maggenpie
New member
Well, Gwynn has been with me six months or more now. I still feel we're finding our way together while he settles down and realises he's here forever. Around the three month mark he was very anxious about being a 'good boy'. His previous proper home had only lasted three months and then he'd been pushed around from place to place every week or two for the next couple of months so it's understandable that he's still a little afraid of being moved on again.
It affects him a lot. I'd intended for him to be out as much as possible but he's stuck at two or three short outings a day. If I'm lucky, he'll have a screech and a flap and fly a few figure eights around the room. Then he'll come for some sprouted sunflower seeds (nothing other than sunflower is acceptable as a treat so I make sure I always have some sprouted for him) then when the treats run out he goes back in the cage and announces he's a good boy - which means he wants his little bit of almond before I shut the door. If I ignore that he's gone in, he'll come out and go in again - and again. If he's decided to go in, that's it. If I really push my luck, in the hopes he'll just stay out and settle down, he'll try chewing something he knows I don't want him to chew - just to get my attention so I'll give him his nut and shut him in. Being out is all about the titbits, I haven't yet got him to amuse himself in any way for any length of time and he's always ill at ease. Any attempt to 'train' him only serves to severely upset him so I've decided to take things very slowly with him. His trust in me is the most important thing, and I'm still gaining that.
When he's in his cage I can touch him all over. I call him for a cuddle and he comes over for me to go through his pin feathers. I can be as firm and familiar in my touch as I like. Outside the cage, I offer a cuddle and he's off like a shot. He doesn't step up or sit on my lap now. He did all those things - when he was hormonal. I adjusted his hours of light and dark, his hormones settled and the cuddling stopped. That's part of it. The other part is that he seems not to trust himself. He's so afraid of doing the wrong thing and being moved again that he distances himself, and restricts himself. A bit far fetched? Well, after any tiny upset, say if I've made a misjudgement and he's pinched me, he'll hardly come out of his cage for a couple of weeks. He'll come out, climb around the cage, maybe take some titbits and go back in after a couple of minutes. After two weeks he'll suddenly stay out longer again, although long for him is only about half an hour.
I've moved him into a cage that has twice the room of the one he'd had all his seven years. I thought the change over went quite well, it took a week and in the end I put the two doorways together and eventually he went in to explore. He didn't seem upset about it and I patted myself on the back. Wrong. He didn't fly around the room for two whole months after the changeover. It was such a relief to see him finally take to the wing again. His first flight was almost a wingtip turn but gradually he regained his confidence and now he's back to manic figure eights again.
He's a sensitive little soul and only time will convince him that this is his forever home. Anyone who read my earlier posts will know what a difficult time we had at first. I still can't have him out with anyone else in the room, he gets over excited when the people he loves come to visit and can't control himself. He absolutely adores my grown up son but bit him badly when something startled him. To his credit, my son is keen to try again with him and is currently working on Gwynn's shoe anger. Men's shoes must be attacked, and he gets himself very worked up. So my son takes his shoes and socks off, shows Gwynn his bare toes and that's fine, he doesn't want to attack toes. When he puts the shoes on again Gwynn is calm. We wonder if he was kicked. He does have a bad limp, poor little chap. And, as I said before, anything even remotely sticklike - even a spoon if it's pointed at him - sets him off and he will attack.
Happily he is much stronger and his new feathers are growing in to replaced the chewed up ones. He does pick an occasional feather from his chest to munch on - he enjoys the taste, unfortunately. When he first came he couldn't carry a small plastic toy and only coasted down from the top of his cage and climbed back up. Now he's quite the little weight lifter and I love to see him getting some exercise when he flies. All in all, he's doing well and I'm being patient and respecting his self imposed boundaries. I wonder what the next six months will bring?
It affects him a lot. I'd intended for him to be out as much as possible but he's stuck at two or three short outings a day. If I'm lucky, he'll have a screech and a flap and fly a few figure eights around the room. Then he'll come for some sprouted sunflower seeds (nothing other than sunflower is acceptable as a treat so I make sure I always have some sprouted for him) then when the treats run out he goes back in the cage and announces he's a good boy - which means he wants his little bit of almond before I shut the door. If I ignore that he's gone in, he'll come out and go in again - and again. If he's decided to go in, that's it. If I really push my luck, in the hopes he'll just stay out and settle down, he'll try chewing something he knows I don't want him to chew - just to get my attention so I'll give him his nut and shut him in. Being out is all about the titbits, I haven't yet got him to amuse himself in any way for any length of time and he's always ill at ease. Any attempt to 'train' him only serves to severely upset him so I've decided to take things very slowly with him. His trust in me is the most important thing, and I'm still gaining that.
When he's in his cage I can touch him all over. I call him for a cuddle and he comes over for me to go through his pin feathers. I can be as firm and familiar in my touch as I like. Outside the cage, I offer a cuddle and he's off like a shot. He doesn't step up or sit on my lap now. He did all those things - when he was hormonal. I adjusted his hours of light and dark, his hormones settled and the cuddling stopped. That's part of it. The other part is that he seems not to trust himself. He's so afraid of doing the wrong thing and being moved again that he distances himself, and restricts himself. A bit far fetched? Well, after any tiny upset, say if I've made a misjudgement and he's pinched me, he'll hardly come out of his cage for a couple of weeks. He'll come out, climb around the cage, maybe take some titbits and go back in after a couple of minutes. After two weeks he'll suddenly stay out longer again, although long for him is only about half an hour.
I've moved him into a cage that has twice the room of the one he'd had all his seven years. I thought the change over went quite well, it took a week and in the end I put the two doorways together and eventually he went in to explore. He didn't seem upset about it and I patted myself on the back. Wrong. He didn't fly around the room for two whole months after the changeover. It was such a relief to see him finally take to the wing again. His first flight was almost a wingtip turn but gradually he regained his confidence and now he's back to manic figure eights again.
He's a sensitive little soul and only time will convince him that this is his forever home. Anyone who read my earlier posts will know what a difficult time we had at first. I still can't have him out with anyone else in the room, he gets over excited when the people he loves come to visit and can't control himself. He absolutely adores my grown up son but bit him badly when something startled him. To his credit, my son is keen to try again with him and is currently working on Gwynn's shoe anger. Men's shoes must be attacked, and he gets himself very worked up. So my son takes his shoes and socks off, shows Gwynn his bare toes and that's fine, he doesn't want to attack toes. When he puts the shoes on again Gwynn is calm. We wonder if he was kicked. He does have a bad limp, poor little chap. And, as I said before, anything even remotely sticklike - even a spoon if it's pointed at him - sets him off and he will attack.
Happily he is much stronger and his new feathers are growing in to replaced the chewed up ones. He does pick an occasional feather from his chest to munch on - he enjoys the taste, unfortunately. When he first came he couldn't carry a small plastic toy and only coasted down from the top of his cage and climbed back up. Now he's quite the little weight lifter and I love to see him getting some exercise when he flies. All in all, he's doing well and I'm being patient and respecting his self imposed boundaries. I wonder what the next six months will bring?
