Pippin got bit on her toe!

[brandonrice]

So Pippin has been doing well and very anxious to get to know our other 2 lovebirds. She flew on top of their cage and sat on their playset with the other birds locked inside. (The other birds have been fine with her presence, but to a point i guess...) She then stepped on top of the cage itself and our male bit her foot pretty hard. No bleeding, but a visible red mark... Is this tragic?

We now know that our 2 birds are very cage territorial, but other than preventive measures, should i be worried about Pippin's toe? I read that this is typical, but she's a baby so we're freaked out a bit...
Thanks in advance...

[jimpierce7]

doesn't sound bad. Poor Pippin!! Does he favor the foot at all?

[brandonrice]

Yeah, she was favoring the good foot heavily... These are reports from my gf as i am still at work. She said Pippin is doing ok, but isn't putting weight on her foot... This was as of a few hours ago. I'll post updates when i get home.
it's just scary for us as she's so young. Still only 7 weeks... She learned the hard way to stay off the other birds' cage!

[brandonrice]

Pippin's foot is just fine. No favoring one foot or the other. I'm relieved...

On another note, she is very restless when we put her in her cage. Is this just because she's so young and in a new cage/home? She wants to be with us so badly, but we remain strong and make sure that we don't reward her nervousness with food or affection.
Anyway to calm her down? She eventually gets tired/bored and relaxes. We have minimal toys as advised by what we've read. Should we give more toys? A swing or stuffed animal? She's a solo bird but has 2 birds in a cage next to her. Would it help to have her in another room than the other 2?

Any thoughts would be helpful...
Thanks!

[expressmailtome]

What do you mean by minimal toys? They should always have a swing (my opinion). It might be good to keep them in the same room so that she is at least around other birds when no one is home.

Matt

[brandonrice]

we read that we should minimize stimulation for the first week or two. So we only have a little cloth hut, a ball w/bell inside, and a hanging chew toy w/bell.
we've been leaving her in the same room as the others, but she seems to anxious and wants to get out of the cage to see us or the other birds. She just paces back and forth very quickly at the front of the cage and doesn't go on the perches much... Will ignoring this behavior make help it go away or should we give her more toys? We spend a lot of time with her out of the cage, but when we do put her back she can't wait to get back out...

[shosh]

I understand that you don't want to overwhelm your new baby but I certainly think that more toys is better....no, you don't want to overcrowd the cage so she can't move around, but it will certainly keep her busy. Different types of perches are necessary as well...rope, wood, etc. Swings are great and birds love them... chew toys of different types and toys they can just bang around. Watch the toys with bells...some bells with open slits to the inside can be dangerous..bird can get their beak or toe caught.

Hey, you are lucky you've got a bird who wants to be with you...especially so soon. She obviously had a lot of human contact. Obviously, you don't want her out ALL the time especially unsupervised but I don't think it's a bad thing. Try playing with her while she's IN her cage, too....move her toys around...let her kiss her fingers. Make the inside of the cage as fun as being outside.

It sounds to me as if she is anxious to get out because that's where the action is: the other birds and you.

[brandonrice]

She definitely wants to be with us. We are making sure to give her lots of play time (supervised) and cage time as well so she can get used to it. I have increased her toys and hopefully she'll settle down.
I have also began trying to play with her in the cage as well as repeatedly put her in and on it without closing it so she can understand that is not a prison, but for her comfort.
Thanks for the advice everyone!

[expressmailtome]

I hope that adding more toys will help. You could try leaving the radio on to keep Pippin more comfortable. Pippin may also feel a bit more clingy for a while until she gets used to her new home. Being in the same room as the other lovebirds might help to keep her company while you are gone.

Matt

[birdlover912]

I started out with 2 or 3 toys when I adopted Apple-Jack because I was afraid he would get stressed out--he quickly showed me that he loves change and variety. The more toys, the better for those fiesty young lovies!