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Post by zim on Dec 7, 2015 20:48:25 GMT -5
Thanks aaron!
I have in fact tried softening the pellets up with water. He immediately raced over to his food bowl when I put them in (as he usually does when I change it out), but once he reached down and saw what was in it, he hopped right back up on his perch and ignored it.
So after a few minutes I warmed him up some mixed vegetables, and mixed it in with the softened pellets. He picked out a few of the pieces of corn, but didn't eat much of it at all. Which is surprising, as he will usually eat as much corn as I'll let him have!
I do like the idea of crushing some up to powder and mixing it up with his seed. I will try this tomorrow, thanks!
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Post by zim on Dec 7, 2015 20:20:31 GMT -5
Alright, let me start by saying I have read several posts and articles about switching a Quakers diet from seeds to pellets.
When I got Yoshi from the breeder (8 days ago), she gave me about half of a plastic cup of seed. I've been trying my hardest to make it last and get him to eat the Zupreem Fruit Blend I've purchased, but the stubborn little guy refuses to work with me on this!
I've been feeding him green beans, corn, peas, and carrots (tho he really dislikes the carrots) in addition to the seeds. He LOVES the corn, he would eat as much corn as I'd let him have. He's also taking a liking to popcorn (tho I know this has no nutritional value, so he only gets a couple pieces a day).
My problem is, I've only got enough seed left for maybe half of tomorrow. I know feeding them a lot of seed is bad for them, so I want to make sure I'm doing everything I can to take care of him. But I also think that if I don't purchase more seed tomorrow, he will likely starve himself. Would it be ok if I purchased him some more seed, and kept trying to get him to start eating pellets?
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Post by zim on Dec 5, 2015 11:30:12 GMT -5
Thanks for all the advice! His name is Yoshi . Will definitely check out the Barbara Heidenreich YouTube videos, hopefully I'll learn a few things from them! We are making progress! He will now accept food out of my hands when I reach them into the cage through the door. He's very reluctant at first, but after a couple pieces he's reaching for my hand as soon as I start putting it in there! I think this is a great step!
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Post by zim on Dec 4, 2015 13:32:19 GMT -5
Hey all! New to this forum, and new to birds!
I just got a Quaker Parrot on Sunday. He's 3 months old (as of yesterday), and I got him directly from the breeder.
Every day he's been getting a little more comfortable. He didn't start eating until Tuesday, but he's ate a lot ever since. He's become very vocal at various times throughout the day, and started exploring his cage a good bit yesterday. So this morning I decided to open the door on his cage and see if he was comfortable enough to come out on his own just yet. After about 5 minutes of deep thought (I could tell he was seriously thinking about it all that time), he tried to fly out. Since his wings are clipped, he went straight to the floor.
He wandered around on the floor for a few minutes, then went behind my computer desk and wanted to climb on the wires. I decided this was a bad idea, so I was forced to step in and pick him up and get him back to the cage. He REALLY disliked this. He bit into my finger over and over (drew blood in three spots and broke skin in at least 6). I finally got him back into his cage, and it seems all is well again.
I guess maybe I shouldn't have opened his door for him just yet, but I didn't expect him to fly out, I was hoping he would just climb out and up to the play area on the top of his cage.
Does anyone here have any advice as to how I should proceed in developing our trust bond? I should have mentioned, as of yesterday he will accept food from my fingers, as long as it's done through the cage bars (he's come to the realization I can't reach through the cage bars, so seems to be comfortable with that). If I put my hands in the cage through the door, he backs away.
Thanks a lot for any advice! I really can't wait to start interacting with him, even if I do have to withstand more bites!
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