Am I doing this right?

[marlowsix]

I have 7 week old babies that I had been socializing since they were about two weeks old. Here's my problem...the parents are not tame and since the babies are now old enough to roam around the cage with them, they are getting pretty wild themselves. I haven't tried to pick them up in the last several days, because when I come near the cage & try to take one out - all four of them go crazy..squaking, flying away, etc. My question is, should I wait until I can seperate the babies (probably a week or so) into their own cage and not play with them at all until then? or is it still better to take them out and play with them now, even if it means freaking them out to do so?

Thanks,
Jayne

[mjm8321]

Jayne, they've gotten a lot of attention until this point and are at that independent age where they tend to give you the cold shoulder a bit as they want to be all grown up. Are they weaned yet? I'd suggest waiting until they are fully weaned before separating them from the parents, but still handle them, even if they seem a bit tentative at first. Consistency at this age is key to keeping them tame and they can revert quickly to "wild" if left alone. The other thought is that you could always put them in a separate cage and let Dad visit a few times a day to make sure if he is still feeding them at all and still showing them where the food is, he could continue to do so.
Just a random thought, but once they have moved to a cage of their own, you might want to have family time out where they can all socialize (even though mom & dad aren't tame). You could even consider clipping mom & dad and they could all play and interact together and the parents might even warm up a bit to seeing that you are not all that bad. It has worked for me on occasion having a tame bird show an untamed one how to interact with humans.

[butterfly1061]

Jayne,

Mine are either 8 or 9 wks old (need to check my calendar) and are sooooo independent. The little stinkers fly away all the time and won't give me a chance to hold & kiss them all over They have been in their own cage (all three together) for about 3 weeks now. When I let the parents out, the babies run to them, but Daisy usually beaks at them to get away (bad daddy ). Daisy doesn't feed them and they have been eating on their own since they've been separated. They do follow their parents around everywhere. When one parent flies off, the babies fly after them. They love to play in the faux wood blinds in the birdroom. When it's time to go night-night, I give them a cozy and all three crawl in for the night. In the morning, all three poke their little faces out of the cozy at the sametime - it's too cute! I have clipped their wings twice, but the are still professional flyers. They are so adorable and I can't keep my hands off of them.

[marlowsix]

[/quote]Just a random thought, but once they have moved to a cage of their own, you might want to have family time out where they can all socialize (even though mom & dad aren't tame). You could even consider clipping mom & dad and they could all play and interact together and the parents might even warm up a bit to seeing that you are not all that bad. It has worked for me on occasion having a tame bird show an untamed one how to interact with humans.[/QUOTE]


You know MJ, I have recently been thinking about the possibility of letting Lucy & Ricky out - radical thought! It really scares me though because I imagine them running away (if wings get clipped) and getting stuck under some furniture or behind the refrigerator and having that freak them out even more. I would love to have my birdies out and enjoying their freedom but I'm hesitant. Getting their wings clipped is certainly the first step...although that will be quite the ordeal. Catching these two is no easy task - and they can really give a nasty bite (I have the scars to prove it!). But some pain may be worth it if I can help turn these guys into more sociable birdies. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll keep you posted on how it goes...

Jayne

[butterfly1061]

Jayne,

Can you try taking them out in a small bedroom or bathroom? In the bedroom, keep the closet doors shut. In the bathroom, close the toilet lid & cover the mirror so they don't try to fly into it. With the babies out too, the parents may not go as far away as you might think, but then again

[marlowsix]

Jayne,

Can you try taking them out in a small bedroom or bathroom? In the bedroom, keep the closet doors shut. In the bathroom, close the toilet lid & cover the mirror so they don't try to fly into it. With the babies out too, the parents may not go as far away as you might think, but then again

I'm going to give the bathroom a try today...my bedroom has mirrored doors and my kids bedrooms are way too scary (would love to say they keep their rooms clean - but I can't!).

Thanks for the advice!
Jayne