OutlawedSpirit
New member
- Apr 12, 2016
- 1,020
- 21
- Parrots
- Bo - DYH ~ Gus - CAG ~ Twitch - Linnie ~ Apple - Pineapple GCC ~ Goliath - Quaker ~ Squish - Peach face Lovebird
So I've started working on getting Tiki comfortable with being on a stand, just so he can have more out of cage time when I don't have two hands to devote to holding him. Unlike the chicken, he will never get shoulder privileges. He's too unpredictable, and I sorta like my face.
The biggest issue is getting him to completely explore the stand, so he learns the layout of it.
So what I started doing was setting him on the stand, then going to the side of the stand where I wanted him to go and calling him. I used my voice to lead him around, basically.
Like warning a blind person of a step, when he would come to a branch that was slightly higher up or of there was an easily covered gap, I would tell him to step up. With Tiki, when you ask him to step up, he reaches out and starts searching with his beak until he feels something to step onto, so it actually worked pretty well.
It's going to take him a while to really learn the layout, but we have a start. I hope he'll learn to play on it some, just for a little more exercise. Although I think he's already getting more than he had been, just with me taking him out of his cage every day. He has lost like 15 or 20 grams since he came home with me, but I am not concerned. For one, that isn't too terribly much since he started at almost 600 grams. I also took away his pellets during the day and he gets fresh food instead, which he loves. He stands and waits for breakfast in the morning and has a hearty appetite. Pellets are just so much more nutrient dense. Plus he comes out a couple times a day and does get some flapping in on occasion, but at least gets his feet moving because I encourage lots of stepping up. I am trying to figure out more creative ways to get him some exercise, like getting him to explore the play stand.
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The biggest issue is getting him to completely explore the stand, so he learns the layout of it.
So what I started doing was setting him on the stand, then going to the side of the stand where I wanted him to go and calling him. I used my voice to lead him around, basically.
Like warning a blind person of a step, when he would come to a branch that was slightly higher up or of there was an easily covered gap, I would tell him to step up. With Tiki, when you ask him to step up, he reaches out and starts searching with his beak until he feels something to step onto, so it actually worked pretty well.
It's going to take him a while to really learn the layout, but we have a start. I hope he'll learn to play on it some, just for a little more exercise. Although I think he's already getting more than he had been, just with me taking him out of his cage every day. He has lost like 15 or 20 grams since he came home with me, but I am not concerned. For one, that isn't too terribly much since he started at almost 600 grams. I also took away his pellets during the day and he gets fresh food instead, which he loves. He stands and waits for breakfast in the morning and has a hearty appetite. Pellets are just so much more nutrient dense. Plus he comes out a couple times a day and does get some flapping in on occasion, but at least gets his feet moving because I encourage lots of stepping up. I am trying to figure out more creative ways to get him some exercise, like getting him to explore the play stand.
Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk