New in here

[Kiwi_Collins]

Hi everybody, new to this forum and a new bird mum.
I’m Monica and I live with my 6 months old red-fronted Kakariki named Kiwi (female) and a 3 months old pied cockatiel named Collins. I’ve had Kiwi for 2 months and Collins for 2 days - a bit of a hard work.
We’re based in Surrey (UK) and we look forward to being part of this amazing forum with you all

Hugs from us all

 

[LaManuka]

Welcome to our happy little community to you, Kiwi and Collins!

While I've never had a kākāriki, it has been my privilege to have had 3 cockatiels in my life, the latest of whom is Fang who is a very sweet little soul - in fact all 3 of them have been wonderful. Don't forget to post some baby photos when you get the chance!

You will find a wealth of information and plenty of friendly and knowledgeable folk here, so welcome aboard and enjoy the journey

 

[Kiwi_Collins]

Thank you so much Martina! Kakarikis are little balls of feathers and joy. I honestly love my little Kiwi ( I like to call her chonk for clear reasons ahahah).
This is my first cockatiel ever, I’m a bit troubled with him and bonding but hey ho it’s the second day and hope things will get better.
I also hope to learn how to post a picture by inserting the URL lol

Thanks again!

 

[Rozalka]

Welcome to the forum! I hope this thread will help you http://www.parrotforums.com/technical-support/6287-how-post-pictures.html

 

[LaManuka]

You're most welcome Monica

Cockatiels can be a little flighty at first, and building that bond may be a slow process. One of my previous cockatiels, a beautiful lutino girl called Twinkle, was an escapee I found on the street one Christmas Day. She had probably escaped from an aviary and was of an unknown age when I found her, and it took probably 8 YEARS before one day that little switch flicked on in her head and she decided she could trust me. She still gave me some sass every now and then but she was always up for a cuddle and stepped up every single time. I don't think it will take that long for Collins to come around by any means but Twinkle's example shows that it's never too late!

My lorikeet Lilly came to me a bit wild, having spent the first few months of her life at the breeders' in an outdoor aviary with no human interaction, and she was TERRIFIED of me! Each day I would just bring my chair just a bit closer to her cage, I would read to her in a calm voice, play YouTube videos on my phone of her species so she could hear them, and she would come just a bit closer every day. Finally after about 3 weeks she jumped on my shoulder and nibbled at the bottlebrush flowers I had for her and she has been my little velcro bird ever since.

Just find whatever Collins favourite foods are, those millet sprays you can get from the pet shops are usually pretty good. Move slowly around the bird and allow him to come to you. Make the trust building and bonding sessions fun and always try to end on a positive note, never forcing Collins to do anything he doesn't want to.

Above all, patience. My boy Fang is still a bit flighty even after 9 years, that's just the way he is, he's a bit of a doofus. He prefers my husband over me, which in my opinion makes him a great judge of character. But he sure as heck knows to come to his mum when he wants some love and a big scratch

 

[Kiwi_Collins]

Welcome to the forum! I hope this thread will help you http://www.parrotforums.com/technical-support/6287-how-post-pictures.html

Thank you so much Rozalka, I’ll be having a look in a sec

 

[Kiwi_Collins]

You're most welcome Monica

Cockatiels can be a little flighty at first, and building that bond may be a slow process. One of my previous cockatiels, a beautiful lutino girl called Twinkle, was an escapee I found on the street one Christmas Day. She had probably escaped from an aviary and was of an unknown age when I found her, and it took probably 8 YEARS before one day that little switch flicked on in her head and she decided she could trust me. She still gave me some sass every now and then but she was always up for a cuddle and stepped up every single time. I don't think it will take that long for Collins to come around by any means but Twinkle's example shows that it's never too late!

My lorikeet Lilly came to me a bit wild, having spent the first few months of her life at the breeders' in an outdoor aviary with no human interaction, and she was TERRIFIED of me! Each day I would just bring my chair just a bit closer to her cage, I would read to her in a calm voice, play YouTube videos on my phone of her species so she could hear them, and she would come just a bit closer every day. Finally after about 3 weeks she jumped on my shoulder and nibbled at the bottlebrush flowers I had for her and she has been my little velcro bird ever since.

Just find whatever Collins favourite foods are, those millet sprays you can get from the pet shops are usually pretty good. Move slowly around the bird and allow him to come to you. Make the trust building and bonding sessions fun and always try to end on a positive note, never forcing Collins to do anything he doesn't want to.

Above all, patience. My boy Fang is still a bit flighty even after 9 years, that's just the way he is, he's a bit of a doofus. He prefers my husband over me, which in my opinion makes him a great judge of character. But he sure as heck knows to come to his mum when he wants some love and a big scratch

Oh wow! You have so much experience with your birds and also, so much patience!
I guess that no matter how hard we try they will eventually decide whether and if it’s time to get closer to us hoomans and if done so, will be linking food to someone and maybe big cuddles to someone else.
They’re funny and so loving and I couldn’t do without them.
Thanks a lot for the heads up, I’ll try my best to ensure Collins settles in with us nicely and with his own timing :60:

 

[LaManuka]

Oh yeah, you're already one of us! It usually takes about 2 seconds for those little claws to wrap around your heart and before long you wonder how you ever lived without them

 

[bigfellasdad]

Welcome fellow brit lancashire here

 

[Flboy]

Welcome from the other side of the Pond!

 

[GaleriaGila]

Welcome to the flock!

 

[noodles123]

Welcome-- glad you are here!
Rather than re-post this novel, please see the last 2 posts on page 1 --

http://www.parrotforums.com/indian-ringnecks/85876-tips-new-bird-owner.html

One is a very important overview of things new parrot owners need to know (and are rarely told) and the other is a link to a thread on building trust....You must understand that these animals are SO much more emotionally complicated than domesticated animals (dogs, cats etc), and bonding/building trust can take MONTHS (for a bird without a super-sketchy history)--intelligence is extremely high when compared to most other animals on the planet.

 

[Scott]

Welcome Monica, Kiwi, and Collins, glad you joined!

 

[Kiwi_Collins]

Thank you all so much for the warm welcomes!