How to introduce him to my home?

[Cymmie]

I am getting my young Bourke's parakeet today, but since this will be MY first parrot that is specifically mine and he is older, I have no idea how to introduce him to my home correctly >.< I want to make sure I do this right and don't screw up.

He will be housed in a temporary hanging cage until I get him his flight cage, but the hanging cage is like 32 inches tall and 22 inches across and 19 inches deep. So it's not tiny ^^.

He is hand tamed and been hand fed since he was a baby. He's quite relaxed around people. I've held him and he just like melts into your hand XD

 

[weco]

Congrats on your new feathered friend.....if you have other pets in the home, carrying the newbie around & introducing it to the existing pets is usually good & it helps overcome any jealousy any existing pets may harbor, much like you would introduce a young person to an adult.....

At some point it might also be a good idea to take him around to all of your windows and any large mirrors, to let him beak them so that he is aware that there is a solid surface there, not a dimensional escape route to the outside or another room.....if you do have any dogs or cats, don't let them sit near the cage, staring at your new friend, that makes most birds nervous, though I've got a Patagonian conure that let's any dog she meets, know right away that she's not to be trifled with and usually proves her point with a nipped nose or ear and a couple of shrill squawks.....

 

[Cymmie]

DIMENSIONAL ESCAPE ROUTES <3 how amazing would it be if they really were XD

He will be sitting up on top of a table that only my smallest cat can get on but we are barricading him so that she can't actually jump on it with comfort. But that's only a temporary solution, I hope to get the flight cage pretty soon.

Your conure sounds adorably sassy. ^^

Is there any way specifically I should switch his diet? Like slowly, or cold turkey? Because the stuff he's being fed at the pet store is ... ok but it's not the best and I can afford to give him the best.

 

[weco]

I think there are a lot of things we don't know about or yet understand in this solar system we live in, but yes, it would be amazing.....

All of my flock have sassy attitudes of one sort or another, but Heidi stands up for herself and she went after a niece's yapping little poodle when they came for Easter weekend...the dog never uttered another noise while they were here...that was nice ! ! !

I'll let others pop in here & discuss diet changes, it's been over 5 years since I changed my parrotlet's diet & that was easy...I just fixed plates for everybody at the table, everybody was served the same thing, Harrison's which they were already eating, some veggies I liked & some fruit blend pellets for Sweet Pea (p'let), but the thing I believe helped the most was that everybody was eating at the same table & we did that for the few weeks it took to get him off his seed only diet.....

 

[Cymmie]

Ok thanks, he's technically on a seed only diet with like a pinch of pellets mixed in so that he gets mostly seed. It worries me because I know they are AT LEAST supposed to have half and half if I'm correct. He also doesn't eat any sort of veggies or sprouted seed right now because they haven't offered him any.

Even though his diet is pretty... yuck, he's healthy over all and such a sweetie I feel like he's a great way to break me into the bird world. When the pet store owner held him she said he was a little chubby. I was like... >.< that's probably because he's in such a tiny cage and fed such a poor diet. I swear his cage at the pet store is like.... 12 inches deep, 24 inches across and 14 inches tall.... it makes me sad because all he does is sleep and eat.

 

[Bobi]

Hello! I'm sure you'll get along wonderfully with your new pet. It's a good idea to keep him company, talk to him, whistle and things. He has to really like you first before you give him some new kind of food. Don't worry about seeds, young birds can't get fat, and he needs the oils for the feathers. Keep at the seeds for now, let him adjust to the new scenery, he will become comfortable. Eat seeds in front of him, you can eat anything that's for your bird. He will accept food from you, and if you get in to the habit to eat in front of him, he'll get interested in the foods you eat. If he accepts seeds from you, he'll accept other things too. It's all about making the new food interesting. Juicy leafy greens are easier, my cockatiel chews on anything that is pointy and sharp. Harder veggies are more difficult, but I found that if you cut it in tiny small pointy pieces, my bird can't resist to take a bite at it. He might think it's a toy and wants to chew on it, but ends up eating it after all.

And I suggest that you never trust a bigger pet. I mean never. My 17 year old bird was snatched away a month ago by the neighbor's cat, from right next to my ear, and it was a big wake up call. When browsing for advice, the number of similar cases were immense. Cat or dog attacks are depressingly common, and most of the cases occur right in front of the owner's nose.

We had our share of laughs, my sister has a cat, and the first time it met my bird, the cat got a peck on the nose and ran away. Every time my bird spread its wings, the cat got scared and his somewhere. Well, we laughed then, but we're not laughing now. Bobi recoverd very fast but we were lucky. Most of the stories I've seen this past month weren't a happy ending.

I don't want to get you down however, birds are delightful companions and will love you very much.

Take care!