#lazerphaser

[bastardswxrd]

i think i have a problem 

[flock-talk]

I made a paper drawer forager for my tiel over a month ago, and he really enjoys it. Today, he stuck his head in one of the drawers and it got stuck there for a 5-10 seconds. He freaked, it was the funniest damn thing I've ever seen :,) He refuses to acknowledge the toy now

aw poor bean!

reminds me of this video of Zeeby:

http://flock-talk.tumblr.com/post/112818754403/i-was-trying-to-get-a-video-of-how-ferocious-zeeby

Hope the bean learns to trust the big bad toy again!

[flock-talk]

I'm thinking about adding another bird to our flock of one, but I'm nervous. What changes can I expect to daily life? Would a people-oriented bird help my people-tolerant bird come out of his shell? Would another male tiel be most appropriate for a beginner bird mom like me or would it be a ton of extra work to get two birds who live together to want to hang out with me? Would it be best to adopt a different species, who would live in a different cage?

Afraid most of the questions are super dependent on you as an individual and I can’t really answer them.

What changes can you expect?

less time spent with the current bird if the two don’t get along, more cleaning, more potential behavioural issues (if one picks up a bad habit the other can too, if you have them screaming at one another it’s a pain of a behaviour to work with), hormone things can become worse (yes even if they’re the same gender), the old bird can begin to feel very stressed since the routine has changed, less time with their person, they could start plucking, territorial aggression issues or possessive issues can start showing up.  Adding another bird can start causing a lot of things so be sure you are well equipped to handle them.  If the birds do get along there are some pros, there can be some social requirements met and different sorts of interactions that can be beneficial (if they get along).

Will another bird help them come out of their shell?

Maybe? depends how they take it, they may end up just clinging on to the other bird and forgetting people altogether or they could view the bird interacting with you as a bit more comfort knowing that those interactions are okay, really depends on the bird.  Most of what they need to come out of their shell can come just from you provided you make interactions as positive of an experience as you can and really focus on not pushing their boundaries.

same or different bird?

again, really depends on you and what you can handle.  Don’t get another bird for the sake or your bird.  Even the same species are very likely to just not get along.  Go out to shelters and handle birds, see which ones take best to you and which birds you are most equipped to handle.

housing?

they should be housed separately anyway, it’s much safer for the birds involved.  Same species are still just as likely to fight as different species are, you’re also then running the risk of twice the vet bills when one gets sick.  You won’t be able to tell who’s droppings are who’s, who’s eating what and they will undoubtedly end up sharing an illness when one gets sick which just isn’t good.

Getting another bird isn’t going to solve any issues you may be having with the current one and that shouldn’t be the focus for adding another bird to the flock.  If you’re considering another bird you should think about what you want out of the relationship with that bird, not what you want the bird to do for your other bird because the odds are that they really aren’t going to help the way you expect them to.  What bird you get is dependent on how much time you have, the funds you have, the space you can provide, and how prepared you are to handle the different requirements of the species.

[flock-talk]

Yoshi let me give him scritches for the first time today! He seems to like the outdoors- no fluffing/getting skinny, no eye-pining, a relaxed crest... but he screams when we're in the front yard. I assume its just because its a big new place?

Awesome! Mia likes to scream when outside as well, a lot of it tends to be experimenting with the sounds, the echoes they hear are fun to experiment with, they may be trying to contact call other birds in the area or ensure that they aren’t in another bird’s territory.  Most of the time it is a matter of the echo, Mia tends to shout outside to play with the echo, she may be thinking that the delayed echo is another bird of the same species or they may just be fooling around with the sounds.

[flock-talk]

Can I bring Yoshi outside with me today (in a carrier)? It's 70° indoors and 56° outside, with a bit of a breeze.

Sounds alright to me, keep an eye on the bean and if you notice them getting really fluffed up bring them back in.  I only bring my birds outside in weather 50F and above and they seem to be okay within that range, not showing any discomfort, wind can make things a little chillier so it is important to keep an eye on them and end the session if you notice any discomfort on their end of things. Each bird will be different with their temperature tolerances so experiment a little and see what your bird is most comfortable with.

[flock-talk]

Yoshi loves ripping apart twig balls (usually willow) but he DESTROYS them in under a day. Do you know where I'd be able to buy them in bulk for cheaper than pet store price?

You can usually find places online that sell them in bulk, the store around me used to just have a plastic jar full of them for 20 cents each or something like that.  

I haven’t personally purchased anything from this place but have heard good things from other birblrs, mysafebirdstore has a 12 pack for $2, 50 pack for $10, and a 100 pack for $20.  These are made from rattan instead of willow but I don’t know if it’d make a difference to your bird

[flock-talk]

You mention that unkempt nails can cause the quick to overgrow. How can you reverse this in a bird whose nails are already very long?

If you can’t see the quick it’s best to trim them very small bits at a time until you get a feel for where it is if it has overgrown, having long nails doesn’t always mean the quick is overgrown, it can take a while for that to happen sometimes. When the quick is overgrown generally you just have to keep up with their trims, file them down frequently until the quick recedes, not cutting the quick itself.

[flock-talk]

I'm attempting the first step in your "lay down" training video. Instead of being still, Yoshi either treadmills up my finger at the TINIEST hint of a tilt or bolts back to his cage. I'm not sure how to break this down any further?

Try moving your hand even less if you can, the simplest of movements is enough for them to know that staying still is what earn the reward.  If it’s not working you can also try tipping them to the side rather than rolling them back!