Adrian update #2!

Hello again, everyone! Just wanted to update you all on Adrian's progress. We are beginning the second week since bringing her home and she's adjusting beautifully. My husband and I went to the bird store we purchased her from over the weekend (btw, this is not like a petsmart or anything. They are a family owned shop that also breeds and they rock!) and got a few more toys and a new perch for her. I hadn't even fastened the new perch to the side of the cage before she was climbing/chewing on it she is starting to show more interest in her toys and getting much better at climbing around her cage. I am delighted to say she has found her voice as well! She chatters to herself throughout the day in that adorable IRN voice but seems to get a little stage fright. She'll stop as soon as she knows someone is watching haha. My husband and I both love to listen to her and can't wait for her to begin talking, though we know that's a way off. The biggest and most exciting news is the progress we've made with biting! I have gotten rid of the towel unless absolutely necessary and she is doing great stepping up onto a perch to get her out of the cage. She steps up onto my hand and still wants to bite usually but doesn't seem to be biting AS hard. However, this morning we had 3 no bite step ups! Very excited about that. Sorry for the not so great pic. She wasn't in much of a picture taking mood this morning. http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m7/a_mercer/CAM00917-1_zpstg0rklpn.jpg

One piece of advice I haven't seen lately is that when you offer your hand to a bird that bites, always offer the back of your tightly closed fist. The idea is that the bird can't get a grip on the stretched skin of the back of your hand and so the bite is foiled. It's important to note that, while the bird can't really bite you like that, you absolutely shouldn't use the bit of immunity to push him further than he wants to go.

By that I mean, if you're trying to get the bird to step up and he bites you, turn the back of your closed fist toward him and offer that. If he's willing to step up, he will. If not, then DO NOT push the closed fist at him and force him to step up! That will only make a trust issue for you that you don't want or need.

I've found that my birds really only ever bite when they're afraid and that could be because I'm taking them away from their comfort zone, because I've unbalanced them on my hand or because I've asked them to perform something just once too often. The commonest reason I've ever seen for biting birds is owners who make them stepupstepupstepupstepup until they really have to intervene. LOL! In those instances, it's kinda fun to see the bird get its own back.

Anyway, I'm glad things are improving with Adrian (Adrienne?) and hope they continue to do so. Barney and Madge send their fond regards.

Betrisher, I have tried offering the back of my closed fist and wonder if you can offer any help with the problem I had. Adrian will still try to step up but she acts like she can't hold on. Like she can't grip with her feet because it's too big or something. Is that just because she is young and still learning to perch? My conure never had that problem so that's why I was a little confused. She is getting around in her cage a little better now but still has trouble with balance on things that my conure has no issue with and I wonder sometimes if that's why she's biting. Like the initial bite is to steady herself but then biting harder out of frustration?

Yes, I think that's exactly what's happening. My Alexes were quite clumsy for the first few months. It was as if they had to practice getting their feet right and their tails right and hang on like mad with their beaks! LOL! I think you're right, too, about the biting. Alexes always use their beaks to test their perch and/or the surface they're about to step onto and often that might end up in a bite if the next perch is about to be you. It's important to stand still and not wiggle while your bird's getting settled on you. Of course, you already know that but I thought I'd say it anyway.

Another idea that might help is if you use a chopstick or piece of dowel for Adrian to bite onto as she steps up. In that way, the beak is fully occupied and she can successfully step up without latching onto you. It's important that you don't develop a fear of her beak as that will only prolong the time it takes to train her not to bite. Don't give up! She'll learn over time and the calmer and more patient you are, the easier it will be for Adrian.

Another thing I did with my Beaks early on was to spend quite long periods just sitting, holding them and shovelling them full of treats. Well, maybe not shovelling, but just spending time rewarding them for sitting still and staying put on me. This was invaluable and really came to be our 'touchy feely' time. If you haven't discovered already, Alexes rarely enjoy being touched in any way. Mine won't allow head scratches or caresses or any form of touch other than sitting on me. If I persevere, I can get Barney to let me stroke his beak, but I can tell he really hates it so I don't even try it any more. The fact that his favourite place in the whole world is on my arm is enough for me. Madgie is the same, although she's not quite as loyal and confiding as Barn. I think it's a woman-thing. LOL!

Do make sure that Adrian has lots of different perches to practice on and exercise her feet. Tree branches are best and you want to get a wide variety of thicknesses so Adrian can learn to cope with them all. I don't know which timbers to recommend, since I'm in Australia, but I use Bottlebrush (Callistemon sp.), Melaleuca and Eucalyptus. Oh, and Casuarina too. They like to crack open the cones on those.

Thanks for all your help! We had 3 or 4 successful step ups yesterday, actually. I'm relieved to hear that the clumsiness isn't uncommon because it actually kinda freaked me out since my GCC was never like that. She does great with a smaller dowel and that's what I use to get her out of the cage with. I don't want her to think I'm invading and bite me because of it, so this works really well. She has a couple larger dowels in the cage along with a rope perch and one branch. She branch was her favorite before I even finished fastening it to the side! But I can't remember what type it is. One thing that's great about her is that, unlike what I've heard about many IRNs, she seems to enjoy being pet usually. She loves to have her neck and head scratched and will make an adorable little squeaking noise while I do it. She also enjoys having her beak rubbed but only when she's in the right mood. I tried using the back of my closed fist yesterday and she still manages to scratch it up, though she can't get a good bite, and I'm okay with that. I'm really trying with the time out method. She steps up great usually but then bites as soon as she's up which I really am beginning to think is a balance thing as mentioned before. I think she'll turn out to be a really sweet and fun bird once she gets better with perching. One problem I've had is with rewarding her because she really doesn't seem interested in any treats I've tried yet. But it seems that showering her with praise and affection does the trick so I'll stick with it thanks again!