I adopted a parrot

[Bryce]

I haven't seen any nest-seeking behaviour and she was only moderately enthusiastic about the kraft paper I put in her cage (she tore off about four strips and then quit). I did see her regurgitate once, but I ignored it and she hasn't done it since. I guess we'll find out. Now that she dependably comes out of her cage, I'm going to start trying to get the other household members to interact with her more.

Oh, and I haven't seen a chicken dance as you describe, though I have seen her bob her head or appear to solicit allopreening sometimes.

 

[bigfellasdad]

excellent, all this happened and continues with Enzo, but she is 13 now.

 

[Bryce]

Ruby's behavior is now sufficient for husbandry purposes; I can get her out of her cage and take her to other places and perches now, and she doesn't bite me anymore. She's remained reasonably quiet (though she has gotten noisier since I got her, it's plateaued with no really annoying sounds - so far). I appreciate all the help I've gotten from the members of this forum with my first parrot. I'm working on planning a new enclosure for Ruby, since her current cage is definitely on the small side for her, and now I don't have to worry about it being difficult to get her out of it since she pretty much comes to me if I open the cage.

 

[Bryce]

Ruby is coming along with her socialization. She will now perch on the arms of all household members without any aggressive action. (Well, unless you count the cat as a household member -- they've apparently settled on mutual avoidance as their relationship, which is probably for the best.) She also takes treats when perched on a human, and is starting to step up onto inanimate perches from humans (though it usually takes a few tries to get her to go back into her cage this way.)

She's a great pet, really.

 

[bigfellasdad]

awesome, well done you guys

 

[Bryce]

I noticed Ruby seemed kinda ornery today, with some hard (though not blood-drawing) beaking on me and another household member. She also kept going under her cage and not wanting to come back out, instead shredding the newspapers. (She has nice kraft paper in her cage to play with, though she usually doesn't.) Do you think she gets overstimulated from getting so much attention during the weekends? Should I pay less attention to her on the weekends, and keep it to an hour or two, more similar to the weekdays, instead of so frequently interacting with her?

 

[psychocircus91]

I noticed Ruby seemed kinda ornery today, with some hard (though not blood-drawing) beaking on me and another household member. She also kept going under her cage and not wanting to come back out, instead shredding the newspapers. (She has nice kraft paper in her cage to play with, though she usually doesn't.) Do you think she gets overstimulated from getting so much attention during the weekends? Should I pay less attention to her on the weekends, and keep it to an hour or two, more similar to the weekdays, instead of so frequently interacting with her?

Good question. Parrots pick up on very subtle differences. Could be as simple as time of day, different people or multiple people rather than just you interacting with her. Heck, sometimes it can be what you're wearing that day.

Although it's been a little while, you are still in the "honeymoon phase" and you will continue to learn more about your birds personality as she learns about yours.

Edit: To answer your question directly, any time I can give attention to my birds, I do. This doesn't mean holding/cuddly/encouraging dependence. It means out of cage time, being a part of the "flock"

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

I'll throw in my two cents...for what it's worth.

As mentioned previously,many times..Smokey was a wild caught TAG,estimated by her CAV to be about six months old,when she came home with me from a lousy pet store.
For the twenty-eight years she was with me,she NEVER willingly stepped up to my hand. At first it was growling like a pack of mad dogs and chomping down HARD on offered hands/fingers.
The growling continued for YEARS Eventually it stopped,but the chomping down continued. She also would NEVER step up on a perch stick.She would either attack it viciously or run/try to fly ( when I allowed her to wear long sleeves on her arms).
Eight years or so before she flew off to Rainbow Bridge,at times,she would reluctantly step up on my hand without cussing me out,often telling me she was a "good girl/bird" while doing so,only to jump/fly off as soon as she saw an opportune moment.

Eventually,if I was in time,She'd hop onto my arm and run up to my shoulder and would stay there for hours,often gurgling in my ear,puking on my shoulder,banging my forehead with her beaky,or trying to remove my glasses
She would take food from my fingers,or toys. She would rip chicken leg bones right out of my hand,or yank the toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls out of my hand.
She lived for "snacks".
She would walk under the coffee table and look up at me,and "shuffle" from foot to foot begging/wanting cheese doodles,then beat-feet back to her house and climb up to her roof top and munch away,only to climb back down and walk back to me and demand another..repeat/repeat/repeat.
I'd often say "OK SMOKERS..THAT's ENOUGH!!!"

She was VERY independent! She wanted what she wanted and did what she wanted..no amount of scolding or "time out" deterred her!

I lost count on how many times I had to towel her Yep...there were many a times she would be out of her house and REFUSE to go back in! (seemed like she KNEW when I had to go someplace fast)
I'd throw the towel over her,as she growled away,eyes squinting at me,chewing the heck out of that towel,and when I put her back in her house,she'd turn to me and give out a very loud and sharp WOO!! at me..like she was saying "take that!" or "I win!!"

From what I have been reading about Ruby,and Buzz..Perjo,HRH Nigel,Timneh,Enzo and the slew of others..they ALL seem to have the same characteristics lol.

Oh...sorry...didn't mean to hijack your thread!



Jim

 

[bigfellasdad]

I noticed Ruby seemed kinda ornery today, with some hard (though not blood-drawing) beaking on me and another household member. She also kept going under her cage and not wanting to come back out, instead shredding the newspapers. (She has nice kraft paper in her cage to play with, though she usually doesn't.)

If this was Enzo, id be thinking, oh no...not again. Keep an eye on her and try and stop her going to the same place. I know i'm going on about this but having just been through it id really try and avoid any broody activity. Biting of you or others and going to shred in the same places is how Enzo started her nesting so keep her distracted and ensure she has plenty of sleep as well as day light hours. Out of interest does the biting always occur when both you and other family members are in the same room as Ruby?

 

[Bryce]

Out of interest does the biting always occur when both you and other family members are in the same room as Ruby?

It only occurred in one incident yesterday. I had Ruby out and asked our tenant if he would like to help socialize Ruby as he has been doing. He said yes so I asked her to step up onto his arm, which she did. We were both present when, after some seconds of perching on his arm normally, she went to his hand and started beaking him. He kept his cool and when I took her back, she did it to me as well. It was considerably harder than she does to just interact with hands or use them for support, but did not draw blood.

I repeatedly had difficulty putting her back into her cage, etc. She just wants to spend time with people, as far as I can tell. Maybe she is broody, I don't know. Sometimes she paces back and forth sometimes looking at the space under her cage that she keeps trying to get into. I ordered some stainless mesh to put over the gap so I can let her climb on her cage again without her going down there and making a mess / being hard to get out.

 

[bigfellasdad]

ok, in that case it sounds different :14:. Enzo would slowly pace towards somebody in the room and then frantically attack them, wings out, head down etc. Apparently trying to protect me or the nesting area.

 

[Bryce]

Ruby was less ornery this morning. I forgot to mention, yesterday I did notice her sometimes making a clucking sound, which could be part of the "chicken dance" described earlier, but she does it for any human who holds and feeds her (i.e. everyone in the house) not just me.

 

[DRB]

Out of interest does the biting always occur when both you and other family members are in the same room as Ruby?

It only occurred in one incident yesterday. I had Ruby out and asked our tenant if he would like to help socialize Ruby as he has been doing. He said yes so I asked her to step up onto his arm, which she did. We were both present when, after some seconds of perching on his arm normally, she went to his hand and started beaking him. He kept his cool and when I took her back, she did it to me as well. It was considerably harder than she does to just interact with hands or use them for support, but did not draw blood.

I repeatedly had difficulty putting her back into her cage, etc. She just wants to spend time with people, as far as I can tell. Maybe she is broody, I don't know. Sometimes she paces back and forth sometimes looking at the space under her cage that she keeps trying to get into. I ordered some stainless mesh to put over the gap so I can let her climb on her cage again without her going down there and making a mess / being hard to get out.

My Perjo takes interest in spaces she cannot access as well. When I give her freedom to walk the floor in my house she often peeks under things like furniture. As long as she's just looking I have no issue with it.

Funny, she learned how to climb down off her cage and walk around on her own (almost by accident) but has not done so in a couple weeks, it's like she forgot how to do it or that she can do it.

 

[Bryce]

I was walking past Ruby's cage at night to get a drink. In the past when I've had to walk past her at night she's made an adorable, gentle cooing noise.

Tonight she made a burp noise, for variety.

 

[Mindy]

Ruby's first night here was uneventful. She didn't make any noise at sunrise beyond her normal awake sounds, she vocalized a little when she saw me coming to feed her but that's it. I wonder why she's so quiet, I hope that's just her personality. Or maybe parrots also know how to manage first impressions. ("I'll hold off on the morning screaming until week 2.")

I saw her eat some broccoli.

There is a 'honey moon' phase for parrots I've read about, so yeah, wait a bit and you'll see more and more of her personality : )

 

[Bryce]

She seems to be getting, broadly, more friendly towards myself and other members of the household. She likes to destroy rattan balls with goodies stuffed in them, and is learning to open more kinds of unshelled nut. She hasn't learned many new phrases despite them being repeated to her like a dozen times a day, and of the ones she has learned, she only occasionally uses them. She has stopped screaming at the vacuum cleaner.

Overall, I continue to be very happy with Ruby. I do wish she had a larger vocabulary but honestly I still think I lucked out with this parrot and, well, she hopefully has many years in which to learn new words. My current project is to get her to wear a harness. She's slowly becoming more accepting of it touching her but I suspect putting it on is still some time away.

 

[Bryce]

Ruby and I went visiting two of my friends from medical school today. She really got along splendidly with them, she was very sociable and friendly toward strangers, and didn't complain about the trip in the car, either. Went right in and out of her carrier without fussing. She's such a nice bird, I'm so glad I got her. One of my friends said that Ruby was "like a commercial for parrots," I did give her the results-not-typical warning, though she does have a way with animals and I'm sure she could be a great parrot owner if she wanted to.

 

[Bryce]

Ruby is still doing pretty well. Though I was woken up by my alarm clock this morning for the first time since early October when I brought her home - with sunrise getting later, her wake-up time has now gotten too late to consistently wake me up before my alarm, even with all the blinds up near her cage. I certainly preferred my psittacine wakeup call of random talking and whistles to the harsh alarm...

She has also bit my tenant. It wasn't a bad bite, about the minimum to draw blood really, but he is a pretty anxious personality. He gave her a positive reaction to biting, too (he noted correctly that it can be hard to keep quiet) so now she says "Argg!" and "Ow ow ow no!". She hasn't actually bit him in a while now, but he is avoiding contact with her compared to before and is very beak-shy, to the extent of making quick movements to evade her beak. I feel like that is going to spook her and become a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy leading to him getting bitten again.

Ruby still gets along with everyone else. She regurgitates and clucks sometimes, but she does it for multiple people. She also gets along well with everyone who handles her, even strangers, except as mentioned above. I've noticed she's much quicker to imitate women's voices, sometimes mimicking them after only a few repetitions. Maybe she has an easier time with the higher pitches, or something -- could explain why she's inordinately fond of shrill beeping noises and alarms.

 

[Bryce]

Just an update on Ruby. She's still doing great. She figures out her foraging toys way too quickly though, she can empty all of them pretty much immediately. So, I'm going to make her some more difficult ones, which I'll report on in the DIY forum when they're finished.

She's still friendly and eager to be interacted with. Talking a lot but limited vocabulary and lots of random sounds so status quo there.

She's flying better than she used to, still not a strong flyer of course, but I let her practice some every day when I get home. (She has to stay in her cage during the workday, since there is a cat.) Sometimes she forgets she needs to let go of my hand and loops around to hang upside down by one leg. She's very gentle using her beak to climb back upright, I have pretty high trust in her now to not hurt me with it.

Overall, definitely glad I got her, she's a great companion animal.

 

[bigfellasdad]

great news and your story is quite similar to mine with Enzo apart from the toys, she seems to just not be interested in them. For the vocabulary, Enzo will say some things for a week or so then not say it for a few weeks so she seems to rotate what she says. She does have the words she always says, dad, come here, night night, bye, hello, come on, tickle tickle etc etc etc. She seems to do her sounds much more consistently, water when she wants a drink away from her cage etc. the looping backwards/upside down i find hilarious

Out of interest, do you find Ruby likes cuddles, i dont mean scratches i mean really leaning into you with legs tucked in and leaning on her chest wanting you to cuddle? Wondering if this is a hen thing?