All About Agatha

[Lo_]

So! Agatha has been home for a little over a month now. She started feeling at home right away and immediately played with all of her toys, found her food and water just fine, has been eating regularly and poop looks good She does this thing where she grabs onto the side of the cage and starts to squawk and flap her wings rapidly, if I remember correctly when birds do this it's to let out excess energy/exercise/stretch their wings, right?

She loves to talk to Percy, who is caged next to her, and has started to join Ollie in telling me goodbye in the mornings and welcoming me home at night. She has the sweetest little chirps She has gained strength and is climbing her cage quite well compared to when she first came home She is also so goofy to watch play with toys because she really goes after them and oh boy is she a shredder!!

I waited a while to get her out, even though she seemed comfortable in her new home already.
When I did go to get her out it seems that any bonding we did while she was at the bird store completely disappeared. She was terrified of my hand as soon as I put it in the cage, and when she did come out all she did was flail around and try to run away from me. I didn't want to stress her out so I let her roam around the room and find her cage on her own, and ended up having to help her in because she can't fly all the way yet (clipped wings at the bird store to keep her from flying into the windows) and couldn't climb the shelving that is on the bottom of her cage. Since then I've just opened her door to see if she wants to come out on her own, and she doesn't
One day at dinner I filled her bowl and put it on the door and she ventured out to eat, but didn't stay long.

So, all my IRN slaves out there, what is the best way to build trust again? I know not to force her out/make her do things she doesn't want to, but my birdy knowledge of building trust seems to have disappeared lol. I've gotten use to Ollie just loving me and not having to work at it anymore. Should I approach her with perches instead of my hands? Should I just keep leaving the door open and not approach her at all? Any and all tips are appreciated here

Tomorrow I will upload some pictures and videos I've taken of her. I'm on my computer right now and all the pictures are on my phone She has BEAUTIFUL coloring, lots of grey on her white that really pops

 

[sunnysmom]

I'm glad things are going so well! Looking forward to seeing pics.

 

[Just-passn-thru]

Just give it time, keeping your routine consistent will go far in building trust
I like your approach about keeping the door open with food . Of course under supervision . Once she is comfortable with that, move on to step-up, with a perch, or hand, if she's not leery of hands.

 

[Lo_]

she just so happened to show off her coloring pretty well as she explored the room
The leg tuck
Picking an interesting way to check out the new bath lol
She’s a dunker, just like her brothers

 

[Lo_]

I'm glad things are going so well! Looking forward to seeing pics.

I uploaded them
Hopefully videos tomorrow or Friday!

 

[camelotshadow]

Stunning!!!

 

[Lo_]

Stunning!!!

Thank you!!

 

[fashionfobie]

She is so cute!

 

[Karen]

She is very beautiful. Glad you're taking it slow. My bird can never resist not being close to what I'm doing without him. If I sit on the floor (or in your situation a chair in front of the cage may work better) and play with a toy like I'm having the best time of my life, he cannot resist to come see what I'm doing. He usually ends up coming closer to join in on the fun. If you try something like this, reward any forward movement from her towards you to let her know what you would like her to do. You could use this same method while reading to her and treating any forward motion or interest in you.

 

[Icey]

She is a beauty

 

[sunnysmom]

I uploaded them
Hopefully videos tomorrow or Friday!

Such a pretty bird!

 

[Monica]

Dish on door - either make that into the treat dish, or replace it with a dish for treats. (metal, fantastic!) Any time you walk by the cage, drop a treat into it.

Place a short perch by said dish. You can always teach her to station on said perch, then open the door very slowly, keep rewarding that behavior, and voila, she's out!

She may even benefit from some target training through the cage bars. If she will take treats from you, great! If not, place some extra treat cups around the cage so you can drop them into the cup to reward her for the desired behavior.


These can help her learn to enjoy your company on her terms (kind of ) while getting her more used to coming and going from the cage.

 

[Lo_]

She is so cute!

Thank you

 

[Lo_]

She is very beautiful. Glad you're taking it slow. My bird can never resist not being close to what I'm doing without him. If I sit on the floor (or in your situation a chair in front of the cage may work better) and play with a toy like I'm having the best time of my life, he cannot resist to come see what I'm doing. He usually ends up coming closer to join in on the fun. If you try something like this, reward any forward movement from her towards you to let her know what you would like her to do. You could use this same method while reading to her and treating any forward motion or interest in you.

Thanks for the tips! Will keep you guys updated on how we do

 

[Lo_]

She is a beauty

Thank you, I think so too!

 

[Lo_]

Such a pretty bird!

Thanks she’s so fun to watch

 

[Lo_]

Dish on door - either make that into the treat dish, or replace it with a dish for treats. (metal, fantastic!) Any time you walk by the cage, drop a treat into it.

Place a short perch by said dish. You can always teach her to station on said perch, then open the door very slowly, keep rewarding that behavior, and voila, she's out!

She may even benefit from some target training through the cage bars. If she will take treats from you, great! If not, place some extra treat cups around the cage so you can drop them into the cup to reward her for the desired behavior.


These can help her learn to enjoy your company on her terms (kind of ) while getting her more used to coming and going from the cage.

Thank you! Will try this. Right now she runs when I approach the cage so we will slowly work on it all

 

[Monica]

If she runs when you get near the cage then try approaching slower, announce your presence before coming into view, and, if necessary, don't look directly at her.


Having Sylphie, the ARN here, I can say that it can take time! But then again, she's a wild caught import, so her perhaps longer than one born in captivity!