Artemis is finally home at last...pics included

[kikibird]

Hey there guys,

Well I have not been on for a little while, took a little holiday before the fid arrived. But Artemis the Alexandrine is finaly here. I picked him up from Brisbane airport on saturday the 25th november and as soon as I saw him look up at me from his box the first thing I said to him was "S*?T look at the size of that of beak".

He is a great little guy and has the most delightful squeaky toy voice. He is still not used me, that will take a little while I think, and he loves to lunge and bight me when I get to close because he does not trust me yet, but with a bit of time he will come around.

can you guys give me some tips on gaining his trust and what I could do and also to stop him from bighting me. he has broken the skin a couple of times and I have one infected bite.

It is so different from when I bought Kiki. Kiki was all over me at the shop and then when I got her home she did not want to be in her cage she wanted to be with me all night long and that night snuggled into the back of my neck with her feet pushed againste the back of the chair and went to sleep.
But with Artemis, because for 12 weeks the breeder was his mate and then he got shipped off on a plane and there is this new guy and his family, and what the hell is that orange bird thing, his is very withdrawn and I have to gain his trust.

But besides the trust gaining part, he is a lovely bird and I am so glad that I got him, he is great.

Here is some pics for you all to take a look at.

[GreetingCardReligion]

He is absolutely adorable! I saw one of these little guys at Omar's Exotic Birds the other day, so friendly, just sat on my hand and flapped his little wings!+

I'm sure you'll bond with him in no time at all, just be really patient and make sure you don't push yourself on him which might make him feel even more uneasy and stressed. I'm sure he'll come around, he just had a very busy move!

Keep us updated, and thanks so much for the pictures! Love that giant beak!

[Tiki]

Did he travel as cargo? That must have been very scary for him and now nothing is familiar to him. It will take him some time to realize no one is going to hurt him and he will be loved and cared for. Keep offering him treats and speaking softly to him. He will get used to you gradually, just takes a lot of patience!

[kikibird]

hey there guys,

I did not expect any miracles, I knew it would take a while for him to get used to me. I have been spending as much time as I can with him. I have been teaching him step and down so that he can get used to my hand and know that it is not there to hurt him. It takes time though and I have plenty of it.

He did fly cargo Tiki. It would have been a huge fright for him. The breeder did not want him to swap planes, he would have had to fly from pt lincoln over to adelaide and then from adelaide to brisbane, so the breeder drove him 7 hours into adelaide airport to put him on the flight and then drove 7 hours back again. I have not met any breeder that has or would go out of his way like that or care so much. He has been absolutely great.

You know the thing that I love best about it him? I bought nearly $100 worth of new toys for his cage before he got here and he has not touched a single one. H prefers to climb down to the bottom of the cage and play with the empty toilet rolls and milk bottle lids I have put in there. I can not believe it. The money I spent and he plays with them peices of rubbish.

Hey Tiki, did you get that rather nasty hail storm a few weeks back? I nearly got clocked in the head with kiki on my shoulder when it hit us by a tennis ball size peice of hail. God the weather is weird lately...

[WeLuvBirds]

When I first got my Tiel, he would bite me fiercly. So I just moved his cage closer to the couch and I would just sit there and talk to him, as well as watch TV, chat on the computer. I'd leave his cage door open and place small treats at the entrance way. I slowly started putting them on the couch next tot he cage and gradually started placing them closer and closer to me. One day I look over to see him standing right next to my shoulder and then up he came. He never left after that...LOL! I miss him sometimes ((( SIGH ))))

[Missi]

GORGEOUS! Love those Alex's!! The name is awesome as well :) Are you a Sailor Moon fan or did you think of it elsewhere?

[Doyle'sMommy]

He is so beautiful! And he does have a big beak, lol. He's probably just scared from being taken away from the breeder. Just talk calmly to him and leave the cage door open, maybe he will warm up to you and come out when he is ready. Good luck!

[Kristi]

Aaaww, he sure is a pretty boy! Such pretty colors!

I don't have much advice other than what you've been given already ... just be patient and talk softly to him a lot and he'll warm up to you in his own time. It took my Hahn's (a rescue bird) about two or three weeks to warm up to me, but he is bonded to me VERY strongly now:^)

Good luck!

[habs71]

"I saw one of these little guys at Omar's Exotic Birds the other day, so friendly, just sat on my hand and flapped his little wings!+"

Was that at the Placentia store perchance?


Skip

[Buteo]

The first thing ya need to do is make sure the infection in that one bite gets looked after.
In our cozy little world of so-called advanced medicine, we tend to forget how serious small infections can be. From personal experience, it's easier than you'd think to get a life threatening infection from relatively small wounds.
We'd all hate to find out you got sick from it...
and you wouldn't want the bacteria it may be harboring to be transfered back to the bird.