Red Belly being shipped in

[gig]

Hi. I'm new and have been posting in the poicephalus forum.I'm getting a red belly tomorrow night airport pick up and want to know if anyone has any experience with this. He's young and I'm wondering the best way to transfer him to his cage. Since he doesn't step up yet should i try to grab him(traumatic? ) or hold opened crate against opened cage door and hope he goes in on his own? Wyhat if he's paralyzed with fear?Help!

 

[Joeyx]

i guess the best way is to open the cage doors and wait for him to go there himself.
if he's kinda scared of you already, he will try to get to the opposite side of the cage
you're holding him in..... and enter his new cage.

good luck!

 

[gig]

Thank you. I was leaning towards that option. My husband is a vet (not an avian spe******t but very familiar with routine stuff) and Ive heard stories of birds having heart attacks during exams from the stress-so grabbing was not high on my list. Plus i don't want his first experience with me to be a crappy one.

 

[roxynoodle]

Open the cage door and open the crate up against the open cage. She will probably go into the cage as she will be happy to get out of the crate. I did that with Pete because I knew he wasn't thrilled with me on day one and I didn't want to get the snot bitten out of me. I also decided to put him into the cage I had, as his was so small, and didn't know what he was going to think of going into a new cage. In 2 days though I was able to start handling him a bit, and by day 4 he was stepping up for me well, and starting to cuddle with me.

 

[mnkeastman]

He may be more than ready to come on out because of being in the carrier so long. I know Pixie was up against the door of the carrier when we got her from the airport and as soon as I opened it she came on out, even if he doesn't know step up yet you could offer your hand to him when he does venture out and slowly move him toward the cage once he has stepped up onto it.

 

[Joeyx]

Thank you. I was leaning towards that option. My husband is a vet (not an avian spe******t but very familiar with routine stuff) and Ive heard stories of birds having heart attacks during exams from the stress-so grabbing was not high on my list. Plus i don't want his first experience with me to be a crappy one.

wow thats so sad; heart attacks during exams. ;(((

 

[KellyH]

Yes, I agree. Open cage door and hold crate with open door against it. If that doesn't work you could try putting the crate inside the cage itself if that is possible and then leaving the door open for him to come out as he is ready.

My amazon came to me in January by plane. The plane ride was only 2 hrs. but his total time spent in the crate was probably more like 5 due to our long ride home from the airport. He was more than happy to come out when I opened the crate door so be ready.

I made the mistake of letting him come out onto my hand because I knew he was clipped. But then he was so scared of his new cage he didn't want to go in it. Duh! I should have thought about it more. Of course he was scared. New home, new cage. It took about an hour of him sitting on my hand next to the cage before he would go in. Lesson learned for next time. lol

 

[roxynoodle]

All my other birds, I just opened the crate and they stepped up and I was able to put them into the cage. But, Pete was growling at me, lol! I decided I didn't want to be the victim of an amazon attack. And as I said I wasn't sure he would go into the new cage or be frightened of it.

 

[gig]

Wow . Just got an email from the breeder and he says to towel him out of the crate and into the cage. Leave him in cage for 10 minutes or so and then towel hin out of the cage and sit with him for quite a while. He also said to say "kissy" and let him kiss me on the lips - but pull away quickly. I may be posting, "spent night in ER having lips reattached" tomorrow night (lol)!

 

[Tammy]

I am far from an expert but I can't imagine why a breeder would suggest traumatizing the bird twice in 10 minutes & then to put near your face. Mr. Precious is devoted to me but there are certain chairs that when he perches on he thinks he owns the world & will "forget" who I am & lunge at me. He sits on my shoulder most of the day (I'm home 24/7) & I would NEVER put my lips close to his beak. I would go along with the other posters long before I would consider what that breeder told you.

 

[gig]

I agree and was quite surprised by "instructions" he sent me. I'm assuming the parrot has been taught to "kiss" and perhaps he wants the behavior reinforced by the new owner quickly, before he has time to "forget"? Or maybe because everything will be so new to him, asking for something he knows how to do may actually calm him a little? We do that with horses when they're upset. It takes their mind off whatever is upsetting them. Whatever his reasoning, I'm going to let Bowie enter the cage himself and I'm not going to put my lips within striking distance of that beak!

 

[roxynoodle]

That is very bad advice IMO from the breeder. This is the bird he hasn't been able to sell at full price, right? If he's been traumatizing it, no wonder.

I would put the crate against the open cage door or in the cage if you can (if the top opens up you might fit it in there). Let her go into the cage, which I bet she does quickly. At that point I would leave her to explore the cage.

Not sure what time you will be arriving with her. If it's evening, you might not want to interact a whole lot. You can try "kissy" through the cage bars to give you a bit of protection since she knows that. Beware though that I have been bitten that way myself accidentally from my own birds doing their goodnight routine. They just got a little too excited, but it sure hurts for a few days to get your lip pierced and chomped.

If it's earlier I would let her mostly settle in, talk to her quietly, maybe sing softly for her. Give her a couple of days before increasing interaction since you know this is a shy bird, or at least one that hasn't been handled much.