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ollie's slow progress

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steptoe91(tozie)
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« on: December 18, 2010, 10:17:34 am »

ditty's post about hollywood playing got me to thinking about how far ollie has come in such a short time. she got hollywood the same week i got ollie, so i kinda consider them long distance brothers. (yeah, i'm a freak, what can i say?) i'm going really really slow with him to save as many of my digits as possible. lol! when i got him he stayed on one perch and didnt move around much. he moved so slow and his grip was less than stable. last nite he was walking all around his cage. he hangs upside down by one foot, now. i can tell by where the poo is in the bottom of the cage that he moves around alot during the day when i'm gone. he's started using the whole cage. he still has frustrations some times but instead of chewing feathers he seems to be chewing his roll of toilet paper more often. he LOVES to have his cheeks rubbed. i was reading the new february issue of bird talk and one of the articles mentioned, just in passing, that amazons typically love to have their cheeks rubbed. so i started doing that (endangering my newly healed digits!) and he was just in heaven. he closed his eyes in pure ecstacy. it was great. he's wanting more and more interaction from me. he's talking more. he sings. when he got his bath the other day he was flapping and making all sorts of weird noises! lol! he will eat anything i will. if i show him new food he looks at it suspiciously til i taste it. then he'll give it a try. he still comes looking for me when i leave the room for too long. and if i'm playing with skittles and ollie decides its his turn, he gets on the floor to "lure" me to him! lol! he still wants to bite me for some unknown reason. he puts his foot up like he wants to step up but if i touch it he lunges for me.  dknow  but i'm okay with his 'lance'. he lunged for my hand inside the bottle yesterday, he was particularly grumpy. idk why. needless to say the bottle deflected his bite. 

he has been here since... august? yeah, i think it was august. 4 1/2 months. and sometimes it seems like he's been with us forever, then other times it seems like he just got here. when i look into his eyes i dont always see that pain and distrust i used to see. sometimes they are happy and bright. as a matter of fact, more often than not, he's just so bright eyed. he's really a sweetie.  loveuk
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Beth, the crazy lady who lives on the corner

Skittles - scarlet macaw, Marley - black headed caique, Twiggy - quaker parrot, Ollie - yellow naped amazon, Caleb - Moluccan Cockatoo

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Sondra
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« Reply #1 on: December 18, 2010, 01:10:13 pm »

If you post about him every day you'll be amazed at how far he has come. Keep this thread going - like a diary about him, the positive, the negative, no changes, new things you hear and see and the not so new. In 3 months re-read it, then 3 months later. I know some people who have done this for 2 years or more and when you start at the beginning and read thru it, well............... it's amazing at the baggage the bird has let go of. It's something you could do for all your birds, no matter when you got them - their progress and set-backs all rolled into one. A chronical.

I've noticed how far he's come because I'm not seeing him every day like you are.
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« Reply #2 on: December 18, 2010, 02:33:41 pm »

I agree.  He has come far, the both of you have.  You guys are doing great! hugu
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steptoe91(tozie)
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« Reply #3 on: December 18, 2010, 02:55:36 pm »

thanks. i'm pretty proud of him.

he was watching me and skittles play earlier, i could see the interest in his posture. and i got to thinking.... skittles, being a macaw, is very 'beaky'. he chews, nips, pinches, and mouths my hands when we play. and he's loud and flappy. i hold one of his feet and he hangs by it, as he mouths my other hand. or he flips and twists in my hands, using his feet and beak constantly. he's just very active in our playtime. do ya think this makes ollie think i WANT to be bitten? maybe when he holds his hand out to me and lunges for me when i touch it is his way of trying to play like skittles? or maybe he's just in that amazon overload state and cant contain himself.  thinkin3  marley is also very beaky. again, species characteristic. so ollie sees alot of this rough play with lots of hanging, chewing, and mouthing. and then there's the loud noises they make. squeeks, squawks, screams, and yells. needless to say, its very loud around here during playtime.... who am i kidding? its ALWAYS pretty loud around here. lol! hmmm, something to think about. if he is trying to play and i dont play back with him, it's gonna hurt his feelings. on the other hand, he bites too hard, he breaks skin. i guess i could get some of those gloves til he learns control... if he learns control.  if he's trying to play.  ugh... i dont know....  confused
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Beth, the crazy lady who lives on the corner

Skittles - scarlet macaw, Marley - black headed caique, Twiggy - quaker parrot, Ollie - yellow naped amazon, Caleb - Moluccan Cockatoo
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« Reply #4 on: December 18, 2010, 05:13:47 pm »

Teach him what gentle means by simple gently touching him and firmly touching him, after a while he'll understand what gentle means.
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Debz
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« Reply #5 on: December 18, 2010, 07:21:19 pm »

I love to hear about everyone's progress. You are moving along beautifully.
do ya think this makes ollie think i WANT to be bitten? Although there are many species, and therefore many differences, bottom line, there are more common likenesses then there are differences. From what I've learned, generally, "a lunge" is used to scare off, win the upper hand or wrangle away from danger.   Leading me to wonder if there is such a thing as a "play" lunge.  Perhaps he wants to get up there or to his destination himself without the stick or the hand?  Perhaps he thinks your reach is still too close to his cage. I dont remember if you said he was cage protective.
Perhaps the message and motive are both a bit more complicated and accompanied by more subtle cues that you're not picking up on?
Now Sondra is right on the whole gentle thing.  I too am teaching Pippo to kiss without tearing my lower lip off.  When he's wound up and flaps to me for a quick kissy he bites a little too hard so I say in a whisper "gentle" . I perch him on my finger and tell him to fly home. A few minutes later he'll flap over again, this time his kiss is so sweet and is just a beak bump on the lip. Perfection! 
But lunging as play? I dont think so.
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Pippo -4 year old normal gray male tiel
Catania -3.5 year old pearl lutino female tiel
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Sondra
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« Reply #6 on: December 18, 2010, 07:59:45 pm »

Macaws will lunge during play and if you act afraid of that lunge they will gain more confidence in a bad way, they will start to bite and eventually draw blood and break bones, they get excited very easily and need to be taught to be gentle. They are also one of the most vocal birds during play-time.

Zons on the other hand can be quite aggressive, especially cage aggressive, but they also can be taught to be non-aggressive. Zons are like any other bird in a multi-bird household, they learn by seeing what others do. Ollie is still fairly new to you and so he'll still have some baggae to let go of. I don't know how long he was in the rescue before you got him or what his owner was like, but it all takes time. The best way to work one on one with Ollie is to take him into a room where he can not see his cage. Maybe your bedroom or a bathroom if it's big enough. Have a playgym or T-stand in there for him to hang out on. There will be no distractions in there, no birds, no kids, and see what he accepts from you. Have no expectations about what you want from him, non, this way whatever he offers will be OK. Also the most important thing you can do during one on one time with Ollie is DO NOT THINK ABOUT BEING BITTEN, if you think it, it WILL happen! Have a clear mind - not an empty head, just a clear mind, positive thoughts and be watchful. Touch his tail, touch his toes, touch his beak, but never think about being bit. Make sure to end any session with him on a positive note, even if that is just stepping up for you onto his perch/dowel. Give lots of praise and treats. These sessions will be a bonding time for the two of you, special time, even if it only lasts a couple of minutes. You can always start short anf lengthen them as time goes on.
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« Reply #7 on: December 18, 2010, 08:14:53 pm »

Say, do they make chainmaille gloves?  confused
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Pippo -4 year old normal gray male tiel
Catania -3.5 year old pearl lutino female tiel
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« Reply #8 on: December 19, 2010, 12:51:04 am »

That is fantastic!  He has come a long way and if he is always trying to find momma he trusts you.  He eats after you taste because of trust and he sees you as a flockmate.  So I say those are HUGE accomplishments.

Kudos to momma AND Ollie!!!!!! thumb clap
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