I've been feeling a bit discouraged. I've been feeling I'm not a very good birdie Mom. That I don't spend enough time with each bird. That Oscar isn't making the progress I had hoped for. That AthenaDon isn't completely comfortable here, yet. That TD needs extra, reassuring time with me that I just can't seem to find. Etc, etc.
Then I read a post on a FB group I belong to called "For the Love of Quaker Parrots" or something like that (I'm in several). A girl was agonizing over her new pet Quaker. She'd had him for 4 weeks. She got him just after he was weaned. She was discouraged bcuz she hadn't been able to teach him to step up yet, that he tries to bite her when she reaches into his cage, that he didn't seem to like her. Things like that. So, I was replying to her, telling her about how I was feeling with Oscar (who's situation is totally different, but still a Quaker is a Quaker).
So I thought back to September and how Oscar was the first week he was here. I began making a list of all the things that are different about Oscar then, and Oscar now.
1. I no longer have to wear gloves to change his food a water. He still squawks at me, but doesn't try to eat me!
2. I no longer have to have George towel him and put him in the travel cage so I can do a good cleaning of his big cage. I can put the whole upper half of my body into the lower half of his cage now with no issues! (Except maybe poop falling from above)!
3. He no longer sits in just one corner of his cage, but is actively climbing everywhere all day.
4. He no longer runs his beak up and down the cage bars for hours on end. He just does it in passing now.
5. He no longer feeds his feet for the other hours on end in the day. He only does this occasionally now.
6. He will come out of his cage (still never lets go of it really, but comes out) and get on a perch attached to the outside of it and come all the way to the end of it when I say "C'mere Oscar". He will eat his treat (1/2 of an unsalted pumpkin seed) on said perch, next to me, instead if rushing back into his cage to eat it.
7. When I say, "Gimme a kiss" he now makes kissing noises at me.
8. I invented a game for us to play while he's in or out of his cage. It involves crinkle paper. After he began to play the game with me I introduced a crinkle paper toy into his cage and he plays with it (and most of his other toys now)!
There's more. Lots more. Subtle things that perhaps only I see or feel. Like how he's coming out of his shell and I'm getting to see some of his real personality. Getting to know who Oscar is.
So, I guess Oscar really has come a bit of a way since September. It could be farther, I'm sure, but with two other birds who need my time as well, I guess, all in all, it's not too bad.
Oscar seems like a different bird than the one we brought home. He seems happier. He's very engaging. He's doing funny things (I think purposely to be funny). He plays peekaboo. He barks at the dogs. I'm just so glad he's a part of my life!
Then I read a post on a FB group I belong to called "For the Love of Quaker Parrots" or something like that (I'm in several). A girl was agonizing over her new pet Quaker. She'd had him for 4 weeks. She got him just after he was weaned. She was discouraged bcuz she hadn't been able to teach him to step up yet, that he tries to bite her when she reaches into his cage, that he didn't seem to like her. Things like that. So, I was replying to her, telling her about how I was feeling with Oscar (who's situation is totally different, but still a Quaker is a Quaker).
So I thought back to September and how Oscar was the first week he was here. I began making a list of all the things that are different about Oscar then, and Oscar now.
1. I no longer have to wear gloves to change his food a water. He still squawks at me, but doesn't try to eat me!
2. I no longer have to have George towel him and put him in the travel cage so I can do a good cleaning of his big cage. I can put the whole upper half of my body into the lower half of his cage now with no issues! (Except maybe poop falling from above)!
3. He no longer sits in just one corner of his cage, but is actively climbing everywhere all day.
4. He no longer runs his beak up and down the cage bars for hours on end. He just does it in passing now.
5. He no longer feeds his feet for the other hours on end in the day. He only does this occasionally now.
6. He will come out of his cage (still never lets go of it really, but comes out) and get on a perch attached to the outside of it and come all the way to the end of it when I say "C'mere Oscar". He will eat his treat (1/2 of an unsalted pumpkin seed) on said perch, next to me, instead if rushing back into his cage to eat it.
7. When I say, "Gimme a kiss" he now makes kissing noises at me.
8. I invented a game for us to play while he's in or out of his cage. It involves crinkle paper. After he began to play the game with me I introduced a crinkle paper toy into his cage and he plays with it (and most of his other toys now)!
There's more. Lots more. Subtle things that perhaps only I see or feel. Like how he's coming out of his shell and I'm getting to see some of his real personality. Getting to know who Oscar is.
So, I guess Oscar really has come a bit of a way since September. It could be farther, I'm sure, but with two other birds who need my time as well, I guess, all in all, it's not too bad.
Oscar seems like a different bird than the one we brought home. He seems happier. He's very engaging. He's doing funny things (I think purposely to be funny). He plays peekaboo. He barks at the dogs. I'm just so glad he's a part of my life!
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Not being used to navigating the room with another bird flying about, I think, is what increased the panic and they both ended up crashing. Neither was hurt, but TD didn't speak to me for days afterwards. So I'm trying again. They had a little fright flight earlier but did not crash into each other or anything else. TD is preening on his rope perch and AthenaDon is biting my glasses at the moment. They actually played together for a minute. And foraged near each other. So this time it's going pretty well. If I can get their out of cage time together it will mean more time for Mom (probably with Oscar)! Or for sleep... What's that?
