I just wanted to make a post with some happy updates about my 29 yo TAG, Fenix. We adopted him in February. He had not been handled or let out of his cage for years I was told. He has come such a long way since February! At that time he was very untrusting and would bite (drawing blood) if a hand went anywhere near him. Over time, his bites got less intense, and now he only bites if I have my hand too close to him for too long. I've learned to notice his body language changes and respect his need for space. If he does bite, it seems to be more of a warning pinch and no longer draws blood. He now allows me to stroke his beak a few times and doesn't try to bite or warn me to back off. I'm hopeful to be able to scratch his head one day.
He's gotten very comfortable in our home and now likes to spend time outside of his cage. We keep his cage door open most of the day when we are home and he goes in and out. I got him a medium sized storage tote from a thrift store a while ago that I intended to use for him to take baths in but he decided that it's meant to be a play pen. It's just outside his cage door. He loves spending time in it with his shredding toys and attacking/chewing on his favorite water bottle enemy. He used to spend a lot of time on the bottom of his cage playing and throwing things around. I think he appreciates the solid surface rather than the cage bars.
The biggest breakthrough for him has been that he now willingly steps up onto my arm from his cage door or from his perch outside the cage. I offer him my forearm rather than my finger, as he seems to find that less intimidating. I actually phrase it to him as, "Want a lift?" I thought maybe "step up" was a phase he didn't associate with good things so we'd try something else. He's sidestepped his way to my shoulder quite a few times now but I don't encourage it. I've started bringing him out onto a play stand in the dining room to spend time with us there. I can tell it makes him anxious so we are slowly increasing the length of time.
He's been showing off his sound list and vocab more and more. He's currently obsessed with quacking and I call him my little grey duck. He know it gets my attention every time. I've learned to completely ignore his terribly high pitched and ear piercing beep that he also knows will get my attention. I wait until he makes an acceptable sound before I respond in any way. Overall, he's actually a very quiet guy, which I'm grateful for. He gets chattier at night when it's close to bedtime. We have so much fun with him in the evenings. He never fails to turn into bat bird when the lights go out. He loves to roar and shoot lasers, cluck like a chicken, "hey hey hey", "come here", smooch.
He transitioned to his pellet diet really well and although he is picky, eats a fair amount of his chop. His favorites are apple, carrot, peas, red pepper. He enjoys sharing a grape or banana with me.
He loves to be misted with his water bottle. He goes right up to his favorite perch for showers and sits there like he's a tropical plant in the rain. It's incredible how much proper nutrition and daily misting has helped his feather health. I've attached a photo of him from the rescue and you can see the major difference.
Thanks for reading all my happy updates. He's been such a great addition to our home and I can't imagine life without him.
He's gotten very comfortable in our home and now likes to spend time outside of his cage. We keep his cage door open most of the day when we are home and he goes in and out. I got him a medium sized storage tote from a thrift store a while ago that I intended to use for him to take baths in but he decided that it's meant to be a play pen. It's just outside his cage door. He loves spending time in it with his shredding toys and attacking/chewing on his favorite water bottle enemy. He used to spend a lot of time on the bottom of his cage playing and throwing things around. I think he appreciates the solid surface rather than the cage bars.
The biggest breakthrough for him has been that he now willingly steps up onto my arm from his cage door or from his perch outside the cage. I offer him my forearm rather than my finger, as he seems to find that less intimidating. I actually phrase it to him as, "Want a lift?" I thought maybe "step up" was a phase he didn't associate with good things so we'd try something else. He's sidestepped his way to my shoulder quite a few times now but I don't encourage it. I've started bringing him out onto a play stand in the dining room to spend time with us there. I can tell it makes him anxious so we are slowly increasing the length of time.
He's been showing off his sound list and vocab more and more. He's currently obsessed with quacking and I call him my little grey duck. He know it gets my attention every time. I've learned to completely ignore his terribly high pitched and ear piercing beep that he also knows will get my attention. I wait until he makes an acceptable sound before I respond in any way. Overall, he's actually a very quiet guy, which I'm grateful for. He gets chattier at night when it's close to bedtime. We have so much fun with him in the evenings. He never fails to turn into bat bird when the lights go out. He loves to roar and shoot lasers, cluck like a chicken, "hey hey hey", "come here", smooch.
He transitioned to his pellet diet really well and although he is picky, eats a fair amount of his chop. His favorites are apple, carrot, peas, red pepper. He enjoys sharing a grape or banana with me.
He loves to be misted with his water bottle. He goes right up to his favorite perch for showers and sits there like he's a tropical plant in the rain. It's incredible how much proper nutrition and daily misting has helped his feather health. I've attached a photo of him from the rescue and you can see the major difference.
Thanks for reading all my happy updates. He's been such a great addition to our home and I can't imagine life without him.
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