My new Green Cheek "Tori"

[bogo1]

How is Tori doing?

 

[Kokihi]

He got out of the cage yesterday. Not by stepping up, but he climbed out and was sitting on the top. He doesn't let anyone touch him yet, so getting him back in was an adventure. lol He stopped biting so much! He does gentle nips untill he gets tired of people, then he enjoys chewing on fingertips.

I didn't realize this till someone else tried to get him to step up, but he doesn't come to the door for anyone but me. That makes me feel special, but I don't want him to be a one person bird.
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He stepped up to get his food! well, he walked across my hand to step onto his food bowl. lol

 

[Kokihi]

OH MY GOSH GUY!!!!! TORI STEPPED UP ALL THE WAY!! I'm so excited! Such a smart bird! He did it twice! He even let me touch him!

 

[bogo1]

What a great picture and such a beautiful bird. You have done a fantastic job...giving the quiet time, building trust, allowing your bird to come to you. You have set the stage for a lifetime of happiness for you both. I am very pleased for you and Tori!

 

[Kokihi]

Over the rest of the day I was able to let him out of his cage to explore (which he and I both loved) and he stepped up again and again. He just won't do it when there are other people in the room.

Thank you so much for your invaluable advice! I wouldn't have known how to make friends with him without you!

 

[Bobby34231]

Congratulations on your milestone!, keep up the good work

 

[Kokihi]

Congratulations on your milestone!, keep up the good work

Thanks! I'm really proud of my birdie!

 

[bogo1]

You are most welcome. As he gains confidence he will become more trusting with others although I suspect he will always be very much "your" bird. You have accomplished a lot working effectively with a fearful bird that hadn't been well socialized as a fledgling. You did great!

 

[Kokihi]

He does come over to the door and take food from other people, but he is not about to let them come in any type of contact with them. I noticed that when I was watching my sister play with him. When I offer him a piece of Papaya, he will sit there and take little bites while I hold it for him; when my sister was giving him Papaya he would snag the entire piece from her, and more often than not, drop it when he was trying to eat it. She sits with him for me while I am at work so he doesn't get lonely, so I'm sure he will warm up to her as well. Though, I think you may be right that he will be "My bird."

I'm taking him with me when I move out, so its probably for the best that he hasn't become attached to anyone else in my family or I would feel bad taking him! However, I don't want him to be a one person bird, so I'm having my boyfriend and sisters play with him when they can.

 

[bogo1]

You are on track and doing great. Tori sounds like a great bird. You are going to have a blast watching the personality unfold. Ready for the next bit of training? Next time you have Tori out, have some strange looking (to a bird) things about you that you can readily pick up. Keep Tori on your hand and near your body as you quietly pick up, study a bit, then put down such bird oddities as a small stuffed animal, a glass, a tooth brush...doesn't really matter what. Move slowly and don't make a big deal of showing them to Tori. Just look at them, handle, put down. You are teaching Tori that he (HA>>>GOT GENDER RIGHT!) can trust you to take care for him... that anything you do, touch, handle, whatever when he is near, will not be allowed to hurt him. Watch his body language and back off if he is worried more than a bit. Repeat this a few times. Something you are going to have to decide soon is whether or not you will allow him on your shoulder. I do let my birds (my largest birds are also conures) on my shoulder. But parakeets and conures are not likely to hurt one badly if they display aggression. Listen to pros and cons on allowing shoulders (your choice, not the bird's and only when bird is behaving) from others on the forum and make your own decision. If you decide for... get back to me and we can go through how to teach that safely.

 

[Kokihi]

My only fear every time I have him on my finger is that something will scare him and he'll try to fly away and end up on the ground. He has gotten scared and ended up there twice, and I was so scared both times that he was going to get hurt! The first time he was shaken up to so I ended up having to have my sister's boyfriend help me grab him and stick him back in the cage. The second time he was just like "raa.............raa...........where am I?" so I was able to lure him to his food bowl (He always stands on the edge to eat) then get him back into the cage that way. (or "On to" I should say. Hes too smart for his own good! He knows when I'm putting him back in the cage. He waits for the right moment, then reaches out and pulls himself onto the outside of the cage. I didn't mind at that moment, because on top of the cage beats the crap out of the floor. Any suggestions on how to keep him on my finger?

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There was one other thing that I found interesting; when I offer him a peanut, he almost never eats the nut. He just tares the shell apart. He'll only eat the nut if I offer it after he has shredded the shell.

 

[bogo1]

First, don't be too worried when he flutters down. He is unlikely to be hurt and he if he is uncomfortable down there he is teaching himself that it is wiser to stay on you! Next time he ends up on floor, consider plopping down there yourself and holding out your hand and a treat. He might just decide to come on over... thus strengthen several concepts: 1) Mom is there for me. 2) Mom will pick me up off this floor and give me treats. 3) Staying on Mom is wiser than going kurplunk on this floor everytime something startles me. 4) Mom isn't freaked out when I fall so I guess I shouldn't be either.

Remember... everything... literally everything that you do with your bird right now is "training." He is a sponge soaking up your words, your actions, your reactions to his actions... You are doing great... just stay relaxed and enjoy.

 

[Kokihi]

Okay! I'll let you know what happens!

 

[Kokihi]

I tried what you suggested. He was fine while I was showing him things, but I accidentally dropped one thing and he flipped and jumped off onto the ground. He was all uncomfortable and trying to fly up off the ground, so I knelt down and offered my finger and a Peanut. He walked over to my fingers, then tried to walk around my hand to get to the peanut lol. I pulled the peanut further off the ground and told him to step up, so he did and I put him on top of his cage so he could still be out.


He also ventured out onto the Tstand I have for him. He wasn't fond of the pearch, but he loved the bottom support thingies!

 

[Bobby34231]

Just a friendly suggestion, but you might want to cut out the peanuts, through the last number of years there have been molds (aspergillus) discovered in the soil where peanuts are grown and the shell's themselve that cause a disease in birds called Aspergillosis, there is plenty of info on the net about it, you can also do a search here on the forum as we have discussed it in the past.

 

[Kokihi]

Thanks for the tip! Hes not super fond of them anyway.

 

[bogo1]

You and Tori are doing so well! Thanks for the picture too. Tori is a lucky guy. You are learning so much about each other and have established a firm bond. Think back to the beginning ...sitting by his cage wondering if he would ever trust you enough to step onto Your hand.

 

[Kokihi]

----Tori has an appointment with the vet on wednesday the 15th! I'll let you know how it goes!(also what gender hi actually is, if they test him.)----
I am super excited and proud of my bird! He steps up without a second thought most of the time (I still have to show him I have a treat for him first) and he actually stepped up for my twin sister too!

Oh, I did what you said and showed him things that were strange to him while he was sitting on my finger. He seemed kind of nervous, until I showed him a little plastic red ball (little to me. about the same size as him) and he flipped out! He jumped off of my finger onto the ground and started calling as loud as he could. After he calmed down, I went down on the ground and had him step up again. I showed him the ball again, he didn't fly away or yell this time, but he did poof up nice and big. Once I put the ball down he was better. He is not a fan of that ball! 0.0


He did get to stay out today for quite a while. I let him run around on top of his cage, and I made a little bridge from his cage to his stand so he could go back and forth. I think he lost the entrance to his cage, because he started getting really cranky, so I got him to step up (after a lot of biting. He doesn't like anyone when he is cranky) and I put him back inside his cage. He made a B-line for his little cuddly thing that he sleeps with. Immediately started grinding his beak, standing on one leg. Poor sleepy little guy!
Oh, he really likes pop corn.

My other question is how do I get him to let me touch him? He lets me touch his feet, or get really close to him and he doesn't care, and he will rub his head on my hand after I give him a treat (oh my gosh he is so soft!), trying to clean up (when he is on my finger), but he gets super pissed at me if I even accidentally brush against one of his feathers.


Funny story time! When ever I take him into the bathroom with me to clean his cage (there are no scented things in my bathroom.) he takes a bath. If his little bathtub isn't in his cage, he starts using his water dish. He only started doing this after I brought him into the bathroom with me when I took a shower. (window was open, and I didn't let it get really steamy or hot) Strange, huh? I wonder if he knows what that room is for now?

 

[bogo1]

Tori sounds so smart! Okay let's try this if you wish to engage another one of my tricks. I used this with a Meyers macaw that I cared for for 18 months during the first Iraq war. The servicewoman who was his owner had had him for 11 years and adored him. He was basically well adjusted....could do all basic stuff. While transporting him to me in St Louis from the airforce base at the other end of Missouri the bird was injured when some luggage fell on him. Nothing awful but I absolutely needed to be able to handle the bird to administer my vet's treatment. Sooooo. I began by having the bird step up with my hand twisted so that once up he was actually facing away from me. Then I would make me clicking sound (tongue to roof of mouth that I have always used since I was about your age whenever I want to send a soothing message to my birds.) What happens next depends on the bird. With Patton, since he took facing away from me in good fashion ....no signs of distress, I then brought the back of his neck near my clicking lips and gave him a brief gentle brush just hard enough and long enough for him to register that he had been touched and nothing awful came of it. I would do this frequently ...combining it with whatever else I was lifting him for. Quickly, just a"this is no big deal" message. Despite the fact that I had to grab him and towel him three times a day to clean and monitor his wound and even though he did not know me at all and was clearly missing Margo over three weeks I was allowed longer and longer contac with the back of his neck. This led over the year to more extensive touching. When Margo returned from deployment, Patton spent a good half hour just leaning on her face when we sat in the kitchen drinking coffee and celebrating Margo's safe return. He continue the behavior once back home with her. Want to try it? Let me know.

 

[Kokihi]

'Awww, such a cute story (not that the bird got hurt...thats not cute.)!!! "Patton spent a good half hour just leaning on her face when we sat in the kitchen drinking coffee and celebrating Margo's safe return" <- that is adorable! I'll try it out, and let you know what happens!