Rehomed CAG. Looking for advice

[Kubas Mam]

hi, I am new to the forum. I have Kuba a 3 year old Congo. We are his fifth home. He has been with us for just over a week and is a plucker. He comes out of his cage and sits on top of the door and whistles away. He loves all his foraging toys which I fill with pistachios, walnuts and cashew. I would fill these up twice a day so am not sure how much if his pellets he is actually. He does not eat fruit or veg yet. I have started clicker training and he is responding well.

I am looking for advice. How do I keep him stimulated and exercised. He spends most of the day in his cage. He tends to come out at about 7:30 each day. He does not play with toys bar his foraging ones.

I have a rainbow lorikeet who is fully flighted and am looking for advice on how to get them more acquainted with one another. Kuba does not step up yet so any interaction between the 2 are on kubas cage.

He is a nervous bird but will take treats from your hand and will accept a beak rub if u ask him first.

Any and all advice is gratefully accepted.

 

[Zara]

Welcome to the Avenue Natasha and Kuba (and your lorikeet too )!

 

[Kubas Mam]

Welcome to the Avenue Natasha and Kuba (and your lorikeet too )!

Thank you. My lorikeets name is Buddie and she is definitely the princess of the house, just dont say that to my daughter

 

[Snowghost]

Hi Natasha, so glad you joined us here! I am Paco's third owner, and he is 20. He plucked with first owner, due to neglect and lack of socialization, the same thing happened to him with his second owner, she worked 70 hours a week, when I got him, he was filthy, thin and his chest was bald and no tail feathers. He was on Hartz Parrot Seed diet only. He was so scared when I got him, that he sat still as a statue for 2 days. March 2020, we have been together for a year. It took a lot of patience with him, two steps forward and four steps back, he still trembles when I get close to him. I started out pretty much leaving him alone and getting used to the changes, sounds like you're off to a good start since Kuba is responding to clicker training already.

Paco was terrified of any fruit or veggies, at first he loved fresh strawberries, warm sweet potatoes, fresh corn etc then he got picky. I did start giving him warm cauliflower rice, no salt, no seasoning, then I added tiny bits of broccoli, I added cubed carrots, string beans, peas, its a frozen mix I warm up for 30 seconds, he loves to be had fed.

Don't rush it, try different shapes, carrot sticks, slice apples, banana's, fresh pineapple, Paco will only eat cubed carrots, not sliced, diced or sticks, go figure.

Paco is in his cage most of the day while I'm at work, but I keep a routine, goodies, fresh water in the morning and evening, he is out of cage when I am home and I socialize with him.

I wouldn't worry about socializing with Lorikeet right now, that is a smaller bird right? I will tag some people that have great suggestions on CAG's, @BertAllen @Clueless , @Love My Zons @Rain Bow, Welcome to the group!

 

[Snowghost]

@Hawk12237 you still around?

 

[Clueless]

I don't think he's on the forum any longer.

 

[Clueless]

I have no advice on introducing birds.

I can tell you that it took a while with Secret to get to know toys.

Right now we've discovered destroying balsa is FUN and makes her look fierce!

 

[Fuzzy]

Natasha! It sounds like you are doing extremely well with Kuba already!

but will take treats from your hand and will accept a beak rub if u ask him first.

Love that you ask him first. That's exactly how it should be. He needs to have choices and control - these are such important reinforcers.

Re toys, start off with small easily destroyed items. I found the best toys were the ones I strung together. I made them budgie sized for my Amazon Ollie to start with because he was not used to toys. Like Clueless I used balsa wood and also added bitty bagels, leather triangles, cactus wood and woven palm. I strung them on leather laces with wooden beads. In the beginning I made them plain, then as Ollie grew in confidence, I began adding colour and making them bigger. Many shop bought toys aren't fun because they are usually made out of indestructible (to many birds) hard wood. Untreated pine pieces are fun too. Try filling an empty food bowl with some foot toys - pine pieces, balsa wood, corks, small woven balls, etc.

Keep trying with the fruit and veggies. You could even share fruit and veggies with him since parrots eat as a flock.

 

[Nikomania]

Five homes? Wow.

First, I'd evaluate his diet to see if you can convert him over to a healthier one. Fresh veggies, some fresh fruit, sprouts, some seed, some nuts, etc. to start.

Has he been vetted since you brought him home? It might be a good idea to have him examined to make certain he's medically healthy.

CAGS are cautious by nature and take a long time to warm up. My birds are on a regular schedule which I believe really helps in knowing what's coming up for them. Overall, take things extremely slowly and under his terms. It's about what they want; not what we expect from them.

Welcome to AA! Looking forward to following your journey together.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

Just clarifying bitty bagels if Natasha isn't familiar with them... fun little rolls of paper to shred and play with. Some of our vendors on the forum sell them in different sizes.

 

[Snowghost]

@Clueless I thought he left, I haven't seen him post in a while. Hopefully more people will pitch in some advice.

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Nikomania]

@Clueless I thought he left, I haven't seen him post in a while. Hopefully more people will pitch in some advice.

He was so active on this forum. Wondering what prompted him to leave.

 

[Kubas Mam]

Hi Natasha, so glad you joined us here! I am Paco's third owner, and he is 20. He plucked with first owner, due to neglect and lack of socialization, the same thing happened to him with his second owner, she worked 70 hours a week, when I got him, he was filthy, thin and his chest was bald and no tail feathers. He was on Hartz Parrot Seed diet only. He was so scared when I got him, that he sat still as a statue for 2 days. March 2020, we have been together for a year. It took a lot of patience with him, two steps forward and four steps back, he still trembles when I get close to him. I started out pretty much leaving him alone and getting used to the changes, sounds like you're off to a good start since Kuba is responding to clicker training already.

Paco was terrified of any fruit or veggies, at first he loved fresh strawberries, warm sweet potatoes, fresh corn etc then he got picky. I did start giving him warm cauliflower rice, no salt, no seasoning, then I added tiny bits of broccoli, I added cubed carrots, string beans, peas, its a frozen mix I warm up for 30 seconds, he loves to be had fed.

Don't rush it, try different shapes, carrot sticks, slice apples, banana's, fresh pineapple, Paco will only eat cubed carrots, not sliced, diced or sticks, go figure.

Paco is in his cage most of the day while I'm at work, but I keep a routine, goodies, fresh water in the morning and evening, he is out of cage when I am home and I socialize with him.

I wouldn't worry about socializing with Lorikeet right now, that is a smaller bird right? I will tag some people that have great suggestions on CAG's, @BertAllen @Clueless , @Love My Zons @Rain Bow, Welcome to the group!

Thank u

 

[Kubas Mam]

Natasha! It sounds like you are doing extremely well with Kuba already!


Love that you ask him first. That's exactly how it should be. He needs to have choices and control - these are such important reinforcers.

Re toys, start off with small easily destroyed items. I found the best toys were the ones I strung together. I made them budgie sized for my Amazon Ollie to start with because he was not used to toys. Like Clueless I used balsa wood and also added bitty bagels, leather triangles, cactus wood and woven palm. I strung them on leather laces with wooden beads. In the beginning I made them plain, then as Ollie grew in confidence, I began adding colour and making them bigger. Many shop bought toys aren't fun because they are usually made out of indestructible (to many birds) hard wood. Untreated pine pieces are fun too. Try filling an empty food bowl with some foot toys - pine pieces, balsa wood, corks, small woven balls, etc.

Keep trying with the fruit and veggies. You could even share fruit and veggies with him since parrots eat as a flock.

I will definitely try that with the toys and food. Thank u

 

[Kubas Mam]

Just clarifying bitty bagels if Natasha isn't familiar with them... fun little rolls of paper to shred and play with. Some of our vendors on the forum sell them in different sizes.

View attachment 343699

I have a few of them. Buddie the lorikeet doesn't like them so I will try them with kuba

 

[Kubas Mam]

Five homes? Wow.

First, I'd evaluate his diet to see if you can convert him over to a healthier one. Fresh veggies, some fresh fruit, sprouts, some seed, some nuts, etc. to start.

Has he been vetted since you brought him home? It might be a good idea to have him examined to make certain he's medically healthy.

CAGS are cautious by nature and take a long time to warm up. My birds are on a regular schedule which I believe really helps in knowing what's coming up for them. Overall, take things extremely slowly and under his terms. It's about what they want; not what we expect from them.

Welcome to AA! Looking forward to following your journey together.

He eats pellets at least but will definitely prefer nuts. As he really doesn't do much besides sit on his perch I make sure his foraging toys are full. As his pellets are small I fill them with cashews and pistachios. But am wondering if that is healthy for him?

 

[Nikomania]

Nuts are good, but should be given as treats. They have a high fat content, so moderation is key.

Try mixing a small amount of fresh veggies/fruit cut up into small, or pellet size pieces, and mix in with his pellets. Make certain you change them out during the day so you don't get into a spoilage issue. Hopefully he'll 'accidentally' eat a veggie piece while working on his pellets. You can bump up the veggies as you go along once you see that he's actually eating them. As you see him converting over, you can make up a separate bowl for his pellets while you gradually reduce the pellet ratio to veggies until it's 100% veggies/fruit.

Foraging for veggies away from his food bowls is another way to entice him into eating some.

 

[Lady Jane]

@Kubas Mam this person is looking for a Grey.

Looking for a companion :)

A while ago I lost Max to a unclear disease. I felt like I could never find anything like Max and that I shouldn't even bother trying, however I realized later on that humans value their "possessions" more than things that aren't their possessions, not to say Max wasn't special; he very much was...

forums.avianavenue.com

 

[Kubas Mam]

Nuts are good, but should be given as treats. They have a high fat content, so moderation is key.

Try mixing a small amount of fresh veggies/fruit cut up into small, or pellet size pieces, and mix in with his pellets. Make certain you change them out during the day so you don't get into a spoilage issue. Hopefully he'll 'accidentally' eat a veggie piece while working on his pellets. You can bump up the veggies as you go along once you see that he's actually eating them. As you see him converting over, you can make up a separate bowl for his pellets while you gradually reduce the pellet ratio to veggies until it's 100% veggies/fruit.

Foraging for veggies away from his food bowls is another way to entice him into eating some.

As he doesn't play or do anything but forage I want him to keep occupied. I tried putting veg and fruit in them but he won't go near it. So he ends up just sitting on his perch with nothing to do.