Im so lost

I got a new bird two days ago. Now this bird FLIES. I got him out on the first day and it was hell trying to ever get him back in the cage. Now I got a new cage, its quite big so I dont think thats the issue. Today he is just running around the bars and flying around like crazy. I dont now if i should let him out because frankly i dont think i cant let him back in. What should I do, he does not want anyone to get near him, he cant step up *around 2 months old i think* but is supposed to be tame.

Im lost! I want to bond with him but i just dont know what to do.

Note: I do want to clip his feathers in the future but im sure he would never let me do that now.

https://birdtricksstore.com/blogs/birdtricks-blog/your-first-month-with-your-new-parrot

I was in the same place. Honestly, I kept the cage where I was the most and like the article suggested, I kept him in his cage initially with a toy or two. I let him get used to me walking around from a distance and spoke to him through the bars when he was watching me pretty intently. After a week, I kept his door open and let him come to me, just had him next to me on my couch while I read or watched TV. I didnt touch him until he asked and when it was time to put him in the cage, he was okay with stepping up for bed time.

New birds just take a bit of time to get used to their new surroundings. However since he flies, I think you should warn everyone when he's out. And if you're on your own, just double check that the windows are closed and the hot things are off. A friend of mine had her green cheek sneak out an open window she thought was closed.

But, best of luck to you!

First off, congratulations on your new little one. Take your time, and go slow. Put yourself in his position. He's just been pulled away from everything he knows, and it takes time to learn and adjust to his "new normal." Remember that as prey animals, birds have no reason to trust us, so we have to earn that. Here's a thread that might help. http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html
We're here to help you along the way, however we can. Lots of knowledgeable folks here!

It can take up to two weeks (sometimes more) for a bird to acclimate to a 'new home'. The length of adjustment time varies based on numerous factors. Species, previous home environment and current home environment. You may want to find out more about his previous environment. This does not including taming time. Just acclimating to new surroundings.

You may want to limit his exposure to loud or sudden movements and sounds. You may also want to put his cage somewhere where he can see as much of the area as possible (corners of rooms are ideal).

When you are able to supervise him (meaning there are no open doors/windows/access to or from dangers) leave the cage door open so he can come and go as he pleases. If he won't come out on his own, try coaxing him out with a treat and talking softly to him. You might not want to force him into his cage. He'll likely return on his own for food and water. If he doesn't, thats when you may need to put him in yourself.

Even a tamed bird takes time to adjust to new surroundings and people. There are very rare exceptions of course, Skittles & Peaches were perfect examples. But of the dozens of birds I've owned previously, they were in the minority.

But with all my other birds, I had the best results when I didn't force the issue. For example, I would talk softly when I would slowly put my hand in the cage and when they would freak out I would slowly back out and then try again. Eventually, they'd catch on that I wasn't a threat. But if you force the taming or get impatient, it will backfire and set you back even farther.

Wing clipping is a controversial topic here on the forum and I prefer to inform rather than scold or lecture. So I will say this. A flighted bird gets more exercise in 5 minutes of flight time out of cage than a clipped bird does in an entire day in the cage. They need exercise to stay healthy both mentally and physically. If wing clipping is necessary for the birds safety and security, that's understandable, but I do not believe a birds wings should ever be clipped unless its in the birds best interest. When initial taming is going on or the bird is acclimating to a new home, wing clipping can help with that, but once a bird is settled in and tamed, I don't believe the wings should ever be clipped unless it meets the mentioned criteria. In the end, the choice is that of the owner and we can merely just provide advice or recommendations.

I'm glad you're here, Peekabooo. I was in a position similar to your MANY YEARS AGO... with help and good advice and love, you can turn this situation into something wonderful. Hang in there, keep trying, and with us.

Great bonding advice above.

Here are a few remarks I like to offer new arrivals...

Most of us swear by our avian vets in the event of health concerns.
Certified Avian Vets
https://abvp.com/animal-owners/find-an-abvp-specialist/
If none are near you...
Avian Veterinarians
http://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803
In my opinion, any of the vets listed here should be better than a regular vet.
International contacts, too.

What's the diet? That's critical for health. Too many are kept on seeds or other poor-nutrition things. They need veggies, legumes, grains... pellets are a good staple. Here's what I use.
http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables! My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.

Since you're a new parront, I'll just drop a note about avoiding teflon pans, which are lethal to birds if even slightly overheated.

Hello, and welcome, congratulations on your new one!
Target training works great. You tube bird tricks has lots if great information videos.
Hand feeding seed or other treats helps build positive association with you.

It takes time to build trust, ive been there too.

https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/bird-behavior/

https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/stress-reduction-for-parrot-companions/

You shouldn't even attempt to get him to step up until it has been a week to a few months (varieS by bird)...You are rushing this. SLOW DOWN. Breathe---build trust.
You should do quiet things near cage---not in his face, not trying to touch. Do this for days and let him see you putting treats into the bowls (doesn't have to come from your hand). You want him to associate you with positive things, not anxiety.
You can still let him out (you should, assuming it isn't totally unsafe) but you should do it when he is hungry near dark so that you have a means of bribing him back--you sort of have to know your bird on this one, but for about 1 month, I couldn't touch my cockatoo, and she was out daily (all day on weekends and until she put herself in her cage at night on work-days). I never toweled her or chased her (which is why she stayed in BEFORE work but not after).

You do not want them having to be chased or toweled unless it is an emergency.

Here's another link similar to yours in some respects: http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/80467-need-help.html

also, see my posts on this thread (7th and 8th posts below OP message) http://www.parrotforums.com/new-members-welcome/87812-new-member-looking-advice.html

****"TAME" DOESN'T TRANSLATE AMONG PEOPLE AND SETTINGS when it comes to getting a new bird*** A "tame" bird who knows how to step-up etc, will often do it for one person and not another...This is normal...It doesn't mean your bird couldn't be handled by its original keeper. Birds are still wild animals (unlike dogs, cats, chickens etc who have been domesticated over thousands of years in captivity). Until you build trust, you are going to see fear and less cooperation. The more you scare your bird, the more your go into trust-debt, and the longer it will take you to build it back.

You have to study your bird and learn its signals. Me telling you not to stress the bird out does not mean locking it up and leaving it alone for days. You need to interact but you have to gauge your bird's comfort level (so as to avoid becoming a source of anxiety). If you are allowing your bird out of the cage, do NOT just lock it up the second it goes back into the cage to eat etc, or you will teach it that going inside means getting locked up.

Like everyone else's advice - slow down. Always always work at your parrots pace and not the pace of your expectations. Parrot speed can be glacial sometimes, while human speed is , well, speedy.

Read read read, as much as you can stand of the threads on this forum, which is by far the most informative, non-judgemental one on the web. Dont be afraid to ask questions!

Thank you so much to everyone here! Its so reassuring have a community with lots of experienced people! This could seem very weird but he is squeaking in his cage now wanting out. I dont know what to do and i feel incredibly guilty. This could seem very weird but he is now so stuck to my shoulder all day and since im on leave at the moment I dont mind. But im thinking this could be a problem in the future? When I start work i wont be able to dedicate this much time, would he be able to adjust to that, it will probably be in 2 month time or should I ignore him for the amount of time ill be working to make it easier to transition?

Should I ignore him when he squeaks and scrambles around his cage?

Peekabooo said:

Thank you so much to everyone here! Its so reassuring have a community with lots of experienced people! This could seem very weird but he is squeaking in his cage now wanting out. I dont know what to do and i feel incredibly guilty. This could seem very weird but he is now so stuck to my shoulder all day and since im on leave at the moment I dont mind. But im thinking this could be a problem in the future? When I start work i wont be able to dedicate this much time, would he be able to adjust to that, it will probably be in 2 month time or should I ignore him for the amount of time ill be working to make it easier to transition?

Should I ignore him when he squeaks and scrambles around his cage?

Click to expand...

I have noticed since the various lockdowns that Syd was calling the shots. I am retired but normally I am out of the house frequently, but as things are at present I am in much more and of course if I am here he thinks it's playtime. I try not to stick to too much of a timetable and vary times each day when he is out and caged. Earlier in the year I fell into the trap of having him out most of the time and letting him out when he screeched. I realised then that I was making a rod for my back that way. As I changed the regime we had several days of noise and complaint but I stuck to my guns and gradually he has understood the new regime and is now pretty compliant.

He was also forgetting how to play in his cage but I notice that his toys are gradually being used more as he relearns how to amuse himself.

Peekabooo said:

Thank you so much to everyone here! Its so reassuring have a community with lots of experienced people! This could seem very weird but he is squeaking in his cage now wanting out. I dont know what to do and i feel incredibly guilty. This could seem very weird but he is now so stuck to my shoulder all day and since im on leave at the moment I dont mind. But im thinking this could be a problem in the future? When I start work i wont be able to dedicate this much time, would he be able to adjust to that, it will probably be in 2 month time or should I ignore him for the amount of time ill be working to make it easier to transition?

Should I ignore him when he squeaks and scrambles around his cage?

Click to expand...

I'm going to address both this question and the one from your initial post, but I'll start with this one first. Yes, being on you now all day every day could lead to a rough transition for him when you return to work. But I don't think this should mean that you ignore him for the number of hours you would be working. Rather, find a bit of a middle point between the two options. Have days here and there where he's in his cage for a few hours and you're out of sight. Then other days where he's on you as much as he is now. All you need is for him to form an understanding that there will be times when you are not around... but that you will be back.

Another thing you can do to help in this regard is to have some kind of routine that you do whenever you're going to be out of sight for a few hours. Maybe a certain way you say goodbye. Or a certain thing you say. Heck, you can break out in song or a dance routine. Whatever strikes your fancy. Lol! The important thing is to be consistent with it, and to think about the way you're trying to reassure him when you do it. Thus works for two reasons. One, birds are great with association. So, he'll come to understand that thing you do means 'I'll see you later'. And second, birds are great at interpreting body language. This means that, while a bird may not necessarily understand the words coming out of your mouth on a linguistics level, they are quite capable of getting a feel for the basics of what you're trying to say. (So, no, they won't follow your philosophical postulations on the merits of nihilism vs existentialism, but they may very well get that you're saying everything will be okay.)

As for the question in your first post regarding the difficulty you have getting him back in the cage, there is a strategic answer to this that does not require you to clip his wings. (No judgement on wing clipping here. My view on it is quite similar to Skittys_Daddy's as expressed earlier in this thread, in that I prefer to keep my birds flighted and acknowledge the health benefits that come from the exercise of flight.)

My approach to the whole getting the bird back into the cage issue (before you have them properly target and recall trained, anyway), is to set defined meal times. Which means not free feeding them. Have a set feeding schedule. 2 or 3x a day. If it's 2x, which will probably work better for you since you'll be returning to work... unless you get to run home during lunch, that is, then the two meals should be hearty ones. If it's 3x, then obviously you adjust the amounts accordingly.

How does this help get your bird back in the cage? Well, the other aspect to defined meals is that you only offer these main meals in his cage. What this does is to build an association in his mind between the satisfaction of a good meal and his cage. Since he'll be feeling hungry by the time his meal time comes around, he'll actually be looking forward to returning to his cage to eat. The cage becomes hearth and home, rather than jail. (Of course, keeping lots of cool toys in there helps in this regard as well.)

Sooooooo, if you time his out time appropriately, he will definitely want to return to his cage by dinnertime. And by breakfast time as well, which you can take advantage of if you are an early riser.

Keep in mind, though, that while this sets up a good positive association in his mind, and foundation for future training, it is no substitute for target and recall training. Like any other foundation, you build on it. As such, here are some videos you might find useful.

[ame="https://youtu.be/HaOicTtwIZo"]Beginners guide to target training parrots - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://youtu.be/NzyZGdMp9kM"]Myth-busting! Parrot Training - Indoor Free Flying - DUCK!! Pet Parrot Free flight Skills - YouTube[/ame]