spidervalve100
New member
Hello everyone,
This forums has been a great help and ultimately lead to getting my baby Marshal. I have been hand feeding him since August 15th and everything has been going pretty good. Took him to the vet last week and everything was good. He is 841 grams as of this morning and still growing between 5 and 15 grams a day ( he is slowing down a bit but every now and then he'll jump). Now, My questions are four fold 1) weaning, 2) games, 3) biting 4) cages. Alot of the information is either conflicting or is so up to the bird, that there is not enough information out there.
1) From everything I gather, weaning is all up to the individual bird. Some will wean quickly, and some will take forever. The thing that I am a bit confused on is when to start trying. I have been offering Marshall bananas and apple sauce and a bowl of water for a week now (he started beaking around and acting interested in other foods) and he only cares about chewing on the bowls. The first day he went for it but couldnt figure out how to pick up a piece or chew it right so he got really upset yelled for a minute, went to sleep and never tried again. I am feeding him 60-80 cc 3x a day (He is trying to turn down food which is a sign to wean but he wont eat anything else). Not sure on what to do from here.
2)Games. He is getting a little tired of preening/cuddle time, rolling the ball, tickle time, and "come here". Hast yet learned step up but knows step down. He doesnt like to step onto things. He is learning to talk a bit. I say hello he makes a two syllable mumble (pretty cute). He can perch a little but he doesnt like to and he is hanging from both sides of the perch/my hand. Is there any other good games to play/training exercises for him this young.
3) Biting. I know there are two methods of bite training. Never let them beak ANYTHING, and beak control. Not letting them beak anything seams to me like telling a blind person they can not touch peoples faces because every now and then they end up slapping the person. So beak control is they way I want to go. What are the best ways you have done this for a baby. Saying ouch then leaving the room for 2 min seams to be the favorite, but its always nice to learn new methods.
4)Cages. Right now I keep him in a 52 qt bin with paper towels that get changed 4-5 times a day (Who knew such a small thing can poop SOO much). I have made a small practice cage for him out of a midwest 36" portable wire dog crate. I used the divider it came with to make a small floor panel and a spare 24" cage bottom I had to make the floor. I then used some acrylic panels to put on top of the cage divider to make a solid surface on 1/3 of the cage. The crate came with a removable tray so is just like a real bird cage now (I tipple checked and he cannot stick his head through the bars). So when would be a good time to make a permanent switch. Ive let him roam around in it and he likes it because he can flap his wings without hitting anything, but refuses to walk on the cage bottom, just the acrylic with paper towels. I keep my house at 80 degrees F which is comfortable for him.
Thank you all for any information in advance.
This forums has been a great help and ultimately lead to getting my baby Marshal. I have been hand feeding him since August 15th and everything has been going pretty good. Took him to the vet last week and everything was good. He is 841 grams as of this morning and still growing between 5 and 15 grams a day ( he is slowing down a bit but every now and then he'll jump). Now, My questions are four fold 1) weaning, 2) games, 3) biting 4) cages. Alot of the information is either conflicting or is so up to the bird, that there is not enough information out there.
1) From everything I gather, weaning is all up to the individual bird. Some will wean quickly, and some will take forever. The thing that I am a bit confused on is when to start trying. I have been offering Marshall bananas and apple sauce and a bowl of water for a week now (he started beaking around and acting interested in other foods) and he only cares about chewing on the bowls. The first day he went for it but couldnt figure out how to pick up a piece or chew it right so he got really upset yelled for a minute, went to sleep and never tried again. I am feeding him 60-80 cc 3x a day (He is trying to turn down food which is a sign to wean but he wont eat anything else). Not sure on what to do from here.
2)Games. He is getting a little tired of preening/cuddle time, rolling the ball, tickle time, and "come here". Hast yet learned step up but knows step down. He doesnt like to step onto things. He is learning to talk a bit. I say hello he makes a two syllable mumble (pretty cute). He can perch a little but he doesnt like to and he is hanging from both sides of the perch/my hand. Is there any other good games to play/training exercises for him this young.
3) Biting. I know there are two methods of bite training. Never let them beak ANYTHING, and beak control. Not letting them beak anything seams to me like telling a blind person they can not touch peoples faces because every now and then they end up slapping the person. So beak control is they way I want to go. What are the best ways you have done this for a baby. Saying ouch then leaving the room for 2 min seams to be the favorite, but its always nice to learn new methods.
4)Cages. Right now I keep him in a 52 qt bin with paper towels that get changed 4-5 times a day (Who knew such a small thing can poop SOO much). I have made a small practice cage for him out of a midwest 36" portable wire dog crate. I used the divider it came with to make a small floor panel and a spare 24" cage bottom I had to make the floor. I then used some acrylic panels to put on top of the cage divider to make a solid surface on 1/3 of the cage. The crate came with a removable tray so is just like a real bird cage now (I tipple checked and he cannot stick his head through the bars). So when would be a good time to make a permanent switch. Ive let him roam around in it and he likes it because he can flap his wings without hitting anything, but refuses to walk on the cage bottom, just the acrylic with paper towels. I keep my house at 80 degrees F which is comfortable for him.
Thank you all for any information in advance.
