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amysspiffy
Egg
Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 8
Location: Texas |
| New birdie questions... |
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Hi there
I am very glad that I found your site!  I recently got a blue parakeet - maybe 2 months ago. He wasn't hand tamed, but he is not too spastic. School has been busy, so we haven't made a whole lot of headway in the hand taming.
I know it is horrible, but I didn't know much about bird-owning before we got Aruba. As soon as we got him, though, I got online and tried to find out as much as possible. He hangs from our living room ceiling in a pretty decent sized cage - safe from interested kitties  We talk to him all the time, and I have started working again in earnest to get him used to my hand.
Anyway, I wondered if it would speed his training up to get him out of his cage (his wings are clipped) in a kitty free environment? I tried that once, but it seemed to stress him a little, so I didn't know if that was ok.
Also, I think he is a seed junkie - he just ignores any "real" food I put in his cage - even if I mix it into his seed. I want him to be happy and healthy, and eventually to get to be a more active member of the family. We just love watching him go "crazy bird" when he plays.
I know parakeets are really social birds, and I will be gone from the house more this summer (work) - I should get him a friend right?
I am slowly building up an inventory of toys and perches and whatnot. Right now he only has wood perches - 2 sizes - but two new rope perches are on their way in the mail. Should I also get him one of those rough sandpapery ones?
Sorry for all of the questions, I just want to do the right things.
Thanks a ton for any information!  |
Monday May 8, 2006 1:10 am |
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Cheeta
Moderator
Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Posts: 7967
Location: Australia |
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hi Amy
Congrats on your new baby Aruba. very interesting name. I like it.
When I train my parakeet (I'm assuming you're talking about budgie), I bring them out and let them wonder around. what you can do is leave the door open on his cage and let him wonder out himself. If he doesn't, use a perch to get him out of his cage. this may take several try if he doesn't want to come out. But once he's out, he should settle down quick enough for you to train him.
In summer, how many hours will be at work, and won't be home? Generally they are ok for up to 8 hours I guess even longer, but most important that they can come out and play when you're home and get some out time. The more the better. If you get another friend for Aruba before he's completely tamed down, he will end up prefering his friends, and you'll never get to tame him down much more after that. I would say just hold off and see how he does and then decide then to get him a friend or not. If you do decide, please remember to quarantine the new bird for at least 5weeks just in case the new bird might have some sort of disease from the shop. You don't want that to pass on to your Aruba.
Oh I wouldn't get the sandpapery type perches. They are kinda or useless, in fact sometimes it's bad for the little birdies's feet as they rough it up.
Cheers
Bih |
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Monday May 8, 2006 7:54 am |
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Cathy
Kamikaze pilot
Joined: 02 Apr 2005
Posts: 6673
Location: Omaha, NE USA |
Congratulations Amy! I love the name Aruba, very pretty!
It sounds like your heart is in the right place & I'm glad you've found your way onto this forum! There's so much to learn about parronting & asking lots of questions & researching is the only way to learn. Having a happy, healthy bird is SO rewarding!
Seems you've made a great start & Bih has offered some great advise above! Hope to see you here on the forum often!
Good luck to you & Aruba I know we'd all love to see some pics! |
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Monday May 8, 2006 11:35 am |
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amysspiffy
Egg
Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 8
Location: Texas |
| Aruba bird |
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Oh thank you so much for the advice! I am so excited to start working more proficiently with my friend. And I was glad to hear about the sandpaper perches - I only found mixed reviews about them anyway. Over the summer, I will be working 8 hours, but I come home for around 45 minutes at lunch time. So I will definitely wait on getting him a friend - I want to be his friend first 
I posted my first message in the general forum initially intending to pose another question, but then I got so busy asking about Aruba I forgot. In a few years, I hope to be teaching high school biology, and I would really like to have an interesting "class pet" that could go to work with me everyday. Assuming that it is alright with whatever school district I work for and safety measures are worked in, would a larger bird be an acceptable choice? Obviously I would need to spend the next 2 years in hardcore bird study, but I wasn't sure which species (if any) would be a good candidate - I am not even sure what to start to study. Any opinions and advice are welcome.
Thanks again for all the help - Amy |
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Monday May 8, 2006 9:57 pm |
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