jan
Weanling
Posts: 50
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Post by jan on May 31, 2019 19:11:17 GMT -5
It seemed like forever since i ordered my blue Quaker baby but today i finally brought him home! His name is Buddy. I was shocked at just how small he is. He is 4 months old. He was very scared when i opened his carrier and lunged at me. It took over 1/2 hour for him to leave his carrier and enter his new cage. Then he sat in one spot for over an hour without making a sound. I talked to him off and on for a couple hours and then left him alone for awhile. When i checked on him again he was sitting on his food bowl. I could see that he had eaten and drank water so im pretty happy about that. Now he is climbing around And exploring and chattering. We are definitely making progress! I put extra bowls on the bottom of the cage until i know he can feed from the higher bowls. I think he's doing very well for only being here about 6 hours. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.
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Post by cnyguy on May 31, 2019 20:40:34 GMT -5
Welcome home Buddy! He seems to be adjusting quickly to his new home.
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Post by Caseysmom on Jun 1, 2019 8:54:02 GMT -5
Yay! Welcome to Buddy! Lots of years of fun ahead, sounds like you are doing things right by taking it slowly and letting him gradually get used to you
have a fun weekend getting to know him!
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jan
Weanling
Posts: 50
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Post by jan on Jun 1, 2019 19:07:12 GMT -5
Well today was interesting. Buddy continued to eat his pellets and some birdie bread i made but threw out his string beans, corn, and carrots. Not big on veggies yet i guess but there was vegetables and fruit in the birdie bread so he got them anyway haha! He managed to fly out of the cage when i was changing his water so upon catching him i did get to pet him a bit. He has touched my finger with his break a couple of times so i consider that great progress today. He still stays low in the cage so hasn't attempted to climb up to the perches or toys. I lowered a couple of toys so they are within his reached but he hasn't shown any interest in them yet. All in all i think we had a great 2nd day!
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Post by Caseysmom on Jun 1, 2019 20:58:34 GMT -5
Sounds like a really great second day! Thanks for the update, it will be fun hearing about your progress
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jan
Weanling
Posts: 50
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Post by jan on Jun 2, 2019 7:58:09 GMT -5
I finally figured out how to get Buddy's picture as my avatar! Isn't he the cutest little boy?
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jan
Weanling
Posts: 50
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Post by jan on Jun 2, 2019 18:07:59 GMT -5
Our third day continued to make progress. Buddy flew out of his cage again but it gave me a chance to hold him again and this time i just let him sit on my hand and he actually did three step ups onto my finger before he decided to fly back into his cage. I can put my finger very close to him now. He touches my finger with his beak and i tell him good boy when he does that. He actually put one foot on my finger once. He climbed the ladder once and had no problem going up but coming down he has a problem. Of course with new developments come questions! He is pooping in his water bowl. Yuck! I am trying to move it to different locations like in a corner so he can only approach from one side so we'll see how that works. Any one have any suggestions? Is this common?
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Post by cnyguy on Jun 2, 2019 20:29:07 GMT -5
Some parrots do use their water bowls for a toilet. Parrots can be potty trained, either to poop on command or only to poop in certain places. I've never done that and can't offer instructions on how to go about the training. Some people try water bottles instead of open bowls for drinking water, but not all parrots will accept them. Ralph thought it was a big threat to parrots everywhere, so the bottle didn't stay long. You may have to show Buddy how to play with his toys. You play with them while he looks on, and show him how much fun they are. Before long, he'll probably want to join in the fun. With the vegetables, you'll probably have to try offering them over and over; it takes time for parrots to accept new foods. You might try preparing them in different ways-- most vegetables can be offered both raw and cooked (most beans need to be cooked though), and you can offer big pieces, or chop the vegetables finely or mash them up. Of course, putting some in birdie bread works well too, as you've discovered. You and Buddy are off to a great start. And he is a handsome fellow.  |
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Post by Caseysmom on Jun 2, 2019 22:02:44 GMT -5
Yes there are some days, there is poop in Casey's water dish, though more often or not it gets pieces of her food as she likes to dunk her pellets as she is eating. For this reason I have both dishes side by side. They are half way up her cage and I don't have any perches right over them to minimize the chance of poop I change it during the day if I am around and see that it is dirty
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jan
Weanling
Posts: 50
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Post by jan on Jun 3, 2019 18:10:22 GMT -5
Day 4 already. I had to work today and hated leaving him but i did manage to sneak home early. Our progress today was Budddy stepping up with both feet. He did it twice even though it was only for a few seconds. He took food out of my hand too! He still isn't making any attempt to climb up to any of the porches so his bowls are still on the floor. I did some research last night about birds pooping in their water bowls and one person suggested a stainless steel bowl smaller than what i was using. I happened to have that exact thing and we went all day today with no poop in the water. Coincidence? Maybe... we'll see what tomorrow brings. I ordered him a shelf that i plan on hanging just slightly off the bottom to get him climbing a bit and i can adjust the height a little at a time and i can get the bowls off of the cage bottom. Is this normal for a young bird to not climb all over the cage?
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Post by Caseysmom on Jun 3, 2019 21:14:36 GMT -5
We got Casey around 18 weeks old, she was a vet surrender with a broken leg, so she couldn't move much at first with a cast on her leg, so unfortunately I don't have experience with a new young healthy baby Your plan of moving things gradually up sounds like a good idea One piece of advice that I remember getting years ago on this forum from a very experienced member was that when you first get your Quaker spend the amount of time each day with him or her that you will be able to keep up over the years, so when you are working etc, they wont miss you too much and get stressed
That's great that Buddy is stepping up for you already, keep repeating the words step up as he does it so he will know exactly what you want. One day he will surprise you and say step up first! ;p; I think Buddy is one lucky Quaker, you sound very prepared and organised
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jan
Weanling
Posts: 50
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Post by jan on Jun 4, 2019 18:21:12 GMT -5
Another day with Buddy. I was able to sit with him today on the couch and he climbed on my shoulder. I know it's not good to let him do that but i figure it's ok while we're working thru our bonding period. He ate some egg with fruit and vegetables today. No poop in the water for the second day in a row do i think we solved that problem. Im sure there are many more to come. I finished making his play stand and I'll post pictures when i get a chance. I think it came out really well. It's too big for him right now but I'm sure he'll grow quickly.
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Post by cnyguy on Jun 4, 2019 21:39:17 GMT -5
Glad things are going well. Some parrots are fine when allowed shoulder priveleges, and you'll learn before long if Buddy is one of them-- though some people do feel that parrots should never be allowed on the shoulder. Buddy will indeed grow fast and you can enjoy watching him grow and seeing his personality develop. That's one of the special things about baby parrots. |
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Post by Caseysmom on Jun 4, 2019 21:50:57 GMT -5
It sounds like things are coming along very well, very nice he is happy to hang out with you. The worse thing that happens when I put Casey on my shoulder because I need both hands for something is that she takes a bite out of what I am wearing... lol
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jan
Weanling
Posts: 50
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Post by jan on Jun 5, 2019 17:10:54 GMT -5
I want to thank everyone for your welcome and for the great input you have provided. This is such an exciting time for us. I hope you enjoy my updates!
Today i found Buddy on one of the perches. I didn't see him get up there so I'm not sure how he did it but I'm glad he seems to be exploring a little and not just sitting in the same spot all the time. He had an extended time out of his cage today and seemed to enjoy just walking around. I got his new shelf today and he got right on it when i put it in. I put some toys right next to the shelf and hid some seeds in them so hopefully he will find then enjoyable.
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