Vet visit...sweet revenge.

[Dopey]

So yesterday Whisper finally had his vet exam. Since he came from a good environment I wasn't in a hurry to get him to the vet.
I warned the vet about how Whisper takes chunks of flesh...and wood. As soon as the lid was opened out Whisper came and then there was a chase around the room. Whisper squawked like I'd never heard him before. Finally the vet got him and wow - I'm going to have to practice that towel wrap. It was fun to finally see someone have the upper hand with Whisper.

Then there was the sweet revenge. Whisper has had his nails trimmed and his wings clipped. (Vet warned me about not letting him fall.)

He weighs a whopping 380g (compared to 237g for Patches). The vet was again pleased with how well Whisper was... for a bird I got off of Craigslist. The vet says that he's pretty sure that he's trainable.

 

[Birdman666]

Yep.

Mr. Towel = attitude adjustment.

I have finally decided to try and do something with Lila about letting me touch, after all these years. (She's 42 years old and doesn't allow touching.)

Tusk used to preen her headfeathers, but hasn't done it since his little adventure in the real world, and she's all ratty looking now. So, I've been toweling her from the neck down for about five minutes a night, and opening pin feathers...

I'm hoping that by the time I'm finished, she will allow head scratches.

Sarah, says I'm just destroying trust, and I'm going to create issues... (We tried other training methods for touching, and that is exactly what happened, so we quickly stopped them.)

So far, it hasn't seemed to affect her, outside of flying off when the towel comes off. She still sits with me and Tusk for an hour or so a night. Steps up just fine. She never applies bite pressure. She really is a sweet, shy little bird.

We shall see who's right...

I'd love to get her to the point where I could open her feathers for her. I don't care about the rest of it.

Lila is the only bird I've got that was wild caught, and her mannerisms are in many ways completely different from the others. She would be lost without her "buddy bird" Tusk. When he flew off on us, she was very upset and depressed. Spent the entire time pressed up against the window, looking at the tree. Watching for his return.

He still hangs out with her all day, but doesn't groom her or feed her the way he used to. I don't know what's up with that. I am assuming it will eventually get back to normal.

 

[Christinenc2000]

Very nice . LOL at the thread title

 

[Dopey]

My someday to be daughter-in-law has by stepson's Zon hold his beak on one of his bars and then the Zon allows her to scratch his head and neck. I watched her do it last night for about 15-20 minutes and by the time she was finished he was so relaxed. He was standing on one foot and then letting her rub the bottom of his other foot. This is the same bird that attacked me and bit her back in June. Putty in her hands.

They also play tug of war together (Zon's in the cage) and they play rough. It's fun to watch!

I like the every night towel idea. But the thought of getting bit still scares me...but not enough to give up. I would just be happy if he would step up on the perch and let me take him to his play stand and not bite like he's going to hurt.

The new guy bites me at least once a day but it's like to say...I'm a Zon - I'm supposed to bite.

 

[Allee]

I'm happy to hear Whisper's vet visit went well, although it sounds like Whisper may feel differently about the experience. You should probably watch your back for a few days in case Whisper is planning his own sweet revenge.

 

[Kiwibird]

Glad Whisper is healthy. I bet he was 'humbled' by the human who was able to towel and trim him up! Kiwi is usually a bit more 'docile' for a while after a toweling too (we trim his nails and wings at home, though he only needs the towel for the nails, we can pull up his wings without one).

Also happy your son's zon is doing better! It's really amazing what changes you see when you put in the time, effort and have patience

 

[Dopey]

I'm happy to hear Whisper's vet visit went well, although it sounds like Whisper may feel differently about the experience. You should probably watch your back for a few days in case Whisper is planning his own sweet revenge.

Yep - I've been watching.

When we got home yesterday I made him wait in the carrier for even longer while I cleaned his cage and moved a couple of toys. I hope he appreciated the newly cleaned cage.

He is walking a little more slowly to the front of the cage but he did come forward.

Ok - NOW I'm feeling a little sorry for he went through. He got quite the exercise before the vet caught him.

 

[Dopey]

Glad Whisper is healthy. I bet he was 'humbled' by the human who was able to towel and trim him up! Kiwi is usually a bit more 'docile' for a while after a toweling too (we trim his nails and wings at home, though he only needs the towel for the nails, we can pull up his wings without one).

I'm going to be his enemy until I get the towel thing down. It's been a while since I've had to chase a kid around the house just to wrap him up in a towel. Come to think of it though...the only one who really ran away from me after a bath was my step son.

Also happy your son's zon is doing better! It's really amazing what changes you see when you put in the time, effort and have patience

Much better. He (son) realizes that he needs to spend more time with him (Zon) and we are putting things into place that are making it possible for him. (Like a cage for the dog to sit in and watch instead of getting in the way and maybe hurt.) Starting with 15 minutes a night and working up to and hour.