Twinkle And His Elephant

[HeatherM74]

Twinkle finally (I say finally like it's been so long ) started really perching today. (My sister in law's has been perching and started flying the first day she brought him home. Twinkle so far is just flapping those wings while standing on a perch, knocking himself over backwards so he's hanging like a bat bird. I lied - he just flew from the bottom of his cage to the top of his little tent I made him, we stopped for a celebration. )

I had the perch down on the lowest bar I could attach it to on the cage. (I had all of them down low like that.) I've been working with her perching on my finger. The first 2 days she seemed frozen in fear when perching on my finger, but today, much more confident.

My whole long drawn out point is, I moved some perches around today, led ladders up to those, trying to encourage him to move up higher in his cage. His favorite spot is under his little stuffed elephant or in his tent. I decided I might encourage him to go up higher if I put those up a little higher. I tied the elephant to the side and put the tent about an inch higher than the lowest perch.

He finally figured out the elephant wasn't coming to him so -

(cell phone pic - I didn't want to risk him changing positions while I got my Nikon out.

he went to the elephant. Climbed right up the sidebars and sat on his ellie. (This is the cage that came with him, I want to replace it here shortly.)

I can't help it. He's just so stinking cute! I him!

 

[Renae]

That's an adorable photo. He looks so snuggly!

 

[MollyMouse]

So gorgeous

 

[Anne & Gang]

now that is precious

 

[Daisy's Mom]

Twinkle is sooo sweet

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

That pic is too cute!

 

[AZReno]

He is adorable! Be patient with him, I got a bird like that once, it turned out he had been kept in a shoebox brooder the entire he was handfeeding and never let out to exercise or learn to play or fly. So when I got him, it was all quite a shock for him. You really can help him feel more at ease for now by covering half the cage, that'll help him to be more outgoing because he won't be so scared. And put some toys down low, as he discovers toys are cool, he'll start to get more curious about other stuff, too.

 

[HeatherM74]

Thanks!

Lynn, definitely. I actually keep 3 of the sides covered usually. I moved the blanket so that I could take the picture. Also, on the cage floor he's got this little line of balls that have bells in them, another little ball, a circle thing with balls on them, some straws cut ni half and tied together, and I put a few q-tips in there too. I just moved the hanging toys up higher so he'd have incentive to look up and reach for thigns. This morning he was flying from perch to perch when I uncovered him. I've got him on my lap now and he just took off and landed on my desk.

I just thought I'd encourage him to try to perch and fly. I figured if he got upset about the elephant and his hut, I'd move them back down, but he seems to be doing what comes naturally.

ETA - I forgot to add that he has discovered his toys. He chews on the baby ring teether with the balls and he kind of drags the straws around the cage, plus I change out a toilet paper tube every day (family of 6, we go through a lot of TP ) and chews on those too. He's figuring it out.

Thank you again for the advice!

oh and on the hand feeding, this morning he took only 1 ML, so I stuck him back in the cage in front of the millet and some bird bread and he sat there and had breakfast like a big bird.

 

[AZReno]

You're such a good lovebird mommy ) Aren't they wonderful?

 

[HeatherM74]

Thank you! That means a lot coming from you! They are the most fabulous little things! Don't let my budgies hear me say that, I think they are the most wonderful too. I've been wanting one since before I got the parakeets. I've been reading and reading and looking for a breeder so I could get a handfed one. I actually personally only know one breeder who is reputable and is handfed, but she breeds cockatiels. I had to drive from Des Moines to Omaha to get ours.

I have seen one recently on Craig's List that has 3 "rare steal gray" and 1 colbalt blue for $75 each at first, then he lowered it to $55. In his first ad he said they weren't handfed but are easy to tame. He took that part out when he lowered his price.

I spend too much time on Craig's list wanting to rescue every bird I find on there.

 

[atvchick95]

So cute

Your doing it the same way I do my hand fed birds, once they start perching in the brooder- rather its on the perch we made for it or the bowls, I let them perch in it for about a week. then I move them to a Small - medium cage with everything low, they have 1food dish on the floor (when I introduce them new foods in the brooder the dish is on the floor) then dishes where they go on the cages - which is normally low just not on the floor lol -

then perches down as low as they go, once they get accustomed to it - moving around more climbing around more I start moving things up but i normally leave one perch low (which is in front of the food dishes for the cage) then after they are used to that size cage, moving around fine w/out stumbling, and perching well specially once they start perching on a swing at the top of the cage, they get moved to their big cages

its a long process, but its all done during the weaning process (because most of the time when they get moved to the sm-med. cage they're still being hand fed once or twice a day) and I feel by doing it this way, when they go to their new home a big cage isn't going to scare them to death because they are already used to it, and they shouldn't get hurt from falling or anything because they've already mastered living in a big cage

 

[HeatherM74]

Thank you Kelli! It feels so reassuring to hear that I am doing things the way an experienced lovebird owner would.

You can read and research all you want but until you are doing it, you don't know what to expect. I posted this in the budgie section. I lost my first budgie who we got from an older lady. She knew nothing about it. Her kids had left them at her house and never wanted them back. The parakeet he'd been housed with tore him up into a bloody mess and after he healed she gave him to me. No idea how old. I didn't research him, just asked the pet store what I needed etc. They didn't give me much advice. I don't know if it was me or if it was old age or what, but I got up one morning a year after I had brought him home and he was on the cage floor dead.

Since the moment I decided I wanted another bird because I missed his chirps, I read everything I can get my hands on. I've learned so much more than I knew then, from cage size to what birds actually need to eat to needing exercise etc. I obsess over what my budgies eat, what they refuse, etc. But, I've learned so much here that I haven't read in a book or on a parrot website. You guys are so awesome and I appreciate you all so much!

 

[AZReno]

I do the same thing Kelli, I have a perch I made for the brooder so mine are perching early. I wait til the youngest is almost fully feathered then move them to a small cage, I know the older ones will help keep it warm but I also give them a heat lamp for a bit. I keep it mostly covered, but I use bedding with no grate on the bottom though because they are on the ground and want to forage on the ground. I give them a cozy place to hide, lots of little things to chew on and investigate....and ladders and a boing that touches the ground, they are always up that first lol and low food and water. It really helps to make them more outgoing. I vowed I would never have handraised baby like that one I got that was scared and just sat there, never learned to even flap it's wings Oh, and they also get the same stuffed animal they had in the brooder- I try to match the hen's coloring ) I love raising the babies!

Heather, obsessing is a good thing! I do the same thing with anything I get interested, boy did I pour over lovebird info when I got started with them lol I always tell anyone who asks me for advice privately to also please ask on the forums, unless it's cut and dry, but most of it isn't! There's so much conflicting information because every situation is different, but you get so many perspectives from the forums!

 

[expressmailtome]

That picture is so sweet!

Matt