If you didn't see my first post on these forums, my grandmother found a female ringneck parrot and we haven't been able to find its owner, so I've adopted her and named her Bailey.
She settled in marvelously - during the short car trip from my Grandmother's to my home she sat in the corner of the cage and cuddled up to my hands through the cage cover. Once she was put in a larger cage (with only one bite but hey, you're a parrot in a brand new situation away from your owners, you'd bite too) she immediately began exploring, eating fruit and a bit of seed and playing with the toys I bought.
She's perfectly happy to take fruit from my hands through the cage wire, and even when she's out of the cage. She has only been out of the cage twice so far. The first time, she was a complete angel - she immediately climbed out, got some apple from my hand and flew onto the top of her cage to eat. She got lots of attention and treats from my brother and myself, only bit very lightly as she was exploring. She sat on my head a fair bit and played with my hair. She sat on us of her own accord which I was really happy with. Bailey is a good birdy!
Today, I let her out of the cage by herself, and it was like she was the devil incarnate. She came out of her cage straight away, had a treat, then flew onto my head and started biting my face. I did my best to ignore it (though a few REALLY hard bites made me cry out but I tried not to give Bailey any attention for biting, though it was really hard). I've found out that she does not like to step up onto hands, or perch on people unless she thinks of the idea.
Now, she has been through a lot, so I am of course not expecting any miracles. Since she has only been out of the cage here twice, I know I have only just begun. I know I'll have to persevere with taming her but I just want some advice on a few things.
1. When she bites, is ignoring the best thing to do?
2. Her favourite perch in my room seems to be my head. Which is cute, but I am wondering if it is a sign she is trying to assert herself as my boss? Should I let her do this, and if not, what can I do about it?
3. How would I go about getting her to "step up"? I would like her to be happy to sit on my hands.
4. How would I go about luring Bailey back into her cage? I want to keep the initial out-of-cage sessions relatively short so I can minimise stress. But picking her up seems like a bad idea until she gets used to my hands, as then she'll associate hands with end-of-playtime.
Also, would anybody be able to point me in the direction of some useful resources on this kind of thing? I want to do this right, and hopefully become good friends with Bailey. Words of encouragement would also be good
PS: I'm also looking for an online store that sells pellets for her to eat. I'm in Australia, so I'll need an Aussie site as I doubt customs would let the pellets through.
She settled in marvelously - during the short car trip from my Grandmother's to my home she sat in the corner of the cage and cuddled up to my hands through the cage cover. Once she was put in a larger cage (with only one bite but hey, you're a parrot in a brand new situation away from your owners, you'd bite too) she immediately began exploring, eating fruit and a bit of seed and playing with the toys I bought.
She's perfectly happy to take fruit from my hands through the cage wire, and even when she's out of the cage. She has only been out of the cage twice so far. The first time, she was a complete angel - she immediately climbed out, got some apple from my hand and flew onto the top of her cage to eat. She got lots of attention and treats from my brother and myself, only bit very lightly as she was exploring. She sat on my head a fair bit and played with my hair. She sat on us of her own accord which I was really happy with. Bailey is a good birdy!
Today, I let her out of the cage by herself, and it was like she was the devil incarnate. She came out of her cage straight away, had a treat, then flew onto my head and started biting my face. I did my best to ignore it (though a few REALLY hard bites made me cry out but I tried not to give Bailey any attention for biting, though it was really hard). I've found out that she does not like to step up onto hands, or perch on people unless she thinks of the idea.
Now, she has been through a lot, so I am of course not expecting any miracles. Since she has only been out of the cage here twice, I know I have only just begun. I know I'll have to persevere with taming her but I just want some advice on a few things.
1. When she bites, is ignoring the best thing to do?
2. Her favourite perch in my room seems to be my head. Which is cute, but I am wondering if it is a sign she is trying to assert herself as my boss? Should I let her do this, and if not, what can I do about it?
3. How would I go about getting her to "step up"? I would like her to be happy to sit on my hands.
4. How would I go about luring Bailey back into her cage? I want to keep the initial out-of-cage sessions relatively short so I can minimise stress. But picking her up seems like a bad idea until she gets used to my hands, as then she'll associate hands with end-of-playtime.
Also, would anybody be able to point me in the direction of some useful resources on this kind of thing? I want to do this right, and hopefully become good friends with Bailey. Words of encouragement would also be good
PS: I'm also looking for an online store that sells pellets for her to eat. I'm in Australia, so I'll need an Aussie site as I doubt customs would let the pellets through.