that I know Jake can fly. He has a light clip and apparently has never flown before. He seemed confused about the whole thing and he hasnt done it since, but he did fly to Mango's cage. Mango wasnt in it, and Im not sure how he would react if he was. Hes been on my hand while I talked to Jake and he seemed curious, but he wasnt nervous or aggressive. Jake was nervous of other birds when he was with the rescue and he only went to empty cages. If other birds approached him he would avoid them. Im going to see the lady from the rescue today and I will ask her what she wants to do about the wings. I dont mind him flying, but I would like to get him hand tame first. Also, if he has never flown he could get hurt. We havent flight proofed the house a whole lot because Mango came to us clipped and I wanted to get him trained to come when called and to wear a harness before we let him fly.

 

[ziggybird]

Try singing too! Tukki wasn't a rescue and she was hand raised so use to people, but the poor little girl was so scared when I brought her home. So for the first week I would talk to her, and sing to her. She really responded to singing.

My mom did the same thing when she got Ziggy. Ziggy was wild caught (back when that was still legal. ) so she was terrified when my mom brought her home. But she would sing "somewhere over the rainbow" to her and she would listen and calm down. We still sing it to her if she gets scared!

 

[MeganMango]

Try singing too! Tukki wasn't a rescue and she was hand raised so use to people, but the poor little girl was so scared when I brought her home. So for the first week I would talk to her, and sing to her. She really responded to singing.

My mom did the same thing when she got Ziggy. Ziggy was wild caught (back when that was still legal. ) so she was terrified when my mom brought her home. But she would sing "somewhere over the rainbow" to her and she would listen and calm down. We still sing it to her if she gets scared!

Im pretty sure if I start singing both bird with start screaming at me to shut up! I do NOT have a singing voice. I have many talents, but thats not one of them. Mango is really curious about the guitar though, so maybe Ill try that. Im not particularly good, but I play a few little things. Jake came out to the top of his cage just now and chattered at me very intensively. I think he is trying to talk but its coming out as a cute little munchkin voice with several screetches and squaks . He then went right back into his cage, tucked his head under his wing and he drifted off. He peeks out at me every couple of minutes (making sure Im not up to anything) but he seems to be relaxing and displaying more of his tough guy attitude

 

[MeganMango]

Jake decided to come down to see us tonight! His cage is in the dining room, which is a quarter level higher than the rec room. The house is very open-concept and he can fly anywhere in the living room, kitchen, dining room and rec room. He flew down to the rec room where I was playing video games, and scared himself and hid in the corner. He stepped up beautifully, and went right to my shoulder. I was going to take him back to his cage, but I thought maybe I would let him sit with me for a while. As I was walking back to the couch I went past the play stand and he jumped on. Ive left him there for the last hour or so to just watch and be with us while we watch TV. I managed to get some pictures, and he relaxed enough to preen and peep at us a bit. He gets scared if we get up, and once I walked too close and he flew off into the window! He stepped up right away, but I think Im going to have those wings clipped for now. The lady at the rescue has left this decision to me and Im too worried that he is going to hurt himself either flying to Mango or into a window. Im so glad he chose to be with us though! He is really making great progress!
The pics are in another thread