Otter
New member
Hi everyone!
Princess Mia has been with us for almost two months now.
I really feel the rescue did a good job with her for the 9 months they had her. But more than that, I think her first family must have really cared for her. She was surrendered with her Macaw sibling because the couple were having personal problems. She is approximately 14 years old. Her vet check was good, she's just a tad on the lightweight side at about 355 grams.
Diet: She is learning to like some healthier foods. She's primarily eating zupreem fruit blend pellets until I find something better she will actually eat. I tried switching her to Lafeber's because that is what the vet suggested, but she lost weight quickly and she's too light for me to let her lose more. Plan right now is to put some weight on before I try something new. The only food she would take for treats at first was chips or crackers. Now she is responding well to almonds (as long as they still have skin on them, and I cut them into eighths.) and dried papaya or pineapple. She likes her veggies cooked and still turns her beak up at chop.
Training: We are having so much fun clicker training. I started this the first week and she is responding so well. The only time she bit me hard was that first week when I didn't listen when she said she wasn't done training. If I haven't taken the time to train her by late evening, she gets antsy and tries to get me to take her to the training perch.
She will spin, wave, and **** her head for me. I'm not sure what to teach next.
We are also working on her tolerating being touched so we can work on harness training. And when I say we, I mean me. She lets Steven hang out around her and she will step up for him, but I'm her person.
Refledging: She certainly earned the name Princess in her first family. I believe they catered to her every whim. She expects to be carried to wherever she wants to go. She will lean hard then if you go the wrong way she may nip. She will even flap while holding on for dear life if she needs to tell you where to go. She has only flown for us a handful of times and she doesn't land too well. She heavily resists any attempts to coax her to fly. So far she even refuses to hop to a nearby perch. I want her flying for her health and independence, so any advice would be heartily appreciated!
Other breakthroughs so far:
She has decided that head scritches are the best thing ever and asks for them.
She figured out that toys are fun to shred. First she had to start with easy stuff like plastic straws, then she moved up to cardboard bagels, now she is finally working on some wood toys. She still doesn't care too much for toys inside her cage, but we will get that figured out.
She finally took a bath! She hated the spray bottle on sight and complains heartily when water gets near her. I kept taking her to the shower with me and letting her hang out where she might just get a little damp from mist, but no direct spray. She still fusses a bit at that, but relaxes well. When I put her back at her cage after her last shower, she decided it was time for a bath in her tiny water dish. (Providing her a larger dish just made her suspicious.)
All in all, I'm enjoying this journey so much. I am so amazed to know I am building a relationship I will have for so many years.
Thank you all!
Princess Mia has been with us for almost two months now.
I really feel the rescue did a good job with her for the 9 months they had her. But more than that, I think her first family must have really cared for her. She was surrendered with her Macaw sibling because the couple were having personal problems. She is approximately 14 years old. Her vet check was good, she's just a tad on the lightweight side at about 355 grams.
Diet: She is learning to like some healthier foods. She's primarily eating zupreem fruit blend pellets until I find something better she will actually eat. I tried switching her to Lafeber's because that is what the vet suggested, but she lost weight quickly and she's too light for me to let her lose more. Plan right now is to put some weight on before I try something new. The only food she would take for treats at first was chips or crackers. Now she is responding well to almonds (as long as they still have skin on them, and I cut them into eighths.) and dried papaya or pineapple. She likes her veggies cooked and still turns her beak up at chop.
Training: We are having so much fun clicker training. I started this the first week and she is responding so well. The only time she bit me hard was that first week when I didn't listen when she said she wasn't done training. If I haven't taken the time to train her by late evening, she gets antsy and tries to get me to take her to the training perch.
She will spin, wave, and **** her head for me. I'm not sure what to teach next.
We are also working on her tolerating being touched so we can work on harness training. And when I say we, I mean me. She lets Steven hang out around her and she will step up for him, but I'm her person.
Refledging: She certainly earned the name Princess in her first family. I believe they catered to her every whim. She expects to be carried to wherever she wants to go. She will lean hard then if you go the wrong way she may nip. She will even flap while holding on for dear life if she needs to tell you where to go. She has only flown for us a handful of times and she doesn't land too well. She heavily resists any attempts to coax her to fly. So far she even refuses to hop to a nearby perch. I want her flying for her health and independence, so any advice would be heartily appreciated!
Other breakthroughs so far:
She has decided that head scritches are the best thing ever and asks for them.
She figured out that toys are fun to shred. First she had to start with easy stuff like plastic straws, then she moved up to cardboard bagels, now she is finally working on some wood toys. She still doesn't care too much for toys inside her cage, but we will get that figured out.
She finally took a bath! She hated the spray bottle on sight and complains heartily when water gets near her. I kept taking her to the shower with me and letting her hang out where she might just get a little damp from mist, but no direct spray. She still fusses a bit at that, but relaxes well. When I put her back at her cage after her last shower, she decided it was time for a bath in her tiny water dish. (Providing her a larger dish just made her suspicious.)
All in all, I'm enjoying this journey so much. I am so amazed to know I am building a relationship I will have for so many years.
Thank you all!
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