My "hand-fed socialized" baby is WILD

[Fuzer]

I only got him Sunday night. Thing is, he's much worse today (Tue).

I can be doing something 5 feet from the cage and he gets spooked and flies around wildly. This happened before attempting to take him out of the cage.

I just took him out to get him in a cage to take him to the vet in. He got away from me, and I will not be surprised if he injured himself the way he was flying into things. I have a wrought-iron end table that he landed under, and kept flying up into the metal strips!

Is this normal? I was prepared to spend a lot of bonding time with him, but you would think he's never seen a person before.... I have not attempted to handle him since I got him. I have been giving him plenty of space. I talk, chirp, whistle to him quite a bit.

I hope this doesn't necessarily mean that he is not a "hand-fed, newly weaned, socialized, tamed" bird as stated by the breeder? :confused:

[Nikki]

Nah, mine was like that when I first got him. It just takes patience, patience, and more patience to get them to trust you.

[unpoquito]

Hand fed does not equal socialized. My birds were pet shop birds and were handfed. They were untame. I've had them just a while now, and they are coming around. Patience is KEY with Parrotlets. They have to bond with you on THEIR terms. I was frustrated in the beginning, but if you sit and talk to him while he's in his cage, he'll find this soothing. Also, let him sit on your shoulder while you sit on the sofa. He might enjoy this. My two are still afraid of hands, so I towel them to get them out of the cage. They aren't afraid of the towel. Parrotlets are very sensitive little birds. They come out of their shells when they feel ready. I love my two so much. We still have much work to do, but I'm proud of the bond we've created so far. They LOVE to be talked to and read to, and love to listen to soothing music. Okay, they also love the song RESPECT by Aretha Franklin. lol Give lots of treats. Try to hand feed him millet.

[BeakerLuvsBunsen]

I am wary of website breeders that ships birds---
it almost seems kinda "puppy-mill" like to me.

You are going to have to be patient and gentle to win him over.
There is definitely an adjustment period but I don't remember mine
being super spooked by everything....

good luck to you and keep us updated

[Fuzer]

I'm getting impatient with all this patience stuff :p

I really appreciate the thoughts and encouragement!

I may try toweling him tomorrow. I can stand the bites so far. Is the towel for their security though? ...Poor little guy has had enough today with his clip and having a flashlight and swab stuck in his mouth.

About the vet visit, fwiw:
I'm happy with his clip. The vet trimmed them some to let him fly, and trimmed them a bit more to get it just right. He gets around his cage with ease still :).... He got a pretty extensive workup. He has some bacteria, but nothing that has "set in" to cause problems yet. The doc gave me some Prime powder to put on his veggies.... just gotta get him eating veggies now.

[Nikki]

Sorry that my reply was so short earlier. The key is patience, but you also need some advice to go with it.

When my little one came home, he was scared. He was very curious, but scared. I pushed him a little too much probably before I found this forum. I would sit my hand inside the cage with a piece of millet on it while I was talking/singing/reading to him. After about the second day, he came to me with the millet. He knew his step-up command from the breeder and it just took him getting to know my hand to get him to come to me.

I'm not sure how socialized the birds are from where you ordered from. I know handfeeding=socialization in my bird's case. It just took a little coaxing to get him used to a new person. I'm sure your little one will be traumatized even more from the vet visit on top of the shipping, so try the millet in the hand trick and see if you can get him to come to you. Birds will do ANYTHING for birdie crack. Plus, it might help to take out his millet for awhile then try the millet trick because a hungry bird would leap mountains for birdie crack...lol

Good luck and we're here for you! Oh and what's the little guy's name?

[raiven]

I would not leave the bird hungry but if he is eating his other foods well you can save the millet as a treat only. It also goes a long way towards helping a bird overcome his fear of a new thing. If a new toy is scary at first you can put it in the bird's vicinity but not too close with a piece of millet on it and more than likely he will risk going near the scary toy to check out the millet.

[Nikki]

I would not leave the bird hungry but if he is eating his other foods well you can save the millet as a treat only.

Sorry, that's what I meant. I meant to leave his free choice foods out, but to remove the millet that you're using as comfort food for him for about an hour before you start trying to entice him to your hand. Sorry for sounding like a cruel bird mom.

[Fuzer]

Thanks guys!

Heh. Sorry if that sounded sarcastic, Nikki. I didn't think that reply was too short or anything :) I do appreciate the additional info though.

I have been calling him Keebo (Key-boe). Haven't totally ruled out Klank or Smitty though.

I now have 2 water dishes and 2 food dishes up in his favorite corner. He just doesn't want to come down to where his food and water bowls are... The only millet I left in the cage is a stem sticking out of one of his food dishes. It just has 4 clusters on the end of it.

My vet was saying to go ahead and try to get him off of it, and use it (like you guys are saying) for taming and training.

I'm really thankful for this forum, and all the help and info I have found here. THANKS!!! :D

[unpoquito]

I think Parrotlets as a species must be much more shy than what a lot of the websites depict. It does take them a while to come around when they're new to you. I've only had my two for a little over a month, and they are very afraid of hands still, but have bonded with me somewhat. They play more and love to fly. Emmie was just like your baby when she first came - flying wildly into walls, windows, and I was so afraid she would hurt herself. But over the past month, both she and Ziggy have become a bit more skilled in flying, and learned where to land and how to have a smoother landing. It takes practice. I remember worrying about the same things as you and the nice folks here gave me so much great advice.

I would leave millet in the cage all the time if he were mine. The millet is something he loves and finds comfort in. I only stopped giving millet daily recently to mine. Now they get it several days a week and have to forage for it. They're older than your baby though. Your baby is probably newly weaned, right? Where do you have the food and water in the cage. On top or bottom? In the beginning, I had mine in the bottom b/c I was using a Visions cage and that's where the feeders go. Thankfully, Emmie figured it out the first day. But Ziggy, won't ever go to the bottom to eat or drink or bathe. Not even near the bottom. He prefers to eat up top. It does make for a mess under the cage as he flings his shells out. I would feed your cute little guy wherever he's comfortable.

He'll come around and start to become intrigued by you and want to greet you in the morning fairly soon. I wasn't overly patient in the beginning either, but quickly learned that the parrotlets will have their way in their time!:D

[Fuzer]

That makes me feel better, Kristen. Thanks :)

He was hatched May 28, and was supposedly just weaned before I got him this past Sunday.

I actually have a water and food dish on the floor of the cage and two water and two food dishes up at the very top (HQ flight cage). Only time he goes to the lower perches is by accident when he freaks. I don't think he has ever even touched the floor of his cage even by accident.

I'll keep millet available for a little while longer then. I have had 4 sprays of it in various places. I'll cut it back to one, and not put it in his favorite hideout, and see how that goes :)

[Fuzer]

MAJOR PROGRESS TODAY :D
I think he was socialized and all that good stuff after all!

Today Keebo really came out of his shell. It's like someone flipped a switch on him.... He was all over the cage. Running it like an obstacle course, chirping, and even had some broccoli.

So just now I managed to get him out of the cage. I calmed him down, and he sat on my finger, and took skritches from my other hand. Let me touch his feet and whatever else. Bit me a few times, but not hard at all... Got him to step up using millet as a lure. Near the end he may have been catching on to what step-up means.

Once back in the cage he was reluctant to come and get millet from me through the bars. I thought that was odd, but he finally did.

I know I can't expect things to always go this good with him, but WOW. I'm feeling so much more at ease now :) Thanks again guys

[Nikki]

Yay! Go Keebo! (and Fuzer)! I knew you guys could do it!

[lineola]

Think about how you'd feel if you just got dropped into some strange and unfamiliar place inhabited by huge creatures! Keebo is just scared. He will get more and more socialized as he becomes comfortable with you and his surroundings.

BTW, love the name Keebo! :)

Maddie

[lisap]

Sounds like Keebo is training you correctly, newly owned Parrotlet slave, keep up the good work.:)

[Fuzer]

Thanks guys :)

Just a quick update...
I think I'm going to start trying to work with him inside the cage a little more for a while. I don't think he really digs being outside the cage yet, and yesterday started running for his hiding spot again when I approached him... When he is eating I can rub his head and he tolerates it. Otherwise, he runs for cover.

He's still come a looooong way just since I posted this thread though.... Like you guys have said - I'm just going to have to be patient, and not rush him :) I think I started rushing him too much.