Friday, 30 November 2012
Chewie update 32ish weeks
Chewie is now enjoying his bath so much that he has started hopping into his drinking water, so I had to get him a bigger dish as he got stuck. He has a nap lol while in the water. It is summer here and a rather hot one, I have a fan in the bird room on oscillate to give the birds a gentle breeze.
He seems to be comfortable with us now and though he doesn't bite us he is happy to say hey I don't want pats right now, he opens his beak and barely touches the offending hand. He will let you pat him once or twice and that's it.
I don't think he will ever be a cuddly bird like hand raised birds usually are as his firts 10months were so traumatising. This has Mr 7 sad as he loves Chewie and still spends every morning with him on his finger having a chat, and reads his books to him, etc and he really wants Chewie to like being patted but understands that Chewie doesn't like it so he doesn't push it (proud of my boy), he is focused on what is best for Chewie and I think that is awesome.
Though he still wants a princess parrot he has decided that Chewie needs him so he will just be Chewie's best mate and has asked us not to get him his hand raised pet.
I still am struggling to get Chewie to eat veg I don't think he knows its food. But I am hiding pureed pumpkin in his seed, he is not happy but at least I am getting something into him.
He now explores his cage much more and sits on the varying perches and ladders and even his pine cone that is in the corner. A new local pet shop is stocking ladders made from branches so I made a slight change and bought one of them, each rung is a differing size so great foot exercise, he likes it so that is good.
Thankyou for your interest in Chewie, he is such a awesome bird.
Friday, 3 August 2012
Chewie update, 14weeks, 5 days
Sorry that I haven't been able to do a update for some time. Life has been very hectic and any spare time we have is spent with Chewie.
Chewie loves his bigger cage, I made sure everything was close to the previous set up and after a few weeks he stopped only sitting on his ladders and now sits on his calcium perch.
I am still very concerned about his feet cramping as he does sit on the ladders alot more than any other perch, so I purchased a bird gym made with native branches and have placed it infront of the window as I had noticed he liked to sit infront of the window and feel the warm sun. But he gets distressed if alone in any room and out of his cage so someone sits at the piano and talks while he is excising his feet on the branches.
I unfortunately don't think he will ever be able to have a cage mate. We believe he has a small amount of sight in his right eye but none in his left as we have noticed that we can get our hand close enough to touch his head if we come from the left (we will not touch his head as he hates it, except for a medical reason), but coming from the right when we get within 2 inches he tries to bite, it is clear he has no idea the exact position or what it is coming near him as he misses most of the time, but is clearly scared. So when I get the budgies out to spend time with him he is fine until they get within 2 inches on his right then he tries to bite them, note if they make noise on their approach from any direction he will try to bite. His bites are not hard they are just a warning.
So I stress again the importance of human contact, as he can't play with toys or spend time with another bird he really needs human interaction. My son gets up an hour earlier than he needs to each morning so he is ready early for school or his weekend activities and from between 7 and 730am spends 45mins to a hour with Chewie. Chewie now goes to the calcium perch near his door and calls for him at this time every day.
His crest has now nearly fully regrown, which is lovely to see.
He still tries to fly and crashes into everything, but he also likes when he is on your hand to grip his claws in and spread his wings and flap like mad.
He wont eat anything but seed, I put sprouts, assorted fruit and veg in his cage everyday (I bought multiple identical bowls for this purpose) and he searches for the seed and then walks away. Frustration to the max, he is young so I will continue to persevere on this.
He is very happy and makes us soooo happy.
The rule in the house is if you are watching TV or listening to Music get Chewie out and have him on your hand as he loves to feel us. And if you are practicing piano get him out onto his Gym or the pot of herbs infront of the window to enjoy the sun.
Also though he loves to be on your shoulder, if your hair brushes him he gives his warning bite so I have banned anyone having him on their should incase one day his gentle warning comes into contact with a face and his harder than normal.
We finally have a solution to bathing him, I bought a foot soaking tub and I fill it to about 2-3cm deep warm water and put it infront of the window in the sun and then place him in it saying splashes and dripping the water all over him, he isn't as stressed by this as any other method I have tried and the resulting preening of his entire self instead of just his wings and chest results in a clean tail, etc. I have started putting the budgies in with him and he doesn't bite during this like other shared time.
Photos to follow of his crest and Gym, as I am uploading them from my phone the will be in a seperate post.
Chewie loves his bigger cage, I made sure everything was close to the previous set up and after a few weeks he stopped only sitting on his ladders and now sits on his calcium perch.
I am still very concerned about his feet cramping as he does sit on the ladders alot more than any other perch, so I purchased a bird gym made with native branches and have placed it infront of the window as I had noticed he liked to sit infront of the window and feel the warm sun. But he gets distressed if alone in any room and out of his cage so someone sits at the piano and talks while he is excising his feet on the branches.
I unfortunately don't think he will ever be able to have a cage mate. We believe he has a small amount of sight in his right eye but none in his left as we have noticed that we can get our hand close enough to touch his head if we come from the left (we will not touch his head as he hates it, except for a medical reason), but coming from the right when we get within 2 inches he tries to bite, it is clear he has no idea the exact position or what it is coming near him as he misses most of the time, but is clearly scared. So when I get the budgies out to spend time with him he is fine until they get within 2 inches on his right then he tries to bite them, note if they make noise on their approach from any direction he will try to bite. His bites are not hard they are just a warning.
So I stress again the importance of human contact, as he can't play with toys or spend time with another bird he really needs human interaction. My son gets up an hour earlier than he needs to each morning so he is ready early for school or his weekend activities and from between 7 and 730am spends 45mins to a hour with Chewie. Chewie now goes to the calcium perch near his door and calls for him at this time every day.
His crest has now nearly fully regrown, which is lovely to see.
He still tries to fly and crashes into everything, but he also likes when he is on your hand to grip his claws in and spread his wings and flap like mad.
He wont eat anything but seed, I put sprouts, assorted fruit and veg in his cage everyday (I bought multiple identical bowls for this purpose) and he searches for the seed and then walks away. Frustration to the max, he is young so I will continue to persevere on this.
He is very happy and makes us soooo happy.
The rule in the house is if you are watching TV or listening to Music get Chewie out and have him on your hand as he loves to feel us. And if you are practicing piano get him out onto his Gym or the pot of herbs infront of the window to enjoy the sun.
Also though he loves to be on your shoulder, if your hair brushes him he gives his warning bite so I have banned anyone having him on their should incase one day his gentle warning comes into contact with a face and his harder than normal.
We finally have a solution to bathing him, I bought a foot soaking tub and I fill it to about 2-3cm deep warm water and put it infront of the window in the sun and then place him in it saying splashes and dripping the water all over him, he isn't as stressed by this as any other method I have tried and the resulting preening of his entire self instead of just his wings and chest results in a clean tail, etc. I have started putting the budgies in with him and he doesn't bite during this like other shared time.
Photos to follow of his crest and Gym, as I am uploading them from my phone the will be in a seperate post.
Monday, 30 April 2012
Day 7 of Chewie's new life
Hard to come up with a title for this post.
I just wanted to write about some of the things we have learnt so far.
By Thursday Chewie had stopped giving that warning beak when we touched him and seemed happy to be touched even without snuggles being said. This showed how much he is trusting us already.
Friday he had slightly less hand time than other days (about a hour less) and he was a cranky boy Saturday morning, but within a few minutes he was back to his happy self, playing on a folding table that had been set up in the Lounge, chirping and being his snuggly self.
Sunday my husband placed him down on the table to play again and he started craning his head like he was seeking someone, my husband said "It's ok Chewie I am right here." With that Chewie attempted to fly to my husband, eventually landing on his bare chest (claws scratch lol). Makes your heart melt.
Monday was very busy for us, 3 kids off to school, and my daughter that suffers ME had home school lessons to attend, this meant she had to occupy the office with the door closed for 2 hours. Chewie did not take this well, though he could hear her on the odd occasion she spoke to her teacher, we noted during out of cage time that afternoon he was cranky again. So from now on Chewie will come out of the office during her lessons and will have snuggles with Mum. Normally he has hand time before school, then at around 930 and again after school, Yesterday it was just after school. On the 5 days of the week she doesn't have class she spends heaps of time resting on the couch with each bird (one at a time), so this was a lesson learnt, designate someone else while she has class.
So the lesson we have learnt from this is, he is incredibly affectionate and loving and even if he can hear us in the room with him, even if we talk to him, he needs human touch at least twice a day (morning and afternoon), though he seemed to like playing on the table Saturday he prefers to be on your hand or shoulder so he can feel you. So this morning I will be putting my foot down with the kids, they must be ready by 715am so one of them can have hand time with Chewie for a hour before school. (This is something they have done most mornings for over a year now as our dog was abused before we got her and she frets all day while they are at school, so they have to be ready a hour before we leave to play with the dog, unfortunately Yesterday they were not ready in time).
If you are considering adopting a blind bird, please note this is different to caring for other birds, you can not rely of toys entertaining them if you are unavailable. You are their only source of comfort, entertainment, touch etc. So learn from the lesson we have just learnt. You must ensure no matter what that the bird gets that hand time even if you are sick. Whether you designate to another family member or friend.
Note: Though I think he can see really bright light, I believe he knows day from night due to the birds outside chirping as 2 nights now we have left the light on in the office until 10pm and not put a cover over him and he has been asleep within 10mins of dusk despite the bright light.
Oh and fantastic news 3 of his Crest Feathers (that his former cage mates plucked) are growing back already.
I have read some stories of people that have a blind bird and a flightless bird (due to wing damage or just born a runner) and they have apparently got on really well and helped each other. I am not taking on another disabled bird just to see if this is fact tough. Of course we never turn away a animal that needs us.
I just wanted to write about some of the things we have learnt so far.
By Thursday Chewie had stopped giving that warning beak when we touched him and seemed happy to be touched even without snuggles being said. This showed how much he is trusting us already.
Friday he had slightly less hand time than other days (about a hour less) and he was a cranky boy Saturday morning, but within a few minutes he was back to his happy self, playing on a folding table that had been set up in the Lounge, chirping and being his snuggly self.
Sunday my husband placed him down on the table to play again and he started craning his head like he was seeking someone, my husband said "It's ok Chewie I am right here." With that Chewie attempted to fly to my husband, eventually landing on his bare chest (claws scratch lol). Makes your heart melt.
Monday was very busy for us, 3 kids off to school, and my daughter that suffers ME had home school lessons to attend, this meant she had to occupy the office with the door closed for 2 hours. Chewie did not take this well, though he could hear her on the odd occasion she spoke to her teacher, we noted during out of cage time that afternoon he was cranky again. So from now on Chewie will come out of the office during her lessons and will have snuggles with Mum. Normally he has hand time before school, then at around 930 and again after school, Yesterday it was just after school. On the 5 days of the week she doesn't have class she spends heaps of time resting on the couch with each bird (one at a time), so this was a lesson learnt, designate someone else while she has class.
So the lesson we have learnt from this is, he is incredibly affectionate and loving and even if he can hear us in the room with him, even if we talk to him, he needs human touch at least twice a day (morning and afternoon), though he seemed to like playing on the table Saturday he prefers to be on your hand or shoulder so he can feel you. So this morning I will be putting my foot down with the kids, they must be ready by 715am so one of them can have hand time with Chewie for a hour before school. (This is something they have done most mornings for over a year now as our dog was abused before we got her and she frets all day while they are at school, so they have to be ready a hour before we leave to play with the dog, unfortunately Yesterday they were not ready in time).
If you are considering adopting a blind bird, please note this is different to caring for other birds, you can not rely of toys entertaining them if you are unavailable. You are their only source of comfort, entertainment, touch etc. So learn from the lesson we have just learnt. You must ensure no matter what that the bird gets that hand time even if you are sick. Whether you designate to another family member or friend.
Note: Though I think he can see really bright light, I believe he knows day from night due to the birds outside chirping as 2 nights now we have left the light on in the office until 10pm and not put a cover over him and he has been asleep within 10mins of dusk despite the bright light.
Oh and fantastic news 3 of his Crest Feathers (that his former cage mates plucked) are growing back already.
I have read some stories of people that have a blind bird and a flightless bird (due to wing damage or just born a runner) and they have apparently got on really well and helped each other. I am not taking on another disabled bird just to see if this is fact tough. Of course we never turn away a animal that needs us.
Photos of cage set up for blind cockatiel
This is close to the final set up, since this photo was taken we have removed the swing, moved his water next to his food (as he climbs all around the outside of his cage and gets poo in his water, removed the foot toy, moved the toy on the left (ball bell strung with beads) over the otherside and added in a pinecone.
Photo of final cage set up will be uploaded asap, so stay tuned.
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Caring for a blind Cockatiel
As mentioned in Welcome To Chewie, I observed how his previous owners handled him and how he reacted to this and to my neighbour.
Monday: my husband was the one to get him out of the transport cage, he bonded with Chewie instantly.
He took the top off the cage to avoid grabbing him to get him out the small door and spoke to him softly for several minutes before placing his hand in the cage. He put his finger infront of Chewie's chest and said up softly. Chewie hopped up and chirped away happily.
So we had our approach, we would constantly speak softly and never grab him in the usual hand hold used to hold birds for examinations etc.
My husband took him to his new cage and as he placed him in the door he said in.
Usually we would let a new bird have 24hours in their new cage to get used to it but after a sort period of time he was trembling with fear. So my husband got him out again, but talking softly for several minutes, then placing his hand infront of his chest and said up softly. He took him out and Chewie had some pats from my husband, my 7yr and my 14yr. As we touched him we spoke softly the entire time.
At this point he hadn't bitten any of us or attempted to.
I had noticed on the drive home he liked music so we played him The Beetles.
Tuesday:I noticed he didn't want me to take him out of his cage only my husband and daughters. He also went to bite myself and my 7 year old. My husband calls it my animal voice, I go a little high pitched and Mr 7 does this also, we made our voices deeper but still soft and this stopped.
We noticed he did not like his back or wings being patted
We played him some Jazz (loves that).
We started the command down when he is on the finger and we want him to go on a surface or someones shoulder.
Wednesday Today I played Youtube videos of other Cockatiels whistling and he really loved it. Also a video of a Cockatiel dancing to someone playing violin he really likes the violin.
We started a new word, snuggles, we use it when we are going to pat him, we say it softly and then pat him on his back very softly, after a few minutes he stopped trying to nip.
The thing we have learnt is everything needs to be soft.
My husband can do a few funny voices and one is a bird talking, he said hello to Chewie in a bird voice and Chewie was very interested.
I placed him on the desk and got his food bowel out of the cage and said here's your food while placing the bowel infront of him. He stepped in it lol. I am going to persevere with this command as I thought it may be useful down the track.
When placing fresh food and water in the cage, I talk to him softly and tell him I am getting him food and water.
When its bedtime, I say "Chewie its bedtime now I am going to tuck you in". Though he is completely blind he knows day from night, we noticed when a bright flash of a camera went off he hissed, this is the only time there has been any reaction to visual stimuli
I know he doesn't understand my long sentences but hearing a voice as his cage is being touched calms him.
So what we have learnt so far
Use a soft voice with a deeper pitch.
Always use a greeting word when entering the room or approaching the cage, we just say Hello Chewie.
When patting do so softly.
Speak softly constantly as you are touching the bird or the birds cage.
Don't grab the bird, let him step up.
You are his only source of entertainment as toys are of now use to him, so having each member of the family spend time every day talking, patting etc is important. We have placed his cage in our office as it is the room used most during the day.
Playing music or other birds chirping, singing, talking etc is very stimulating for him.
I hope this helps anyone needing info on caring and handling a blind cockatiel.
Monday: my husband was the one to get him out of the transport cage, he bonded with Chewie instantly.
He took the top off the cage to avoid grabbing him to get him out the small door and spoke to him softly for several minutes before placing his hand in the cage. He put his finger infront of Chewie's chest and said up softly. Chewie hopped up and chirped away happily.
So we had our approach, we would constantly speak softly and never grab him in the usual hand hold used to hold birds for examinations etc.
My husband took him to his new cage and as he placed him in the door he said in.
Usually we would let a new bird have 24hours in their new cage to get used to it but after a sort period of time he was trembling with fear. So my husband got him out again, but talking softly for several minutes, then placing his hand infront of his chest and said up softly. He took him out and Chewie had some pats from my husband, my 7yr and my 14yr. As we touched him we spoke softly the entire time.
At this point he hadn't bitten any of us or attempted to.
I had noticed on the drive home he liked music so we played him The Beetles.
Tuesday:I noticed he didn't want me to take him out of his cage only my husband and daughters. He also went to bite myself and my 7 year old. My husband calls it my animal voice, I go a little high pitched and Mr 7 does this also, we made our voices deeper but still soft and this stopped.
We noticed he did not like his back or wings being patted
We played him some Jazz (loves that).
We started the command down when he is on the finger and we want him to go on a surface or someones shoulder.
Wednesday Today I played Youtube videos of other Cockatiels whistling and he really loved it. Also a video of a Cockatiel dancing to someone playing violin he really likes the violin.
We started a new word, snuggles, we use it when we are going to pat him, we say it softly and then pat him on his back very softly, after a few minutes he stopped trying to nip.
The thing we have learnt is everything needs to be soft.
My husband can do a few funny voices and one is a bird talking, he said hello to Chewie in a bird voice and Chewie was very interested.
I placed him on the desk and got his food bowel out of the cage and said here's your food while placing the bowel infront of him. He stepped in it lol. I am going to persevere with this command as I thought it may be useful down the track.
When placing fresh food and water in the cage, I talk to him softly and tell him I am getting him food and water.
When its bedtime, I say "Chewie its bedtime now I am going to tuck you in". Though he is completely blind he knows day from night, we noticed when a bright flash of a camera went off he hissed, this is the only time there has been any reaction to visual stimuli
I know he doesn't understand my long sentences but hearing a voice as his cage is being touched calms him.
So what we have learnt so far
Use a soft voice with a deeper pitch.
Always use a greeting word when entering the room or approaching the cage, we just say Hello Chewie.
When patting do so softly.
Speak softly constantly as you are touching the bird or the birds cage.
Don't grab the bird, let him step up.
You are his only source of entertainment as toys are of now use to him, so having each member of the family spend time every day talking, patting etc is important. We have placed his cage in our office as it is the room used most during the day.
Playing music or other birds chirping, singing, talking etc is very stimulating for him.
I hope this helps anyone needing info on caring and handling a blind cockatiel.
Blind Cockatiel Cage Set Up
When I got him home, I scrubbed his new cage and went about setting it up. My approach was since flying is a hazard for him as he crashes and he climbs everywhere testing with his beak then instead of my normal approach to a cage set up (as wide as possible perches and toys at the sides leaving plenty of flight space), I would got for a smaller cage, than I would normally put a cockatiel in (60cm wide x 40cm deep x 45cm high) I placed a long ladder on one end at the back, a calcium perch in the middle at the front with a large rope swing next to it within reach, and on the other side at the back a spiral rope perch (boing).
We then monitored him in his cage taking notes of how he got around. First we noticed he needed the ladder and perches closer than recommended for a Cockatiel to the cage sides as he didn't like to reach too far for footing and didn't like climbing on the wire. So we adjusted this.
All I had read was not to make changes to cage set up, So my wish is to have it just right within 4 days of him coming home and then never change it.
I placed a homemade shredding toy with a ball bell on the end near his ladder, but he hates it so out it goes.
Next we noticed the boing was a issue as he could climb up but not down, but his ladder he went up and down no worries, so out it came to be replaced by a rope perch in the corner and another smaller ladder.
Today I noticed he hates the swing (thought he loved the rocking movement of the car on the drive home), so out it came and the calcium perch spacing is too far from the corner, so Tomorrow I am off to find a short Gum, Bottlebrush, Grevillia or Melaluca branch that is the right thickness and add it in and move the calcium perch a little.
I will be changing him into a slightly wider cage but its been delayed, it will be 76cm wide x 45cm deep and 45cm high as since he keeps his tail inwards and climbs all around the the cage his food and water has to go in the middle and the perch and ladder requirements mean he is at risk of pooing in his food and water.
We have found toys are not needed as he can't play with them and they just scare him, all he needs are perches and ladders.
Photos to come
Welcome Chewie
I am starting this blog so others looking for information on cage set up and care of blind Cockatiels and other birds can learn from our experience and we can learn from others experiences.
Sunday night, I saw someone offering a special needs bird (Choo a blind Cockatiel). My heart and my families heart went out to this little guy.
He was in a cage with 5 other Cockatiels and they had plucked all of his crest out. Her daughter had spent alot of one on one time with him, and they really loved this little guy. He slept alot and loved to snuggle.
So I sent a PM to his owner offering him a home and started researching care of a blind Cockatiels, Cage Set up and Training. Wow talk about a difficult mission to find information or photos of cage set up etc. There was plenty of stories about how loving blind birds are, but little real information.
I picked him up Monday morning at 10am and we renamed him Chewie (Star Wars fans).
He was very stressed and nervy, he would hiss when he heard any sound (ie someone touching his cage), and bite when handled. I observed his interactions with his previous owners for 30 minutes approximately, and when I arrived home got my neighbour (a avid aviculturalist) to give him a health check, when handling him he used the same technic as the previous owner as I told him what commands they were using. I watched how he reacted to the handling and when my husband arrived home we had a discussion about my observations and formed a tentative plan for our handling of him.
He is amazing, he feels his way around with his beak and smells his food.
Blog entries to come are Blind Cockatiel Cage Set Up and Caring For A Blind Cockatiel.
Disclaimer, the information contained in this blog is based on our experience, it is important to adjust your approach to meet the birds needs. We are not experts and are learning as we go and we read alot.
Sunday night, I saw someone offering a special needs bird (Choo a blind Cockatiel). My heart and my families heart went out to this little guy.
He was in a cage with 5 other Cockatiels and they had plucked all of his crest out. Her daughter had spent alot of one on one time with him, and they really loved this little guy. He slept alot and loved to snuggle.
So I sent a PM to his owner offering him a home and started researching care of a blind Cockatiels, Cage Set up and Training. Wow talk about a difficult mission to find information or photos of cage set up etc. There was plenty of stories about how loving blind birds are, but little real information.
I picked him up Monday morning at 10am and we renamed him Chewie (Star Wars fans).
He was very stressed and nervy, he would hiss when he heard any sound (ie someone touching his cage), and bite when handled. I observed his interactions with his previous owners for 30 minutes approximately, and when I arrived home got my neighbour (a avid aviculturalist) to give him a health check, when handling him he used the same technic as the previous owner as I told him what commands they were using. I watched how he reacted to the handling and when my husband arrived home we had a discussion about my observations and formed a tentative plan for our handling of him.
He is amazing, he feels his way around with his beak and smells his food.
Blog entries to come are Blind Cockatiel Cage Set Up and Caring For A Blind Cockatiel.
Disclaimer, the information contained in this blog is based on our experience, it is important to adjust your approach to meet the birds needs. We are not experts and are learning as we go and we read alot.
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