Newbie with possibly dumb questions...

[Riz]

I'm sort of a newbie, so I hope you'll be patient with me asking questions that you all know the answers to... I have a 5 month old African red Belly named Perry. He was on an all seed diet at the pet store and he has been home with me and my family since, I think August. I know it's not good for a parrot to be on an all seed diet so I bought Feed My Flock organic pellets as soon as I learned about them approximately 5-6 weeks ago and the transition is going VERY slowly. My question is... how much am I supposed to feed him and how many feedings per day? I know it's not good to keep his food dish full, but how much is enough? Also, I want to be able to feed him fresh fruits and veggies, but can't always get the fresh food out after a few hours because I'm at work. I suppose I could feed him the fresh fruits and veggies when I get home, but sometimes that is as late as 8:00 PM. Are there other good sources of ideas for feeding? Perry's cage is very clean and his water and food get changed and dishes washed at LEAST daily if not more. I am trying to convert him to a better diet, but am having a hard time because he is very slow to try new things.

Question #2. He has been developing some minor behavior issues which I am sure are our fault. He chirps very loudly almost constantly after I get home and the only time he stops is when I feed him. I do not feed him treats, but pellets and an organic "mash mix". He also has started "mouthing" my fingers occasionally when I hold him and I cannot figure out why. I would not call what he does to my fingers biting, but it wouldn't take much of an escalation to make me call it a bite. He also runs up my arm to my shoulder and stays there it is hard to get him to step up sometimes. Also, I know it is not a good idea to try and make a parrot do anything it doesn't want to do, but what do I do if I MUST leave for work and he won't step up off my shoulder? I usually reach over and pick him up which I am sure is part of the problem.

Thanks for any advice... sorry for the long post.

Tom

 

[aliray]

There is no such thing as a dumb question and welcome to you and Perry. I have a redbellied female named Tiki whom I bought from Craigslist at 5 mo old inthe beginning of July . I feed all of mine Higgens Sunburst Conure seed.nut veggie fruit mix. I put enough that there are some left next day which I discard then refill. If it was empty I would increase the amt I put in. They also get a dish of vegies and or fruit, Fresh,cooked or thawed depending what I have, Plus in that same dish is some cooked brown rice, or cooked pasta or other cooked grain, also some cooked meat, or egg or shellfish cooked, or cottage cheese' or birdy bread that I make. they also get a little piece of millet spray a couple times a week.

 

[aliray]

Tiki also loves to give kisses but also likes to mouth my finger but doesn't bite. She was also hand fed and hand tame when I bought her. She also new how to wolfwhistle which she has down to a science. Most of her calls are various clicks and whistles. though she has done a few higher pitched squaks when my qp tried to grab her tail feathers

 

[tab_xo]

welcome!
i think to see how much food to give him, you will have to see how much he eats! so give him a bowl, and see how much is leftover, next time fill the bowl to how much he ate, and then see if hes still hungry!
so in the mornings mine gets fresh fruit and veges, then pellets and snacks during the day, then in the afternoon a dinner with veges, some grains plus some other things!
you could also try foraging toys and put snacks in there during the day ?

 

[SpringCottageParrot]

as well as tab_xo's suggestion that you work out how much he eats a day it is also useful to know how much he weighs. So if you haven't got a set of electronic kitchen scales I suggest you buy some. They are not too dear.
That way you can weigh how much food you give him and weigh how much is left at the end of the day. Then you will find out he eats probably about twenty grams a day.
We only control the amount of pellets that Casper eats, letting him eat as much fruit and veg as he likes. Its mainly water anyway but has lots of vitamins and minerals.
If he wont stand on the scales when you want to weigh him, put him in a box or bowl and weigh both him and the box. Then subtract the weight of the box. Most electronic scales let you set them to zero with a box or a bowl on them so you can just get the weight of the parrot. We weigh Casper once a week, first thing in the morning before he gets his first feed. That way we get consistent results which we make a note of in a small book so we can see if he is getting too chubby again.
I have posted this before but here he is again, sitting on a little perch I made for the scales to make it easier to weigh him.

How to weigh a parrot by DSdriver, on Flickr

All the behavioural stuff you are experiencing is pretty normal if Casper is anywhere near normal. You could have been writing about him. Margeret has the same problem getting him off her shoulder. Generally she leaves him a couple of minutes and then tries again which sometimes works. If not she has to play a game of tag as he keeps swapping from on side to the other round the back of her neck. He growls a lot but doesn't actually bight her.
Its like dealing with a small child really.

Edit: Do all parrots growl or is it just something he learned living with my mother's dogs?

 

[aliray]

sorry I had to leave and I had errands to run however can you practice step ups from your shoulder when you have time and not when you have to go to work in the am. Tiki will go bock on th

 

[aliray]

Re: Newbie with possibly dumb questicage f ons...

sorry I had to leave and I had errands to run however can you practice step ups from your shoulder when you have time and not when you have to go to work in the am. Tiki will go bock on the top of her cage from my shoulden will step up to go back in her cage without a problem. I have also had her for three months and it takes time to bond. She bonded instantly to my daughter who was living with us at the time but it took her and I a month plus to bond. Now she is an absolute delight. Give your bird time and growing up in a pet shop he may have picked up chirps from the other birds and behaviors from people he was exposed to. also I give my birds treets that are good for them or tastes of whatever we are eating within reason.