Shower Perch

[camo]

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!

Stephen,

Perhaps textbook on the second attempt, but it's your advice that made me reconsider and resit the exam so to say, so again, thank you.

Your plumage comment means a great deal to me, given the condition of your eckies. I am very happy with there plumage at the moment, especially as they still have a few feathers still coming in, especially on Pebbles, so hopefully this is a sign of good health and diet (which is something I always worry about getting right).

Cheers,

Cameron

 

[camo]

Gizmo shows true courage!

Hi all,

After yesterday's success, the plan was to keep moving forward in slow steps, but when showering Gizmo today, he started reaching out to bite the perch (which was up against the wall).

Given his interest, I decided to pull the perch out of the wall just a bit, and to my surprise Gizmo didn't really seem to care. Eventually (in a few stages), the perch was out far enough that he could step up on it.

I managed to grab my phone out and video a bit of the action.

[ame="http://youtu.be/kiTtO4IXky8"]Gizmo showers on Perch - YouTube[/ame]

He was definately a bit more subdued than a standard shower session (which can be utter chaos...lol), but other than a few looks at me for reassurance, he seemed relaxed, and I am confident it was an enjoyable experience. The fact that he was vocalising, made me confident that I had not made a mistake in stepping forward so fast with the plan.

Cheers,

Cameron

P.S. so far I think I have been lucky and found a perch with good suction cups. I've had it for a fair amount of time now, and it took a beating over the perches (Gizmo and Pebbles trying to rip the metal ring off), so fingers crossed on that issue.

 

[Anansi]

Excellent! When that opportunity comes along, sometimes you just have to grab it! Congratulations, Cameron! And I'm sure Pebbles won't be far behind.

 

[Uglow]

love that look he gave you half way through the video. this was a cool thread to follow. Thank you.

 

[camo]

Excellent! When that opportunity comes along, sometimes you just have to grab it! Congratulations, Cameron! And I'm sure Pebbles won't be far behind.

Thanks, yes I felt I needed to take advantage of the opportunity. Pebbles I think would be fine right now under the shower, but I have decided I will keep her going with just the perch without water to get her fully reinforced as she is far more stubborn and if she decides she hates the perch, I will be hard up convincing her otherwise.

love that look he gave you half way through the video. this was a cool thread to follow. Thank you.

Thank you for following along, it was a real learning experience for me. Yes that look for me is a special. Gizmo acts all tough, but he is a bit of a chicken when push comes to shove, so that look to me was "I am doing this because I trust you, are you sure I'm safe...OK, good, now I can go back to enjoying this"

Cheers,

Cameron

 

[camo]

I moved the perch close to Pebbles favourite spot to stare at the tiles in the bathroom. Tonight I decided that I would take Pebbles in, and give her some time on the perch, she loved it, and after about 15min she had decided she was going to sleep there.

The grinding of the beak says it all, definitely stress free. I put Gizmo on the perch for a bit, but he started squinting a bit so I stopped (Gizmo squinting means he is thinking about being naughty)

[ame="http://youtu.be/XPXJxrmhwVg"]Pebbles and gizmo perch - YouTube[/ame]

Cheers,

Cameron

 

[camo]

Well apart from getting Pebbles relaxing in the shower on the perch, I think this video is probably the last for now (as far as learning steps go).

[ame="https://youtu.be/-GDiUkDlQs4"]Gizmo shower - YouTube[/ame]

As you can see Gizmo is starting to feel comfortable now, he is usually fairly active in the shower, so the last video, although good, demonstrated he was still fairly nervous about the perch.

Clearly I won't be replaced entirely as a perch, as Gizmo still made his way up my shoulder to rub himself dry all over my shirt and neck...lol.

 

[Anansi]

Gizmo was fully invested this time around. I'd say he's completely there!

So when are you going to go for it with Pebbles? I bet she's ready, too!

 

[camo]

Gizmo was fully invested this time around. I'd say he's completely there!

So when are you going to go for it with Pebbles? I bet she's ready, too!

OK,

I bit the bullet and tried with Pebbles today, she was a bit disappointed when she saw how far away the magic tiles were from the perch, but although she kept wanting to step forward to get closer to the tiles (you can see her moving her head trying to determine the best way to get to the tiles), it's clear she is happy enough with the perch. There is still a bit of reservation, Pebbles used to have issues with holding on to things when I first got her (I think possibly previous lack of different size perches), so she is cautious with new perches or in this case a wet perch.

Pebbles has quite a few of the smaller feathers coming though so she is enjoying having a shower lately (Gizmo is always the bigger shower hog)

[ame="http://youtu.be/c_2boaydA0Q"]pebbles showering on perch - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Anansi]

Yes! Mission accomplished! Neither looks like they have any left over reservations at all. I love seeing turnarounds like this.

No more soggy shirts for you, eh?