Who's this newbie?

[freya]

On june 26 my husband and I adopted a CAG..
He is 6years old and arrived via a friend who had only had him 3 weeks but her BF couldnt cope with his behaviour..

She didnt want to sell him so came to me as she knows I only ever adopt animals.
Ive never had birds, my mother is phobic about them but Hubby had been longing for a bird to call his own so this came at a perfect moment and he didnt hesitate in saying yes..

Basil arrived with just head and a few wing feathers intact. The rest was just grey fluff..His cage was far too small for him and he came to my friend because the wife of the previous owner hated him..

So far we have seen him grow new feathers, grow in size (he was very skinny) grow in confidence and trust...He moved home a month after arriving here, we bought a really big cage and just put it in the living room next to his old one..We decided from the start that we would have an open door policy for him providing we are home..
It took him two days to move which I was surprised at (I thought we would have 2 cages for weeks) and since the move his temper and behaviour has really improved..

Id like to have the online back up of people who know more about birds than I do, so I have a safety net and thats why Im here..
Im sorry I wont have much to offer as I am a compleate novice with birds but sadly not in terms of rescue and abused/truamatised animals. I have three dogs all rescues.

Anyway thats all about us for now. I hope to get to know you all better and maybe pick your brains a bit.
Thanks in advance

 

[Rio Mom]

Welcome to our forum family! Happy to have you join us!

 

[suebee]

awww welcome, although the birds been badly treated, it sounds so happy to be with you! and even though you say you have no bird knowledge the placing the cages next to each other and letting the bird take its time was a brillient idea!!

let him take his time, also what are you feeding him? oh an pics please we love pics!!

 

[merlinsmom13]

Welcome, & like Sue said, we love pictures. You have good instincts w/your new buddy, that will help alot. I saw my 1st CAG yesterday, very sweet faces. There are people here who have experience w/pluckers, you can get some good advise.

 

[Spiritbird]

We welcome you with open wings. Pick away at our brains and bird experiences. CAGS are such wonderful, intelligent birds.

 

[freya]

As I said Im a novice with birds but with dogs who are traumatised the key is time and patience.. We thought it must be the same with parrots so we just keep letting Basil know we care and love him. We walk away from negative behaviour such as biting or lunging (he hardly does that anymore)

We allow him to investigate each new thing in his own time, to get used to it undestand it wont hurt him and we hope it will help him build in confidence.

For example he wouldnt talk if we were in the room but if we went out and sat in the hall he yabbered away like mad.. then a few days ago he forgot himself and as the phone rang he said 'allo'.. Even though we were so excited we tried not to fuss and now he does it every time..

This picture is a few weeks ago when he just moved house..

Re food.. The old owner just gave him seed, we have Nutri bird P15 pellets plus a high quality seed because its something he´s used to.. We offer fruit and veggies but he throws most of that to the dogs and they love him for it!

 

[lexilu]

Good for you and nice job..well done. Welcome and I hope you stick around!

 

[Cowtown]

Welcome to the forum... good information here.

 

[MikeyTN]

Welcome to the forum! Basil is looking good with a nice big cage you guys got for him!

 

[suebee]

what a fab looking bird!!

i am surprised the dogs are not whispering, basil will like steak! to you while they wait for him to throw it out lol
but don't worry about fruit an veg nut loved corn on cob, but she will only eat the tiny kernal bit, they are such messy eaters, unless its something there not ment to have, like say a bit of biscuit or cake!
they can also have boiled egg white, i just give nut the top with shell and cooked chicken and bones (they will love you for this!) boiled pasta, rice, mash potatoes etc these are kept as occassional treats! the more basil is settled, you will find he will go all puppy eyed when you eat and you will be tempted to pass him some, so its good to know what else he can have ( i now cook with nut in mind, NO SALT, LOW or no FAT so she can have super with us!)

just no seeds or stones from fruit, as some contain poisens especially apple seeds, (pomegranet and kiwi are safe) advacado's, asparigus, chocolate, caffine, alcohol, air fresheners and watch how hot your non stick pans get! when they over heat (very hot) they release fumes toxic to birds

 

[freya]

Thanks for the info...One of the first things I did was check a couple of specific sites to see what special precautions we should take..

I use glass saucepans and stainless steel frying pans so no risk of teflon poisoning..and we hardly ever use any spray products. We clean with white vineger and lemon juice around the animals..

OH is a bit creeped out at the thought of giving Basil chicken he says its almost cannibalistic ! But maybe I will try that next time Im cooking for the dogs.. I cook fresh for them, No salt of course

I had heard that birds were very labour intensive but I cant understand that..Daily cleaning 10 mins, feeding ( Basil gets his at the same time as the dogs) and playtime its great fun.

 

[suebee]

lol chicken meat is high protien, good for when there molting

basil may or may not like it, either way win win, cos dogs will eat it lol