Questions!

[jaimmorr]

Ready to be bombarded with my list of questions?! Ready or not, here they come!

1. Can a bird be around campfires/bonfires? Fireplaces?

2. Should I feed birdie mash warmed up or will that trigger hormonal behaviors?

3. What is the best way to serve veggies?

4. How long can veggies last if I chop them up in bulk and freeze them?

5. Should pellets be in cage 24/7? If not, how much should I give, and how often?

6. What would you say is the best feeding schedule? (I was thinking breakfast of fresh veggies/fruits, lunch of a few nuts and pellets, and dinner a mash/birdie bread... This sound alright?)

7a) What should I do if he bites? (I've heard everything from push back into them to pull away, grab their beak, and say 'No!' I've gotten so many mixed answers on this one.)
7b) Should I do the same thing if he lunges?
7c) Should I do the same thing if he just applies pressure, but doesn't actually bite?

8. How do I establish a contact call without encouraging screaming?

9. What is the best flight suit/harness? Should I get an actual flight suit, or just harness, or both?

10. What are some good tricks to teach?

11. Can I use space heaters?

12. Can I use fans?

13. How important are air purifiers?

14. How long after branches are dead/on the ground are they useable for homemade perches?

15. What temperature of water should I use when showering him?

16. How do I know if my water is safe for him to drink/bathe in? It's well water.

17. My shower makes this horrid noise when the water comes on... It's like a really loud groaning from the pipes. Is this going to scare him terribly or will he get used to it?

18. I got him a foraging toy that he has to tip forward to get a treat out and I plan on hanging it in his cage. Should I put his pellets in this so he has to forage for them or should I just put them in his bowl? Or should I put a few nuts in this when I leave for class each day?


For people that don't know: He is an 8 year old Goffin's Cockatoo that is a rehome. I'm getting him on June 30th.

These are all just questions that are specific to my lifestyle or ones that I can't seem to find a direct answer to online or in books.

Thank you guys!!! <3

 

[Ash]

I don't really know the answers to those questions sorry. I'm sure some bird experts that are here can help you out.

I know the wave and shake trick were easy to teach to my Alexandrine.

 

[jaimmorr]

I know, it's a lot of questions. I've been saving them up LOL


Thanks! I know I want to teach him to wave definitely I think that one is so cute!!!

 

[lene1949]

OK... I'll try

1. Can a bird be around campfires/bonfires? Fireplaces?

In the past pet birds would obviously have been exposed to these things, but I don't think it would be recommended today.

2. Should I feed birdie mash warmed up or will that trigger hormonal behaviors?

I haven't made birdie mash...

3. What is the best way to serve veggies?

I feed all fruit and vegies raw, using a v-slicer to cut them up, or in chunks on a cabab stick to hang in the cage

4. How long can veggies last if I chop them up in bulk and freeze them?

Your freezer will probably have directions on that... I feed mine freshly cut up every day, or store bought vegies that have been snap frozen.

5. Should pellets be in cage 24/7? If not, how much should I give, and how often?

Yes, leave them in the cage 24/7

6. What would you say is the best feeding schedule? (I was thinking breakfast of fresh veggies/fruits, lunch of a few nuts and pellets, and dinner a mash/birdie bread... This sound alright?)

Bird in the wild mostly feed in the mornings and evenings, and that's when I feed sprouted seeds, fruit and vegies... sprouted seeds in the mornings and fruit and/or vegies in the early evening.

7a) What should I do if he bites? (I've heard everything from push back into them to pull away, grab their beak, and say 'No!' I've gotten so many mixed answers on this one.)

Ask the previous owner what they did... Be confident - if you expect the bird to bite, it probably will.... Using Ah!Ah! will stop nearly anything in it's tracks, if it's got a brain...

7b) Should I do the same thing if he lunges?

No, just turn and walk the other way

7c) Should I do the same thing if he just applies pressure, but doesn't actually bite?

I would say softly 'Gentle, that's a good boy'

8. How do I establish a contact call without encouraging screaming?

Whistle softly

9. What is the best flight suit/harness? Should I get an actual flight suit, or just harness, or both?

I prefer the aviator harness.

10. What are some good tricks to teach?

Search clicker training, there are many examples

11. Can I use space heaters?

I would only use an oil heater, not anything that radiates heat

12. Can I use fans?

Most fans cause a draft, which is uncomfortable for most birds - and me... lol.. and overhead fans can be very dangerous to birds.

13. How important are air purifiers?

I'm thinking of getting one

14. How long after branches are dead/on the ground are they useable for homemade perches?

After being on the ground they need a good clean up/ disinfection... You can cut fresh branches, and use them as is, after checking it out thoroughly

15. What temperature of water should I use when showering him?

The same temp as you have, when you're having a cool shower... or take his cage outside in the rain...

16. How do I know if my water is safe for him to drink/bathe in? It's well water.

Have you had your water tested?

17. My shower makes this horrid noise when the water comes on... It's like a really loud groaning from the pipes. Is this going to scare him terribly or will he get used to it?

He'll get used to it... It might scare him to begin with, but if he can hear the shower from where he is, it won't scare him as much first time you take him in there.

18. I got him a foraging toy that he has to tip forward to get a treat out and I plan on hanging it in his cage. Should I put his pellets in this so he has to forage for them or should I just put them in his bowl? Or should I put a few nuts in this when I leave for class each day?

I would put in a couple of almonds... I'd suggest you get other foraging stuff for your pellets - something he has to pull apart

 

[Oedipussrex]

1. Can a bird be around campfires/bonfires? Fireplaces?

not at all if you can help it, aside from the particles in the air getting into their lungs, you wouldn't know if the wood that is burning is also toxic, also definitely don't smoke around them either.


2. Should I feed birdie mash warmed up or will that trigger hormonal behaviors?

i have never heard of 'hormonal behaviours' being related to this, i know temperature matters when you are handfeeding a baby, but my 2yo ekkie seems to love having mashed sweet potato with some blended veggies and pellets mixed in if i microwave it to make it warm.


3. What is the best way to serve veggies?

depends entirely on how your fid prefers them. some like mashed (and it helps stop them picking out their favourite bits), and some like larger pieces they can hold.
freezing/steaming/boiling doesnt really reduce the nutrition value of them though, unless you really do boil them down a bit.


4. How long can veggies last if I chop them up in bulk and freeze them?

I don't know the answer to this off the top of my head, but in most freezers, on the inside of the door there is a sticker chart which gives an estimate on how long each type of food group should last frozen. hope this helps, you might not have one :/


5. Should pellets be in cage 24/7? If not, how much should I give, and how often?

a lot of people will only make them available in the morning/evening (also depends when/if you are offering seed too) but my fid isn't too picky so i leave them in all day because i know he will eat whatever else is available whether there are pellets there or not.


6. What would you say is the best feeding schedule? (I was thinking breakfast of fresh veggies/fruits, lunch of a few nuts and pellets, and dinner a mash/birdie bread... This sound alright?)

i think this is another thing you just have to work out with your fid and what he prefers. i do seeds/pellets/museli/mash in the morning fruit at lunch (with pellets still available) and veggies/'bird cakes' in the evening (because he was picking out his favourites we mashed everything together, added egg and water and made little cupcakes for him lol)


7a) What should I do if he bites? (I've heard everything from push back into them to pull away, grab their beak, and say 'No!' I've gotten so many mixed answers on this one.)
7b) Should I do the same thing if he lunges?
7c) Should I do the same thing if he just applies pressure, but doesn't actually bite?

getting to read his body language BEFORE he gets to the point of giving you a bite or obvious warning will be the most helpful thing here. Unless you have to actually pry them off of you i wouldn't say grab their beak, it freaks them out and wont help the situation. When pickle gets narky with me, if we were doing training or having fun he just goes back into the cage until he cools off, although, this can be completely the wrong response depending on WHY they are pissed at you. :/ it really just depends. but unless you were indeed being pushy when you should have left them alone and just didn't see they were already pissed, don't give them what they want when they bite you, this will only increase the biting.
With the warning bites, i don't take as much notice to them, if you have him out and he tries to warn you that he is getting pissed without actually hurting you, just pause and take a different approach, learning how he acts BEFORE he gets to this point is the most helpful thing here.


8. How do I establish a contact call without encouraging screaming?

Just don't acknowledge screaming, at all. you may or may not find screaming a problem. I really didn't even try to do this and i did. Just by saying hello to my ekkie the same way whenever i greeted him, made him eventually learn to call for me and say hello when someone walks into the room and he wants attention.


9. What is the best flight suit/harness? Should I get an actual flight suit, or just harness, or both?

I have an aviator harness, to one with the elastic string. He has never flown in it because he is clipped though. as he is already 8 and a rehome if he hasn't had a harness before it might take you a while to warm him up to it. and in this case if he has had one before, sticking to the same type might be a good approach.


10. What are some good tricks to teach?

hahaha well getting them to come to you is a good start, getting them happy to go in the cage, getting the to shake with one foot, getting them to wave with the other, getting them to spin around, im trying to teach pickle arms up so he can put his wings up and spin around when we go to the vet lol, getting them so******ed with lots of people, talking (obviously), there's recall and stuff to do with flight that i haven't got experience with, getting them to drop something they are not supposed to have in their beak, getting them to fetch.
hahaha so many more, you can invent your own even depending on what he does by himself. Its all the same basic approach though: shape a behaviour you can catch them doing or make them do, and then reinforce it with praise and/or a treat until they will associate it with the command.


11. Can I use space heaters?

not sure what you mean here, with heaters, make sure a bird isn't going to land on them and burn their feet or anything, and make sure they don't dry out the air in your house so much that their skin becomes dry and irritated.


12. Can I use fans?

we have ceiling fans in our house, and they are off whenever a bird is in a room, even though pickle isn't flighted anyway.


13. How important are air purifiers?

I don't know the answer to this one, pickle isn't a dusty bird and we just open our windows to freshen up the house when it needs it...


14. How long after branches are dead/on the ground are they useable for homemade perches?

even fresh perches are ok to use, if you can get a branch with leaves to chew and play with, cool. the only thing to pay attention to here, is whether the wood/leaves/seeds/flowers/fruits is safe/toxic, and whether any bugs/rot has gotten into a branch that has been on the ground too long. otherwise leaving them on the driveway or somewhere relatively clean and dry to dry in the sun is a good way to get rid of any nasties living on them. vinegar is also good natural disinfectant if you feel the need to give them a wipe, just rinse it off thoroughly.


15. What temperature of water should I use when showering him?

a comfortable temperature for you is usually ok, some birds are ok with cold water too anyway. pickle likes it warm, and i have it a little hotter than that because i bounce the shower off the wall so it sprays him lightly (by which time the water has cooled down a bit) - our shower head is a bit to pressurised for him to like me simply squirting him with it directly.


16. How do I know if my water is safe for him to drink/bathe in? It's well water.

I have never even thought of this. we are on rainwater, so i don't even have to worry about chlorine from tap water... If you go to a pet store though - in the fish section there should be water testing kits which will show you levels of basic chemicals like salt, chlorine, PH and ammonia in a water sample. which might help you answer this question for yourself.


17. My shower makes this horrid noise when the water comes on... It's like a really loud groaning from the pipes. Is this going to scare him terribly or will he get used to it?

when i think of pickle definitely yes he would be scared of it. but this is another one of those things you have to work out with him, and if you make it an enjoyable experience he should get used to it. If its only when you turn the taps on, how about getting the water running before you bring him into the same room so its not quite so confronting a noise.


18. I got him a foraging toy that he has to tip forward to get a treat out and I plan on hanging it in his cage. Should I put his pellets in this so he has to forage for them or should I just put them in his bowl? Or should I put a few nuts in this when I leave for class each day?

lol. so many of these questions are trial and error. and i can only share my experience. but i use nuts, because pickle only gets a few a day. and really he doesn't like pellets all that much so if i made them any harder to eat i don't think he would bother. lol. if you new fid loves his pellets, there's no reason you shouldn't make eating them a more engaging experience.



This input is only based on my limited personal experience and research i did before getting pickle which may or may not be reliable. lol. there are loads of people on this forum with a heap of experience that i'm sure can help.