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Post by a11ycat on Jan 18, 2006 13:15:27 GMT
My cockatiel likes playing with cotton bud sticks, they're easy enough to pick up and drop on the floor, and he seems to like chewing on the cotton bit too...
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Post by a11ycat on Jun 6, 2006 11:23:25 GMT
Hi, My first birds were two budgies that I bought together... all I can suggest is routine, patience and they'll build up their trust like any bird. They do feed off each other's reactions, so if one panics, likely the other will too... but if you can get one to step up, the other won't be afraid either. I found that one of them was more timid than the other one, so I worked more with the brave one in the cage which I felt reassured the other one (which may seem the opposite way round of doing things, but working with the timid bird could cause both birds to get upset, whereas the brave one was unlikely to be perturbed too much and so neither was the timid one). Unfortunately mine are both fairly un-tame now as far as the cage is concerned... but the brave one will come and land on my head or wherever he wants when he wants and although the timid one won't do that, if the timid one (who isn't such a great flier) needs rescuing from the floor, he is quite happy to step up onto my finger and wait until I take him to his cage or the play area... I think thats about as much as I can expect from them in terms of tameness, but they're happy and that makes me happy! Hope this helps!
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Post by a11ycat on Sept 25, 2006 14:37:33 GMT
Yes there are transport cages, but they are either really expensive (and not too bird friendly i.e. a simple foldable cage which is open all the way around) or home made. I have used shoe boxes in the past, with air holes, and the feeder dishes like Karen said, with some newspaper on the bottom. But I do have the home made variety now, which are basically a shoe box sized wooden box on its side, with only one large side with cage type bars, and a door either cut into the wood, or fitted into the bars, and one perch across, which is also essentially a show cage. Birds can freak out fairly easily, so having as much cover as possible is good. At such short notice I'd recommend the shoe box type. The manufactured transport cage: I don't like it because it is open all the way round, so the bird would feel very exposed. The basic idea for the home-made one or show cage. I think the bird would feel far more secure in this one.
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Post by a11ycat on Jan 12, 2007 12:20:33 GMT
Welcome!
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Post by a11ycat on Jun 29, 2006 15:56:36 GMT
Hi, Minstrel seems to be calming down a little in his time in the separate cage... he just seems a bit less flighty which is nice! He also doesn't shout for Sunny quite as much! I tried the dowel thing, but he is very wary of both dowels. I'll keep working with him on the dowels, and handling him generally. Thanks for your help! I'm always willing to accept any advice!!!
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Post by a11ycat on Jun 20, 2006 15:51:55 GMT
Sunny loves having her neck rubbed so maybe I'll try that, or she likes puffed rice or cheerio cereals, so I'll try to keep those on hand! I'll start working with the dowels tonight! Wish me luck!!!
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Post by a11ycat on Jun 20, 2006 12:32:03 GMT
Hi, Just thought I'd keep you posted on how it's going. I've got them separated in opposite ends of the house, Sunny is still very clingy, becoming hard to put down as she flies straight back to me. Her calling, I'm not sure if its getting any better or not, I ignore it and try and praise her when she is quiet for any period of time, but verbal praise is not working because she usually responds with a noise, and a lot of the time when I think that she's been quiet and am just about to praise her she calls to me! Minstrel is doing ok, he's definately not too happy about being alone, but seems to be eating lots of food. If he hears Sunny (calling to me), things go a bit crazy as he's got a very loud voice and thinks she's calling to him... after a bit of flapping around the cage yesterday, he suddenly decided that he would sit calmly on my finger as I brought him outside, and he then sat fairly quietly on me while I watched TV and cooperated a bit for step up ladder training (though he start's making strange sounds when he's doing this, like 'Do I have to?', and then will fly/jump off my fingers at the earliest opportunity. I have to find a piece of dowel to try that other training...
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Post by a11ycat on Jun 16, 2006 10:43:11 GMT
Hi, As you know I have two cockatiels, Sunny and Minstrel. Sunny I've had for 9 months now, and Minstrel for 5 months. Sunny is very tame, just wants to be sitting on my shoulder most of the time. I was trying to teach her to talk a bit, so I'd go over and say "Hello", and she'd usually respond with a noise, and then it got to the stage whenever she'd make a noise I'd respond with the "Hello", and I think I've encouraged her to call for me all the time. I didn't mean to do it, but I didn't think about what I was doing in terms of how she'd see it... so now I have to untrain her to do that if I can. I've been reading about how you can train them in flight, because her clipped wings have grown out and she's pretty un-controllable when she flies. Minstrel on the other hand, was bought as a companion for Sunny as she was getting lonely, and although he sees Sunny as his companion, its not reciprocated, and he's not interested in me. Its got to the point where I actually feel very frustrated with him, and its not really his fault. I've caught myself thinking about finding him a new home which I feel really bad about. So, I'm trying to separate him (he's in a cage at the opposite end of the house to Sunny). He's very loud, and when he decides to call for Sunny it causes my ears to ring. His wings are growing out of being clipped and when he comes out of the cage, he flies between the high perches in the room door tops/curtain rails etc. I follow him around and offer him my finger, giving him the up command which I know he knows (and obeys when he's on my level). When he finally gets tired out, he'll come down and he'll sit on me in a fairly relaxed state. I'll do some training with the 'up' command which goes fairly well, and talk to him. I'm just frustrated with him at the moment, if anyone can offer advice for me and him, I'd appreciate it! One major problem I have him, is he hates fingers! If you don't give him the 'up command' soon enough he'll hiss and peck his head down (usually in front of the finger) which I think is his way of threatening the finger... I think it originates from his time in the pet shop where he was sitting out with the other parrots for a few days, and probably got poked by school children. If I can get him over that, it would help alot!
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