Getting Perry into his house?

[Billdore]

I’m a little nervous I go back to work tomorrow morning at 6 am and am not sure how the heck I’m going to get him into his house. I’ve gotten him in twice both times when he wanted a ride back from the other room. Perry is very cute and has been regurgitating to my feet feeding my toes. He doesn’t step up for me while on his house so I’ve let him sleep on top of it the last few nights. He’s close I think though he backs up instead of chomping at my finger most of the time. Any suggestions gang? I don’t want to go backwards in the progress we made and force him into doing anything. would it be a bad idea to lock my dog in the kitchen and leave him free roaming? I might get up super early and hope he roams around but I bet he won’t that early and still dark out. Sorry thank you for the help.

 

[noodles123]

trying putting stuff in there that he likes (foods etc) and dimming the lights (pretend to read in the half-dark) and see if he goes in? Don't feed extra out of cage between now and then either.

Don't encourage that regurgitation.

 

[ravvlet]

I wouldn’t - he could chomp an electrical cable or something and really get hurt. Have you tried attaching his favorite treat to the far wall of his cage? That’s what I do when our tiel gets sassy about going back in.

 

[noodles123]

Also, wouldn't let him sleep on top. He needs to learn the routine (for his safety).

 

[Tami2]

Have you figured out his favorite treat yet?

Everytime I put Levi in his cage, I offer him a treat. This way he knows he will be rewarded everytime he goes back in.
His faves are, pistachio, macadamia & cashew nuts.

 

[Flboy]

Ugg, less than 10 hours! Cage should equal, safety, treats, fun! That takes time to associate!

 

[Billdore]

we are getting there he was left outside of his house quite a bit at home. I think that’s making things a little more difficult. The other issue is that I cant get him to step up for me yet. I just tried to force the issue and he was on the floor and he gave me a couple chomps not too bad but broke the skin.

 

[Billdore]

ow so he tricked me and bit me pretty good that time i was trying to use a treat to get him to step up and he lifted his foot a little and then went in for the strike. Well this kind of stinks. He sitting on the front perch now though and not backing up. He’s giving me plenty of warning to back off pretty much and doesn’t bite till i try to force him to step up. I wasn’t able to make it past his excellent defenses. I wanted to get him into his house for the night and possibly leave him till tomorrow afternoon. He has a large cage, can be used for two birds but one of the birds get kind of screwed with the small apartment.

 

[ravvlet]

We have had Kirby for a week and have the opposite problem - she doesn’t like to move or come out of her cage. However. We have used with great success a dowel perch we removed from her cage for stepping up. I would strongly suggest this method as it will prevent your Perry from developing bad associations or habits with your hands. Also try to make sure the cage is a FUN PLACE to be! To get Kirby out we have doubled down on foot/floor toys so when we bring her somewhere she has things to play with and explore.

If he has a favorite toy or treat put them in his cage, and then use a dowel from the playtop to get him in? Establishing a routine around cage use can help with his behavior and expectations. I’m sure Perry will need time to adjust but will come to accept this willingly in time. For now do the best you can and remember, this is for his safety!

(Feel free to correct me anyone if I am wrong, I am new to Amazons too!)

 

[Billdore]

Thank you He seems to be wise to the trick of baiting him into his house with treats he so far is not super food driven I’ve got a wide variety of nuts i’m trying. He got pretty riled up with the perch dowel. like immediately he attacked it. I will try it again now that we are a little farther into things now though. He has a bunch of new toys he’s warming up to but no favorites right of the bat yet. I’ll let you guys know how it goes tomorrow.

 

[Billdore]

So i did it he went into his house I used the dowel again he knew i was holding it of course and would go for my hand. I had a treat he would reach his neck out for and push the dowel against his upper legs but he just hung on. He actually went down inside himself probably like get me away from this guy. I feel really bad actually I feel like I bullied him into his house. He has plenty of treats in there though so i hope he forgives me.

 

[noodles123]

Try getting him to do it during the day without shutting the door afterwards. That way, he doesn't assume that stepping up on the dowel means getting shut away.

 

[Kiwibird]

Have you tried stepping him up on a stick and putting him in his house that way? In the distant past, that was sometimes the only way to get Kiwi in his cage if he was being stubborn and aggressive. And while he loves food, we could only trick him so many times with treats To get him in before he wised up. Kiwi has been free range for years, but while having our kitchen remodeled last year, he was pretty offended one day when he *had* to go in his small outside cage upstairs and be locked in for a few hours for his own safety due to what they were doing (he had spent the rest of the time carefully supervising the workers from the top of his cage). Birds who aren’t used to being caged do not take kindly to being locked up.

Just how used to being out of the cage is this bird? Is he flighted? What kind of bird is he? Could he possibly stay in a safer room, like roll the cage in but leave him loose the bathroom with the toilet lid down and nothing out on the counter or something?

 

[Billdore]

Perry is a yellow crowned amazon. I think he’s pretty used to being out of his house most of the time. I haven’t gotten him to step up on the stick yet. He does not like it much and even with a treat and his neck fully extended for the treat i still couldn’t get him to step on the stick.

 

[noodles123]

Perry is a yellow crowned amazon. I think he’s pretty used to being out of his house most of the time. I haven’t gotten him to step up on the stick yet. He does not like it much and even with a treat and his neck fully extended for the treat i still couldn’t get him to step on the stick.

I misread-- well what I meant was, do the night routine during the day without shutting him in (+ treats), so he doesn't associate it with being locked up.

 

[Billdore]

Perry’s attitude has a taken a turn for the worse I think. All of a sudden he’s going after Bella my dog when she walks by he climbs down and goes after her. Perry is super nice to my feet but bites at my hands and has been drawing a bit of blood. What do I do about the foot fetish? He ignored my dog for the first 4 days not sure what changed today. He absolutely loves my feet I don’t think he thinks they are a part of me at all. Uggghhh. Guess things are gonna take awhile after all.

 

[noodles123]

Be patient and try to keep him off the floor (would be my suggestion for now)

 

[SailBoat]

I really prefer not having Amazons on the floor (kind of like the shoulder) until they earned it.

It is rare for Birds to connect our heads with the rest of our body. They see the other parts of us as stuff that hangs around us.
The Dog: At this point, Perry is 'likely' establishing his place in the house.

The danger of being Bird People is we tend to do the same thing that newcomers do, we rush... Remember, we need to establish the basics and we tend to skip around, forgetting that the foundation is Step-Up. Whether we use a perch or a finger /hand or arm. All while not screwing-up developing the trust (bond) relationship.

Remember, we are working to provide a 'Reason' and than several reasons for our Amazons to trust us...
Great News, we can always start over again!

 

[PickleMeDickles]

Don’t despair, Perry’s ENTIRE WORLD has been turned upside down and inside out. You two, and even your household, may be the absolute perfect match, and Perry’s current change in attitude is to be more than expected. With the initial change, Perry was most likely really shaken up (confused, afraid, insecure, in shock) initially, and therefore on best behavior.

Now that some time has passed, the totality of his situation is hitting home. I would imagine he is now feeling pretty betrayed and abandoned. His whole life is so different. His change in attitude is probably a combination of anger/frustration at all these unasked for and confusing changes combined with that parro mentality of needing to test everything (mostly your patience, lol). So the fact that he feels “comfortable enough” with you to act out is actually a good sign. It shows that he is mentally processing these changes and responding appropriately. What he needs more than ever is for his new person to be patient, consistent, dependable and very much “there” (with Perry in the moment, not just sharing space as roommates). I imagine you are already quite the expert at this given the love you and your Frey shared.

As far as the dog....remember, even though you know your dog, Perry doesn’t. Even if he has been around “dogs”, they weren’t “this” dog. And Perry is a prey creature. And he knows that. And he is trying to figure how he fits into everything. Perhaps while he is going through this adjustment period it would be best to “not encourage” interaction between the two. I would hate for an adversarial relationship to develop if it can be avoided by limiting negative interactions for now.

I would expect Perry to continue to switch “attitudes” frequently. A few blissful days, a few rough ones, as Perry comes to grips with his new life. But as time goes on, I expect you will see less of the bad until they pretty much dwindle out. And every bird has their own timetable regarding this who,e process, just like people. Again, the importance of just “being in the moment” with Perry combined with predictability on your part is key.

Good luck,I am sure with Time & Love you two will pill through together!

 

[Billdore]

Thank you very much. Perry is a sweet heart. He is adjusting far better than I could of really hoped so far really. Perry likes to bark like a dog maybe he thinks he’s part dog. Lol. Mr. Boats really hit the nail on the head I think though and Perry and I need to work on stepping up a lot more. I was so focused on trying to establish a bond with a perry that I haven’t been strict enough in my ways. Also I think I’ve been approaching Perry as if he were and african grey. Instead of established boundaries I have been trying to expand his boundaries. But he is much more out going than Timneh. Perry needs to have his rules put in place more properly. Thank you very much for the great advice guys helps a lot.