New Kakariki, First time owner

[Mleoche]

Hi,
So I got my first little feathered friend around two weeks ago. I’ve read the book “ Birds for dummies “ in it’s entirety. I tried to research as much as possible before hand so I’m not going in blind getting a pet bird. Obviously as a new bird owner I’m looking to provide the best possible start for my little guy/girl. For now we are saying “ He” but I guess we will find out. Anyway for the sake of the post “ He” is 12 weeks old this week, we got I’m around 9 weeks and he’s been doing great and his little personality is really coming out beautifully. He lands on mine and my sons arms, on our head and likes to peck at my hair, he chirps away happy flying around the room. Only thing I would say is that he likes to peck my fingers a lot , which I don’t make a big deal of, even if it’s a little stingy he really goes for it sometimes and broke the skin. We have never forced him to be petted if he doesn’t want too, we give him lots of treats, speak to him softly, give him lots of toys to keep him amused. Not really sure why he’s interested in biting so much. Other times it’s a little nibble and a lick which obviously is fine. Any tips, advice or ideas from a kakariki newbie would be welcomed. Thank you and here’s a picture of our little “Guy” or “Gal” Thank you.

 

[Laurasea]

welcome to the forum! Congratulations on your little beauty

 

[Mleoche]

welcome to the forum! Congratulations on your little beauty

Thank you so much, We are absolutely enamoured with him/her.

 

[Cottonoid]

What beautiful colors!! Your little one is lucky to have such well prepared family! Welcome to the forum!

Have you heard of bite pressure training? I haven't learned much about it yet because my bird is still suspicious of me but the general idea is to gently guide your baby to let them know the line between beak on flesh and bite. One way I've seen done in person (works best if you're standing) is to simply say "gentle" then turn around facing away for a second or two, then turn back around. Birds that really like attention respond really well to this. I've also seen teaching "touch" where you target train to touch your finger gently, and then you can switch a too-hard nip to a "touch" in the moment.

It does seem like it's very common for parrots to help us groom our fingernail beds and hangnails though

 

[Mleoche]

What beautiful colors!! Your little one is lucky to have such well prepared family! Welcome to the forum!

Have you heard of bite pressure training? I haven't learned much about it yet because my bird is still suspicious of me but the general idea is to gently guide your baby to let them know the line between beak on flesh and bite. One way I've seen done in person (works best if you're standing) is to simply say "gentle" then turn around facing away for a second or two, then turn back around. Birds that really like attention respond really well to this. I've also seen teaching "touch" where you target train to touch your finger gently, and then you can switch a too-hard nip to a "touch" in the moment.

It does seem like it's very common for parrots to help us groom our fingernail beds and hangnails though

Thank you very much for your lovely reply. It’s lovely to be here with kindred spirits

I haven’t heard of bite pressure training but I will be sure to look into that, I feel that may be a great way to perhaps lessen the extent of the bites, he seems to have a problem with knuckles. He doesn’t do any biting on my arm just little nibbles and licks, but the knuckles and the fleshy part in between thumb and index finger seems to also be a particular favourite area for biting. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply. What about you? What bird or birds do you have ? And what started your interest in birds ?

Have a lovely day

 

[Cottonoid]

My son and his girlfriend have a cockatiel that I bet to watch sometimes, and he's a total clown and I live him to bits! I started thinking this past winter about someday getting a bird of my own, and started visiting a rescue in my area. They introduced me to an African Ringneck named Cotton, and I was smitten right away! He had some health issues and I couldn't stand the idea of just leaving him there and looking for another parrot, so, he's home!

 

[HeatherG]

I would love to hear about your kakariki’s personality! I think New Zealand parrots are very interesting. Unfortunately, I don’t think I will ever have a pet kea.