Final Baby

[OutlawedSpirit]

I am pretty sure he is blind in both eyes. He may see some light and shadows but even that I'm not sure about.

He is hand tame, I had him out and was petting him last night. The love bite was a more "crap I'm slipping" bite.

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[Anansi]

It's amazing that he's a hand tame, well-socialized bird given his blindness. What a great personality he has!

Is he screaming as much as he was at the rescue?

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[OutlawedSpirit]

No, he's had a few episodes, but it's not constant. I think it will be even less as he settles in. Hearing our dogs playing for the first time bothered him quite a bit, but after he realized he wasn't in danger, he's been fine with hearing them.

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[OutlawedSpirit]

Got a couple more nice bites from tiki. I was wearing gloves, granted not very thick ones. Part of the issue is him feeling unstable, so he bites his "perch" to make sure it's still holding him up. The gloves I'm using now are thick leather on the fingers, which was sufficient when he grabbed my finger, however, the back of them are just thin fabric, so when he grabbed the back of my hand, it didn't hold up so well. I did order a pair of double layered leather welding gloves that should be here by Wednesday. I'm hoping that since he should be able to bite those without causing me injury, he'll start feeling more confident when he's out.

He did come out really well today. I asked him to step up and he did without a fight. He got to flap his wings for a little bit, which is one of the things I want to work with him on being able to do with him to help him get some exercise. He wants to come out, he just lacks confidence not being in his familiar cage. Do you guys think that of he is taken out daily and realizes I'm not going to let harm come to him when he's with me, that he'll eventually get more confidence when he's out?

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[camo]

Do you guys think that of he is taken out daily and realizes I'm not going to let harm come to him when he's with me, that he'll eventually get more confidence when he's out?

I know nothing about handling blind birds, but I believe in pushing boundaries if it's in the birds best interest, the key is, knowing how far to push and how slowly to take it (I probably go slower than is necessary, but I prefer this over going to fast). An example would be showering, my two absolutely love showers, and Gizmo is somewhat obscessed by it, but in the beginning they were not too sure. There lives are enriched by realising the advantage of showers. I am currently trying to harness train my two, it's slow going, and given the choice, they would avoid it (except treats beat uncertainty). They have no idea how enriching this could be for them, so I am persisting.

Tiki has good reason to be uncomfortable, but as you persist, and take things at a good pace, and set things up so it is a positive experience, he will surely gain confidence, and more importantly it will build trust.

Keep up the good work!!

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

He's already getting the idea down of coming out. I open the door and ask him if he wants to come out, and it's slow going, but he'll work his way to the door and step up on the towel on my arm. To me that says that he does want to come out. I don't even enter hoods cage, I let him come to be and climb out on his own.

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[OutlawedSpirit]

Also, after what you told me about gizmo getting vocal from pent up energy, I've been trying to take him out a couple times a day. Just for short periods, only a couple minutes at a time for now until he gets used to it, but he's already screeching less, so I'm hopeful that it will whittle away more, the more time he gets out of cage.

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[Anansi]

Only thing I'd add is the importance of aural cues when doing anything with him. Since Tiki can't see you coming, there needs to be an indication beforehand that he's about to come out. Something that you say to him in the same tone of voice every time.

Doing this, combined with positioning your hand the same way every time, should eventually serve to calm his uncertainty over coming out.