New here and to the bird world

[LadyLightning]

Hi all!
I recently "rescued" paid $100 for a Rock Pebbler and her cage. I felt so sorry for her. She was on Kijiji for a couple of weeks. Her cage is huge but she only had a piece of yarn and a baby's plastic doughnut as toys and her 1 perch consisted of a broken pool cue.
Well, let me tell you this bird is spoilt rotten now. She has many perches and has had parrot food for the first time, a load of toys.
Also....when I went to see her, I asked the guy her name..he said "Bird" and what type of bird she was...he didn't know.
But anyways, any tips on how to win her trust? She doesn't play with any toys, I can only "pet" her chest when she feels like it..lol.

[Sashagirl]

Congratulation on rescuing her now with time and patience you will win her trust.I wish you luck.I don't know too much about Rock Pebblers.But there has to be some info online.I wish you well.

Marcia

[Conure crazy]

What type of bird is she? It sounds like she is very lucky you came along.

It will take a while to build trust but talking to her & feeding her will make her want to be with you more.

They have to learn to play with toys so it may take a while. You may want to fiddle with the toys and show her that they do something or find some foraging toys that you can hide food in.

[loyallyroyal]

oh wow, what a nice thing to do taking her in.
I absolutely love rock pebblers they are so pretty!
Have you decided on a name?
After having no toys it might take her a little while to get used to them and her new enviroment and perches.

[LadyLightning]

Her name is Hope......hope she learns to like us, hope I am doing the right stuff, and hope that we don't kill each other! lol.
Really she is a sweetie! She has started to cackle along with the dogs (3) barking when I come home.
I have been playing with her toys for her and she finally took a bath last weekend, and just figured out what millet is this week.
She is the first bird that I have ever owned, other then keeping a baby sparrow last year for about 6 weeks until she could fly up over our fence. That is what got me into the bird bug, so to speak. But I knew that I would prefer getting an older bird to a young one. I figured there was enough of the older ones needing good homes.
I was supposed to get an African Grey from a little old lady but the poor bird died before I could get it. And there was another bird that my friend's sil had taken in and I was supposed to get it and the poor thing died the day it was to come to my house. I was beginning to think that I would never find my bird and then I saw Hope on the internet and it broke my heart.
So that's our story! lol

[Monica]

Rock Pebblers aka Regent Parakeets


I would suggest offering Hope seed or millet from your hand, so that she can slowly get used to you.... and seeing if she has any interest being outside of the cage.

Some may suggest clipping wings to make taming easier but it's not necessary... the only issue would be that if she came out of her cage and was unwilling to go back to you it could be difficult to get her back in her cage.

[Ashling]

How sweet of you to take her in! Sounds as if that guy you got her from didn't know a thing he was doing. Get her used to you by keeping her cage in an area you go to often. Sit by her cage and talk to her, read her stories and sing her songs. She will soon learn that you are there to care for her. Try not to stare at her with both eyes, as this is what predators to, and can make her nervous. As monica said, feed her millet from your hand to gain her trust. She'll associate you with treats and company :) When she's fine with that, make her step onto your finger in order to get some millet. Soon you can take her out of the cage and let her sit on your lap, shoulder arm etc. feeding her millet to get her used to being on you. Good luck with her, you've done a great thing taking her in.

[LadyLightning]

Thanks all! I have her cage in our livingroom. I have tried to get her to take stuff out of my hand but she won't and when I put it into her food dish, she struts over there and eats whatever I have offered. :(
When I talk to her and say "Pretty Bird", she will bat her eyes at me lol. She will sometimes talk to us as well. Her cage is open on top and she has not interest going out. I did put some millet up on the perch and she went up twice to eat it.
I took her to get her nails clipped on Wednesday and I noticed when I got back into the truck, she turned to watch me out of the carrier purse.
She also played for the first time this weekend!!!! I am so happy about that. It wasn't with any of her toys but at least she was playing. She was walking half way across her perch and then would walk back the other way and touch the cage bar. She did this quite often and you could tell she was having fun. I still keep playing with her toys hoping that she will play with them herself.

[Aces Wild]

Awww I am so happy to hear this bird has found a wonderful home with you! You are such a great person for giving an older bird a chance! Keep up the good work!

[BigBird]

Hope the bird really was his to sell!! just a thought! Strange that someone would own a bird, not name it and have no clue what kind it was. Anyway have a great time with it. Having said that we got a sulpher crested cocky in December from a couple in our town. They had had the bird for 10months and didnt have a name for her, so i guess it happens. We call her bella now and she is beautiful. She was freaking out over something last night and squawking her head off. Paul decided she just wanted attention. Couldnt see anything in her cage that might be scaring her. But it was a windy night and the new gate was making some noises so that might have unsettled her a bit.