Ok, I drove to pick up Kiwi. It was a nice drive and I enjoyed the outing. I met Kiwi's parent Keri (Collegequaker101) her parents and a friend and we ate together. *I wanted them to be perfectly comfortable with me and not just pick up the bird and flee *

We had a nice lunch/breakfast, communication was well..I am DEAF, but I try. I think the communication went well enough for them to feel comfortable with me. When we left, I let them see a couple of my snakes that I had picked up on the trip.

Driving back with Kiwi..he was quiet..after a short spate of trying to demolish his carrier (it has plastic netting). He was quiet, looking at me and leaning against the carrier. I took a chance and rubbed his beak and he accepted the caress, so the rest of the trip was me rubbing his beak and putting a finger though the netting and caressing his neck. Keri, he did not try to bite, nor did he lunge. In fact, he dozed off on and off though out the trip. The poor dear was brushed!

We got home, and I brought him in..when I brought him in, he panicked for a short while when I let him out of his cage (very short). I covered him with a towel when he got on the floor and didnt let it continue for any length of time (I was prepared) and put him in the cage I was using for quarantine, while putting the equipment that came with him together. Y'all this was a LOVED bird! He had so many toys, cages (3) and a swing!

He's downstairs now, watching television while I put together the cage that I will use for his beddy cage the beddy cages are bare except for sleeping huts and perches (it makes it easier to coax them out if they are hungry!)

I took Bammy downstairs for a short introduction (they did not touch each other) and they eyed each other. However, there was no wild fluttering, trying to escape, lunging..nothing..they just eyed each other briefly (bammy was on his dance perch) and Bammy started dancing..LOL (he has this groove thing he does with his neck to rhyme on his dance perch)...

So ends, Day one.

I am so glad it went well.

that is wonderful. Please pics when u can.

Congrats on giving Kiwi a new home and it sounds like it's going well~!

YAY!! So glad you got Kiwi home and day 1 went well!! I can't wait to see pics of your new fid! Is Kiwi a female?

Snakes?

so glad all went well..congrats

So glad everything is going well .. now .. all we need to do is find you that Sun you've been wanting .. let MBS begin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Speaking of snakes Deb...I just visited your web site. You have some gorgeous snakes!!1 Are those all yours? Just beautiful. I loved the pied one that looks like a paint horse.LOL That must be soooo interesting.

Thank you..yes they are all mine, and I have quite a few whose pics aren't on the website. Those are all the Breeders and Breeders-to-be. You got it right!! That's exactly why this morph is called a Pied. It's a genetic thing that has me fascinated. Two perfectly normal looking animals produced this.

Now to try and answer everyone else. Here's a pic of Kiwi..it's going to take me some time to be able to tell them apart, and believe it or not..I saw Kiwi doing the same dance move...does this "bobbing" mean anything? It could have been the music on the cartoons..I am just wondering if there is a specific bobbing that I should watch for.

He's eating, he's not refusing food, that's for sure!

He got out of his beddie by himself and then I had to cover him to be able to pick him up (not because he was biting or trying to). It's just my strategy, I am NOT giving any opportunites to bite or any reason to start that habit. He appears very laid back, he doesn't lunge or try and attack me when I put my hands in the cage...it's a BIG cage, so perhaps he doesn't feel crowded or threatened.

He's eating, he had some of the microwavable parrot food, piece of orange, egg, and some seeded birdfood, also nibbled on the Nutriphase Millet that I keep laying around in the cage. I haven't tried to make friends yet...I am gonna wait till I pop some popcorn (when I have more time and am relaxed); collegequaker said he's nuts about popcorn . Otherwise, as long as he's eating and apparently adjusting, I am not in a hurry. He doesn't ever have to love me as long as he's eating and otherwise behaving fine..my ego will survive.

I don't know if he is a she..yet. The owner assumed it was a he, and it probably is. However, I would like to be certain. So, I am going to do the sexing and Vet visit since the owner was nice enough not to charge a rehome fee (there was so much stuff, I wouldn't have blamed her if she had and none of it was cheap! ) I haven't tried to puck any feathers and none have fallen off. I am not trying to pull any feathers off a strange bird and have it bite me for causing stress . I can wait till he trusts me. Bammy lets me play with his feathers open his wings etc..I would do it with Bammy, but he's already sexed and certified boy (with certificate). When Kiwi comes to me of his own accord without me having to put a towel over him to pick him up (he runs), then later I will do it (unless a feather falls off before then..is there any certain feather I must use?)

Awwwww, that is so nice that kiwi is settling in so easily. It sounds like you are making him quite comfortable, so he isn't stressed. Lucky you, lucky Kiwi. Great picture.

Deb, that was such a sweet story. I enjoyed reading it.

BTW, I also went to your website. I must say, at first I thought OH MY GOSH, how scary. She has snakes?!!! (Because they scare me.) BUT, your site was very informative, well put together, with (I can't believe I'm saying this), beautiful snakes! To think a woman is dealing with Ball Pythons puts a new spin on how I see these creatures. Very interesting!

Thanks for the feedback Smurf.

Thanks everyone,

I consider snakes one of the most misunderstood creatures out there! So many people give them a bad rap as "Devil's spawn," "venomous," "vicious." I thing many of you may be surprised to know that the "dear little Quaker" is actually more vicious (learned behavior) than most species of snakes.

Snakes can not learn viciousness, they eat to survive and bite to defend themselves and do not bite and laugh later.

Ball Pythons, which is what I breed, actually are the most docile snakes.

Deb, I went to your website. It's fascinating, even though I'm not a snake person. I occasionally run across one in the garden and end up jumping a mile high and doing one of those really silly girly screams. I have to admire you.

Wow, Phen, I am glad things are off to a nice start. Kiwi is sure cute. Yeah I don't know much about telling quakers apart by appearence. Kiwi looks like Nikki. But perhaps Bammy is bigger or smaller than Kiwi? Or perhaps one of them is rounder?

Congradulations on the new addition!

Thank you..here's a Black kingsnake, I caught in my backyard..




The neighbor almost fainted when she saw what I had been westling with at the fence and brought up when I stood!




Thanks, I am sure as I get to know them then I will be able to tell the difference. One thing, my family will be able to because Kiwi talks...lol Bammy is the quiet silent type. He's a bird..he comes to me when he wants attention..and tolerates me when I want it (he's actually sweeter than that).

Deb I am so glad Kiwi is home now!! He is so cute!!

I also looked at your site... I am soooo jealous!!! I love snakes but, hubby says NO WAY LOL... One of these days, let me tell you.. I will have my snake heheheheh

I wanted to respond in more detail to your advice. It's welcome and I really appreciate that you took the time to formulate a response. However, I think I need to remind people that sometimes their instincts are the best teachers. Every bird is different.

I tried your way, and with you not knowing my living arrangements, it would have been very cruel of me to do it the way you suggested. Also, it might have created cage aggression, territorial behaviors. Why I say this?

Visualize that the quarantine cage is downstairs, and his beddy cage is upstairs. His beddy cage is in my bedroom off the den. I do not keep food in the beddy cages, and I am not about to start. That is the bedroom.

The den is where Bammy hangs out, he flies from his beddy to his T-perch and hangs out and watches television and eats/munches till I come home.

Downstairs is the big cage (quarantine, since he can't be flying free with Bammy or in the same room while Bammy is loose and unsupervised) The big cage is really isolated from the rest of the house as me and Bammy hang out upstairs usually unless we have company. Downstairs is a television, and his food...but no people.

So..I tested our your implication...I put my hands in the cage (unadorned) and he backed away from them and showed that he wasn't ready to be picked up, he did not lunge, or bite or anything..simply kept backing from my hands. There was no "pin-pointing" or heavy breathing. I desisted, and covering my hands with the towel did the same thing as I have been doing. He readily let himself be picked up. He did not grip the perch or back away, he displayed a willingness to be picked up.

I picked him up, cuddled and rubbed his beak and head like I have been doing. THIS is his experience with MY hands. My smell and color (hands) is new to him..but his towel that Collegequaker gave me is not (towels are not new to him). His experience that I can see, is positive feelings from this new color/smell hands touching, and caressing him. He readily (as I have said) lets me caress his beak and head, once I have him on the towel, this is not the same as "giving up" behavior, and he has continued to let my hands near him for short periods...giving him something to eat from my hands.

Just wanted to let you know, I did appreciate the help you gave and I took it under serious consideration. However, i couldn't honestly leave the advice untested and give my own observations for further readers.

Thanks again!

p.s Birds are a bit new to me, but I am not new to training animals and I am very good at reading them..I have to be, I am Deaf! lol

(I once had a white cat, that I taught to sit up and beg! )




Let your hubby look at the site, perhaps the beauty will bring him around?

AHHHHH!!

Kiwi willingly stepped up on my hands this evening!!! I had picked him up with the towel as is my strategy, and taken him upstairs. Of course, I was cuddling him on his back and caressing his beak and head with my free hand.(I keep thinking of him as a her..). After we got upstairs, I put him in his beddy, but didn't close the door, because it wasn't time for bed..I was just bringing him upstairs, so he wouldn't be alone downstairs.


He came out of the cage and started preening, fluffing and sliding up and down the bars..so I talked to him a bit. He stepped to the edge of the cage, so I asked him if he wanted to come play and would he step up...he lifted his own leg! LMAO... so I felt free to put my bare hand near him to step up. He stepped up!!

I put him on the swing so he could get some exercise before bed.


Here he is on the swing that came with him:



Bammy on his T-stand:


A photo of them both on their respective perches:

Nice pics Deb!!

Great pics!!

Wow .. that is some swing!! I'd love to know where they found it ... would love something like that.

Seems like everything is progressing quite well ... I'm so happy for you Deb!!!

Other than the first 24 hours, talking to my Vet and setting an appointment. I have basically just kept them apart, but not in separate rooms. I actually have looked Kiwi over very closely..I am not a Vet, but I do know that it's the rare germ that can float from from bird to another with out any contact whatsoever.

They might be in the same room, but they aren't actually close to each other and no one is coughing or sneezing. There are no watery eyes, wet poop, runny poop green poop. There are no feather mites. Neither of them sit "fluffed" or on both claws. They don't touch each other's cage or eat each other's food. They aren't on the same toys and they don't use the same perch (not even one after the other).

Regardless..the good news is: Kiwi is progressing so fast,(he actively INVITES me to pick him up now, by stepping to the edge of his cage and holding his foot out!! ) He is such a dear one.

I had a Vet appt for Monday) but the Vet will be out of town so another appt needs to be made. Describing the bird (though my video phone) to the Vet, there doesn't seem to be anything that could happen overnight after Collegequaker has had him so long with no illnesses or healthy issues.

Thanks everyone! Kiwi is just so sweet, this is the first bird that I have experienced that doesn't have a lot of overwhelming fear of people. After his first cautionary behaviors, he's quite willing to step up.

They both had some POPCORN today! They both love it (collegequaker clued me on Kiwi's likes and dislikes, so I actually do have an "in" in getting to know him and breaking down his defenses.

I wish all re-homes were such a great experience.

wow deb that sounds soo great you are doing an excellent job!! your right that birdy was truly loved what a great swing!! by the way i am from the maryland area!! silver spring! well take care livelovelaugh always Tinene

Thank you!
It's great that you live close! We'll have to meet up soon and exchange tales! When Collegequaker checks in, perhaps she will share that information. If she doesn't check in soon, I'll contact her to see if she remembers where she purchased the swing. It's really neat!

Deb ..

Looks like you hit it off from the get go with Kiwi .. congrats!! I'm so happy everything is going so well. Now that you know you can handle two FIDS .. a third (your Sun Conure), will be a piece of cake!! LOL .. I know it won't be long before your siggy will have 3 beautiful FIDS in it.

Yes .. I'd love to know where she got that swing .. I've never seen anything like it .. very cool indeed!!

Take care ..

Teresa

Hey everyone!!! deb, I am so glad to see that things are working out. He is a big lovebug when e warms up to people. To respond to everyone about the swing, it's been awhile since I got him the swing but I found a website that sells just about the same thing, and actually they look nicer. This is the website:

WaynesParrotStuff.Com

Hopes this answers some questions.

I do understand. I am the same way about quarantining my snakes (that is very strict quarantine).

I really should know better and I do know better. I decided to follow my instincts in this case. Thanks for the refresher warning.

I'm glad Kiwi is so at home. Maybe I'll have to try the towel thing with Jade.

I did use that technique sometimes with Bammy to yeah..no way around it..FORCE him to be still and accept my caresses.

I was reacting as if he were a child. You know a child that's never been loved, sometimes you have to show them that love doesn't hurt, so you hug them even when they are kicking and screaming for you to let them go. Eventually, they calm down (have to be more careful to wrap snuggly without restricting breathing or bending wings and legs for birds) and accept the caress...if things go right (it's always a risk) they grow to love and WANT the caress and no longer need to be restrained.

Bammy loves to be wrapped in a fleece blanket and rocked and caressed (beak and head). I also open the blanket and tickle him under the wings. Then I let him go. All this is very brief it is not prolonged.

I adjust the technique depending on the bird's signals..if one showed rapid breathing that didn't soon stop, or eyes pinpoining rapidly..I would just coo, touch the beak (soft caress) and let them go.

Update for Collegequaker:

Kiwi has an appt with the Vet Monday! I'll get the records and copy them so you can see the evidence. My Vet also sexes birds (so the receptionist says) so I can get it all done at the same time.

*Bammy's going too.

I wouldn't tell Bammy that HE has to go the vet just because the new sibling has to go to the vet. It might make him mad. How are they liking each other now that it's been a few days? I still have hopes that Clyde and Jade might eventually be cordial. Someday. Maybe.

I won't tell him, he thinks he's going for a final wing check. and Kiwi has to tag along because he's too young to stay home alone.

Actually, last night Kiwi was on the tabletop playstand, eating, and Bammy flew over to the same stand perched and watched. No lunging pecking nothing..just watching the bird. They are both in the same room, and Bammy can see Kiwi and vice versa.

So far, so good.

*Kiwi has also climbed up to Bammy's T-stand and war didn't break out. I don't really anticipate any problems. (but I sup ervise) and I don't let them get cage territorial (but they have their own cages). They spend most of the time out of their beddy cages on playstands. No hurry.

I am just letting them get used to seeing each other and sharing space. I haven't actually brought either of them to the other to force the issue.

Thanks, I am looking forward to it. I am so glad that kiwi has gotten attached to you in such a short time. seeing all your posts about Kiwi and bammy have made me so happy with my decision. Thanks for opening your heart and home to Kiwi. I truly think he can be happy now.

He has a clean bill of health. The vet was talking about coming back in two weeks for blood tests for the sex determination, so I am going to try the feather route.

I wish I lived where you do. My Vet charges 98.00 to look at the birds and the wings and nails are extra. I guess that is the price you have to pay when you live in a small town.

I love that your experience was such a great one rehoming your new guy. I wish all new homes could be as loving as yours and all new birdies could be as loved before they go to a new home.
I hope to also find a special little one who also needs a new loving home. My Keys passed away last November. I am finally at the point I am ready to open my heart to another Special Quaker. It seems so strange without him here.
I am glad you are having such a great experience. I have by the way heard a lot of great things about the vets you used.

I too am in Maryland.
I lived in Baltimore for many years. I lived in the Oliver Community in NE near Johns Hopkins Hospital for many years. I finally moved out off Belair Road as it just got so bad in town I hated feeling I was giving up on a neighborhood I loved but I just no longer felt safe.
Sorry I you will find am a bit chatty.


Marie