Thought I'd start a new thread for Chico's progress and get off the "Oops, Nailed" thread. Time to close that chapter and move on! He's eating pellets very well, and also some veggies and fruit. Nuts are still his favorite thing, no doubt about that, but I'm trying to hold him down to 3 or 4 Brazil nuts and Almonds per day.

He's also starting to find his voice after being almost totally silent for the first few days. Now he's starting to call some if there's no one in the room (oh boy). He also chatters softly, sort of a rapid-fire clucking, quite often.

I know he's had a lot to get used to. He gets up at dawn now, and I know he didn't used to get up that early. He also goes to bed at 7 to 7:30 pm, as opposed to 9 or 10 pm. I stopped using the seed mix, since it seemed like all he was really eating was the peanuts anyway, but as I said, he seems happy with pellets. I also have a dish of Ultimate Blend in his cage, and he will sample something there sometimes. Last night I put some fresh broccoli in with his Kitchen Sink mix, and he did eat some of that.

He's also showing some interest in his toys, chewing up some of the wood pieces, so that's good.

I wanted to ask for ideas about how best to handle some cage maintenance issues, preferably avoiding getting bit! I need to order some more perches for him, and rearrange stuff (like toys hanging over food and water bowls, that was smart). He's been good about allowing me into the cage to wipe down his perch, etc. but I can tell it agitates him, as he will constantly climb around the top of the cage while I do it.

One idea I had is to get one of those hand-held perches with a built in "gauntlet" that covers the hand, my thinking being that maybe I can get him out and onto a playstand. Another idea is to put his travel cage in the cage and see if he will go into that, and remove him that way. I have no experience with Toweling, and besides I'd like to keep everything as positive as possible. Any thoughts?

Does he come out of his cage willingly? I always let the fids out if I am working on their cages in any way. Maybe he will go on top and watch you.

When I do anything in my Macaws cage he simply tells me to "Get out of there" from the top of her cage.

Wonderful progress all around! Does he show any interest in wanting to come out of his cage?

When Alex had his behavioral relapse I had to stick train him for a while. If I put my hand in to bring him out he would hold out his foot, say step up, then grab me and chomp. So I started using a long dowel and he stepped up easily on that. Then all winter I pulled my sweatshirt sleeve over my hand and he was also ok with that. Now Im back in there with a bare hand (prayers please). So I guess what Im basically saying is, try to stick train just so he can trust the process of coming out and sitting on a play stand while you clean. He'll learn and start to look forward to it I think. Good luck!

Nate:

If you are not able to get Chico to come out of his cage willingly, I would suggest you open the door to his cage and roll a playstand next to it. Then stand by and watch to see when he comes out. You may need to put some treats on the playstand to lure him to come out. Once on the playstand, you can then roll it away slowly and then tend to his cage.

If you use a perch with the gauntlet to protect your hand, be sure that it is a long perch as a bird can come down it pretty darn quick and hop right over that gauntlet. Also, be sure to point the perch slightly up as you carry Chico on it to encourage him to stay on the end -- as you know, birds tend to get the highest point. If he starts to come down the perch, you should have something in your other hand that you can twirl near him to distract his attention so he'll forget about coming down the perch to get to you. Never take your eyes off of him and be sure to speak soothingly to him as you move him. My grey, Jello, was always timid in the beginning when I moved her around and I would say softly to her, "you're okay" and now when I get her to step up to me, she always says "you're okay". When I see her in nervous situations, I have heard her say the same thing to herself -- I think it must help to calm her down to hear that phrase now even if it is she who is saying it!

I also wanted to let you know of a couple of the healthy food choices Stella will make when offered to her -- as you know, amazons tend to go for the high fat stuff like peanuts if anywhere in the vicinity. Stella absolutely adores oatmeal -- all warm and mushy like the way I eat it. I will put some raisins in it too but she really just seems to love the warm mushy oatmeal. She also simply ADORES baked sweet potatoes. I mash it up a bit and put in a bowl in front of her and I swear that bird can wolf down a bowl of the stuff quicker than any animal on earth! And I just love all the appreciative chortles and whistles she makes as she eats it!