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Hello Bird Crazies, I've been lurking the thread for a few weeks now and read a few hundred pages. I've been a freshwater fish keeper for a few years but I've really been wanting a pet I could interact and form a bond with (cichlids are pretty smart but I'm still just large food dispenser). I always liked birds and really got stuck on the idea of a cockatiel. So after giving it some serious thought I picked up a good size cage (82×52x84cm), and found someone selling some hand raised baby 'tiels.   I was actually most interested in the natural yellow/grey colour, but surprisingly nobody around Brisbane was selling any. The guy selling them let the 3 he had left out and my new friend here stepped up on to my finger without hesitation, then decided my head was a good spot. Stepped up off my head no problem and was content chilling with me while the other two flew around the room hissing at things. The seller said he thinks it's a male so it could definitely be anything! I'm going with he for now. I'm still undecided on a name, I'm thinking Potato scallop, Scallop for short. I have been told that's a stupid name though.  He loves getting into the food bowl to get a different angle on the seed. (Pellet diet swap coming in the coming months, just so I'm comfortable he'll eat properly for now as he's very young). Already had a poo poo in the food bowl and continue eating situation, so if I see him in there I move him back to perch on the side. I'm already loving having him around, I get a bit disappointed when I have to go out at night and get back late because I can't go and say hello, don't want to wake up the baby bird (who is an amazingly good sleeper, we're not very quiet after he's asleep). He woke me up a few minutes before my alarm today with his flock call beeps and was content after I came to talk back (I can see this not being cute every day, but I know to expect it). I'll shut up now, if you can't tell, I'm a bit excited to have a non-human friend.
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Jun 17, 2019 00:09
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| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 14:10 |
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Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! I tried out Scallop on him after work yesterday, it felt right. So it's official! He had his first session outside of the cage with me, since he's already hand tame I figured I better get started on this sort of thing quickly. He's a bit eager to fly on to my head or climb up my arm to my shoulder, so if I see him attempting it I get him to step up on to my other hand. I was treating him with a few nibbles at millet every 15 seconds he sat still on my finger, and took a small walk past my fish tanks with him (he was very interested, even ignoring the millet I was shoving in front of him). After a few minutes he tried nibbling at my finger nails so I put him back in his cage, definitely a investigation/is this food nibble and not a bite but I don't want to encourage the beak on my finger too much. I ordered some natural australian wood perches from a parrot shop, so I can get rid of the two that came with the cage. I already have a few toys to rotate each week, he's playing/destroying them (and making GBS threads on them) already so that's a good sign that'll keep him busy while I'm at work. I made sure to avoid rope/cloth toys as I saw a few warnings about that. I'll try get some more photos while I have him out, that is if he stops nibbling at my fingers. Captain Log posted:If you want to make this forum even more confusing, name the bird Cera. If I was an evil person I would definitely do this, when both Serra and Sera started appearing on the same page I was confused for a bit.
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Jun 18, 2019 00:17
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Happy Hatchday Serra! I hope Scallop is as well behaved as her one day (maybe apart from that nesting business). Scallop stopped moving for a few seconds and allowed me to get a photo post step up practice. Went straight back to climbing up my arm to my shoulder afterwards.
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Jun 18, 2019 13:09
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Scallop had his first bath/shower yesterday. We had just finished a bit of clicker training and I was playing the get him to get in the cage game (put him near food or water so he forgets I'm trying to put him in the cage). Got him on the water bowl and he started flicking water on his head so I grabbed the spray bottle. Gave him a few test mists and he started fluffing up to get water everywhere so I knew he was into it. I was so proud of him. Today he has been acting like a little poo poo, only wants to get on my head. Accepts my shoulder but doesn't accept my ear being there. He shoved his head into my ear multiple times and has been biting/licking the edge. Last week I was stressing over everything, thinking I might not be good enough to look after him but I'm feeling much better about it now. Whenever he gets scared over a noise he looks straight at me then runs over and jumps on me, he might bite me sometimes but I'm starting to feel like he really trusts me.
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Jun 28, 2019 03:03
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Scallop has started accepting head scratches! I went out all day yesterday to help work on a friend's car. Came home to my mother playing with him on the couch. As soon as I get in the door he flies up op to my shoulder, I really find it funny that when I'm not there he's happy to play with someone else but as soon as I'm there he has to be with me - I think he likes me. I sat down with him for a few minutes and he started mashing his head into my chin so I moved my head around to give him a scratch. After a while of that I moved my hand in to scratch with my finger and it didn't bother him until I was scratching the "wrong way" and he beaked me (then when I stopped he wanted more). I'm really impressed with his progress, he's even started copying my whistles to him while he's alone (refuses to do it when he can see someone) Taking him for a health check at my local bird vet tomorrow, which will include a wing clip (keeps flying into walls really hard), and a dna gender test. I also present an offering of foraging bird (yes, I bought him fake grass to forage in) 
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Jul 8, 2019 00:05
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Captain Log posted:So...where do you get a patch of astroturf? Amazon? Bunnings Warehouse, which won't be very helpful for you since you aren't in Australia. I'd imagine a similar gardening or home improvement place would stock some, it was something like $10 for a square metre.
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Jul 8, 2019 00:17
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Patrovsky posted:Did you also get Scallop a sausage in bread? I wish. I always end up going after the sausage sizzle is finished for the day.
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Jul 9, 2019 02:43
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Scallop's bird vet visit went well. General health check, blood test, and dna sexing. Vet was very happy with his health and my care of him. I originally wanted to get his wings clipped but was talked out of it. The vet also suggested a second cockatiel since I'm at work all day, not something I was planning on but the cage is big enough for two. So once gender is confirmed I'll look at finding a friend for him. One thing I need to change is the diet. He's still on seeds but I alternate between a seed reward and pellet reward, so he knows pellets are food. I switched out the main seed bowl with pellets and moved the second bowl with a small amount of seed. He immediately started eating the pellets, so I'll call that a win. I'll monitor his weight for a few weeks as I start taking the seeds away. Scallop did manage to escape at the end of the examination, flew up into the ceiling and came crashing down. This was after blood was taken and he had been handled by the vet (was not happy, I know what his screech of pure hate sounds like now). Once he was home all he wanted was head scratches and to puff up next to me while making his baby bird groans. I'm guessing he was a bit sore. Also there was someone with a GCC at the vet, it was such a cutie. It seemed pretty puzzled that my shoe box was making bird noises.
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Jul 10, 2019 03:08
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Scallop's DNA sexing came back today. He is actually a she! Which is pretty funny because the vet thought male from her behavior. I guess it just shows you can't really be sure without the test. Time to find her a friend. Picked up a second cage on the weekend for the new bird to stay in while they get used to each other. Also, she absolutely loves me and only me. I get my Mum to spend time with her alone but the second she hears my voice the screaming for me starts, if she sees me either she stares until I come into the same room or she shoots over like a rocket. Hopefully the new bird calms down this behaviour a bit, I like her wanting to be with me but she does get very worked up over it.
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Jul 30, 2019 00:15
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Picked up my second cockatiel yesterday, still no name. Nothing has really stood out to me yet. Forgot to get a photo, I'll try remember to get one tonight. Scallop is super interested in the new bird, they're in seperate cages for now but scallop sits as close to the new bird as possible and flock calls to her. I stood next to both of them for 30 minutes last night doing wolf whistles because Scallop was in a talkative mood, eventually the new bird started joining in by beeping at us which made Scallop the happiest bird. The new bird was in a big bird room with a bunch of other tiels, quakers, sun conures, princess parrots, and a caique. Her mother was very protective of her, and it was a little bit tough taking her away but it was good seeing her interact with other tiels. The one thing that stuck with me from being in that room was: Sun conures are LOUD.
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Aug 18, 2019 22:57
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I forgot to get a photo of the new baby  I threw out a few names but most got shot down, ended up on Chicken. The theme is fried food. I have a good feeling about them getting along, they're flock calling to each other already (even though they can see each other), and they copy each other by eating at the same time. Chicken had a little tantrum last night just before bed time. I got Scallop out because I had a few spare minutes, walked out into the lounge room with her and then Chicken started screaming, which she hasn't done at all yet. Scallop hears her, starts calling back and flapping her wings (into my face). I take Scallop back and the flock calling begins. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't bring Scallop out but I did get a good laugh from Chicken not being happy that her new friend wasn't there. It's pretty understandable, before coming home with me she always had other birds around.
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Aug 20, 2019 23:40
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I have the radio on for them, even when I'm home. It calmed Scallop down enough that she stopped screaming every time I walked into the room (just leaves the 80% of time when she does). They get to listen to a community station that plays classic rock, the bonus is I also listen to it in the car so I get to listen with them!
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Aug 22, 2019 23:20
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I whistled to Scallop when I got up for work today, which started a whistle chain. Scallop was talking to me, Chicken was talking to Scallop, and I was whistling back to Scallop for the benefit of Chicken. I took a little video! https://youtu.be/yZahzpCT6Po As you can see, Scallop is hyperactive. Chicken is just super cute, bobbing her head when she calls to Scallop.
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Aug 23, 2019 02:53
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 Scallop LOVES chilli.
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Aug 27, 2019 23:09
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I have a story about taking photos of birds, in photo form.   Phone alert. Must bite.
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Sep 26, 2019 02:01
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Elmnt80 posted:Funny lookin wastegate you got on that there turbo... I'm officially testing new turbo technology, that yellow thing is what we are calling a waste generator. It's early days but so far it shits on everything. Captain Log posted:EVERYONE!!! MY AVATAR!!! IT IS MAGNIFICENT!!! Excellent avatar, she is extremely cute. Though I feel like it was a missed opportunity for it to be a cockatiel egg.
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Sep 27, 2019 02:09
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I forgot to upload this a while ago. https://youtu.be/tZw6Chu2LYk Little bit old, Scallop and Chicken are in the same cage now. Yes, I did pick the chilli up after the video. I don't know why I re-dropped it. Also, I had Scallop out last night and noticed she's making a new noise. Whenever she does something bad I say "Oi" because I'm part bogan apparently. She knows this means she needs to stop (she'll look at me for a fraction of a second, move one step over, then go back to doing what she's doing at a different angle). The new sound is very close to Oi, and she only says it after I say it.
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Oct 1, 2019 21:54
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I doubt you would have any problems but if it was me, I'd just make sure the place was ventilated well for a few extra hours once you're back in but you've probably already thought about that. I'd definitely be up for 4 hours in the car with my birds, then after an hour I'd probably be over them destroying my car.
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Oct 3, 2019 01:16
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This past long weekend was the first time I left Scallop and Chicken for more than a day. Got home Monday night, both of them were really tired. After some time waking up, Scallop was going crazy, she was so happy I was back. It's not like she was short of attention while I was gone, my mum had them both out several times a day. Apparently Scallop was a very different bird while I was gone. Not the usual hyperactive bird she is. While I was gone Scallop learnt that the cage door latch means open cage. So if I stand near the cage she goes to the latch and bites on the side of it to tell me to open up. Chicken is making progress, she likes being out but doesn't like fingers. So she has her special tray, but it's a bit slippery for her. My mum was feeling sorry for her so found her a helper: 
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Oct 8, 2019 00:06
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I just remembered something I saw while on my long weekend holiday. We were driving around down in Newcastle and saw a guy on the side of the road with his arm out, looked like he was trying to get a ride. Nope! A galah flys down and lands on his arm. Spotted him again half an hour later, galah was just chilling on his shoulder.
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Oct 9, 2019 23:48
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Been a while since I last checked out the thread or posted. Some of you might remember my two birds Scallop and Chicken. They're both still doing great, Scallop is just over one year old now and chicken is almost one. Scallop has mastered the wolf whistle, she even finishes it off if you do the first part. Still very attached to me, even with chicken around. Chicken is still afraid of hands and forearms but loves shoulders. She's perfectly comfortable with people now even when scallop isn't with her but just can't handle fingers near her if they're moving. Hasn't been a problem since instead of hands she has her special tray that she gets on to. Scallop with some post bath red dye from a toy  Chicken climbing all over me 
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Jun 2, 2020 02:19
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Scallop has worked out how the small food bowl doors work and can lift them up about 5cm. She has started doing it to signal to me she wants to come out when I reach in to change the bowls (9 times out of 10 she jumps up on my hand if it it's in there). I clipped down the doors so I don't have an escape. As much as I love that she is learning how these things work, I have a fear of opening the front door after work and having a bird fly past me without being able to react in time.
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Jun 5, 2020 04:30
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I'm glad I'm not alone in having a grumpy bird right now, Scallop is either begging for a scratch (which can never be done correctly) or searching for a nest (then screaming for a boy when she finds it). When she's on the hunt for a nest she bites at fingers and runs away from me. This ends up in a lot of early bed times. She looks so proud of herself. Why would the bowl be in there if it wasn't for taking a bath?
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Jun 8, 2020 03:21
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A 200 gram bird - 100 of bird, 100 of water
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Jun 9, 2020 01:56
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| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 14:10 |
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mediaphage posted:He makes this noise whenever his head is covered. We call it explorer birb. The Ravi Shankar is a little loud, sorry. It’s just him dragging my shirt around; I think it might be a version of nest-seeking. It’s definitely not mating. Scallop makes similar noises if I take her into a dark room, put the cover on the cage, or when she's looking for a nest. I always just assumed she was trying to be quiet because it was dark but still wants to let me know where she is. Though it could be some kind of bird sonar system.
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Jun 14, 2020 23:15
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