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Post by Holly on Mar 29, 2016 22:53:42 GMT -5
Hi Everyone, My name is Holly and I just adopted a blue Quaker boy, who I have named Norman. He is 3 months old. I have only had him now for 2 days, but he is still very shy and isn't too keen on me yet. I am trying to hand feed him some treats like watermelon, apple and carrot so we can bond. Does anyone have any tips or tricks for building a trusting relationship? Norman is my first bird and I want to make sure he has a happy loving home  Also, I don't want to let him out of his cage while he is still so skittish as I don't want him to be overwhelmed and fly into anything and get more freaked out, so wondering if anyone had any tips of knowing when your bird is ready to come out of their cage and also how to get them out? Should I just open the door and let him explore? Should I be teaching him the 'step up' technique first and if so how do I do that in a cage? Any advice would be fantastic! Thank you!! P.S This is probably a topic you get all the time so thanks in advance for taking the time to talk me through any advice you have. |
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Post by tony101 on Mar 30, 2016 3:46:15 GMT -5
Hi Holly,
Norman is such a great name! I'm sure you are going to love your Quaker! We all do!
Just make sure you both take your time and get to know each other, patience is key, which I know can be hard when you have a new birdie baby! Make sure you let him get used to you. Keep feeding him through the gaps in the cage and find out what his favorite treats are.
Good luck,
Tony : )
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Post by easttex on Mar 30, 2016 5:27:44 GMT -5
Tony is right, patience is key. They're not like puppies, who will, right off the bat, love anyone who loves them. Parrots have a lot of their wild instincts, and it can take a while before they decide to take a chance on you. It's been suggested by others here (and I think it's a great idea) to place a perch on the outside of the cage, so when Norman is ready to venture out, you'll know he's starting to get more comfortable. That doesn't necessarily mean he'll be ready for handling. In the meantime, see how close you can be without stressing him out, and sit there with him. Don't try to force him out of his cage. Showing respect for his wishes is the best way to start the bonding process. Training with positive reinforcement is an excellent way to build a bond. You'll be giving Norman lots of focused attention and giving him treats. What more could a bird ask for? (Well, you'll find they actually ask for/demand a lot. ) I wouldn't start before he indicates he's ready to come out, though. Good luck with Norman, and welcome to the forum! Quakers are wonderful little companions. Come back with any questions or concerns you have. People here are happy to help. |
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Post by Holly on Mar 30, 2016 5:33:35 GMT -5
Hi Everyone Thanks so much for your help. I just want to clarify, so do you think because he has tried to fly out of the cage door that he is ready to come out, I'm a bit worried he will fly out and then hurt himself because he is still very nervous and isn't wanting me to touch or handle him yet. I am also a little concerned I won't be able to get him back into his cage without stressing both me and Norman out. I have been doing lots of reading and researching around this and how to bond with my bird, but it is nice to hear from 'real' Quaker owners . |
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Post by easttex on Mar 30, 2016 7:11:27 GMT -5
I would keep his door closed for now. Once he gets to a point where you can be next to it without any signs of stress from him, and he will take treats directly from your hand, then try leaving the door open. But only when you are there to supervise. If he does wind up on the floor, you can tempt him to step up with a treat. If he does get out and refuses to cooperate, you can gently towel him. This is not good bird handling technique for everyday purposes, but it is better than chasing him around the house. Gently place a small towel over him. This has a calming effect, and you can pick him up and carry him back without too much trauma.
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New Quaker
Mar 30, 2016 15:18:30 GMT -5
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Post by biteybird on Mar 30, 2016 15:18:30 GMT -5
Welcome holly22 and Norman. Talk to Norman gently and tell him what a good boy he is and don't force him to interact with your hand if he doesn't wish to. There are lots of previous threads on this Forum dealing with your exact questions (just have a good look through the different sections), but if you can't find what you're looking for, just keep asking. Someone will always answer. It's wonderful that you've adopted little Norman - he sounds adorable. |
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Post by cnyguy on Mar 30, 2016 20:17:15 GMT -5
Welcome to you and Norman! A good way for you and Norman to get to know each other better is for you to sit near Norman's cage and talk softly to him. You can read to him and even sing to him too, if you'd like. This will help him get more accustomed to your body language and the sound of your voice, and just having you nearby. As he becomes more comfortable with you and his new surroundings, then you can open the door again and invite him out. Step up training should wait until he's less skittish about being outside his cage and is less likely to fly away from you during training. You can continue to offer him treats by hand while you're sitting near his cage, so he'll come to associate your hands with a positive experience. |
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Post by PaScuba on Mar 30, 2016 23:33:22 GMT -5
Welcome! Have you heard about clicker training? There are several good web sites on the subject. If you have a clicker and have established that the clicker means he always gets a treat (I use a few seeds of millet spray for the treat because it can be consumed very quickly) can start training that is less stressful. I like to start training new birds with a wood skewer (like is used when BBQing on a stick. I present the skewer inside the cage in about the middle. Wait patiently for Norman's curiosity to move him to inspect the tip of the skewer. At the moment he touches it, click and then give him a treat. After several times of him touching the tip and getting his reward you should stop and take a break. Watch the time and don't spend more than about 15 minutes training. You can wait for a half hour and start again. You may find that Norman will actually start coming to the stick as soon as he see's that you have it. You can then start moving it to different places around his cage, clicking and rewarding every time he moves and touches it. As he is learning this behavior, when you present the skewer - give him a single word command - like "Touch" and he will start associating the command "touch" with the behavior. Once you are happy that he will "touch" every time you present it - no matter where inside the cage he is - then you should be able to start working the exercise with the door open. Ask him to "touch" outside of the cage, and then back inside the cage. If he does fly away, present the skewer and click and reward him for touching it. You should be able to direct his attention by asking him to touch the skewer on his cage. You should also be able to get him back in that way also. Just remember to be patient - let him make the decision vs. you "forcing" him to perform the behavior.
I do hope that when you are training - that you have a small room (could even be a bathroom), quiet, distraction free environment, where he can stay focused on the training and you. That will also reduce how far you must go to try to catch him.
Like I stated in the beginning, there are a lot of youtube videos, books, and articles on clicker training.
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Post by Holly on Mar 31, 2016 5:49:08 GMT -5
Thanks so much for your advice, I have continued to take it slow and sit by Norman's cage. Today we had a bit of a break through!! While I was sitting next to his talk, just having a chat with him, he came down right to the bottom and stuck his beak through the gap in the wire. I slowly put my finger through the gap and he very tentatively pressed his beak and head against it. He wanted a pat!! I then started very slowly and gently patting him all over, he LOVES it! We did this for about 30 minutes until he flew back up to the top and had had enough. Then about 15 minutes later, he flew down the bottom corner again and started squeaking, I went over and he wanted more 'scratchies'! Yay! I then got a bit too excited and started putting my whole hand into the cage which didn't freak him out like previously, but he just watched me instead of coming over, so I went back to just putting my fingers through the bars like before and he immediately came over! It was so lovely. I think we are going to be great friends. I will look more into clicker training, I did clicker training with my lovely doggie Bonnie and it worked really well, I wasn't aware you could do it with parrots My next question is - What do you feed your quaker on a day to day basis?
I just want to make sure I am feeding Norman a balanced diet. Thank you everyone, this has been so great! |
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Post by PaScuba on Mar 31, 2016 7:24:35 GMT -5
 Great breakthrough!!!
Lola's main diet is ZuPreem Natural With Added Vitamins & Minerals and FruitBlend® With Natural Fruit Flavors FruitBlend® With Natural Fruit Flavors. I use the medium size (with the parakeet displayed). If you look at the ingredients of both - you'll see that it's a good blend. I buy the largest bag I can find - because it's usually lower in price, and only keep a couple of days worth in a baby food jar next to the cage to keep it at room temp. The rest I put in the freezer - to prevent insects for growing in the bag. Part of the daily feed program includes starting the morning with a 1/8 of an apple (pealed and cored) making sure there are NO apple seeds in what I give her. I slice it into very slim slices because half will end up on the ground. I also alternate grapes (seedless), peaches, pairs, mango, banana, orange, and some fruit that grows in our yard. Sorry I don't know the name, but it's very high in vitamin C and D. I only give an amount equal to the size of her head. You've got to remember the size of their tummies. My wife, God love her, sometimes gives her fruit that's bigger then Lola. We laugh and she says, "Yo se, yo se." Which means I know, I know.
Just in case you haven't read nor heard about this yet - carefully select the words you use to praise and say to Norman. Because possibly around 6 months - he may start saying them to you. ja ja ja. Lola has quite a repertoire and it's growing all the time now both in English and Spanish. It's cute when Lola tells Cookie (our Cocker Spaniel) to "come here" (ven aca) or "Cookie cállate" (which means shut up) when Cookie is barking too much. Most of the time when we pass her cage - she says "Un besito, I wanna treat." el beso means kiss -- besito means a little kiss. Not to say that all birds will talk - but QP's are known for their talking abilities. She knows when to say the phrases when we are around, and goes thru her whole vocabulary when she thinks she's alone.
Since I mentioned kisses - I warn you to be very careful with this "trick" because a bite on the lips can be very bloody and painful. I know from first hand experience. As time passes - you'll be able to recognize when Norman doesn't want to be messed with. During these times, especially, don't do any kisses because the chances are higher that you might get bit. I have three important rules when working/training with animals: 1) People do not get hurt! 2) The animal does not get hurt! 3) The animal is calmer at the end of the training. And when you are in a specific training mode, ie. you are intentionally training for a 15 minute or less session, always quit with your animal successfully completing a behavior and has been rewarded for doing it. That's part of the animal being calmer at the end. By ending on a positive for the animal, s/he will probably be more willing to do another session than not. I say animal because this works with all types of animals, not just birds. |
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Post by PaScuba on Mar 31, 2016 7:57:24 GMT -5
Also, I hope you know to NOT allow Norman to eat chocolate, avocado, coffee, tea, nor apple seeds. There are several good web sites that list the plants and other things that should not be around your bird - like Teflon.
Lola joins us for breakfast on the weekends and eats eggs, turkey ham, cheese, sandwich bread; pancakes and a fruit smoothie; peppers (both green and red), onions, tomatoes and what ever else may be in the omelet. When she is finished - she goes back to her cage/play stand. She likes rice and beans (a staple here in Puerto Rico), chicken, beef, pork, and whatever vegetables we are eating for dinner. I have a scale that I weigh Lola with - and if she starts gaining weight - we reduce the times and/or the amount of extras we give her and increase the exercise she gets. Again, over time you'll be able to judge how much food may be given to maintain proper weight with the exercise he gets. I never recommend how much - because every animal is different. I know some people who break out the scale and only give a precise amount, and/or only give what can be consumed in one sitting. Remembering that in the wild - birds search for food all day long - not just in the morning or just in the afternoon, or what ever time the human thinks they should eat. I do like to hide some pellets in a piece of paper towel and stuff that into a 2" section of rolled cardboard - like you have at the end of a paper towel roll, or toilet paper roll. I cut the rolls into different size strips and spread them around the cage for entertainment.
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Post by Jan and Shah on Mar 31, 2016 15:31:46 GMT -5
Shah is on a very specialised diet due to a health issue but you can feed Norman good quality pellets, fruit and vegetables and basically what you are eating provided it is safe for birds. I get my fruit and vegs from a fruit market as the supermarkets insist that the farmers spray their produce with chemicals and this has caused problems with my birds in the past. If you can afford it, I would take Norman to an avian vet for a check up and a blood test - this forms the baseline for any future visits so they can pick up quickly if something is wrong - but this is entirely up to you. You are making great progress with Norman so keep us posted on how he is going and don't hesitate to ask any questions - the people on this forum are not judgmental and we will do what we can to answer your questions. There may be variations in the responses but this gives you a choice of what might work for Norman. BTW, I am from Sydney |
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Post by Holly on Apr 1, 2016 17:23:26 GMT -5
Thank you for all that information. So I went to the petshop and bought a parrot/peachface mix and mini parrot pellet and then also cooked up some diced carrot, peas, carrot and red capsicum.
After everything that I have read I thought I would just put the pellets and some of the veggie mix I made in. Norman picked through and only ate a few corns and peas and no pellets!
The man at the petshop said I would need to ween Norman off the seeds and onto the pellets...
Soo my new question is - Has anyone had any experience with this and how did they do it?
Thanks again for your continued support!
P.S Norman and I are going really well, he loves having my hand in the cage and is regularly 'requesting' more scratchies and attention. He is such a loving little birdie! We haven't ventured outside of his cage yet, I just want to leave it a couple more days, just so we have a trusting relationship before we add in all the added distractions.
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Post by biteybird on Apr 1, 2016 17:30:38 GMT -5
Ha, the seed to pellet transition...we never had to do this with Bonnie because when we picked her up from the breeder her parents had already been eating pellets (apparently this predisposes them to do the same). There are quite a few posts/threads on how to do this - I think some are pinned under the Diet & Health section. If I see the ones I'm thinking of I will post the link here for you. It sounds like you and Norman are going really well. |
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Post by Holly on Apr 1, 2016 19:48:53 GMT -5
Thank you biteybird. I will have a look through as well I'm just starting to get a bit worried he isn't eating enough! |
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Great breakthrough!!! 