new to forum and new parrlet

[Dragon58]

have had birds for years sunday got my first parrlet...she has a large cage i read you should only have one so she has it to herself...i read they like toys and theres several in her cage but will be buying more off and on to switch between so she dosnt get board...question husband bought her a twine ball is this safe to give her didnt see anything made of twine when searching for toys for her....trying to get her to trust me been feeding her bits of cale and carrot from my hand shes bit me twice the first time i offered her cale and the second time when i gentle petter her...of course shes scared i would be to if some gient thing wore comming at me but will keep trying cant wait to read some of the messages to get some new ideas on how to bond with her and help her to trust me thanks for all the help i know i'll be getting

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Twine toys are fine IF the pieces of twine that it's made of are short- less than 6 to 8 inches long. Seagrass mats are very popular bird toys and my budgies love them and take them apart. I learned that they are made of short pieces of twine that are twisted and woven together to make the mat. I find the short pieces all over the place as much budgies play with them and take them apart. Longer pieces of twine can get wrapped around the bird, trapping or strangling it so do not give your bird a ball of twine as a toy!

 

[rheashard2]

Welcome. I agree that sea grass is a bit better than twine or rope. A variety of toys is excellent. My CAG anime, cartoons, action movies, 80's music videos and especially tv talk shows (I personally hate talk shows)

 

[Dragon58]

thank you for the iformating the twine ball my husband got is fairly big really to big for her to play with but i'll put it in her cage on the floor and see if she does anything with it...her cage is right next to my livingroom chair so i can see her constently but will stand next to the cage or get the barstool out so i can sit and see her better if i put it in the cage....i'll be gettig her other toys as i can..i have written down seagrass mats i have a notebook im writting down everything i learn in ( like i said at 66 my memory isnt as good as it used to be lol) im countueing to look for info as far as other foods she might like as well as are good for her....when i saw her at te pet store she was sitting on a sort of curllly perch with lots of rings so i picked that up for her rigt away and they gave me the toy she liked that was in her cage...she will be a very spoiled little bird lol my husband says i spoil ALL my animals lol which is true but even so they all have rules the first rule im trying to teach ladyhawk is we DO NOT BITE mommy! lol i say in a stern voice we do not bite mommy im afraid the first time she did i taped her on her beak when saying it not hard of course...but she is quite smaller then the cockatials iv had in the past...im paying more attention now so it dosnt happen again...she of course wasnt hurt but being so small.... one question though i havent gotten one yet as we are not yet bonded but i see they now have flyingleasers for birds now? im not sure how safe those would be for a bird....my husband is 77 and im 66 with copd so were not really able to sort of chase a bird down who dosnt want to go back into her cage so would like thoughts and info on them.... i have her wings cliped and had planed on keeping them that way so i could let her out her of cage to roam around unless one of my kids wore visting and could help us put her back it( all other animals locked in different rooms and outside) i hate for her not to be able to fly so im looking into other alternitives for houseing her in house like a small avery when i can afford one...but one of the post i read said she shouldnt have to big of an inclosure... i'llbe ordering her a few new toys when i get my chek next month...

 

[rheashard2]

For avian harness go slow. If she's young she'll learn easier. Get her used to having wings touched, handled. Give lots of treats and praise. A few minutes a times a day. End on a positive note. I am parrot-noid about her accidentally getting loose. Birds are made to fly and they're prey animals. No amount of training or trust will stop a real or imagined spook or a wind coming along. Then you have a lost friend. My CAG has been harness trained for 2 decades. Harness is on even in travel carrier. Like I said, I'm parrot-noid. Harness on means trip to pet store to pick out a toy. See people to be fussed over and admired! Plus it helps decrease stress for mandatory outings, vet etc. PS harness trained won't stop wild feather days. Where she just knows the harness will strangle her. https://www.aviatorharness.com/aviator-bird-harness
I've used this brand for several decades. It's about the best on the market.

 

[Dragon58]

thanks i'll put that on list for after she learns to trust me....i doupt i'll take her outside other then to the vets....im not real moble myself .....iv had birds since i was 16 parrakets and cokatiels...my first parralet...im so gald to hear the harnness is good neither my husband or i am really able to slowly chase a bird around trying to get her to come to us so we can put her back in the cage lol the harness is the perfect idea now i dont have to find somene to come over when i let her out to help get her back in the cage ...what a relief and this means she will be able to get out more often...working on trying to get her to trust me slowly....tomarrow i'll put food in my hand and hold it out for her and see if we she will come..she takes kale and carrot out of my fingers not bad for 3 days im giving her the bird food they gave her at the pet store...we have penuts here and some cashews not sure if she has ever had them before might try giving her a small peace of one of them tomarrow...after iwashe it with plain water....to make sure thats all she gets...if she likes it i'll use it as a reward .... her cage sits right next to my livingroom chair and she often sits and looks and watches me....so i keep talking to her....i read that i shouldnt just put a cuddle bone in her cage like i have all my other birds should i scrap some off and put it in with her food or on a small bowl on the floor of her cage? they did say she was a baby but not so your as to where she cant eat the same as adults good heavens seems she found the swing lol im glad she defently needs more things to enterain her...im working on lol eventually she will have a toybox full of toys that can be interchanged every now and then so she dosnt get board with just the same old toys....

 

[rheashard2]

Watch tv, listen to radio or audiobooks, read aloud to her, call her name and give praise frequently. It's an easy habit to develop. Give her bird safe foods as you're eating. Mornings my CAG prefers her chop sl warm. I make mine look like her food. But I add the birdie no, no's; onions, garlic, salt etc. She's dives into hers. But checks to make sure I'm not cheating!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Watch tv, listen to radio or audiobooks, read aloud to her, call her name and give praise frequently. It's an easy habit to develop. Give her bird safe foods as you're eating. Mornings my CAG prefers her chop sl warm. I make mine look like her food. But I add the birdie no, no's; onions, garlic, salt etc. She's dives into hers. But checks to make sure I'm not cheating!

thank you for the iformating the twine ball my husband got is fairly big really to big for her to play with but i'll put it in her cage on the floor and see if she does anything with it...her cage is right next to my livingroom chair so i can see her constently but will stand next to the cage or get the barstool out so i can sit and see her better if i put it in the cage....i'll be gettig her other toys as i can..i have written down seagrass mats i have a notebook im writting down everything i learn in ( like i said at 66 my memory isnt as good as it used to be lol) im countueing to look for info as far as other foods she might like as well as are good for her....when i saw her at te pet store she was sitting on a sort of curllly perch with lots of rings so i picked that up for her rigt away and they gave me the toy she liked that was in her cage...she will be a very spoiled little bird lol my husband says i spoil ALL my animals lol which is true but even so they all have rules the first rule im trying to teach ladyhawk is we DO NOT BITE mommy! lol i say in a stern voice we do not bite mommy im afraid the first time she did i taped her on her beak when saying it not hard of course...but she is quite smaller then the cockatials iv had in the past...im paying more attention now so it dosnt happen again...she of course wasnt hurt but being so small.... one question though i havent gotten one yet as we are not yet bonded but i see they now have flyingleasers for birds now? im not sure how safe those would be for a bird....my husband is 77 and im 66 with copd so were not really able to sort of chase a bird down who dosnt want to go back into her cage so would like thoughts and info on them.... i have her wings cliped and had planed on keeping them that way so i could let her out her of cage to roam around unless one of my kids wore visting and could help us put her back it( all other animals locked in different rooms and outside) i hate for her not to be able to fly so im looking into other alternitives for houseing her in house like a small avery when i can afford one...but one of the post i read said she shouldnt have to big of an inclosure... i'llbe ordering her a few new toys when i get my chek next month...

It really isn't true that a bird's cage can be too big. Bigger is always better. In a big cage she can fly, flap, hop and explore like birds are supposed to.

 

[Dragon58]

thats what i thought when i first decided to get her and why i was looking for a forum so i could be sure id get the correct information

 

[Dragon58]

ok now does anyone have a recipe they would like to share for chop? lol then i can make some and seewhich ones she likes

 

[DonnaBudgie]

thanks i'll put that on list for after she learns to trust me....i doupt i'll take her outside other then to the vets....im not real moble myself .....iv had birds since i was 16 parrakets and cokatiels...my first parralet...im so gald to hear the harnness is good neither my husband or i am really able to slowly chase a bird around trying to get her to come to us so we can put her back in the cage lol the harness is the perfect idea now i dont have to find somene to come over when i let her out to help get her back in the cage ...what a relief and this means she will be able to get out more often...working on trying to get her to trust me slowly....tomarrow i'll put food in my hand and hold it out for her and see if we she will come..she takes kale and carrot out of my fingers not bad for 3 days im giving her the bird food they gave her at the pet store...we have penuts here and some cashews not sure if she has ever had them before might try giving her a small peace of one of them tomarrow...after iwashe it with plain water....to make sure thats all she gets...if she likes it i'll use it as a reward .... her cage sits right next to my livingroom chair and she often sits and looks and watches me....so i keep talking to her....i read that i shouldnt just put a cuddle bone in her cage like i have all my other birds should i scrap some off and put it in with her food or on a small bowl on the floor of her cage? they did say she was a baby but not so your as to where she cant eat the same as adults good heavens seems she found the swing lol im glad she defently needs more things to enterain her...im working on lol eventually she will have a toybox full of toys that can be interchanged every now and then so she dosnt get board with just the same old toys....

I don't think it's necessary or even desirable to scrape cuttlebone into her food unless she's been diagnosed as calcium deficient. Most enjoy scraping the cuttlebone with their beaks. A lot of the dust falls to the bottom of the cage but enough gets swallowed to give her the minerals she needs. Cuttlebones aren't cheap either so scraping them into their food will use up a lot of expensive cuttlebones quickly.
If she's weaned she can and should eat adult bird food. You should put her food bowl where she likes it but try not to put any perches directly over it or she will poop in her food. Same with water bowls.

 

[Dragon58]

the cage i have came with food dishes and no her perches arent over them... thanks for the reassurence on the cuttlebone iv always had them whole attatched to the cage....i got my first bird for my 16 birthday a parraket....have had birds off and on ever since depending on my income and avable room....mostly cocitails ... always wanted a parrot but a bit out of my price range then i discovered parrlets and thought oh how cute!!! and decided to get one....even i she never learns to talk shes a joy to have and im hopeing she will bond with me one of these days....today im going to try putting some carrot or cale in my hand and just sit there with my hand resting on the lowerpearch to see if she will come and eat some out of my hand....not expecting her to it will take time but will countue to do it and hopefuly she will eventually come and eat some....and not bite me lol im looking on line to find a list of foods that are safe for her to eat along with her seed and mallet so far we have here in the house kale and carrots and iv added greenbell pepper cores with seeds almonds istachios walnuts cashews and apple...will get some seagrass too....

 

[DonnaBudgie]

ok now does anyone have a recipe they would like to share for chop? lol then i can make some and seewhich ones she likes

I use a product called Bird Street Bistro as the base for my chop. I order it on Amazon. It's a bag of dried vegetables, legumes and grains that you add water to and cook for about 15 minutes on the stove in a large pot. I add fresh chopped vegetables to it like broccoli, bell peppers, green beans, frozen corn kernels, peas, cooked carrots, cooked chopped sweet potato. The ingredients vary depending whats immediately available and what my birds really like. Chop all the veggies fine by hand or using a food processor (much faster). After cooking the base, I mix in the chopped vegetables and divide the whole batch into quart size zip lock freezer bags, enough in each bag to last 4 days, max. In the morning I warm the bag in the microwave for no more than 30 seconds and squish the contents around really well to make sure the temperature is about room temperature with NO HOT SPOTS. I feed it in the morning and remove any that's uneaten before noontime and rinse out the bowl so it doesn't spoil. You can give more fresh chop for the afternoon or feed dry food for the rest of the day.