Hi!! In USA

[NewQuakerMom]

Hi there- I have had farm animals for years (goats, chickens) but never a pet bird. Our chickens are pets to my daughter (we keep them for eggs only) - we have a number of farm cats and a dog to guard everything. Inside the house we have one housecat, and now one quaker parrot. Puddleglum (parrot) sleeps in my daughter's room, where the cat's not allowed due to allergies. We move his cage to the study during the day, and the cat's not allowed in there while he's there. We're trying to figure a long-term solution, lol. We didn't really plan for him, he was rescued in my neighborhood, and I guess we're the rescue-family, lol, we've taken in a number of rescue animals over the years, so we took him. He's got a really big cage, we keep the doors open and have perches on the outside and he hangs out there all day, next to us. Still trying to teach him to step up - he's not afraid of hands, but has no interest in stepping up at all. All in all, he's very cute and sweet and funny, and we're glad we took him in - will be thrilled when he settles enough to feel comfortable doing more than climbing on my shoulder to try and eat my hair, then running back to his perch, haha!
Nice to meet everyone in advance!

 

[SailBoat]

In door cat and a Parrot is a dangerous combination for the Parrot. Assure that the door to the cage is closed when Humans are not around. When the cage is open, the cat is closed away in another part of the home.

It is important to remember that Parrots have no natural reason to trust Humans and we must work everyday to provide them a reason to trust us.

Bribery is an acceptable tool in working with Parrots and food is a wonderful bribery tool! Step-Up is a crucial foundation to working with Parrots.

Remember, only good things happen when Humans are around.

Thank you for rescuing this Parrot and welcome to Parrot Forums!

Enjoy!

 

[NewQuakerMom]

Thank you! Yes, he's only allowed out of his cage if we're in the room with him, and the door is closed w/ Miss Kitty on the outside. My youngest is planning to clicker train the cat to ignore the bird (she's taught the cat to sit, lie down, sit up for treat, shake hands, etc so who knows. Animal trainers say it's possible!) but I can't imagine trusting the kitty with the life of this sweet birdie!

I've been bribing him with popcorn, which he loves. I take one fluffy bit of popcorn and break it into a thousand little fluffy bits, and offer a bit when he whistles for me, or kisses at me, or comes to me, or anything that is nice. I also give him a bit after I pet him, in hopes of reinforcing that pets are good, and pets result in more good things.

I know, stepping up is highest on the list - just need more conditioning with the clicker I think. Something must have happened to him when he stepped up once upon a time, because he won't step up onto a perch, an arm, a hand, fingers, anything we put in front of him. He pushes it away with his beak, and if it won't go away, he bites it, lol! Since he was willing to run from a perch onto my shoulder, I think we'll gradually be able to get him used to running over an arm or hand on top of his cage w/ the clicker-touch-training, and then, it's just a matter of time before he's standing on the arm/hand, and so on. I think he may also be averse to the term 'step up' because he seems to get agitated when we say it. I may say 'come on' or something like that instead, because he likes me to say 'come on' in a wheedling tone.

 

[Jen5200]

Welcome to you! Sounds like you are on the right path with him....hope you’ll share pictures soon

 

[NewQuakerMom]

Oh pictures!! Let me go look up how to do pictures in the FAQ I remember seeing it...

 

[NewQuakerMom]

 

[NewQuakerMom]

 

[Scott]

Welcome to you and a diverse menagerie, thanks for rescuing your Quaker! Beautiful pics!!

It is possible for a cat and bird to co-exist, but only in a seamless environment of absolute separation. Clicker training a cat will not overcome millennia of instinct. While some folks report success, our Bereavement forum is filled with examples of sorrow and remorse.

There are many techniques to socialize Puddleglum. Bonding and building trust thread: http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html Lack of hand fear is a great beginning!

Clicker and target training is also effective with parrots: http://www.parrotforums.com/training/60435-clicker-target-training.html

 

[Flboy]

Welcome to you all!

 

[fiddlejen]

I notice in your pics he has one foot on perch & one against wall. This is normal enough and not alarming in any way.

BUT when I got my Sunny she also would Not step up. And perching with one-foot-up was her Preference. It became clear she had a little bit of balance issues, and actually took me a while to notice they were due to one claw not working properly. (It appears to work, the claw lays normally but it doesn't grip. (Vets say she's healthy, I believe this was either congenital or else a long-healed hatchling injury.))

I'm mentioning this only because your pics happen to show a stance that was Sunny's Preferred stance for quite a long while. Could be that you just happened to catch her like this at that moment. And you've definitely got a great plan for teaching her Step-Ups. However -- again, only based on this one pic, so if I'm offbase I understand -- it might be worth watching her closely to see if there's any physical reason she struggles to Step-Up.

In the case of my Sunny, I made slow progress with target training to improve her perching abilities, which translated to improved step-ups... until I found she Loved tropical-flavor Nutriberries. This undermined my ability to Train her, but instead moved her to self-activated Physical Therapy. I still give her Tropical Nutriberries with or in her meals, because she wants to hold the Nutriberry in One Foot whilst standing on the Other. She still drops them, frequently, but the effort clearly improves her balance & dexterity. In fact if I make her go too many days without them (ie trying to maybe transfer her to pellets... hahahah) her balance skills decline again slightly.

NOT to tell you to feed Your Quaker Nutriberries! (Sounds like you're doing great with popcorn.) And you're probably gonna get everywhere you want with the target training. Only just a mention, especially with her rescue story, I know you're already paying close attention to her, but IF there were any small physical impediment, noticing & being aware can help even more.

 

[NewQuakerMom]

Welcome to you and a diverse menagerie, thanks for rescuing your Quaker! Beautiful pics!!

It is possible for a cat and bird to co-exist, but only in a seamless environment of absolute separation. Clicker training a cat will not overcome millennia of instinct. While some folks report success, our Bereavement forum is filled with examples of sorrow and remorse.

There are many techniques to socialize Puddleglum. Bonding and building trust thread: http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html Lack of hand fear is a great beginning!

Clicker and target training is also effective with parrots: http://www.parrotforums.com/training/60435-clicker-target-training.html

Thank you! I agree on the cat/bird issue. We will keep them separate & be very careful. I actually have a training collar for the kitty to keep her out of the kitchen, and can get another sensor to keep her away from the room we're in during the day as well. She's happy just sleeping in the sun all day, lol, so I think as long as we always keep doors closed & maintain vigilance, etc we'll be OK.
We're working on the clicker/target training w/ Puddleglum, he's very smart!! I'm really glad he lets us pet him a little on his head and back of neck, and on his beak!! Thank you for your input!

 

[NewQuakerMom]

Welcome to you all!

Thank you!

I notice in your pics he has one foot on perch & one against wall. This is normal enough and not alarming in any way.

Thank you for this!! He does stand normally the majority of the time, but likes to go sideways around the cage sometimes. He stands on both feet, and doesn't favor either. I think sometimes we may observe him a little too much, as I'm a bit like a new mum, worrying over every little thing, lol!!