rescuebird
New member
Hello, all!
I've been a lurker in the forums for awhile and have greatly benefited from what I've read here - thank you all!
I'd appreciate some input on my newest foster, Jojo. I believe she's a DYHA, though she has less extensive yellow than those I've known in the past. Perhaps she's a Belize subspecies or a hybrid? (Photos in my album for those interested).
A brief history... she's a wild-caught import, at least 33 years old. Reports from prior owners indicate she was a young adult when originally acquired, though the original owner has passed away so all early life info is second hand. Actually, she also outlived her second owner before ending up in rescue. I've been told the heirs surrendered her after relegating her to a small cage for awhile. I understand she was a beloved and well-cared for pet with the first owner and a breeder with the second.
I met Jojo while fostering some other birds for the group. At that time she was living at a pet grooming salon, having passed through several foster homes. She was basically a lump on a perch, moving only from food to water dish. Surprisingly, she was not overweight - although she had nothing to eat other than pellets. She would not play with toys of any kind and refused to be handled. She was relatively quiet at the salon, other than occasionally chattering to herself or whistling to the dogs. She was in a cage too small to allow for much activity anyway. Her wings had been aggressively clipped. Seeing her this way broke my heart and I requested she be our next foster. I was warned about her biting and screaming, but was sure we could help with time and patience.
She's been with us for about 6 weeks now. She's doing well in a number of ways, but still is not as happy and active as Amazons I've worked with in the past (of course, those were younger birds who hadn't gone through so many traumatic events).
Her current setup - 24"x42" dometop Cal Cage, 5' tall in a corner of the dining area of the great room (where we spend most of our time when home). Her nighttime roosting perch is in a corner that is unapproachable from two sides. While it is near the kitchen, we are very careful about cooking fumes and own NO no-stick pans of any type. We've been adding new perches weekly, but it takes awhile for her to begin using them. Her roost perch is a hand-shaped 2x2 wrapped in cotton rope. I monitor it carefully for fraying, but she doesn't really chew at it. I believe she does have sore feet, as the bottoms have a few reddened areas. I just noticed her napping on one foot today for the first time, so I hope the softer perch is helping. She's been consistently using it for about a week. Before that, she spent much of her time on a hand-shaped 2x2 perch without the rope wrap. In addition she has a boing that she is still avoiding entirely, two natural branch perches, and a concrete perch which is the lowest in the cage (her salon cage had the concrete perch highest and she spent almost all her time on it). I've been introducing toys one at a time and she's starting to interact with them occasionally, particularly foraging toys. I've removed the floor grate and covered the tray with newspaper, changed daily.
There are six stainless dishes, 4 near the floor and 2 up high. The high ones hold water and fresh fruits or veggies given first thing in the morning - about 8 am. The lower bowls hold pellets, seed mix, and other foods. The variety and locations of these bowls are also changed daily - the only constant is pellets, but I move them around also. It took almost a month for her to start showing interest in fresh foods, but she's now eagerly digging into the veggies, cooked beans, pasta, and fruit when offered.
We visit with her for about an hour each morning as we start our day, eating breakfast as she has her cooked food for the day. She is on a t-stand next to our dining table during this time. We answer contact calls as we move around the house. We use the same phrase each time we leave the house, "Bye bye, Jojo! See you later." She no longer screams as we leave.
In the mid-afternoon, I take her from the cage and move her to a playstand. The stand holds a food and water dish, two natural wood perches of varying size, a rope-covered perch allowing her to move from the stand floor to the perches, and a toy holder. The floor of the stand is covered with paper. Each day I hang a different foraging toy on the stand - kabobs, shredders, etc. I also scatter a few foraging foot toys on the floor of the stand. She spends the evening in the living room near us, playing and interacting with us. She has discovered the joys of shredding paper and sometimes even shreds her foot toys while ignoring the treats tucked inside them.
Three times weekly, I move her t-stand into the shower and give her the chance to bathe. She has not yet learned to like water, but is improving. I don't allow the spray to hit her directly, but she is close enough to be well misted. The water is warm but not hot.
Our struggles - she is hand shy. She will step up, but in an odd way... she will only step backward onto a hand offered behind her perch, not up onto a hand in front (she bites those, though only hard enough to be a warning rather than a true bite). She is terrified of towels, gloves, spray bottles, and cage covers - I don't use any of these with her but wonder if I need to eventually teach her to accept them a bit more.
She will take treats from my hand occasionally, but threatens while doing so. I haven't yet found a way to offer that she doesn't distrust. She occasionally solicits a head scratch, but seems uncertain about accepting it for more than a few seconds. I allow her to set the tone for such interactions and stop as soon as she seems uncomfortable.
I'd like to begin teaching her to use her wings more, as she rarely even flaps them other than to balance herself a bit if stepping from hand to perch or when trying to move from hand to shoulder - which I prefer not to allow as I don't entirely trust her near my face. She's molted in most of her flight feathers, with the exception of the leading 2-3 primaries on each side. I tried the "dropping onto the bed from 12 inches" exercise once and it terrified her. In the past she's hit the floor pretty hard a few times, so she's frightened of falling.
She definitely prefers interacting with my husband but he has no prior bird experience and lacks confidence in handling her. I suspect she would also become possessive of him quickly as she already shows occasional signs of jealousy when he and I interact around her.
I'm an experienced clicker trainer and would like to work with her this way, but I haven't found anything she sees as a strong enough motivator to use as a reward. Targets are either something to be avoided entirely or something to be attacked.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
I've been a lurker in the forums for awhile and have greatly benefited from what I've read here - thank you all!
I'd appreciate some input on my newest foster, Jojo. I believe she's a DYHA, though she has less extensive yellow than those I've known in the past. Perhaps she's a Belize subspecies or a hybrid? (Photos in my album for those interested).
A brief history... she's a wild-caught import, at least 33 years old. Reports from prior owners indicate she was a young adult when originally acquired, though the original owner has passed away so all early life info is second hand. Actually, she also outlived her second owner before ending up in rescue. I've been told the heirs surrendered her after relegating her to a small cage for awhile. I understand she was a beloved and well-cared for pet with the first owner and a breeder with the second.
I met Jojo while fostering some other birds for the group. At that time she was living at a pet grooming salon, having passed through several foster homes. She was basically a lump on a perch, moving only from food to water dish. Surprisingly, she was not overweight - although she had nothing to eat other than pellets. She would not play with toys of any kind and refused to be handled. She was relatively quiet at the salon, other than occasionally chattering to herself or whistling to the dogs. She was in a cage too small to allow for much activity anyway. Her wings had been aggressively clipped. Seeing her this way broke my heart and I requested she be our next foster. I was warned about her biting and screaming, but was sure we could help with time and patience.
She's been with us for about 6 weeks now. She's doing well in a number of ways, but still is not as happy and active as Amazons I've worked with in the past (of course, those were younger birds who hadn't gone through so many traumatic events).
Her current setup - 24"x42" dometop Cal Cage, 5' tall in a corner of the dining area of the great room (where we spend most of our time when home). Her nighttime roosting perch is in a corner that is unapproachable from two sides. While it is near the kitchen, we are very careful about cooking fumes and own NO no-stick pans of any type. We've been adding new perches weekly, but it takes awhile for her to begin using them. Her roost perch is a hand-shaped 2x2 wrapped in cotton rope. I monitor it carefully for fraying, but she doesn't really chew at it. I believe she does have sore feet, as the bottoms have a few reddened areas. I just noticed her napping on one foot today for the first time, so I hope the softer perch is helping. She's been consistently using it for about a week. Before that, she spent much of her time on a hand-shaped 2x2 perch without the rope wrap. In addition she has a boing that she is still avoiding entirely, two natural branch perches, and a concrete perch which is the lowest in the cage (her salon cage had the concrete perch highest and she spent almost all her time on it). I've been introducing toys one at a time and she's starting to interact with them occasionally, particularly foraging toys. I've removed the floor grate and covered the tray with newspaper, changed daily.
There are six stainless dishes, 4 near the floor and 2 up high. The high ones hold water and fresh fruits or veggies given first thing in the morning - about 8 am. The lower bowls hold pellets, seed mix, and other foods. The variety and locations of these bowls are also changed daily - the only constant is pellets, but I move them around also. It took almost a month for her to start showing interest in fresh foods, but she's now eagerly digging into the veggies, cooked beans, pasta, and fruit when offered.
We visit with her for about an hour each morning as we start our day, eating breakfast as she has her cooked food for the day. She is on a t-stand next to our dining table during this time. We answer contact calls as we move around the house. We use the same phrase each time we leave the house, "Bye bye, Jojo! See you later." She no longer screams as we leave.
In the mid-afternoon, I take her from the cage and move her to a playstand. The stand holds a food and water dish, two natural wood perches of varying size, a rope-covered perch allowing her to move from the stand floor to the perches, and a toy holder. The floor of the stand is covered with paper. Each day I hang a different foraging toy on the stand - kabobs, shredders, etc. I also scatter a few foraging foot toys on the floor of the stand. She spends the evening in the living room near us, playing and interacting with us. She has discovered the joys of shredding paper and sometimes even shreds her foot toys while ignoring the treats tucked inside them.
Three times weekly, I move her t-stand into the shower and give her the chance to bathe. She has not yet learned to like water, but is improving. I don't allow the spray to hit her directly, but she is close enough to be well misted. The water is warm but not hot.
Our struggles - she is hand shy. She will step up, but in an odd way... she will only step backward onto a hand offered behind her perch, not up onto a hand in front (she bites those, though only hard enough to be a warning rather than a true bite). She is terrified of towels, gloves, spray bottles, and cage covers - I don't use any of these with her but wonder if I need to eventually teach her to accept them a bit more.
She will take treats from my hand occasionally, but threatens while doing so. I haven't yet found a way to offer that she doesn't distrust. She occasionally solicits a head scratch, but seems uncertain about accepting it for more than a few seconds. I allow her to set the tone for such interactions and stop as soon as she seems uncomfortable.
I'd like to begin teaching her to use her wings more, as she rarely even flaps them other than to balance herself a bit if stepping from hand to perch or when trying to move from hand to shoulder - which I prefer not to allow as I don't entirely trust her near my face. She's molted in most of her flight feathers, with the exception of the leading 2-3 primaries on each side. I tried the "dropping onto the bed from 12 inches" exercise once and it terrified her. In the past she's hit the floor pretty hard a few times, so she's frightened of falling.
She definitely prefers interacting with my husband but he has no prior bird experience and lacks confidence in handling her. I suspect she would also become possessive of him quickly as she already shows occasional signs of jealousy when he and I interact around her.
I'm an experienced clicker trainer and would like to work with her this way, but I haven't found anything she sees as a strong enough motivator to use as a reward. Targets are either something to be avoided entirely or something to be attacked.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
