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Help with settling in a pair of three year olds

AndyG

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Andre
I don’t have much info about them. Apparently they are about three years old, were hand raised, and used for breeding. I actually wonder if they may be related

I tend to buy the birds no one wants because I want them to have a decent home and have had tons of luck turning around aggressive budgies who fly free now and come hone when it’s bed time. I got these two on impulse the day I got my baby parent raised linnie because they looked so sad.

These two (Thunder and lightning) are absolutely terrified and I have a feeling they’ve lived a dreary life to this point.

Two wing feathers are clipped on each. I’ve only had them a couple days and know they need time but want to do this right.

Issue I see:
- corner cowering together and contact calls if one is more than 6 inches away
- scared of my dogs (cage is ‘fenced off 6 feet from cage which is 5.5 feet off ground)
- freak out in the evenings. Climbing all around cage and making ‘scared noises’. This is around 7, before they are covered at night
- not eating as much as I’d like them to

I want to:
- help them settle. Suggestions?
-let them out to get exercise. How can I do this? I don’t want to make things worse when I have to grab them to get them back into the cage. I don’t see them tame in the next month and don’t want them cooped up in the cage for months until they come around (if they can)
- they would be allowed out in my large fenced of bird space.

cage placement:
- on top of societies cage. In front of window that gets morning sun ( but I can close blind and view.)
- view of most of first floor
- view of tame English budgies who scurry around the floor as my son as he plays. They do not land on their cage.
- view of a pair of Gouldian finches (who are skiddish by nature of course)
- no view of baby linnie I got the same day. Contact calls here and there

all suggestions are welcome.

baby Linnie (Glitch)
Wants out of cage. Jumped on my lap as I wrote this. He will eat Milliet from my hand but Again I fear he’ll regress if I pick him up to get him back to him cage (which of course I have to go do now) suggestions for him welcomed too. Can I take his cage to the closed off bird space and open it for him?

At this moment I have no closed off and safe room to take them to. Probably will in about a month when a tenant moves out
 

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Zara

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NorthernGannet

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Hi! I think @Kiwi's Mom mentioned me because I'm going through a somewhat similar situation. 6 months ago I adopted 2-ish yr old, hand fed but used as a breeder and had recently lost his mate. He was full of anxiety and we are still working on that. Also, and this is news to anyone because I haven't mentioned it on the forum yet, 4.5 weeks ago I rescued a 3.5 yr old adult, never been handled, lived a very sad life in a very tiny cage with a very huge pile of dried poop. He is much calmer than the previously mentioned one, and my hope is that they will befriend and compliment each other.

My experience is really limited, but I'll chime in where possible.

Cowering: they have been uprooted, and it seems some linnies are very sensitive to change. Give them time, time, and more time. Their schedules seem to be slower than other species, in my lmited experience anyhow. Do they have anything solid they can hide next to (see my comments below about the cage and window)? Move slowly around their cage, talk soothingly to them. Try to get them to eat seeds from your hands, start with a long sprig of millet if they're interested in it, gradually making the length between your hand and the end shorter as they get more comfy.

How was their previous cage situated? I learned by accident that my latest guy was much more comfortable when I covered the top of his cage. It dawned on me after observing this, that he'd been used to having another cage stacked on top of his for 3 years, so it made sense for him to prefer a "roof". So if yours were in a corner or something, they might prefer a more solid side feeling until they settle in. The same thing regarding the window, if they're not used to that it might feel very threatening to them if they can't get away from the visual. Even just hanging something on an outside corner of the cage so they feel there's a secure place to be. Does that make sense?

Scared of dogs: Yep, dogs are predators! If the dogs are not getting near the cage, which is sounds like they are not, and are not barking at or threatening them from afar, I think once again lots of time just getting used to their new surroundings.

Evening freak out: my anxiety ridden linnie did this. It would start whenever the lighting in the room would lessen in the evenings, and most definitely when the cage light went off (still ambient room light though). He would holler loudly while running around. When I covered him for bed, he would still run around for awhile, but not holler. The first week or so he would run around under his cover for literally an HOUR before settling down. Then for several weeks it was only 10-15 min each night after the cover. Finally it was only during the time period when the lighting was dimmer before being covered. Now he almost never cares about the lighting (other things can still trigger that anxious behavior though!). It's been 6 months.

I didn't really DO anything, other than talk quietly to him during these times. Sometimes as a distraction I would try to feed him seeds from my fingers, or millet spray, but usually he wasn't interested. At first I did try to lessen the amount of dimmer evening light before covering him, so at least that period of stressful time was shorter for him. When he started relaxing, I slowly went back to my normal lighting routine.

Helping them settle: all I can suggest is what I already said: moving slowly around their cage, set it up to help them feel safe from everything potentially scary, and giving them lots of time to adjust. Try to get them to eat some millet or apple or something something from your fingers. Since they were hand fed, that should work in your favor.

Exercise! So I will say my first 3 linnies (including my ex-breeder anxiety ridden one) all took 8-14 days to learn to step up. After they started learning that, I'd take them out. My latest one though, the recent 3.5 yr old rescue, is totally different. He was not hand fed and has never been handled by humans (other than grabbed here and there over the years for nail trimming). I have had him 4.5 weeks and he is still very shy of me. The step up is not really happening yet! But like you, I wanted to be able to let him out without having it be a big issue getting him back in. Soooo, I discovered that although he was scared of both my hand and a natural branch, he will readily step up onto one of those wooden dowels that come with those white cages, but only when he is out of the cage. I was happy to discover this, but sad because it reminded me that this size dowel is the only thing he'd perched on for his entire life. If I hold him up high, he usually won't fly off and I can return him to the cage.

But while he is inside the cage, he will not step up on anything for me, even the dowel, so for now I have to just leave the door open and let him come out on his own (it took him 3 days before he was brave enough to venture out the first time). Sometimes he chooses to just stay in the cage and not come out at all. So, try teaching them to step up onto a branch or dowel or something, as that should be less scary than your hand at this point. And in mine's case, doing it outside the cage has been more productive.

Glitch should be pretty easy to teach step up, seeing as he's not scared of you. My 2nd linnie was a 4 month old parent raised and he learned without trouble. Also if you quickly scoop around him with two hands, rather than quickly grabbing with just one hand, it seems to be less traumatic. Lol. I did have to do that with my baby a few times before he learned to step up, and it didn't ruin our future :)

I think that's about the extent of my linnie experience! LOL I've only ever worked with one at a time, never 2 at the same time who were untamed, so maybe nothing I said will even apply!

Good luck! The first few weeks (or more) might be crazy, but it'll work out and settle down.

-NG
 

Leih

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I was coming down here to say thanks for taking these two in! I don't have much to add, though, because my two linnies weren't that scared. Although one was more dominant and very protective of the other for a good year, then suddenly that timid linnie became very outgoing! They came to me clipped and the personality change occurred when he started to fly. They aren't hand tamed at all, they don't step up but we have kind of developed a routine where they understand I'm asking them to get back into the cage and they're generally no problem. The formerly timid one is very interested in me and where he used to run and hide in the back of his cage he now runs up to the front to chat with me. The other one is pretty indifferent to me haha They wouldn't come out of their cage for a long long time. Eventually I set up a table and table perch in front of their cage and ran a rope perch from inside their cage to the table perch and let them come and go as they pleased. A year later they readily come out. So I guess I did have stuff to add! And definitely what @NorthernGannet said about just being extra mindful of not startling them and talking to them and just tons of time. Even though I can't handle my linnies we still have a good relationship. I really think trying to train a pair is super difficult, which is why I gave up. The one that doesn't care about me would get really angry at me when I was trying to teach them!

@NorthernGannet congrats on your new linnie! What color is this one? You're fulfilling your dream of a rainbow linnie aviary :)
 

Monica

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- corner cowering together and contact calls if one is more than 6 inches away
This can be normal behavior for ex-breeder birds and birds that were parent raised. As recommended, give them a way to "hide" and escape from you. This could be a large toy, a seagrass matt, partially covering the cage, etc

- scared of my dogs (cage is ‘fenced off 6 feet from cage which is 5.5 feet off ground)
As mentioned, normal. I personally do not allow my dog near my birds.

- freak out in the evenings. Climbing all around cage and making ‘scared noises’. This is around 7, before they are covered at night
Could be a lighting thing or something else. Maybe playing some white noise around 6 to 6:30pm at night may help? Or perhaps having a "safe" zone in their cage may help?

- not eating as much as I’d like them to
As long as they are eating, that's good at least - it may take time for them to feel more comfortable

- help them settle. Suggestions?

As mentioned, time. Changing around the cage a little, giving them places to hide, maybe moving the cage to a different area may help as well.

-let them out to get exercise. How can I do this? I don’t want to make things worse when I have to grab them to get them back into the cage. I don’t see them tame in the next month and don’t want them cooped up in the cage for months until they come around (if they can)
I would recommend having them in a large flight cage, the king that is 32" x 21" x 35". Although they may not really be able to fly around much inside of one, it will help to give them "space" so they can kind of hide away. Other than that, just time, and if you are willing, you can always try target training them! Maybe not right now, but in the future. Once they get a little more comfortable with your presence, you can try dropping treats into the cage any time you walk by *slowly*. Maybe set up a couple of metal dishes at the front of the cage so you can drop a couple of treats in when you go by. This may help teach them to look forward to your presence.



baby Linnie (Glitch)
Wants out of cage. Jumped on my lap as I wrote this. He will eat Milliet from my hand but Again I fear he’ll regress if I pick him up to get him back to him cage (which of course I have to go do now) suggestions for him welcomed too. Can I take his cage to the closed off bird space and open it for him?


I don't see why not... entirely up to you and his comfort levels. As for step up training, target training can work for that, too!
 

AndyG

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Thanks for the tips everyone! I’ll try the suggestions and post an update in a few weeks.

I know these two will likely never ride on my shoulders around the house but I’ll get them as close as I can. Having a bigger cage was something that never even crossed my mind.

I have a cage that’s 30 x 18 by 55 tall. It’s huge!I have two English budgies in it now. Those budgies are out almost all day every day. I Would feel bad taking the huge cage away from my boys but it’s a good option to give the pair more room and security (it’s covered on all sides except for the front)

The more I write the better an option that seems. Potatoe and Chip (the English budgies) will be just as happy in the smaller cage. They basically only go in to sleep anyways.
 

NorthernGannet

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When I put my single anxiety guy into a larger cage, it was one of the best things I did for him. Glad someone else mentioned the cage size because I"d forgotten. At first it was like: hey, there's a little bird in that big huge cage! And then he started using every single inch of it. He had so much room to move around during his anxious moments, it actually was very good for him.

@Leih, I don't want to hijack this thread or anything, at some point I'll introduce him on his own thread. But he's a green (brighter more yellow green than JellyBean) and currently missing a bunch of feathers on his head/neck area. He has three new pins already, so I hope his bald areas will fill in rather than not. Impossible for me to tell if the follicles were damaged. The rainbow isn't too broad .... 2 turquoise and 2 different greens. LOL! And now I'm at max capacity, sorry to say. Zero room for another cage no matter how I look at it, so this is it until my living situation changes.
 

AndyG

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When I put my single anxiety guy into a larger cage, it was one of the best things I did for him. Glad someone else mentioned the cage size because I"d forgotten. At first it was like: hey, there's a little bird in that big huge cage! And then he started using every single inch of it. He had so much room to move around during his anxious moments, it actually was very good for him.

@Leih, I don't want to hijack this thread or anything, at some point I'll introduce him on his own thread. But he's a green (brighter more yellow green than JellyBean) and currently missing a bunch of feathers on his head/neck area. He has three new pins already, so I hope his bald areas will fill in rather than not. Impossible for me to tell if the follicles were damaged. The rainbow isn't too broad .... 2 turquoise and 2 different greens. LOL! And now I'm at max capacity, sorry to say. Zero room for another cage no matter how I look at it, so this is it until my living situation changes.
Ok Great!
Besides the screen somewhere for them to hide, what do you suggest in terms of toys and perches? More? Or less? Or just a regular ?

im going to switch them around today. There no point in settling them more and then having another upheaval in a couple weeks.
 

Monica

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No wooden dowel perches. (exceptions can be made for some perches - natural is always best) Go with natural as much as possible - rope if there's no chewing of the fibers.

Toys? That can be tough. Not sure what linnies enjoy the most, but I would guess toys with small beads, maybe some foraging toys, balsa, thin slats of pine, yucca, etc.
 

Leih

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Oh and they'll chew finger traps too. Don't be surprised if your two don't touch any of their toys right away, when they are more comfortable they will get started chewing.
 

NorthernGannet

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I'd just put in a normal amount of toys. Mine only seem to chew on things when they're upset. Lol. And it's mostly limited to sea grass, sisal rope, and a corn husk toy. I want to try @Leih's idea of seagrass mat!

Although they will hop from perch to perch on occasion, I've found mine prefer to climb everywhere when in the cage (but they love flying between their different play spots when out of cage, and sometimes just fly laps around the room). If there're not enough perches, they climb on the sides rather than flying (I tried that at first: limited perches, lots of open space. It didn't take). So, lots of perches of varying size and makeup.

-NG
 
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