• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

"Official" Opie and Oggie Thread

Clueless

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avenue Concierge
Joined
11/3/12
Messages
24,021
@Clueless do you have any particular tips for weighing Opie without traumatizing him?

I have a gram scale and t perch stand I use for the budgies.. he could probably fit on it.. but getting him on it, getting close enough to read it..

I'm still worried about whether he eats enough. I'd like to know what he weighs now and if he loses any.
You're going to have to wait until you can transport him with a T perch. If you use that dowel it may work but...... well, Amazons can scoot fast.

I have a small T stand that I put on a kitchen weight scale. That works for my guys.

Do you measure the amount of pellets you put in their bowl? If not, try doing that using a tablespoon or tiny measuring device of some sort. Measure in am and just before bed and you'll see what he's eating anyway.
 

Elysian

Jogging around the block
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
7/27/20
Messages
911
Location
Kansas City, Missouri
You're going to have to wait until you can transport him with a T perch. If you use that dowel it may work but...... well, Amazons can scoot fast.

I have a small T stand that I put on a kitchen weight scale. That works for my guys.

Do you measure the amount of pellets you put in their bowl? If not, try doing that using a tablespoon or tiny measuring device of some sort. Measure in am and just before bed and you'll see what he's eating anyway.
Good point - I've just been eyeballing it and it looks like he barely puts a dent in it, though I do see him eat at times.
Oggie pretty much empties his bowl.

I'll have to get more scientific with Opie.
I sure hope he doesn't need any vet visit because that's going to be a mess, poor guy.
 

Elysian

Jogging around the block
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
7/27/20
Messages
911
Location
Kansas City, Missouri
When I am sitting in their room and Oggie's cage is open, he likes to quietly climb along the vertical edge of his door until he is about level with my head, then he hangs there and leans as far out as he can and.. stares directly into my eyes.. silently.. with that scary gray glare of his..

Today he did it while I was attaching a new bowl inside his cage and I didn't realize he was so close until we came face to face.

Then he laughed. Like cackling witch.

He is the CREEPIEST freaking bird and I love it.




I can summon Opie with the package of fig newtons. He sees me pick it up and boom, there he is.
Need to get some actual figs and stop letting him have little pieces of this sugary junk, he's an addict.
 

Kassiani

Biking along the boulevard
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
9/12/20
Messages
6,832
Location
Southeastern U.S.
So, I can only relate my experience because you sound sooooo much like me....and my expectations of My Opie (MO on this thread to avoid confusion).

MO is cage territorial and aggressive. If he's in his cage, he will try to bite me about 50 to 75% of the time if I reach in to adjust a toy or dish. I can't touch anything on the cage top if he's out without him rushing over to try to bite me. So, I'm training myself to not interact with the cage top to avoid this. So....I adjust his in cage toys when he is on the top of his cage, and his top of cage toys when he is in the cage. What I hope will help is getting a play tree for him. That would be "neutral" territory and something not perceived as his 'nest' to protect. At least that's my hope and perception of why he's so aggressive on or in the cage.

MO won't step up on my arm or hand, but I have been able to get him to step up on a rope perch (looped with both of the ends in my hand).

He will not let me scratch his head, and I've only been able to use a toy to scratch his head once. He hates (and I mean HATES) hands unless they are offering him a treat. I think as far as scratching his head is concerned, it is because I'm reaching over his head. This is just my interpretation, but I think he doesn't like hands over his head because he associates it with being grabbed or toweled. He fights like a wild thing if/when I have to towel him--like when I have to put his collar on.

At this point, I am just the food dispenser for ALL of my birds, even the Blue Boys. They wouldn't give me the time of day if it weren't for the food. Now MO will flock call to me when I leave the room or leave for work for the day. But when I return, it's food/treats that is wanted.

I feel your pain. I cried about Opie last night because I hoped to add birds to my flock that wanted to spend time with me apart from my offering food. And what I have is a bird who hates hands and will try to bite at any opportunity. I feel as though food dispenser and custodian is all I will be. So, yeah, I get it.
 

Clueless

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Avenue Concierge
Joined
11/3/12
Messages
24,021
It will change.

MC started that way and turned into my best buddy that I still mourn.

I learned that trick several years ago. MC was independent. MC preferred to come out on a playstand. I would roll it over to his cage, open the cage door, he came out and got on it, then i would roll it to the side.

MC was scared of hands. I'll tell you tricks on that later. I'm rushed for time now.
 

flyzipper

Rollerblading along the road
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
9/28/20
Messages
2,591
Location
Canada
Real Name
Steve
"Official" Opie and Oggie Thread", is a great title for a focal point thread for your birds, but it isn't likely the best at capturing the specific attention, and generating the discussion that might be valuable to have at this difficult stage of their life with you. You might consider creating a new post with a title such as, "Looking for others who adopted difficult birds", or similar, and I suspect that would pull a surprising number of people into a worthwhile discussion.

I've read many accounts from people whose birds took a lot of work (are taking a lot of work), and you may be able to find relatable stories, mentors, support, etc.

@Hankmacaw and @redindiaink come to mind, for example.
 

Elysian

Jogging around the block
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
7/27/20
Messages
911
Location
Kansas City, Missouri
I will do some more digging on the forums. I've read a lot of some people's stories - I'm sure most of what I need has already been hashed out before :)

Opie stepped up on a dowel rod for me today!
A really long one..
I needed to get him to bed, and he seemed super willing to do it. He didn't rush my hand either.
We had a bit of an awkward moment at the cage door.. he grabbed onto the door instead of letting me slip the dowel inside. But I said "go home and I'll give you a treat!" And he climbed up to his food bowl.

He has been coming closer and closer to me, we were practically face to face earlier. I just can't yet work up the courage to try to see if he wants any touches.

I think I can weigh him though.. I've stuck the t stand into his cage so he can get used to it and hopefully soon I can lure him onto it with treats, then I will put the scale under it.
Oh shoot, come to think of it that is probably why he hesitated at the cage door.. scary t perch in the corner.

I got a real cage cover for Oggie (Opie just has a sheet). It worked miracles for Oggie's wake up time this morning, but Opie hates it. When he sees Oggie getting covered up he starts climbing around like crazy.
But after he is covered and the lights are out he seems to settle.
Hopefully he gets used to that soon.

They are both honestly so much braver and more adaptable than I expected, I'm really proud of them.

They remind me some of how totally comfortable and fearless my budgies are, so I think their mom must have really loved them and done a great job socializing them before the bad times hit.

I can't wait for Opie to start showing some of his personality!
 

flyzipper

Rollerblading along the road
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
9/28/20
Messages
2,591
Location
Canada
Real Name
Steve
work up the courage to try to see if he wants any touches.
I've made a little scritches hand gesture for Oscar, and he learned fairly quickly that I was asking if he was interested in being touched.
Any lowering of the head meant yes, and anything else was interpreted as no.
That worked for us when he was still in the unsure phase.

Now that he doesn't punish me if I get it wrong, I'm able to be less formal with those interactions (but never callous).
 

Elysian

Jogging around the block
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
7/27/20
Messages
911
Location
Kansas City, Missouri
I've made a little scritches hand gesture for Oscar, and he learned fairly quickly that I was asking if he was interested in being touched.
Any lowering of the head meant yes, and anything else was interpreted as no.
That worked for us when he was still in the unsure phase.

Now that he doesn't punish me if I get it wrong, I'm able to be less formal with those interactions (but never callous).
That's how we do it with Oggie too!
I keep making the same motion at Opie but he just stares at me lol.
 

camelotshadow

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
11/9/11
Messages
21,494
Location
S California
Real Name
Christine
Dolly the Meyers would lower head & started to give herself some scritches...hard not to know what she wanted,,

Sounds like you all are doing very well...Birds loved at one time will likely warm up & be accepting of the new found love.

:awww:
 

Elysian

Jogging around the block
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
7/27/20
Messages
911
Location
Kansas City, Missouri
Opie wiggled his tongue at me? :)
Looked almost like he was chewing his tongue or trying to dislodge something so I was a bit worried, but I also read this is a happy thing they do.

Of course I had just given in and let him have some seed and nut mix with his pellets since he's turning his nose up at the pellets.

Gonna make some simple birdie bread today and try to get that in him.. also gave him some of Oggie's smaller pellets, maybe he only eats the big purple (grape cluster shaped) ones because they break into smaller chunks easily.

It's funny, their paperwork said Opie eats the pellets and Oggie eats the pellets mixed with seed. So far I've found rhe opposite, Oggie eats just the pellets without any prompting at all but Opie wants the seed.
 

Elysian

Jogging around the block
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
7/27/20
Messages
911
Location
Kansas City, Missouri
Opie, Opie, Opie.. sigh. I hope we can be real friends some day.

He loves taking food from me. When he sees me with food he comes out of his cage to get some, and if I'm serving meals he goes directly to his food bowl to wait. He doesn't always eat what's in there but he wants to check it out.

But that's definitely all he likes me for lol.
He pointedly steps away if I get too close, and I obviously don't press him on that.

I've been trying to be braver with him though, since he can probably sense my nerves.. today when he went to his bowl to wait, I put my hand inside the cage to drop the food in instead of doing it through the bars.
We did a little dance where he warned me he was wary by opening his beak, so I pulled back but talked to him and showed him the food and waited until he seemed to relax before moving again.. took a few slow tries but I was able to reach in front of him and put the food in his bowl without him seeming uncomfortable.

I felt good about this. Felt like good progress.
Then my boyfriend came home and went in there to say hi, after not even going into the bird room at all for 3-4 days.. and Opie pressed himself right up against the cage bars and let the bf touch his feathers. I was kind of hoping last time was a fluke.
Bf was surprised when I said I've never touched him :(

Seriously, he likes the DOG more than he likes me. They've only seen each other (very briefly) 2-3 times but Opie gets excited and tries to get close to him through the cage bars too! And doesn't warn him off or anything.

I think I'm being taken advantage of :roflmao:

At least Oggie loves me... but I think Oggie loves everyone. :rolleyes:
 

SumitaSinh

Rollerblading along the road
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
12/6/20
Messages
2,416
I can totally understand your feelings... Don't worry, at least you are not the MEAN MOM or something, and Oggie loves you.
 

Pat H

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
9/27/19
Messages
2,396
Location
Apple River, IL
Real Name
Pat
Oggie treats-- Just remembered, my hubby used to feed his Senegal [before we were married-- birds are what brought us together! ]... raisins. Except, since he kept them in the frig, bird didn't like them cold. So Steve had to warm it up in his fingers first! I was going to suggest trying the grapes frozen, like a popsicle for them. Or frozen peas. And my Ricky LOVES banana!
 
Top