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Andrias Scheuchzeri posted:I think I already covered that he does not. She is a total sweetie, very polite, and mostly very quiet.
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# ¿ Oct 26, 2012 21:01 |
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# ¿ May 8, 2024 04:46 |
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Deadly Chlorine posted:Indeed, when I saw his picture my heart just melted and I needed to have a blue throat conure. So adorable D'awwwwwwww And linked off of that video, this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE6OmsFlknU
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# ¿ Oct 30, 2012 19:24 |
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Sweet CupnCakes posted:My boyfriend and I have been visiting the birdy store and we both want birds in the future. We are looking for a place right now so maybe in the next year or so. A couple of birds I have fallen in love with at the store were Cacique (Spelling?) and a very pretty Eclectus bird. Would anyone be able to give me more information on those? We had a lot of the exact same concerns. As for birds liking just one gender, it happens, but no, it's not a Thing, any more than it is with dogs or cats (it happens there too). Training is extremely important for bird behavior such at biting. If you're really worried about biting you should be looking at a smaller species. That said, while a very angry Eclectus (or other similar-size parrot) can make you bleed, it won't take your finger off.
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# ¿ Oct 31, 2012 22:43 |
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Yeah, you should probably be looking for a Conure (of some variety, some are quieter than others), Quaker (depending on their legality in your area) Cockatiel (yes, they can be very snuggly), Parrotlet, or other similar small parrot species.
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# ¿ Nov 1, 2012 00:25 |
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Sweet CupnCakes posted:Thank you everyone for the information. I think I am sold on the green cheek. Like I said though, we have many many months before I will even be ready. I just now have a better idea of what kind of bird to do much more research on. Do lots of research on bird health, diet, and training and you should be rather prepared. Sounds like you're going about it the right way!
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# ¿ Nov 1, 2012 19:40 |
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Less than 24 hours until we get to bring Zippy home. We've got our place all set up with a play corner and various nice perches around the house. I'm really excited.
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# ¿ Nov 2, 2012 19:22 |
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I'm happy to report that Zippy is safe and sound moved in with us. She's happily messing about with a new toy added to her cage and seems pretty comfortable. Lenswork will probably add pictures of her cage & play area soon.
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# ¿ Nov 3, 2012 18:40 |
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For reference, here is what the corner (and her cage) looks like in our living room: That plastic stuff over the rug is just the same mats you get at an office supply store to go under your desk so that your desk chair rolls easily. It makes for very easy cleanup and keeps the rug safe.
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# ¿ Nov 3, 2012 23:16 |
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Welp I think we got the cuddliest amazon ever. She's just let us--nay, demanded that we--scritch her for 30 minutes straight--both of us, while she sat on Lenswork's knee (and we watched TV). Also was roosting the whole time. Holy crap is she happy with us today. From before TV scritches time: Kenshin fucked around with this message at 06:36 on Nov 5, 2012 |
# ¿ Nov 5, 2012 06:28 |
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Oh my god she's not even grumpy in the morning, she just shoves her head toward me for more scritches
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# ¿ Nov 5, 2012 15:38 |
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Andrias Scheuchzeri posted:Serious answer: this is true, Poicephalus are really interesting birds with many of the appealing qualities of greys but so much less likely to self-destruct. They don't live a hundred years, they're less prone to neurotic behavior, they're an extremely "parroty" parrot...
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# ¿ Nov 5, 2012 18:06 |
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They changed the pictures to the stock PR pictures because people got bitchy about it.
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# ¿ Nov 6, 2012 00:21 |
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Clicker training is off to a great start with Zippy. She picked up that click = YAY very quickly yesterday evening and it only took about 5-10 minutes to get her to do the Touch Target command with a chopstick. I tested her again this morning and she performed Touch Target immediately. We've already developed a routine of scritches before bed + scritches while waking up. She really likes both of us and has started making sounds we hadn't heard before. When she's super happy and we're out of sight (so, after we've been singing and dancing with her, and then go make dinner) she makes a sound that sounds exactly like a kid being tickled into fits. Loud giggling and then a scream. It's hilarious, and is the loudest she can get--and it's still not all that loud. Most of her communication is murmuring, little chirpy sounds, or talking-volume "Hi! ha ha ha!" We've started to learn what some of her various chirping sounds mean--there's a pretty specific one that can be either "I want to go eat" or if she makes that same one while she's in her cage with food it's "I want to explore/see what someone is doing in the other room." Once she's doing one of those activities she turns into a happy potato, quiet and puffed up. There's another quieter one that she will just do once or twice when she's especially pleased with us and then puff up into a happy Amazon potato, it seems to be her "I'm with my flock and content" sound. Kenshin fucked around with this message at 18:08 on Nov 6, 2012 |
# ¿ Nov 6, 2012 18:05 |
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Opera Bitch posted:I'd say putting the hut in there right before you put him to bed would be a good idea since it give extra protection against drafts, he is already used to sleeping in it, and you are controlling when he gets it. He may be so used to sleeping in it that it might take a long time for him to learn how to sleep without it. He'll get used to the routine of taking it in and putting it back soon enough. If they're covering the cage drafts should be a non-issue
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# ¿ Nov 9, 2012 00:45 |
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The Doctor posted:e: I hesitate to remove the nest box because...well...she loves it. She is in it right now and I don't want to take away something she loves.
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# ¿ Nov 10, 2012 20:07 |
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The Doctor posted:I will get rid of it if it is really going to trash her behaviour. It's not in the cage itself though, it just sits on the top. She is already defensive about it when she's in it but she doesn't stay in it long and goes back in the cage. Is there really no way to give her a little hidey spot like this even outside the cage? Back when they had a smaller cage she would always burrow under the newspapers and tear them up to make a nest, she was defensive about that too but would behave on her perch, she just hated to be approached underneath the newspapers.
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# ¿ Nov 10, 2012 21:02 |
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The Doctor posted:Well, no, I only bought the box a couple of days ago and she has been very aggressive for over a month. I bought it because I thought it would help, but if it is going to be a contributing factor instead then I will get rid of it. Ah, ok. Yeah, it's certainly a contributing factor, unfortunately.
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# ¿ Nov 10, 2012 21:20 |
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BeepBoopBatman posted:Hi there, got some questions for you bird crazies regarding a recent addition. #1: Clicker training #2: Chewing toys Get some clicker training going. Once he's learned it a bit, do some clicker work with chewing toys. Get him to chew on the toys as much as possible using clicker training as positive reinforcement, hopefully it will divert him from chewing on his nails. That said, this may be a pretty tough habit to break, so I'm sure there's somebody with better expertise to help you.
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# ¿ Nov 11, 2012 05:53 |
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Deadly Chlorine posted:Hi, it was time for my weekly/biweekly bird outing again! Today's turnout wasn't that good because there was a Responsible Pet Ownership expo by AVA which a lot of other people went to instead, I didn't go because there were dogs and cats there and all my birds are tiny.
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# ¿ Nov 11, 2012 17:58 |
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I'm starting to think that's why Zippy has been sneezing, because she only does it during/after she's been preening (and she's mid-molt). In other news, we should find out from DNA test if Zippy is actually a "she" today.
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# ¿ Nov 14, 2012 19:33 |
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SaNChEzZ posted:
She actually does almost the same thing during the day when I work from home; she enjoys interacting with me for a bit during the day but for the most part preens and snoozes the day away. Pretty sure at this point she gets like 14-16 solid hours of sleep per day.
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# ¿ Nov 20, 2012 21:41 |
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Despite the horrible chop-job on her flight feathers (some of which are thankfully falling out while she's molting), Zippy has apparently gained enough confidence (and strength) from the wing-flapping practice I've been giving her constantly for the past two weeks (on recommendation from the Vet) that she's now fluttering down from things and even using it as a gap-closer when she's too impatient to walk across the floor. She can at most get ~3-4 feet in ground-to-ground "flight" but from my shoulder to the ground she can get a good 20 feet. So we're working on recall training and will start working on harness training soon as well. On the upside, she really seems to be enjoying her newfound freedom; her cage door is open pretty much whenever we are home and she is able to climb between it, her play-net, and the floor, and has started to grasp the idea that if she's with us and wants water or food, she can just waddle across the floor back to her cage.
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# ¿ Nov 26, 2012 18:03 |
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So here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UasPNxVO9Yw
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# ¿ Dec 1, 2012 04:38 |
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uglynoodles posted:I really just wish this guy would give us our £90 back so that I can go to a pet store and try again and forget this whole mess. That's really lovely of the breeder to be like this.
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# ¿ Dec 3, 2012 17:38 |
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mikerock posted:The vet says that Scout either has The Clap or TB. Both of them treatable but will take a bit of time.
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# ¿ Dec 3, 2012 23:32 |
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Battle Pigeon posted:May be a bit harsh sounding, but it doesn't sound like the guy has tried to make this right at all. He would have given you your money back if he wanted to do that-even if he interrogated you about the circumstances of death first. Instead he's making excuses and now avoiding you. He may not have even gone to Liverpool for the 'tiel like he said, he could have got it from one of his friends if they have an aviary. Not cool, breeder dude. Exactly. My entire reaction to the story above with the bizarre behavior of the "breeder" was one of
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# ¿ Dec 4, 2012 22:46 |
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mjs6643 posted:Charlie has discovered a new class of sounds to make. He now sometimes make moaning noises that sound like some wild crazy Poicephalus sex noises whenever I'm in the room and he wants my attention. Zippy makes a sound that sounds like plastic being dragged slowly over sandpaper when she wants me to mate with her. I already don't want to mate with a parrot, but that's a pretty drat unsexy sound.
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# ¿ Dec 12, 2012 01:09 |
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The way we've gotten Zippy to actually flutter is when she's on my finger I put my thumb over her foot, put her high up in the air, and pull downward. She'll start flapping as instinct. This is what the vet told us to do to exercise her muscles, and it's had the side-effect of her now attempting to fly quite a bunch.
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# ¿ Dec 12, 2012 03:10 |
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uglynoodles posted:She's only like 6 months old at most, the guy in the shop said she'd been there for 3 months, and they were young when they got them in. I'd think she was too young for this? But... She's doing the whole 'mate with me' thing, so I don't know! Don't worry, our Amazon does the same thing with me. Just keep ignoring it, your bird should eventually pick up on that you're not gonna mate with them and at least do it less often.
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# ¿ Dec 12, 2012 16:23 |
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Fart Puzzle posted:Oh man, it's happening! Yellowsided GCC female incoming in the next week or two. Turns out the xmas spirit isn't so bad after all, and I also have an awesome family!
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# ¿ Dec 13, 2012 04:46 |
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Ohh, good thing we collect Zippy's feathers. I'm a bit worried about them surviving intact in an envelope, though.
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# ¿ Dec 15, 2012 16:36 |
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Zippy is dozing on my shoulder while I play Planetside 2 and bowing her head down for scritches. EDIT: omg my bird just gave me soft scritches on the neck and ear she's never done that before for either of us Kenshin fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Dec 28, 2012 |
# ¿ Dec 27, 2012 23:29 |
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Tasty_Crayon posted:have you had any trouble at all with her? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE4-_fg1hiI
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# ¿ Dec 28, 2012 06:02 |
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Sometimes Zippy makes odd sounds (sorry about the poor lighting and camera work, but the sounds are the point) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMs8HZlwaCU
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# ¿ Dec 29, 2012 02:58 |
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Cmdr. Shepard posted:Thanks guys, I figured it was nothing to worry about. I'm hesitant to try pellets because the breeder I purchased her from was adamant about not feeding a pellet diet. I will do more research on it, however. She was wrong. Very wrong. This is going to sound really harsh but it's absolutely true: you are slowly killing your little friend by having them on a seed diet. Eventually she will get fatty liver disease or something else and die. Seeds are a very high fat content diet! You should switch completely off of seeds. Your bird may be rather angry for a bit about this change but high-fat all-seed diets are very bad for parrots and other similar birds.
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# ¿ Dec 30, 2012 23:51 |
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Joe Don Baker posted:Are Nutriberries acceptable? I'm trying to get Hannah off seeds but he didn't really dig the Zupreem pellets. I've bought some small bags of Nutriberries for treats and he loves them. Apparently they can be used to 100% replace seeds. Good idea?
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# ¿ Dec 31, 2012 01:52 |
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Oh no, Zippy realizes the change in our morning routine means we won't be home all day and she's making adorable chirps, whistles, and kissy-noises to try to get us to stay home.
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# ¿ Jan 2, 2013 17:34 |
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YarPirate posted:Ooh, sunflower seeds sound great. Do you use shelled or whole? Whole if the bird likes to crack the shells open, otherwise shelled is fine. Absolutely no salt or other seasonings of course. Keep in mind they should be a special treat only, your bird should NOT be eating many seeds as they are high fat content. You can also use small bits of Cheerios for training aids, or crackers. The macaw shelter that Lenswork volunteers at uses Nilla wafers, though for a conure you'd have to break it into very little bits. Per my warning on the previous page, it's really important to make sure your bird is on a healthy, low-fat-content diet to avoid fatty liver disease or other nasty dietary-related diseases. Seeds and other "unhealthy" treats are ok as training tools but only if the rest of their diet is very low fat content.
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# ¿ Jan 4, 2013 20:58 |
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YarPirate posted:Are birds like dogs at all in that switching their diet even a tiny bit can produce noticeable behavior changes? My initial thought is (assuming I'm able to find the right bird from the rescue) to simply use the same diet that it was receiving from the caregivers there... I'm especially interested in what vehicle for protein they'd be using (before reading this thread, it didn't really occur to me to give a bird meat), because I have to admit I'd feel a little bad feeding my bird some chicken (yeah, I know), and would have to substitute something else. I couldn't find much information on what is probably a stupid question, but I'll ask it anyways: Would protein powder be acceptable in any form? Obviously the artificial flavoring, sweetener, and coloring would be bad, so assume the powder in question wouldn't have any of those. Except: 1. Individual birds may freak out because they aren't used to eating something and want what they prefer to eat 2. Bad diets can cause behavioral or psychological issues and good diets can contribute to fixing those issues. I don't think you'd want to feed your bird protein powder. Your bird should be getting protein from beans, including beans in good organic pellets. It's also ok to feed your bird small bits of fish or even chicken occasionally. (yes, as strange as it sounds, our Amazon Parrot thinks that munching on a bit of chicken is delicious). But really a bean blend (kidney, chick pea, pinto, etc) is going to be a very good source of protein for your bird. Others can pipe in here with suggestions, and Lenswork is the one who makes all the food for our parrot so she'll be able to give better details. Assuming that the parrot rescue is a good place there may be no reason to switch the bird's diet aside from bringing in more variety--they are likely already feeding the birds a healthy, appropriate diet.
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# ¿ Jan 4, 2013 22:23 |
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# ¿ May 8, 2024 04:46 |
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LITERALLY A BIRD posted:Kenshin beat me to it, but yeah, don't feed the bird protein powder. Beans are your best way to go, and -- here's the secret -- if the bird is stubborn about trying them, let it eat them off your plate so it thinks it's being super slick and stealing your food. Amadeus looooves my homemade chili and munches away on the beans he "steals" from me. Exactly, Zippy does the same thing. The best food is stolen food. New/potential bird owners: please look up "crop burn" and make sure you never ever ever let your bird eat food at a high temperature!!
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# ¿ Jan 4, 2013 22:29 |