CKP
New member
Maverick has been home for just over a week. We are all doing well so far, at least I think so. We went to the vet, got a great report, and "step up" training has begun! I don't THINK we are off to a bad start, but at the same time I see all the little 'negatives' and 'less-than-perfects' and I just want our fid to be happy and comfortable and love us as much as we love him 
Three things...
For the most part, Mav is super sweet. He tolerates head/neck scratches, steps up on command, and LOVES to share my breakfast banana with me. When it comes to bananas, he's a pig. He isn't as food-motivated as I thought he would be though after reading everything we did before we got him. If the food is in his food bowl, it usually gets gone (carrots, broccoli, pears, apples, bananas, dried fruits, etc.) but he isn't huge on eating anything out of our hands, which has made training somewhat lackluster without that motivating factor. We continue to try new foods with him, though, and are on the ultimate quest for in-shell walnuts that we can half for him to forage (reportedly, his favorite from the breeder). Any advice on other treats for training purposes?
Secondly, if the cage is in his view Maverick's demeanor changes ALOT. We take him upstairs, put a sheet down, and hang out on the bed or futon and he walks around, nibbles treats sparingly, and climbs up and down from our hands and will vocalize a little. But the minute we start going downstairs he looks for his cage then will make all attempts to jump back to it. Even to the point if we don't sit him in it immediately that he starts giving us warning bites. I sat him on the cage door once and he refused to move for like an hour, and we were going to bed so I tried to move him and got my first bite Probably deserved, but anyways I used a perch and he begrudgingly stepped up and was returned to his favorite spot to sleep. How can we avoid this cage dominance type of behavior? We've put a small perch on the door and try to coax him onto it so that as the door opens he is already out of his cage, and that helps some, but we are concerned about him being cage-territorial.
Lastly, we understand that it's only been a week BUT Maverick doesn't seem entirely thrilled about seeing us. He'll interact with us, sure, but there's no excitement or will to interact with us really. We want to make sure he is socialized, we have a list of parrot-friendly places to take him with us, etc etc but we don't want to push him when he isn't ready and I don't think that trust bond is there yet. Any advice on building this bond up? Obviously, time, but anything else we could implement to make him feel safe with us and want to hang out and interact?
Like I said, I don't think we are off to a bad start, I just wanna make sure our little fid is happy and healthy and is provided the best from us. :07:
Three things...
For the most part, Mav is super sweet. He tolerates head/neck scratches, steps up on command, and LOVES to share my breakfast banana with me. When it comes to bananas, he's a pig. He isn't as food-motivated as I thought he would be though after reading everything we did before we got him. If the food is in his food bowl, it usually gets gone (carrots, broccoli, pears, apples, bananas, dried fruits, etc.) but he isn't huge on eating anything out of our hands, which has made training somewhat lackluster without that motivating factor. We continue to try new foods with him, though, and are on the ultimate quest for in-shell walnuts that we can half for him to forage (reportedly, his favorite from the breeder). Any advice on other treats for training purposes?
Secondly, if the cage is in his view Maverick's demeanor changes ALOT. We take him upstairs, put a sheet down, and hang out on the bed or futon and he walks around, nibbles treats sparingly, and climbs up and down from our hands and will vocalize a little. But the minute we start going downstairs he looks for his cage then will make all attempts to jump back to it. Even to the point if we don't sit him in it immediately that he starts giving us warning bites. I sat him on the cage door once and he refused to move for like an hour, and we were going to bed so I tried to move him and got my first bite
Probably deserved, but anyways I used a perch and he begrudgingly stepped up and was returned to his favorite spot to sleep. How can we avoid this cage dominance type of behavior? We've put a small perch on the door and try to coax him onto it so that as the door opens he is already out of his cage, and that helps some, but we are concerned about him being cage-territorial.Lastly, we understand that it's only been a week BUT Maverick doesn't seem entirely thrilled about seeing us. He'll interact with us, sure, but there's no excitement or will to interact with us really. We want to make sure he is socialized, we have a list of parrot-friendly places to take him with us, etc etc but we don't want to push him when he isn't ready and I don't think that trust bond is there yet. Any advice on building this bond up? Obviously, time, but anything else we could implement to make him feel safe with us and want to hang out and interact?
Like I said, I don't think we are off to a bad start, I just wanna make sure our little fid is happy and healthy and is provided the best from us. :07:
