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Post by quakeradventurer02 on Oct 16, 2016 14:10:26 GMT -5
So today is the second day ariel has been home! She seems to be doing pretty well but im very nervous. Even though i have read a LOT...it seems like i have no idea what im doing. So i was wondering if you all could tell me about your first few days with your quaker? And mabye give me some ideas on games to play and first foods to give her? Thanks.
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Post by beccilouise on Oct 16, 2016 18:11:31 GMT -5
Don't worry! in my first two weeks with Maya, I had a complete melt down. I had panic attacks, I felt like I'd just brought home a baby and my whole life was about to change. I had this whole feeling of 'what the hell am I DOING?'. I was really worried too, even though I'd read LOADS of stuff. This forum helped a whole load. I couldn't imagine my life without her now. I love her so much. She is so important to me and I love being around her. We sing together when we wash up the dishes (Maya supervising on my shoulder), we have even been for a bike ride together. You will get there, I promise! So: 1) COPING: You are doing absolutely fine. Ariel will take some time to settle in, and this will include some shouting, screaming, working out where to put Ariel's cage and what your routine will be. You will figure it out, and yes, it will take time. Go slow, think practically, try not to worry about it. Remember not to respond to screaming, but to offer a call and response noise (a whistle or a word) that she can use to call you instead. Praise her for being calm. You will need to start learning the difference between her contact call (which you should respond to) and screaming (which you should ignore). This will take time, but you will get there. 2) FOODS: Two or so weeks after settling in, you should start weaning Ariel onto a good pelleted diet. Look up online how to wean a bird onto pellets. It will take up to a month and you will need to mix it with her regular food. You can start looking up decent brands to use while Ariel settles in. Maya is on KAYTEE's rainbow cockatiel mix and is doing fine, but they are coloured and so can disguise discolourations in poop if you don't know what you're looking for. Uncoloured brands include Zupreen, Harrison's and Hagen. Other good brands include Pretty Bird and Psittacine. I also supplement Maya's food with nutriberries, which she loves. She also has a mix of veggies every day, and you can start offering these to Ariel right away. I give Maya: green beans, broccoli tops and leaves, carrots, boiled sweet potato, sprouted mung beans and adzuki beans, apple, pomegranate seeds and raspberries. I don't give her all of these every day, I try to give her fruit twice a week as it's quite sugary. You can also give Ariel a little bit of boiled egg to help with the protein. It will take Ariel some time to get used to these foods, introduce them slowly, share them with her to show her they're safe to eat and don't worry if it takes a while. 3) GAMES: I would start by introducing her to little toys that you can play with together, any kind of tug is good. A lot of the time I spend with Maya is also passive time, like watching TV with her on my shoulder, or letting her rifle through my pencil case while I work on my essays. I read to her (which she likes) and we also sing a lot of songs together. Maya's favourite is 'light me up' by Birdy. See if you can find favourite songs, dance like a nutter to them and encourage Ariel to join in. Talk to her about everything you're doing, get her used to your voice. The first few days are always a bit scary because it's a big change. Birds change the whole of your house, it's like some presence is with you that wasn't there before. They might be physically little, but they are emotionally and psychologically huge. Nobody really realises this until they bring one home and it can be a bit of a shock. You will do fine. Very soon, you will have such a strong friendship with Ariel that you will look back on these first few days and laugh at how weird and scary it felt. I promise, it will take time, but bringing home Ariel will be the best decision you ever made. You've got a firm, loyal friend for as long as she lives. And we're all here to help
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Post by cnyguy on Oct 16, 2016 20:27:08 GMT -5
Welcome home, Ariel! New-parront nervousness is normal. I'm sure you and Ariel are off to a good start. When Ralph first came home, he spent the first two or three hours just sitting quietly and taking in his new surroundings. After a while, he started exploring his big new cage and tried some of the food and water I'd provided. In the beginning, I stuck with the mix of pellets and seed he'd been getting at the pet store, and gradually started introducing new foods to him. Most of the new vegetables were rejected at first until Ralph decided that some of them were edible. After a few days, I increased the amount of pellets and cut back to a smaller amount of the seed mix. For the first few days, I let Ralph get used to his new home and didn't try to let him come out of his cage. I would sit in a chair next to the cage and talk to him. The first game we played together-- and still play-- is the tapping game. I'd tap lightly two or three times on the cage with my finger, and Ralph would tap back with his beak. It wasn't long before he was initiating the game, tapping first and expecting me to reply with the same number of taps (if I missed, I'd get squawked at-- and still do ). He didn't make a sound for the first day or so, and then just started out with a few little squeaks-- but within days, began imitating clicking sounds I'd make, along with lots of Quaker parrot graaaccckkks. After a few days, I opened the cage door to invite Ralph out. It took a few hours before he was ready to step onto the hanging perch I put on the outside of his cage, right below the door. He wouldn't step up or perch on me right away. I would pick him up gently, as though holding a baseball or tennis ball, and he accepted that. Soon, he was ready to step onto a spare wooden perch and let me carry him around the apartment that way. Not long after that, he decided he was ready to climb from the perch onto my arm, then he would step right onto my hand, climb up my arm and settle in on my shoulder. I let him set the pace for all that, and it worked perfectly. Ralph's favorite food is fresh green peas, served raw and sliced in half. It took him a few days to try them, and he now expects them regularly. Some of the other things he liked almost from the start are cooked quinoa, chopped parsley, cooked green beans, corn and cooked garbanzo beans (chick peas). Other things like broccoli and cooked pasta took him longer to accept but are now favorites too. Ralph isn't keen on most fruits but will usually eat a little apple or pear. We're still working on carrots and sweet potatoes, but Ralph is struggling to overcome his dislike of most things that are colored orange. So, try to relax a little, let Ariel set the pace for exploring and trying new things, spend lots of time sitting with her and talking to her, and you'll be doing fine.
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Post by biteybird on Oct 17, 2016 3:08:12 GMT -5
Congratulations! It's normal to be a bit apprehensive about bringing a new pet into your home, particularly if the pet is of a kind you've never had before! We were lucky...when we brought Bonnie home at the age of 8-9 weeks she'd already been taught 'step up' by the breeder and her parents were already on a pellet diet, so we never had to convert her from seed to pellets. When we brought Bonnie home all we did was set up her cage with food and water and a couple of toys. We put her in the cage, but left the door open (we don't have children, dogs or other inside pets to worry about). At first she didn't seem to want food or water - this was for about one day. Also she was doing 'begging' behaviour (bobbing her head and flapping her little wings), as she'd only just started to eat on her own. The day we brought her home she also flew for the first time! My advice would be: let Ariel settle and assess her new surroundings and don't force physical contact with her. Let her dictate how much contact she has with you. Food: offer anything and everything (except for unsafe foods like avocado and chocolate, of course)l Other than this, just talk to her so she feels safe in her new environment. Beccilouise and Gary have given great advice. I'm sure you'll do fine!
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Post by zim on Oct 17, 2016 5:15:02 GMT -5
Congratulations on your new best friend! You've gotten some great advice, so I've little to add (plus I'm on mobile at the moment), but I did want to chime in and mention one veey important thing, in case you didn't know. Get rid of all your Teflon cookware! If it overheats, it gives off fumes that can easily kill birds. I've seen too many horror stories about this happening, so I try to spread the word when I can.
Looking forward to hearing more about your quaker, and would love to see pics!
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Post by julianna on Oct 17, 2016 12:25:39 GMT -5
Welcome home Ariel. You now have a new mommy slave... lol. You are going to have a ball with this little guy. I always found feeding my QP to be fun.... he would try almost anything I had. Now he eats with me at all times. Explores my plate and decides what he wants.
He loves to preen me and find any little skin flaw and chew it off. Sometimes it really hurts so I have to get him to "go easy". My QP has a two large cages and his condo in the bathroom. lol... the condo is really 3 drawers of old face cloths that he loves to play in. He loves routine so every day around 2:30 it is time to relocate to the condo. He loves exploring new places like my cupboards, dishwasher, stove... etc.
Have fun with your little one and ask things happen, don't be afraid to ask. This forum will always help.
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Post by quakeradventurer02 on Oct 17, 2016 12:42:21 GMT -5
And can anybody tell me how to post pictures? I have some good ones of Ariel I wanted to share.
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Post by beccilouise on Oct 17, 2016 15:31:19 GMT -5
Aaron knows! It took me ages to learn. Best way is to get a photobucket account. We'd love to see little Ariel!
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Post by biteybird on Oct 18, 2016 2:09:46 GMT -5
Look under the 'Welcome' heading, then 'Forum Guidelines/How to' link. A photobucket account is free (it's online storage with a space limit, but it holds quite a few photos at a time). Hope that helps.
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Post by Hannah on Oct 26, 2016 23:45:35 GMT -5
Ollie came home and he was talking the 3rd day but he was revoked from a neglectful owner with budgies and I have 4 budgies. I find calm classical music is very relaxing for birds, Ollie likes Ludivco Eunadi. Maybe try to read a book to her? While sitting next to her cage and slowly moving closer and closer. If you play an insturnment yourself you could try playing near her too. She does need some time to adjust, she's in a new place for the first time and probably has no idea what's going on. You also need to meet her halfway for example a lot of birds tilt their heads to communicate, do the same thing.
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Post by aaron on Oct 28, 2016 14:10:57 GMT -5
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