A Packer Update

[Dorcas George]

I’m in the bedroom, where Packer finally let me coax him out of the cage after an hour. He flew around the room a couple of times. No wall whacking at all, but quickly hid somewhere. It’s been another half hour. No sign of him. I put the cage on the bed so I could make a birdie play spot on dresser. No luck so far. If I give up on the bedroom and let him out in the dining/living room space I’ll put it on the table which is about four feet from where cage sits. Right now I am feeling like I’m gonna be in this little room till tomorrow!

 

[Gribouille]

You have no idea where he is now?? Maybe you should look for him..?

I'd say keep him in the bedroom until you feel he masters flying, then move the cage to the living room one morning, and let him out in the evening, so he has the day to familiarize himself with the room, and he won't fly in the windows if it is dark. Plus he will probably want to go to sleep relatively soon after coming out. Hopefully he won't want to sleep on a beam under the roof..

 

[Dorcas George]

He took an hour to come out of cage. Flew well, and then hid for about half an hour. Has been sitting in same spot for nearly two hours. Let me lightly touch him, stroke tummy a moment. Stretched hard to avoid both finger and perch and snatch a bite of treat. But no getting on anything. I need to do something elsewhere but hate to just go and leave him in here.

 

[Lori D Pert]

The little so and so likes to hide doesn't he? lol...he is just still scared. This will improve a little each time. For the moment though, as long as this room is safe for him, go do what you need to do. Close the door and obviously leave the door to his cage open and make sure he has a perch or ladder so he can get to it easy. If you can leave a radio on, that should sooth him. Perhaps on his own he will seek out his cage. Eventually thirst and hunger will win out.

 

[Dorcas George]

He is sitting on the bookcase about one foot from me now. And I have been mostly in this room for five hours. He’s been on bookcase about an hour. Now he suddenly started quietly twittering at me!

 

[Dorcas George]

I'd say keep him in the bedroom until you feel he masters flying, t
I say keep him in the bedroom until you feel he masters flying, then move the cage to the living the room, and he won't fly in the windows if it is dark. Plus he will probably want to go to sleep relatively soon after coming out.

Well, the large room is familiar because it is where his cage was placed back in April. Thinking about this idea. He flew much better, except he didn’t know where to land so then started bumbling around. He ignored the perches and play spot in favor of some very odd landing spots. I put him in bedroom around 11 a.m. and I stayed there most of the time till 5 when I had to leave the house. I got home about 6:30, and hooray and hallelujah, he was in his cage. Bird and cage now back in dining room in usual spot.

 

[Lori D Pert]

The fact that he remained on the bookcase so close to you means he is becoming used to you as posing no threat. The twittering just confirms this. You can try opening the cage in your living room now if you wish. He can get in his cage by himself...good job Packer.

 

[Dorcas George]

@Lori D Pert. It was such a mix. It was like he went backwards. Both other flight days I was able, though it was tricky, to get him on a perch and back into cage. Boy, not today, obviously. Yes, I was eventually encouraged by how he sat near me and started twittering. The cat won’t like it (haha) when she gets banned from the living/dining room, but I think I might try that now that Packer did find his way to his cage. It’ll be a bit nerve racking because the space is big and of course there are lots of places to hide and lots of high moldings to sit on. He is flying pretty well except for seeming totally flummoxed about a good landing spot. I like Gribouilli’s idea of doing it after the sun goes down, I think. He’s lucky I came here and found you all or it’s for sure he’d be clipped! I find it amazing that he can sit totally still for hours without a peep! Must still see me somewhat as a predator. When I got home and found him and moved cage, he tweeted twice, very quietly and soon went to sleep.

 

[Fergus Mom]

I find it amazing that he can sit totally still for hours without a peep!

I used to think the SAME thing when mine were babies! GREAT job with little Packer there!

This is an excerpt from their diary when Fiona was first given fly time out of the cage!

12 13 17 Fiona 2nd day out 1:40 PM UGHHH STILL OUT SIX HOURS!!! 7:46PM
Several times tried to bribe her down with seed in my hand arm got so tired...
Got stepstool, almost got her to perch on hand... nope. Flew higher. Now 8:20PM
9 PM I finally got her down by sticking acrylic perch feeder there! SEVEN AND A HALF HOURS
12-18-17 Fiona 3rd day out ... 4:45 pm approx. Tried getting her to step on acrylic food perch several times - no go. Finally at 8:20 pm she stepped on it and began eating, while I took her down to her cage.
I don't think she has flown very much at all, she seems scared to fly down - even though at one point on 12-18, she did fly down to floor, but all other attempts were back and forth from curtain rod to decorative curtain.

 

[Lori D Pert]

@Fergus Mom ....lol...got a good laugh at your diary. We tend to forget the early days don't we?
@Dorcas George ...yes kitty definitely needs to be banned. Cats will be cats and birds will always be prey. Has Packer seen the cat? I wonder if that is a reason he is so skittish? Sitting still like that is just his way of feeling safe. His finding hiding spots too. If you do let him out in the bigger space, just go about your normal routines talking softly to him all the while. Let him seek you out. Offer your arm while he is flying but no worries if he doesn't accept it for awhile. He will be accessing you. Let him come to you. It will happen...time and patience.

 

[Gribouille]

. Has Packer seen the cat? I wonder if that is a reason he is so skittish?

I'm quite sure you got a point there. Even with the cat out of the room, it would still smell from it so better keep hiding, in case the cat is hidden somewhere too..

 

[Lori D Pert]

He’s lucky I came here and found you all or it’s for sure he’d be clipped!

Also a clipped bird with a cat in the house is a recipe for disaster.

 

[Dorcas George]

@Fergus Mom , I read your whole posted diary. Made me feel a little better!
@Lori D Pert Yes, Packer has seen the cat, since his cage is in the main part of the house. That's a good point--and of course he can smell the cat.


There is a chair next to the trunk that has the cage on it, and Packer often sleeps on the chair. She is a little jealous of the bird, and when I'm sitting in the chair talking to Packer, she will sit on the floor nearby. The cat is old (belonged to my mom, who has been gone for several years) and is declawed (poor kitty, but better for Packer). if Packer is out of the cage I'll make sure the cat is in "her room" with door closed. No free flying with cat around, of course. The couple of times that either Packer or Breeze escaped, first thing I did was find the cat. Usually not hard, since she spends a lot of time in our spare room, which has the cat box and her food, asleep on the bed.

My mom, years ago, had a parakeet that I gave her, and a cat. They made friends and the bird would sit on the cat!!!! Don't worry, I won't expect that. ha

Packer is happy and chirpy today. I will hopefully let him out later...after yesterday, I need to work up my courage. He sat on my finger this morning, inside cage, but only with a treat.
THANKS AGAIN, ALL!

Dorcas, and Packer the Pill

 

[Dorcas George]

I forgot to mention that yesterday when he was flying and not sitting frozen in an unsuitable place or hiding, he was dive bombing me. Flying was pretty good, as I mentioned, where to land was the issue. But when flying he'd get very close, buzzing my head or back, as he was zooming around the relatively small room in a circle. I wasn't sure if it was purposeful or not!

 

[Lori D Pert]

Packer the Pill....lol. Yep my wager is that Packer is terrified of Kitty. He is NOT afraid of you but if Kitty is out and about he is hardwired to be wary. Declawed is definitely better but Packer does not know that. My daughter's cat was declawed (she got her from the SPCA like this) and regularly brought her dead birds at the age of 17. For sure lock her in another room and try letting Packer out but it may take him considerably longer to feel safe. Flying in a circle is great as is dive bombing...that's how he practices. Sounds like he's gaining some confidence...yay!!

 

[Imogena]

Maybe if your bedroom is small and you have no space to put a bird stand you could make a climbing wall with some perches. Edgar likes to sit on the highest perch on his climbing wall. Maybe Parker would feel safe on such higher perch and you will know where he is.

 

[Gribouille]

I forgot to mention that yesterday when he was flying and not sitting frozen in an unsuitable place or hiding, he was dive bombing me. Flying was pretty good, as I mentioned, where to land was the issue. But when flying he'd get very close, buzzing my head or back, as he was zooming around the relatively small room in a circle. I wasn't sure if it was purposeful or not!

That's because he was probably an evil seagull in a former life

 

[Gribouille]

@Lori D Pert Yes, Packer has seen the cat, since his cage is in the main part of the house. That's a good point--and of course he can smell the cat.
My mom, years ago, had a parakeet that I gave her, and a cat. They made friends and the bird would sit on the cat!!!!

Yes, you can find lots of videos with small birdies harassing the placid house cat who just tolerates it or moves away. But you can NEVER be sure. There was that guy raising 3 lions in his back yard, he got them as cubs and fed them and played with them every day, until that one day they turned on him and ate him. Family dogs can begin to attack and bite kids they've known for 8 years. and of course, cats will eventually find birds too tempting. I honestly don't know how you manage to have both species under the same roof, I'd be terrified the cat would sneak to the bird while I'm not looking. Having the bird in its cage is no guarantee it'll be safe, although being declawed, the cat won't be able to pull him through the bars but still...
Also remember Packer has seen Breeze being killed by a dog only centimeters from him. Of course he'll be wary of the cat, and of humans, since there was probably people shouting and moving fast when this happened. The whole chaos and stress of the situation is probably still fresh in his little head.

 

[Dorcas George]

@Gribouille Seagull! Yeah, kinda like that. As for cat and bird, I will say I was surprised to come home on my birthday to find a cage with toys and two birds, etc. I was thinking about the cat. If it had just been my daughter who had set it all up, I might have taken them back and stored the cage and stuff. But the really joyful person, knowing about my happy kid memories and having had a wonderful time with her mom and me at “The Parakeet Experience,” was my 12 year old granddaughter. I am thinking about an alternate spot for the cage that is higher up. The cat seems to know she is klutzy so avoids jumping. As for the trauma of the Breeze thing—yeah. Poor little Packer. No excited humans because we were all outside until son in law heard his dog barking and came in to find him in our part of house standing over Breeze. Still—that certainly seems likely to make him even more wary of a cat. I don’t know why it didn’t dawn on me that the bird would be thinking of the cat even if she is not in sight. Sigh.

 

[Dorcas George]

Maybe if your bedroom is small and you have no space to put a bird stand you could make a climbing wall with some perches. Edgar likes to sit on the highest perch on his climbing wall. Maybe Parker would feel safe on such higher perch and you will know where he is.

That is an interesting idea! Would have to do some rearranging of furniture but that’s no big deal. Hmmm...