I wish you & Billy all the best - how terrible to be so casually handed around. Being so young - hopefully he'll regain his feathers & his confidence.

This is just the beginning. You should be able to have a good relationship grow in the next year & onwards. I suggest you look into the food & training topics. There will be plenty of things you can do to interact with him & offer him stimulation. I really believe that stimulated both intellectually & nurtured nutritionally - you will see huge changes.

From what I've read Alexandrians are a challenge. But oh so lovely.

Can't wait for the proud 'parront' photos.

PS - 2 teen girls! - oh my!

Hi
Billys confidence is very slowly coming and his personality is just coming through. Had to get a large cage as the one he came with was too small. I couldnt stand seeing him cooped up so let him out which caused a lot of problems. We now seem to be doing ok and im looking forward to him coming out again. He is at least acknowledging and appreciating my presence with a bit of interaction from him without clinging to the back of the cage panting with fear as he has done for last 3 months.

PS. As for the the 2 teenage girls i think i spoke too soon. My youngest at 16 is causing problems. my eldest has an old womans head on her shoulders. She is more responsible than me.

Asian birds having a molt look pretty bad not the normal sleek self. The good thing about IRN and Alex is that they eat almost anything and are very food motivated.

Billy is a very fussy eater. He will only eat seeds and monkey nuts. I offer him allsorts and even give him a bit of what i have. He tasted some lettuce yesterday before he threw it away and he likes the odd bit of pomegranite. Bribing him with food will probably never work. He once went 36 hours with nothing to avoid going in cage. He is so stubborn,

Poor Billy, I guess he just needs to discover the joys of eating.

Billy has a big appetite but just refuses to try anything new.

I hear from what you're saying - he really hates his cage. My Budgie Rio was like that too - in fact he is still like that. His history was that he came from an aviary setting & in a sense was kind of wild. The idea of being in the cage was really hateful for him. Now he only goes in his cage if our other bird is in there or for bed time. He has no trouble with Laker's cage [cannot figure it out except to say that Laker loves his cage - as long as it's open doored] & that's were all the food & water is kept for the day - no point in leaving it in Rio's cage.

If you think the cage is too small I'd make it a priority to find another one. Or you could make it his sleeping cage only. If you have a gym or tree for him to hang out on beside the cage , then you could leave the door open? He would go back into eat or get water. Once he sees the door is open more often I think he'll respond positively.

When I recently bird sat I didn't want the Grey to be in the cage more than was necessary, even tho I was nervous. Because her owner works & is a student - she spends a lot of time in her cage. In only a few days we worked out a routine between us. I'd use her owners words to tell her I was going out & it was cage time. She was pretty good about it. I also said I'd let her out when I got home [I have no idea if she understood - but I'm sure her owner says the same things]. I try to be consistent - you know it doesn't always work. She was so funny when I cam ehome - she'd crane her neck to see me & then lift her foot to tell me she'd be a good girl & was ready to step up & get out!

[quote=homebird;107975]I hear from what you're saying - he really hates his cage. My Budgie Rio was like that too - in fact he is still like that. His history was that he came from an aviary setting & in a sense was kind of wild. The idea of being in the cage was really hateful for him. Now he only goes in his cage if our other bird is in there or for bed time. He has no trouble with Laker's cage [cannot figure it out except to say that Laker loves his cage - as long as it's open doored] & that's were all the food & water is kept for the day - no point in leaving it in Rio's cage.

If you think the cage is too small I'd make it a priority to find another one. Or you could make it his sleeping cage only. If you have a gym or tree for him to hang out on beside the cage , then you could leave the door open? He would go back into eat or get water. Once he sees the door is open more often I think he'll respond positively.
Billy came in a small cage and i couldnt stand seeing him in it so i let him out before he was used to me. It was a mistake. The trauma for him having to be be caught by me was awful so decided to let him go in when he was ready. it took three days. He didnt eat for 36 hours to avoid going back in. He now has a very big cage that he seems fine in. I keep wheeling him into the kitchen and spend a lot of time talking to him. His fear of me is getting less and he will now play peepo and listens to me a lot instead of clinging to back of cage with his back to me. i dont feel he is ready to fly free yet and am worried about going back to square one. Im really looking forward to the day when he can come in and out of his own accord and allow me to touch him. I dont think it will be long now. I really dont know whats happened in his past and he is my first and only bird so i am far from an expert on him but we do seem to be getting somewhere but its a long long process!
When I recently bird sat I didn't want the Grey to be in the cage more than was necessary, even tho I was nervous. Because her owner works & is a student - she spends a lot of time in her cage. In only a few days we worked out a routine between us. I'd use her owners words to tell her I was going out & it was cage time. She was pretty good about it. I also said I'd let her out when I got home [I have no idea if she understood - but I'm sure her owner says the same things]. I try to be consistent - you know it doesn't always work. She was so funny when I cam ehome - she'd crane her neck to see me & then lift her foot to tell me she'd be a good girl & was ready to step up & get out!

The more I read the happier I am that he has you now. I too used to take my Laker almost everywhere in his cage so he could get used to us & not be lonely. He loved being in the thick of things - would even show off & try to get into the conversation.