Bringing Baby Home Soon...please share good ideas.

[musicjan]

What worked best when you bought "your' baby home? What seemed to make him or her feel good, act happy and unstressed? Did anything you do help your new family member bond to you? If it worked, maybe you'dlike to shart it with usl Anything that you tried, but next time you wouldn't - something you though Birdy didn't like, or that stressed Birdy out. Best treats? Birdie's favorite foods? Anything else that you think would help a clueless new owneer whose very excited! Thanks!

[svolk]

How exciting!

I would suggest just spending lots of time near your new baby just talking softly to him or her. Moving to a new home is stressful and it will take awhile for him/her to completely feel comfortable and settle in. Sit near him and read to him or sing softly - let him know that you can be trusted and are not there to harm him. Even if he doesn't want to be held at first, you can just be near him (I am assuming your baby will be hand tamed?)

For diet I think it's best to start them on whatever they were eating at their old place and slowly introduce new foods. Sometimes it will take awhile for them to even eat at their new home because of the stress, so make sure your baby is eating before you try to slowly introduce any new foods. Ask the breeder/previous owner what they were eating with them and start with that.

The first week will be kinda stressful on you too I remember being paranoid about every little thing, wondering of this or that was normal. Just ask if something seems odd to you, but just relax too

[dgcashier]

Also, as far as time goes, don't give them more time than you can give them for the rest of their lives. In other words, don't spend 5 or 6 hours a day interacting the first few weeks if your work schedule will not let you do that all the time. They also need to learn to entertain themselves when you cannot be with them so...lots of toys and plenty of space to play with them. Get the biggest cage (1/2 in bar spacing) you possibly can.
They also entertain themselves with food! Paulie likes popcorn (he dips it in his water!) and other things that make yummy birdy soup!

[blueroseaviary]

Here's an article that you might find helpful:
http://www.parrotletranch.com/Articles/bringing.html

[Sally]

I had quite a monkey on my hands when I got Chipper. She bit hard!

At first, just let her get used to her new place. Speak to her, sing..

We had to use thin garden gloves with her at first. It takes patience for sure. I took her out several times a day. Carefully grabbed her from the cage and talked to her and stroked her. Then put her in her cage.

What really helped is when I would take a safflower and give it to her through the cage bars. She then trusted me. Takes a while to get that trust. Month or more.

As soon as I clipped her wings a bit, I bought playgyms. Then, as I was on the computer, I let her sit with me. I play music and give treats.

Feed new foods slowly. They will get used to seeing the new things and taste them.

I feed Chipper "Beak Appetit," "Birdie Bread," "Bean Cuisine," pasta, oatmeal, Topper seeds, millet, tiny pellets, I make a veggie dish for her with Sweet potato, and froz. veggies and seed. She likes popcorn, green beans and peas from a can. She doesn't like fruit much.

Yummy treats are Avi cakes, Nutri bars, warm food like oatmeal.

I also taught her to "turn around," "quack," "ring bells" all for a safflower seed. She really got close to me then.

Teaching the "step up" was a bit hard. She would fly at my chest and not step up. I took her into the bathroom for this training. I had my son put a mag on my chest so she could see that was not an option. ha. Then she quickly learned...

I sing every night, give scritches, read a book called "Sheet Tzu Caca Poo Poo" by Joy Behar to her and to my Shih Tzu. Chipper does look at the pictures. ha. Start a ritual for her nighty night time.

Just being with me all the time helps. If she bites and she does... I say "No, Get your beak." I then put my fingers on her beak. It calms her down.

I kiss her and hold her and put her on her back in my hand. Just handling carefully is good. They can be wild little nuts!

Parrots can take time to trust you. Don't be in a hurry. It will happen.

[blueroseaviary]

Originally Posted by Sally

What really helped is when I would take a safflower and give it to her through the cage bars. She then trusted me. Takes a while to get that trust. Month or more.

Feeding and sharing food is a wonderful bonding experience with your parrotlet. I prefer using seeds through cage bars, as it is easier to share than oatmeal =:). I have one parrotlet that loves hulled sunflower seeds, and most will overcome their fear of hands for a hemp seed. Nutriberries work as well if the parrotlet likes them.

Hand feeding treats builds trust and reduces your birds fear of hands. Afterall hands must be a good thing if they bring good goodies.