new owner need help with bare eyed Too

[Bare-eyed Too]

hi everyone, i acquired a bare eyed Too called Popcorn from my cousin who got married ... i had fishes, lovebirds, parakeets, etc but never a Too before so its kinds overwhelming having him ... but he's the cutest, cuddliest bird ive ever seen.. and i want to raise him in the best way i can .. so i'm hoping u guys can help me ... as i'll need lots of it ..

1) i got him a yr back and he's around 2 yrs old now and is fed with a baby parrot food formula .. when will he stop eating this and move on to seeds only, which he eats the rest of the day ??
2) he's very quiet and screams when he doesn't see me around the room, if i'm in the same room with him in his cage, he comes to the nearest corner of the cage and makes a clicking noise, i don't know wht tht means???
3) i wuld like him to whistle, talk, etc, but don't know how to teach him?? i've been whistling to him and talk to him often still no luck ... help
4) does any one know if i can use the wood from a crate of clementines or other fruits as his chew toy??
tht's all fer now .. hope u can help me ...

[Vankarhi]

You are still feeding him formula and he his 2 years old??? That is as bad as me breastfeeding my 2 1/2 year old toddler (which I finally got him to give up) lol. I would think he should be eating seeds and fruit and veges well and truly by now. I think he has you very well trained. (lol) I would probably try putting the formula in a bowl in his cage and stop hand feeding him, then slowly cut the formula out all together. I don't know what the clicking noise is but he probably wants to come out and be with you. Cockatoos love to be out and "loved". I have a galah (rose breasted cockatoo) and she just loves to be loved-continuously. It can actually get to be annoying at times when I want to do something else. Luckily Bo doesn't mind being in her cage also, she is used to spending time in there. It is very easy to spoil a bird when it just loves to come out, but you really need to teach the bird it can come out when you want it out (hopefully on a daily basis) and stay in its cage/playpen/stand when you are busy or need a break. Teaching to talk is easy, just keep talking to it. One word at time, when it learns that word the rest are a little easier. My galah only says one word - hello, and she is 14 years old, my eclectus says many words and phrases and most I have not deliberately taught her, but I do talk to her all the time and she is only 9 months old. Some birds just don't talk either, I think Bo is one of them (galah). Males are supposed to be better talkers, but my eclectus is a female. Just be patient and constant. I also hear that cockatoos are not the best talkers, as in they can talk but not as great a vocab as others. But there is always the exception to the rule. As for chewing crates, I would only use wood I know has not been treated with anything or you bird could die. Cut branches from healthy trees that you know are non toxic for birds to chew or buy special chew toys from pet shops, that way you know they are safe. This is all my opinion and no doubt others will give you more advice too. Good luck and enjoy him, they are beautiful birds. I have also owned sulfer crested cockatoos many years ago and they did not talk while I had them.

[Tiki]

Welcome to the board, Bare-eyed too! Hey Tracey, how ya holding up with that cyclone breathing down your neck-hope you further inland? I am pretty sure that what Americans call a Bare-eyed too is a corella to us. I have never had one myself but a couple people in my bird club do and they say they are real sweeties!

[Lisa M]

If you are considering cutting branches from non-toxic trees, also remember that any chemicals can kill your bird. Make sure that the tree isn't right up against a busy highway, exhaust, gasoline and other chemicals from cars can be dangerous. Also make sure that the trees have not been treated with any pesticides. Manzanita branches and eucalyptus branches are very good choices if they are safe and pesticide free.

Lisa

[Bare-eyed Too]

Thank you all very much for your advice .. its a start atleast .. and tracey, ur rite .. his previous owner used to have him out all the time .. so i guess he's used to being out and makes the clicking noise .. i'm also thinking he's still on the baby food coz its like a one on one interaction for him .. so i need to spend more time with him i guess ...
how do i play with him .. i make him run after me like playing catch .. what other things do i do to have tht interaction with him .. or wht do i do with him when he's out of his cage ... when he's out he either wants to be scratched on the head or under the wing .. or he goes on my feet and sleeps like its a nest ... like a baby ..need more help .. thanx ..

[Lynjupiter]

Play with your bird as you would a child or a puppy. Talk to it, play peek a boo, tug of war, roll a ball back and forth on the floor, Dance with your bird.

Nothing Tyler my Umbrella too loves more than me singing and dancing. She jumps runs, bobs, twirls and sings with me screaming at the top of her lungs. Then when I get tired I collapse on the floor, she runs to me and we cuddle.

She was one who weaned late. She was supposed to be weaned when I got her but she cried so much we went back to a feeding a day. She was a year and a half old when the vet put his foot down and told me to stop! Tyler is now five years old and I still give her baby formula once in a while. I put it in a dixie cup and she holds and drinks it like you or I would drink from a cup. It is a special treat for her.
Lynda

[Vankarhi]

Lynda, that is so cutel! About the dancing etc and the formula in the dixie cup. I will try the dancing stuff with Skye.

[Vankarhi]

Tiki, the wind was pretty blowy for about 1 week. I actually did not realise there was a cyclone for the first day or two, just thought it was very windy. We got no rain (sigh) and now it seems to have petered out. It made the weather a lot cooler though. Yes we are inland a bit, but if a cyclone was to come past, we would get the wind and the rain too. Pretty exciting when it does happen, and scary too.