Chicken and Tiki

OutlawedSpirit

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So I figure I should start an ongoing thread for my fids. I know most of you know Chicken and Tiki, but for our newer members, I'll give a smallish introduction.

Chicken was my first Ekkie. I rescued her as an 8 month old that couldn't be taken out of her cage without being toweled. Wow, how things have changed! She is now 17 months old and is an absolute sweetheart. To me anyway. She will gladly go to almost anyone else if I ask her to, but they better not touch! She is a Solomon Island eclectus, and a definite boss. My wife likes to constantly remind me that Chicken wears the pants in this relationship. She will talk, but only about herself. Good Chicken. Pretty Chicken. What you doing, Chicken? Hi Chicken. Unless she's getting snotty, then it's just "WHAT?!". Although I have two, she will always be my number one, and she knows it. (I have to write that, she's sitting on my shoulder, watching.)

Tiki is my second Ekkie. He is a 26 year old Vosmaeri cross, as much as I can tell. Males aren't exactly easy to identify subspecies, especially when cross breeding between subspecies is taken into account. He is nearly completely blind. He may be able to see some light and shadows out of one eye, but we're not even completely sure about that. It seems like sometimes he can, and others he can't. He used to be pretty aggressive, and could only be handled with gloves for safety. Now, as we have built our bond and trust much more, he is handled with gloves for his benefit. He feels more stable on the gloves, I think because of the rough texture. So I usually have a glove on the hand he steps up on, but I can interact with my other hand bare. I have tried getting him to step up on my bare hand, and he will, but you can tell he feels unsteady, so I'll just keep using the glove for his peace of mind. He is my snuggle bug. He loves to come out, lean his head against my chest while I pet him and give him kisses on his beak and forehead. He is even comfortable now with me petting his head, whereas before, he would completely freak if I touched it. I think we can go even further, but it will take time, I will only work at his pace, no faster.

People say that I spoil them, but no, I just love them. They are my fids, I am their mom. I was able to upgrade Chicken to a bigger cage recently, and rearrange my setup, so she has a palace with yard, so to speak, now.



Since she no longer shares a split cage with Tiki, she can climb on her cage again, and she takes full advantage. I moved her tree close enough to her cage so she can move freely between the two, and she eagerly waits for me to open her cage and the curtains after breakfast, so she can survey the neighborhood.

I had thought about getting rid of the double stack cage and getting Tiki a macaw cage like Chicken, but then threw the idea out. Since he is blind, the double stack is wide enough for him, but it is also low. There is less worry if he were to fall about him getting hurt. Although I would love to provide him with a huge cage, it is just not really in his best interest considering his disability. It would be more for my benefit than his. The bottom cage also makes a great storage location for all their extra toys, toy parts, and travel cages.



Tiki doesn't have a tree, because he doesn't feel safe on them. He will stand on it for a little bit, but does not enjoy it. For his out of cage play time, he usually gets put on the floor with some foot or foraging toys, so I don't have to worry about him falling or him being uncomfortable on a stand.

Well, I think that is enough for an initial post, but worry not, there will be more to come, much more. I can't help but talk about my babies.
 

Anansi

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Loving the reintroduction to Chicken and Tiki and the updated pics! I think an ongoing thread about them is a great idea. Keep the entries coming!
 

AmyMyBlueFront

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And a Normal Grey Cockatiel named BB who came home with me on 5/20/2016.
I adore you for what,and the lengths you go to,for Tiki :D Marvelous! Tiki is such a lucky guy to have you in his life.
sounds like he is making the best of his situation. Awesome!


Jim
 
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OutlawedSpirit

OutlawedSpirit

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First, thank you for the kind words about Tiki. I truly try to do my best in giving him what is best considering his situation. It's a good feeling to know that you all think I'm doing right by him.

Chicken got to go on her first adventure in her new Aviator harness today. It's cold out, about 40 degrees, but I felt it was warm enough that she would be okay outside just going from the house to the car. We went to "grandma's" house. When we got there, I set her on the edge of the garbage can and asked for a potty, which she eagerly did so I would pick her back up. My sister-in-law seemed amazed and was like "you really have that bird trained, don't you?" Little does she know, I didn't even potty train her, Chicken did that all on her own. I don't train Chicken, she trains me if we're being completely honest here. I may have been naughty and said something along the lines of the fact that she was just jealous my bird behaves better than my nephew. Petty, I know, but I couldn't help myself. :p We have to take advantage when our fids are on their best behavior.
 

GaleriaGila

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This thread was long overdue, OS.
Glad you stopped being a slacker. :)

*hugzszszszsz*
 
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OutlawedSpirit

OutlawedSpirit

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Well, we just had a bit of a milestone with Tiki. I have him on the floor with a few dried banana pieces and some foot toys, and he's been just calmly searching for his naners. I decided to give him a chance stepping up onto my bare hand since it's been so long since he's bitten the glove. I know he prefers the texture of the glove, but if I had to pick him up in a hurry, I would like to know how much it's going to hurt before hand. I gave him my left hand and asked for a step-up. He did so without so much as putting the tip of his beak on my hand. I can him some cuddles and then set him back down (which has typically been the time he is most likely to bite) and he stepped back onto the floor with no issues. I will keep using the glove for his peace of mind as it gives him more grip, but I am proud of how far he's come in trusting me. For a blind bird to step up onto anything I place in front of him for no reason other than I asked him to, that is trust.
 
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OutlawedSpirit

OutlawedSpirit

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Well, when I went to give fresh water this morning, Chicken had none. Apparently she was having fun with one of her toys last night, and had put so much paper and cardboard in her water dish, that it literally soaked up all her water. I don't think I'll ever understand her fascination with putting pieces of her toys in her water dish. She does it with anything she gets off a toy, paper, wood, whatever. Weird bird.
 

Anansi

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Maya shares Chicken's fascination with making soup out of her water! Food bits, wood chips, basically anything that she can pry loose! Lol!
 
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OutlawedSpirit

OutlawedSpirit

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Tiki is definitely getting more comfortable without the glove, which is honestly something I didn't think would ever happen. With the way he was before, I honestly thought I'd have to use the glove with him forever between the way he bit and his comfort with it. Last night, I was able to take him out of his cage and sit with him on the couch while we watched TV for a while without the glove. Then, I put him back in his cage with no issues. It seemed like almost overnight he stopped being so aggressive towards the glove, and all biting stopped. I am not sure what happened to bring around that change, unless him losing weight like he has since I changed his diet from pellets to chop, and just having better food all around, has started really having an affect on how he feels.
 
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OutlawedSpirit

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I had to grab this picture of Tiki this morning. It's dark and not the best since it's through the bars, but I didn't want to wake him up by opening his cage or adding light. I'm actually surprised he likes the swing so much, I thought it would be too unsteady for him, but he adores it.

fd6a9a1c8b14b04c09a389937cb21081.jpg


Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
 
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OutlawedSpirit

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Trying something different with Tiki. He now has his very own room. Really, we just moved him into the spare bedroom. It is right off the living room, where he was, but I am hoping that being in a quieter area will help curb the last of his screaming. He is pretty good now, for the most part, except for when everyone is up and the TV is on, so I think at that point the noise gets to be too much for him. Especially the TV. He is basically just on the other side of the wall from where he was, so it wasn't a far move, and he's not completely out of the hustle and bustle, but it should be toned down a little for him. Plus, if the TV seems to be getting to him, we can shut the door to quiet it down. I've noticed that depending on what is on TV, it can really bother him. Especially if it is an action type show, that has a lot of yelling or loud noises like explosions, he seems to get very uncomfortable. So I am trying to find the balance where he feels involved enough so it's not like he being ignored, but still far enough so that he feels secure. We'll see how it goes for a little bit, and if nothing else, he'll get moved again.
 

Anansi

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It's great that Tiki has improved so much with the biting. I think it's mostly indicative of the stable turn his life has taken with you. I would imagine consistency would be even more important to a blind bird than to a sighted one. So he's probably just lowered his guard now that he feels comfortable and at home with you.

Of course, you may also have a point about the change in his diet. Some ekkies have proven to be far more aggressive when their diets are off from what they should be.

Love the swing pic! He definitely seems to be enjoying it. How long did it take him to adapt to the new presence in his cage?

And the move makes sense. I can see how an action movie might freak him out somewhat. And if he's only on the other side of the wall, I reckon the separation from Aria won't be too bad. They'll still be in range of contact calls.
 
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OutlawedSpirit

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Love the swing pic! He definitely seems to be enjoying it. How long did it take him to adapt to the new presence in his cage?

And the move makes sense. I can see how an action movie might freak him out somewhat. And if he's only on the other side of the wall, I reckon the separation from Aria won't be too bad. They'll still be in range of contact calls.

It didn't take him long to adapt to the swing at all. As soon as he realized he could climb on it, so when he found it basically, he was up on it. He loves the thing. I originally was going to give it to Chicken, but she didn't show much interest in it, so I put it with Tiki just to see how he would react. I never would have guessed that he would fall in love with it.

They aren't too far from each other, although I don't think either of them really mind. Tiki can still hear her, so that's no different for him. Whether or not she is in sight makes no difference on his end. I don't think Chicken cares either way, she hates anything with feathers. Her people are her flock, and any other bird is just an intruder. She is one bird I would never consider trying to find a "friend" for. There would be no point.
 
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OutlawedSpirit

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Well, we have an appointment tomorrow morning for Chicken with the vet. I'm going to go ahead and have him pull some of her flight feathers, to see if it will help her grow them in without breaking them all off. I sure hope it does, I want her to be able to fly.
 

JBassset

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I gotta tell you, this was one heck of a thread to read. So heart warming and touching.
 
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OutlawedSpirit

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So Chicken went to the vet this morning. She got a few feathers on each wing pulled, so hopefully they will start growing in better. I was told to give her some extra protein since she will have several large feathers all growing in together. So when we got home, I mixed her chop in a scrambled egg. She didn't really care about going to the vet, she just wanted to get home and get breakfast.

Unlike Tiki, who has lost weight over the last several months, Chicken has gained weight since the last time she went into the vet. He said that she is heavier now than she should be, and advised that I stop giving her the 2 nutriberries she gets at night and stick to purely her chop. I am going to follow his advice, at least until she has enough feathers in to start flying, then I may give her back her nutriberries if she flies enough to afford the extra calories. She is not going to be happy about this, but I would rather her be a little upset than be overweight which could cause her health issues.

At least other than her weight, she has a clean bill of health. He said her feathers are in gorgeous condition, except the flight feathers she keep breaking off, but that is a different issue all together. She has also been keeping her beak and toes in good condition so that they didn't require any grooming at all. He just took of the very tip of her beak, so it was more rounded. It wasn't overgrown or anything, just pointy. That was more my wife's request than anything. She is getting better with Chicken, but when Chicken does decide to get testy, my wife was tired of getting scratched by the tip of her beak. Figure it doesn't really bother Chicken much if the tip is blunted a little, and it keeps the wife happy.
 

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