Shower Perch

[camo]

So about 2 months ago I decided to buy a shower perch, as there has been some sexual tension between Pebbles and Gizmo, basically Pebbles wants babies and Gizmo has no idea, flirt as she may he just wants her to feed him...lol.

With all this tension Pebbles has had occasion to get annoyed and growl, no biting yet thankfully, but when she tends to grab something with her beak she doesn't let go, and I don't want that to be my ear.

Usually a new toy is a fairly quick introduction, if one gets scared the fear soon passes and either Pebbles tries to bite it and tear it apart, or Gizmo tries to bash it up, admittedly something big might take a day, but try as I like both Gizmo and Pebbles will have nothing to do with the perch.

I don't think it would be the case, but I have to ask, it is bright blue (like this colour), has anyone experienced their eclectus having a particular dislike to something of a particular colour. Even as I write this, I think it's a ridiculous question, but it's both Pebbles and Gizmo's complete rejection from the very beginning all the way through that is confusing me (I suppose something could have gone wrong in the introduction process, but introducing toys to them is nothing new to me, even big toys). I don't think it's the current sexual tension, as I have introduced other toys successfully in the last few months.

Anyway I remain Gizmo and Pebbles perch for the moment, and drying post (have to change a sopping wet shirt at the end, and not from getting under the shower myself, from Gizmo running up my arm, drying off and then running back down into the shower again).

So today they had their shower, and here is Gizmo trying to dry off using his blanket.

[ame="https://youtu.be/p0c54o9Sjyc"]Gizmo's Towel - YouTube[/ame]

Lets just say he won't be getting a towel any time soon, and definitely not a bright blue one

Cheers,

Camo

 

[Anansi]

My birds have never had an issue with particular colors, but I do know that there are quite a few parrots who do. You need only consider all of the stories of loving fids viciously attacking their parront after a change in hair color to know that it can indeed have an effect. And quite a dramatic one.

I figure that a slower acclimation might be in order. Let them get used to it, getting just a little closer each day, until they can perch on it without fear. The important thing is not to rush the process.

 

[camo]

My birds have never had an issue with particular colors, but I do know that there are quite a few parrots who do. You need only consider all of the stories of loving fids viciously attacking their parront after a change in hair color to know that it can indeed have an effect. And quite a dramatic one.

I figure that a slower acclimation might be in order. Let them get used to it, getting just a little closer each day, until they can perch on it without fear. The important thing is not to rush the process.

Thanks for the advice, I will keep working at it. Either I did something drastically wrong at the beginning, that I didn't notice, or it's the colour or the shape, either way that perch is not to be trusted. I am sure we will get there, until then, I will continue to use my other perch (my arms)

Cheers,

Camo

 

[Anansi]

You're welcome, Cameron.

And maybe you can start introducing the perch in non-bath areas, first. If I were you, I'd try the top of Gizmo's cage. I say that because he's the more adventurous of the two... if I recall correctly. If you just left it in a corner on top of the cage, he'd probably be apprehensive at first. But his nature would eventually compel him to come over and nibble at it.

Once he got cool with it, Pebbles would inevitably follow.

 

[camo]

And maybe you can start introducing the perch in non-bath areas, first.

Honestly, my first reaction to that was, well of cause I tried that, but then thinking I thought well had I really given it a proper go away from the shower environment (Pebbles has a fascination with a row of dark tiles in our bathroom, and I think I jumped the gun, moved the perch to the bathroom too early, thinking I could entice her with the tiles. Needless to say I have been reminded of a valuable lesson (if it's not working, go back to basics, I know this, but sometimes you get so far down the hole it's hard to go back to the beginning). Thank you for stating what at first appeared somewhat redundant, but ultimately showed it self to be the correct answer.

I put the perch back above Pebbles cage, Gizmo acts all tough, but the reality is, Pebbles is the one who will always risk reaching out to chew something first (it's her inquisitive nature).

My plan was to just leave it (days, weeks if need be), and hope that eventually Pebbles would have to know if she could chew it up

To my surprise, within a minute of coming out of her cage, she was already showing interest. At this point I broke out the big guns (pumpkin seeds), here is a representation of what occurred over about a 20 minute period (with a few breaks in between).

As expected, initially it was all Pebbles, Gizmo spent most of the time on my shoulder, snuggled up to my neck for protection (he is such a chicken).

I offered Pebbles a Pumpkin seed and lured her back to the tip of the perch. She is such a piggy when it comes to treats, so given she had already shown interest, it didn't take much to have her approach. She touched the steel ring, and I said "Good Girl", and gave her the Pumpkin seed.



She backed off from the perch and I then had to wait until she finished her seed. The whole time, Gizmo wanted his seed, so I showed him and put it on the perch, he was not impressed....lol. When Pebbles finished she came over for another seed, and I showed her the one on the perch, within a minute, she realised that I wasn't getting another seed, so she walked over and grabbed the seed off the perch.



Gizmo was at this stage fairly jealous and clearly planned to steal Pebbles seed, she wisely stays near the perch and Gizmo circled in frustration.







Once Gizmo came in close enough, I decided to offer him a seed above the perch. At first he wasn't going to have it, but when Pebbles approached (thinking she could easily carry 2 seeds in her mouth...lol), he came in, and eventually grabbed the ring. At this point I offered up the seed, and they both moved off to slowly eat the rewards.

 

[camo]

(further to the previous post, too many images)



As far as I was concerned (not wanting to push my luck), that was the end of the session, but after they finished eating their treats, they decided to go back and have another look at the ring on the perch.

[ame="https://youtu.be/wMJ9wcSmVEM"]Gizmo & Pebbles the shower Perch - YouTube[/ame]

As you can see in the last seconds (Gizmo flinches), there is still a certain degree of insecurity, but at least now I am well over the hump. I was about to give up, I guess next time this happens I will know to take a step back and perhaps go back to the beginning.

Thanks again!

Cheers,

Cameron

 

[Anansi]

Sweet! I'm glad it worked out! Though I had the wrong one pegged as the Lionheart. Hahaha! Go, Pebbles!

Love the pics and video!

 

[camo]

Well I wish I could say that after an extensive round of focused training sessions this happened



But the reality is, having settled in to the idea that the perch was no longer scary, I walked in to find Pebbles perching.

No scary blue colours here, just a parront who mucked up the introduction phase.

I think I will let this be a cage perch for a bit longer, make them really comfortable with it before I take it back to the bathroom (give them a bit of time to forget the perch was ever scary), so it looks like Gizmo will be using my shirt to dry himself off a fair bit longer (hey who am I kidding, when the perch goes into full use, I am sure he will still be running up my shoulder to dry himself off with my hair and shirt).

Cheers,

Cameron

 

[Anansi]

Hahahahahaha! I love it! It's actually become the chill spot! Nice!

 

[wrench13]

I have had really bad luck with those shower perches. Not that Salty doesn't like it, the problem is that 1/2 thru the show , invariably the perch comes off, and dumps perch and bird into the tub water ( where I am taking a shower or bath. Not the best thing to build up confidence).

In stead I put in a permanent shower perch. All PVC, it cost me $8 for 2 brackets, 2 45 deg angle fittings and about 18" of pvc pipe. Oh and 2 part epoxy. Salty has never question this perch, because it is so sturdy and steady. I used 1" PVC pipe, and you can even find ribbed sections, or bond some rubber onto the perch section. . So much better then those suction cup perches. Suction cup perches suck ! Come on, say it with me!

 

[Anansi]

Hahahahahaha! Maya would certainly agree. I went with commercial shower perches and she happened to be the bird on deck TWICE when it decided to fall off the wall.

She was not amused after the second time. Lol!

So I got one of those cement perch things with the triangular plastic sides that they sometimes use in baby bird tanks and used that instead. Only around 8" off the ground and completely steady. Worked out much better.

But I can't hate on all suction cup perches. Wendy (JerseyWendy) made one that works far better than my more expensive commercial version did... and two of her birds are big macs! And she's been using it for years. No incidents. She put a how to somewhere on this site, for anyone who's interested. A search should bring it right up.

 

[camo]

Oh noooooo....I had no idea there was issues with these perches. Just imagine how annoyed they would be, Pebbles and Gizmo showering away sharing the perch and then it releases.

That teaches me for buying it instead of making one (usually I would make something like this, but figured the suction caps would be a pain to source).

Hmmmm, I have it now, so I am going to have to think of modifying. I will have to think on this.

Cheers,

Cameron

 

[Anansi]

Not all commercial shower perches have had an issue. Some gave worked out just fine. But I KNOW Wendy's is good stuff. Check out her tutorial if you're looking for ideas.

 

[camo]

Not all commercial shower perches have had an issue. Some gave worked out just fine. But I KNOW Wendy's is good stuff. Check out her tutorial if you're looking for ideas.

Based on that, I think when it comes time, I will put on a safety chain over the shower to test it (should it fail), see how it goes. I have had it in the shower for nearly a month without it showing signs of letting go (of cause this is not under load).

I did a quick search, I think this is the DIY perch you are referring to (assuming there isn't a version 2):

http://www.parrotforums.com/do-yourself/27017-diy-shower-perch-very-easy.html

I can see how that would distribute the load well across the suction cups, Wendy has used a great design.

Cheers,

Cameron

 

[Flboy]

Hobby lobby has several different sizes of the suction cups.

 

[Anansi]

Yep. That's the one, Cameron!

 

[wrench13]

I designed and installed a permanent corner perch for Salty which I would be glad to share with this board. However since we cant just attach pictures or files unless they are hosted at a different website, the construction and appearance of it will remain a mystery.
It cost < $20 to build , and it will never come off the walls. Home Depot or Lowe's is your friend!

 

[JerseyWendy]

I designed and installed a permanent corner perch for Salty which I would be glad to share with this board. However since we cant just attach pictures or files unless they are hosted at a different website, the construction and appearance of it will remain a mystery.
It cost < $20 to build , and it will never come off the walls. Home Depot or Lowe's is your friend!

Wrench, I just had a look at the post you deleted and noticed it was an image link to another forum that you belong to. Please understand that ONLY registered members on that particular forum would have access to that image - nobody else.

Do you have issues with Photobucket and/or other photo hosting sites?

There are several ways to upload images to this site, have you seen the tutorial? http://www.parrotforums.com/technical-support/6287-how-post-pictures.html

 

[camo]

Pebbles & Gizmo seem to have become comfortable with the perch now, so I decided it was time again to try it in the shower area. Not wanting to jump steps, the shower was not on. Pebbles is always the bravest, so I decided to leave Gizmo on his perch in the other room.

So as you watch the video, you will see that I got so excited that she was stepping up, I completely forget to give a command (very few step up commands given in all the video's), some might also think where is the reward, but in this case it's the feature tiles. Pebbles is absolutely obsessed with looking into these tiles. She can see a dark reflection, funnily she is not too keen on a mirror.

[ame="https://youtu.be/IWzvyNSkhwQ"]Pebbles shower perch - YouTube[/ame]

In typical Gizmo fashion he wasn't going to be left out of the action. Gizmo hearing too many good girls, decides to join us half way through (apparently he brought a trumpet with him...lol, at the time I thought Pebbles made the noise, you can see her eyes reacting, but watching the video, I think it must have been Gizmo), unfortunately I hadn't anticipated Gizmo joining us, and had no rewards for Gizmo. Gizmo's jealousy shows up in the end (he tries to go in for a sneak toe attack) and I had to stop the training for a minute.

[ame="https://youtu.be/Lo5VKIyE8WU"]Gizmo comes to join in, and then a time out - YouTube[/ame]

Returning armed with pumpkin seeds, I tried again, and Gizmo stepped up on the perch. As I suspected I had my hands a bit full with Pebbles and Gizmo, and Gizmo goes to step up, slips a bit and decides to fly off, but given how they were a few weeks ago, it's a big step towards a shower on the perch.

[ame="https://youtu.be/5p67loTxvkA"]Gizmo steps up, but it's all a bit of a handful - YouTube[/ame]

Pebbles eventually says more tiles less perch, initially she decides to go to the end of the perch to get to the tiles herself. Seeing the reflection isn't as good over that side, she decides she really has to step up on my hand if she wants to go over to the good reflecting tiles, but she cunningly pivots around, staying at the very end of my fingers, then makes a side step to avoid the perch. That's Pebbles personality on show, she is a very smart girl, and can also be very stubborn, but I wouldn't have it any other way. At that point I ended with one final step up and finished with a nice long stair into the feature tiles.

[ame="https://youtu.be/yLvu93p1hGg"]Pebbles says more tile less perch - YouTube[/ame]


Cheers

Cameron

 

[Anansi]

Excellent! Your work on getting them used to being on the perch was textbook, Cameron! Well handled!

Your ekkies are looking so beautiful, btw. Flawless plumage.

And Pebbles' love affair with the tiles is hilarious!