_LB
New member
You can see how much of a āterrorā he is based on the pictures. 
I like to call him āterrorā because he has so much energy it can be difficult to convince him itās a better idea to play with all his toys on all his perches/playstands around the house than it is to chew on light switches, follow us into the kitchen or bathroom, steal iPhones, poop on our robo vacuum (Piperās arch nemesis in the house), and a whole slew [FONT="]of other favored activities that get us to jump into fun action.[/FONT]
Heās 9 months old now, and weāve had him since he was four months old. Itās crazy to think heās only been in our lives for five months. It feels like heās been with us for years and years.
We thought we were prepared for him. Like lots of other members here, we read lots of books, volunteered at a bird rescue center, and were pretty much consumed with the idea long before making the final commitment to expand our family. Nothing can really prepare you for what itās going to be like, though. To be honest, we really struggled at first. While we didnāt expect a walk in the park, we were not quite fully prepared for the amount of time weād have to spend on him. When we first got him, while he was the tamest, sweetest bird, he HATED cages, didnāt like water (heād run or fly away from even the lightest mist), was a picky eater (needing us to sit by him during his meals or heād lose interest and rather play) and WAY needier in a lot of other ways than we were expecting. The main surprise for us was that Piper didnāt just play nicely by himself right away. We thought with billions of toys everywhere, lots of Piper-approved areas (two cages, hanging atoms, t-stands, etc. ā LOTS of places with lots of toys for him to choose between), heād be able to occupy himself for periods longer than 10-15 minutes while outside of the cage. As we came to learn, though, we really had to teach independent play, and spend a lot of time re-directing when we could tell he was losing interest.
There was a big learning curve at first, and Iām sure there will continue to be one as he matures. Things have gotten significantly easier now, however, that heās matured slightly. He has a greater attention span now, and can play independently for longer periods. He can sometimes be out for several hours now with just ambient attention. Like the rest of us, though, he has his good and bad days.
I suppose I should briefly introduce the mysterious āweā Iāve been referring to. We have a flock of three: besides Piper, itās me (Lisa) and my husband (Alex). Alex works long hours in the winter/spring, but I work from a home office, so Piper gets lots of out-of-cage time. He usually goes in his cage for a few hours in the afternoon, and sometimes for an hour or so in the evening if I leave the house to work out (run or the climbing gym), or to run other errands.
I joined the Forum to share the joy that is Piper, and to learn from other Forum members. I wasnāt a ābirdā person before Piper, and nobody on my side of the family ā and almost nobody on Alexās side (besides his mother), had previously had any bird experience. So while they enjoy hearing about Piper, I need another outlet.
Here are some pics:
Piper ready for action!
Piper getting cuddled before bedtime.
This seemed an opportune time to Piper for some tail preening. He spends a lot of time hanging from one toe on his toys.
Piper wrapped up in his beloved towel.
Playing with a new toy
I like to call him āterrorā because he has so much energy it can be difficult to convince him itās a better idea to play with all his toys on all his perches/playstands around the house than it is to chew on light switches, follow us into the kitchen or bathroom, steal iPhones, poop on our robo vacuum (Piperās arch nemesis in the house), and a whole slew [FONT="]of other favored activities that get us to jump into fun action.[/FONT]
Heās 9 months old now, and weāve had him since he was four months old. Itās crazy to think heās only been in our lives for five months. It feels like heās been with us for years and years.
We thought we were prepared for him. Like lots of other members here, we read lots of books, volunteered at a bird rescue center, and were pretty much consumed with the idea long before making the final commitment to expand our family. Nothing can really prepare you for what itās going to be like, though. To be honest, we really struggled at first. While we didnāt expect a walk in the park, we were not quite fully prepared for the amount of time weād have to spend on him. When we first got him, while he was the tamest, sweetest bird, he HATED cages, didnāt like water (heād run or fly away from even the lightest mist), was a picky eater (needing us to sit by him during his meals or heād lose interest and rather play) and WAY needier in a lot of other ways than we were expecting. The main surprise for us was that Piper didnāt just play nicely by himself right away. We thought with billions of toys everywhere, lots of Piper-approved areas (two cages, hanging atoms, t-stands, etc. ā LOTS of places with lots of toys for him to choose between), heād be able to occupy himself for periods longer than 10-15 minutes while outside of the cage. As we came to learn, though, we really had to teach independent play, and spend a lot of time re-directing when we could tell he was losing interest.
There was a big learning curve at first, and Iām sure there will continue to be one as he matures. Things have gotten significantly easier now, however, that heās matured slightly. He has a greater attention span now, and can play independently for longer periods. He can sometimes be out for several hours now with just ambient attention. Like the rest of us, though, he has his good and bad days.
I suppose I should briefly introduce the mysterious āweā Iāve been referring to. We have a flock of three: besides Piper, itās me (Lisa) and my husband (Alex). Alex works long hours in the winter/spring, but I work from a home office, so Piper gets lots of out-of-cage time. He usually goes in his cage for a few hours in the afternoon, and sometimes for an hour or so in the evening if I leave the house to work out (run or the climbing gym), or to run other errands.
I joined the Forum to share the joy that is Piper, and to learn from other Forum members. I wasnāt a ābirdā person before Piper, and nobody on my side of the family ā and almost nobody on Alexās side (besides his mother), had previously had any bird experience. So while they enjoy hearing about Piper, I need another outlet.
Here are some pics:
Piper ready for action!
Piper getting cuddled before bedtime.
This seemed an opportune time to Piper for some tail preening. He spends a lot of time hanging from one toe on his toys.
Piper wrapped up in his beloved towel.
Playing with a new toy
