What Else Can I Do For Him?

[Fae88]

Him?
Bruno will have been here 4 days today (not including picking him up Tuesday night). He had a bit of a stressful start to life with me. When I went to pick him up from the breeder/previous owner, he got out of his cage and flew all around her house in a panicked state. We were able to get him onto a perch and into his travel carrier but he was clearly stressed out.

I brought him home and put him in his cage. I then left him alone that night as to not stress him out worse.

He also visited the Avian vet Thursday which was not fun for him with needles and getting his wings clipped ect.

I have been taking it really slow with him otherwise. I don't force myself on him. I simply change out his water and food daily. I then sit outside his cage and talk to him in a sweet calm voice. That usually makes him come to the front of his cage and grind his beak.

I worry about him though because he shows zero interest in toys. If anything they freak him out. So I took out the offending toys and left the ones he was ignoring. He is also not big on sitting on his actual perch. I read somewhere that young tiels (he is 12 weeks old) don't always "get" perching. And maybe since the perch I have for him is different from the one he had in his cage with his clutch mates he isn't comfortable on it? He enjoys primarily perching on his food dish. He also spends time on the floor but like I said he has seen a avian vet and so far so good, he is a healthy bird.

I feel bad because I feel like he is living a lonely boring life in my home so far. I think he is missing his "brothers" he shared a cage with. But I don't know what to do for him because he is not tame and is scared of any new thing I put in his cage. Yesterday I tried changing out his yucky plastic dishes with nice glass ones, and he panicked and escaped his cage and glided around the house (I only had his wings partially clipped) until I could get him to step up on a perch.

Is there anything else I can do for him aside from sitting outside his cage and talking to him/attempting to give him treats? I thought of putting a stuffed bird near or in his cage so that he would have "company". Obviously next to the cage would be better than IN since he is not a fan of new things in his space.

Any advice is greatly appreciated! I feel like I am failing my little guy.

Also right now I have put his perch at the back of his cage, which seems like his secure area. Since I have moved it lower and back, he is hopping up on it more often. I don't know. I am trying anything at this point.

 

[Jayyj]

I know it's not easy seeing your new arrival looking stressed and unhappy, but what you're doing already sounds like the best way forward.

I would try to offer him a couple of options with perches, partly to give him a choice but also it's good for his feet to not always be on a perch of one diameter. He'll probably appreciate something high up and out of the way as a roost perch, but maybe have one or two others nearer the front for when he feels sociable?

 

[Fae88]

Thanks for the advice! I definitely plan on buying him some more perches this week, so he has more options.

 

[MikeyTN]

Leave the toys be! They may act like they're afraid of them but they will get used to it as you've only had him for 4 days. He just needs some adjustment period. I believe you've said before he's parent raised right? It will take quite some time to calm him down. I don't suggest in getting him a friend if your trying to tame him cause it can get worse. They can tell the difference in a stuffed bird but by having one they would either cuddle up to it or be terrified of it, I would guess terrified of it as the way he's acting towards toys.

 

[SilverSage]

Sounds like you are doing everything right. I would make sure you are using natural perches, never dowels. Natural are much better especially when that young. I would leave the toys, even if it takes a year for him to play with them. Eventually he probably will. One thing I always do for my babies is to put one perch just and inch or so from the bottom of the cage. Sometimes that helps with the transition to perching as a habit. I find that often my babies seem to be more comfortable perching low, even though older birds tend to prefer high.

What is he eating? Did the breeder tell you what he was feeding? Over all it sounds like you are doing everything right. Keep it up, persistence is the key.

 

[Fae88]

Thanks for the info everyone! I am definitely going to be getting him a few natural perches this week. Lowering the perch seems to help. He is definitely up on it more. But he still seems to prefer his food dish, to perch on.

The breeder had him on a seed and pellet mix. She actually sent me with the container of it since he was the last of his clutch mates to find a home. So I have him on that diet right now. I plan to add fresh fruits and veggies to it over time. Yesterday for example, I gave him a small amount of finely diced apple and carrot mixed with his seed mix and he ate it.

 

[MonicaMc]

Go out and buy a bunch of millet. Once home, snip each millet into pieces no longer than 1". Then, place these pieces of millet in his toys throughout the cage, placing the millet at various levels.


Sit back and observe?

 

[Fae88]

I like the millet idea! So far he still spends a majority of his time perched on his food dish. He also sang a lot today. I am wondering when would be a good time to start leaving the cage door open while I talk to and spend time with him?

I learned my lesson about keeping the bedroom door shut if the cage door is open. I don't want another chase the house. But I would like to be able to talk to Bruno and give him the option of coming closer to me than the front of his cage.

So far when I have tried to present him with a treat through his cage bars he hisses and shies away.

 

[MonicaMc]

It sounds like he still needs time to settle in. Everything is still so new and different for him that he may not yet feel comfortable in his new home.