DoctorWhoops
New member
- Jan 21, 2024
- 9
- 5
- Parrots
- Appa the Caique
four days ago I got my new five year old Caique: Appa. I took him from his previous owner who found out she had two males, and the past few days we've been getting used to each other. He seems increasingly comfortable around me and the environment, and he's at the point where he's starting to navigate the environment with a lot more bravado than before. When I take him out of his cage he steps up naturally but tends to immediately climb to my shoulder and not soon after gets tendencies to jump or fly to other parts of the room, making it hard to get him back on my body or into his cage. My apartment is single-room (the only doors are to the bathroom and a small storage) and has a direct access to the kitchen, bed, desk and other places I don't want him to be around, so I'm not comfortable having him roam freely like that especially considering how hard it is to get him back onto me when he does leave.
In the morning or evening I can keep him on my hand for a good while by using my other hand to block the way or nudge him back, which I do when I notice he wants to starts flying or climbing. These are precious moments that are great for both of us. However, during parts of the day where he's more energetic such as the afternoon he might get nippy and bite my hand if I try to block him, and is hard to restrict in his flying or climbing. These are also the parts of the day where he tends to yell out for attention more than usual, and in general during afternoons he can be quite intense when asking for attention or out-of-cage-time (no screaming, luckily, but just a lot of loud and sharp whistles). I try to take him out at least three times per day (morning, early afternoon, late afternoon), each for at least 30 minutes, but sometimes I can't help but have to put him back because he bites me or misbehaves.
If he's more willing to stick to me or the cage I don't mind he explores occasionally, and it would make things a lot easier as far as out of cage time goes. I think it's a lot better for both of us if he gets more out of cage time, but as long as I have to worry about him being impossible to get back or him going places he shouldn't I'm less and less comfortable giving him his time. How can I motivate him to stick to (or return to) my body or the cage more during out of cage time?
EDIT/NOTE: I try using small pieces of walnut to reward good behaviour such as returning to my hand, but he'll only have about two of these during each out-of-cage time before he loses interest in food or snacks, after which I struggle to find something to motivate him.
In the morning or evening I can keep him on my hand for a good while by using my other hand to block the way or nudge him back, which I do when I notice he wants to starts flying or climbing. These are precious moments that are great for both of us. However, during parts of the day where he's more energetic such as the afternoon he might get nippy and bite my hand if I try to block him, and is hard to restrict in his flying or climbing. These are also the parts of the day where he tends to yell out for attention more than usual, and in general during afternoons he can be quite intense when asking for attention or out-of-cage-time (no screaming, luckily, but just a lot of loud and sharp whistles). I try to take him out at least three times per day (morning, early afternoon, late afternoon), each for at least 30 minutes, but sometimes I can't help but have to put him back because he bites me or misbehaves.
If he's more willing to stick to me or the cage I don't mind he explores occasionally, and it would make things a lot easier as far as out of cage time goes. I think it's a lot better for both of us if he gets more out of cage time, but as long as I have to worry about him being impossible to get back or him going places he shouldn't I'm less and less comfortable giving him his time. How can I motivate him to stick to (or return to) my body or the cage more during out of cage time?
EDIT/NOTE: I try using small pieces of walnut to reward good behaviour such as returning to my hand, but he'll only have about two of these during each out-of-cage time before he loses interest in food or snacks, after which I struggle to find something to motivate him.