The Chronicles of Obie

[UlyBirb]

These look like so much fun, so I figured I’d give little Obie his own thread to keep track of his progress and new life with me!

He will have been home a week as of tomorrow, and today was the first time out of his cage! He spent nearly an hour sitting on my shoulder eating millet, grinding his beak and dozing off. Still a bit wary of hands and doesn’t know his step-up command so I have to scoop him up, but baby birds learn quick and I am so proud of our progress. :heart: Disregard the low-quality pictures, I had to zoom in and didn't want to scare him. He probably would have been fine, as he did go after my septum ring & tolerate a few kisses!

Edit: I'm hoping these pictures show up? Let me know if they don't x

 

[Sunnyclover]

Why is that millet crubs on your shoulder? Lol

 

[UlyBirb]

Why is that millet crubs on your shoulder? Lol

He was most comfortable up there and didn't want to budge so I moved the millet spray to him. He enjoyed it and made a huge mess

 

[Inger]

Obie! So pretty! And I suspect Sunnyclover was joking about the millet on your shoulder. I'm pretty sure we've all had that once or twice!

 

[Sunnyclover]

Ahh yes I too have emerged out of a pile of millet spray and a giant mess to clean up in pursuit of bird happiness. <3

 

[UlyBirb]

Hahaha thank you Inger, all of this bird stuff is very new to me! I am so smitten. It is much easier than I thought it would be.

 

[Carl_Power]

Aww wow that's great for you guys. Millet will teach him everything he needs to know lol. He is a stunning looking Parrot wow x

 

[UlyBirb]

Aww wow that's great for you guys. Millet will teach him everything he needs to know lol. He is a stunning looking Parrot wow x

Thank you! Yes, I’ve found that millet is the way to go. I was going to go for a Quaker (Xander is an adorable little guy by the way! :heart but I saw him and it was decided. I knew he had to be my bird.

 

[Carl_Power]

Awww thanks. One Quaker is enough though lol. You guys are gonna do great. He is already on you after only a week. That's trust for sure x

 

[GaleriaGila]

I am completely in love!
Be my Valentine, Obie!

 

[wrench13]

So if he loves millet, that's your key to train him for anything else. Afraid of hands? Put small bits of millet in your hand, bet he eats it right out of it in no time.

 

[UlyBirb]

So if he loves millet, that's your key to train him for anything else. Afraid of hands? Put small bits of millet in your hand, bet he eats it right out of it in no time.

I just finished working with him for about 2 hours and I’ve realized it’s not that he’s afraid of hands (as he’ll eat millet from my hands readily) it’s that he’s so used to being scooped up and staying on shoulders. We worked on step-up training and he showed me he’s not afraid of hands after all. It was a lot of work to show him that he can’t stay on my shoulders all the time as I guess that’s what the breeder let him do. He’s just a baby testing my patience and being a brat. Lol

 

[UlyBirb]

Big progress today! Not only has he mastered his step-up training and will even step down from my shoulder, which he was previously glued to, he spent a bit of time outside his cage in my room today! I always take him to another room to train him so I am the only familiar thing he knows to get him to focus on me, but I placed him on the outside perch beside his millet and he finished it all. :heart: This was the first time he didn't immediately try to hop back inside his cage. Baby steps!

 

[Carl_Power]

Amazing progress. Even the smallest thing is great with a new birdie. You are doing everything the right way. I think you guys are gonna have a special bond. Baby steps is deffinatly the way to go your right. Im a fan of Obie way to go you guys x

 

[UlyBirb]

Thank you! It has been easy but a bit daunting, I’ve trained lots of horses but no birds so i haven’t been 100% sure what I’ve been doing, the process is of course very different But when I approach the cage now he often moves towards me rather than away. It’s a good feeling knowing he’s starting to like me, because I adore him :heart:

 

[Carl_Power]

Its all about trust for them and patience for us. The first 4 months of having Xander wasnt easy at all but i was just nice and patient with him and he is lovely now. You seem to be way ahead of where i was after that amount of time. Your gonna be fine. Hefty praise with an excited voice is a powerful tool, they love that and it can be reward enough for some Parrots and not forcing them to do anything if they dont want to helps. I think if your just a nice and gentle type of person then you have a head start with birds. Can take months to get one to even step up on you so your doing awsome. Some days you may feel discouraged if the bird is having a bad day or in a mood but you kinda learn more about their individual personality and how to be with them and respect their boundaries. They are so much like humans x

 

[Carl_Power]

Another tip to help bond is hand feeding a couple times every day. You can start through the bars but thats how i got mine to trust me and my hands x

 

[SailBoat]

Love the Chronicles of Obie, great idea! This has all the makings of being another Thread that has a want to be read!

 

[UlyBirb]

Another tip to help bond is hand feeding a couple times every day. You can start through the bars but thats how i got mine to trust me and my hands x

Thank you for the words of encouragement, both of you! When he came home I'd let him eat out of my hand for 10 minutes 3-5 times a day, and now that he's out of cage I work anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on what he's telling me.

Maybe it's because the hormones haven't kicked in yet, but he's a lot gentler than I was expecting. He hasn't drawn blood and already knows his bite pressure training. Except when he gets crabby and tells me that he's had enough out-of-cage time for the day.

 

[Carl_Power]

Maybe he is just a gentle bird or feels no need to bite you with how you are being with him. Keep doing what your doing and you guys will only grow closer x