Hi Dana, congrats on your forthcoming new addition.

My U2 was extremely shy and shut-down when i adopted her many years ago. As you have experience with shy birds that will really help if the new one is shy also. Some things i've done with very shy birds that seemed to help in the first weeks include:

- not staring: be sensitive about eye contact, be the first to look away

- hang out near the cage at regularly scheduled times, reading or quietly engaging in conversation, again without staring. i've even slept near the cage for a few nights (significant because you are letting down your guard to her; non-predator behavior)

- start finding out about favorite food treats and drop one in her food dish every time you come by

- as she starts being expressive, imitate her body language and vocalizations as best you can. Toos in particular seem to find this very flattering!

- once she is out of quarantine it will help to have her observe happy interactions between you and your BHP if that can be arranged

- as much as you can, let her make the first moves and be ready to respond to her; a good game for shy birds is just picking up any foot toy she drops and handing it back to her; very soon she will have you
retrieving like a champ (you have to be a good sport about this and other games in which you follow her lead; it will build her confidence and trust in you)

- once you have figured out appropriate treats you can start target training and go from there; IME clicker training is the best way to bond with a shy bird

i don't have to tell you to be patient, have faith, and celebrate small advances...

Hope this is useful to you - please keep us posted -
lisa
"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement."

Lisa covered it all really well. The only thing I'll add is a way to help find the bird's favorite foods - put out a plate with a bunch of different kinds of food on it, and see what she eats first. Maybe do it a couple times, in case she discovers something new the first time. When you know what she likes most, you know what to drop into her food bowl once in a while. :)

Nate Waddoups
Redmond WA USA

Thanks so much for the pointers:) I have a list of her usual diet from Dan, and will keep an eye out for her favorites. I already have a clicker from working with Pilot. I also got some more info from Dan, her current owner, about her temperment. She does tend to be on the shy side.

Where her cage sits she will have a veiw of us so she can watch us go about our daily activities. So her first few weeks will be observing what we do and settling in.

One nice thing is she used to be in the cage next to Pilot when he was at Dan's. So I'm hoping that will make adjusting to her presence in the house easier on him. I predict that he will be shy about her at first. I set Sophie's cage up empty where he can get used to seeing it and adjust to it being around. So now he will have to just get used to her being in it. I even go through the motions of cleaning her empty food dishes and cleaning her tray, even though she isn't in there. So far he just watchs me. The cage doesn't bother him anymore; the first two days he watched it like it was a snake.

Dana

About introducing the two birds... I'm no expert on this, and I have to admit that Phoebe and Darwin didn't get along very well. But, based on that experience and some things I've heard, here's a couple things I plan to do to ease the introduction when Phoebe and Tangent meet:

If possible they will meet on "neutral ground." Some place that neither of them consider home. Phoebe is territorial at home, but she's generally well behaved at fly day. I doubt I'll introduce them at a fly day (that adds too many other things that could go wrong) but I think the neutral ground idea has merit.

Whether or not they meet on neutral ground, at home they will be caged separately, but near each other. I'll let one out at a time - Phoebe first, since she's the one I'm most concerned about. Hopefully over time they will get used to each other without being able to hurt each other.

When I do let both out at once, I'll put them on separate perches and stay between them. I might put Pheobe on my shoulder, since that's her favorite place. With flighted birds, this might not last long, but I don't think either of them will actually attack the other.

I hope this gives you some food for thought.

Nate Waddoups
Redmond WA USA

Sophie is here!

So far so good. I know right now she is adjusting to here new surroundings and her attitude might change in time. Rigt now she is on the shy side and very gentle.

Pilot doesn't seem to put out by her arrival. He settled into his routine after watching her for about 20 minutes. Now unless she makes a sudden move he doesnn't seem to notice her. Whic is fine by me as it gives her a chance to take everything in.

Sophie did allow both mom and I to pet her some and appears to be receptive to the idea of handling. She didn't even get bothered by mom's wheel chair. She just cocked her head and looked at it then just sort of shrugged. Which is good. I was worried it would scare her more as she's never seen one.

She has only made a couple peeps so far. But Dan says she was never very vocal in the 11 yrs. he had her. So for being in an anpartment that is fine by us.

For the first few weeks she will be out of her cage little. Both so she can settle in, and as part of the quarenteen process. She has been very good about me putting food in her cage and reaching in to adjust placement of her water bottle. She stepped away, but didn't flee or try to beak me. She just moved over carefully and watched me.

She did start out her life as a pet and knows her name, and what petting is. So I think in time she will warm up to us. So far she has been watching Pilot go about his day--preening, napping, playing with me. She seems curious about him being on top of his cage, not threatened just curious.

After about an hour she took a nap with me in the room and the TV on. She didn't have TV at Dan's so I know it is something she will have to get used to. But all in all so far she seems ok with everything. We're in no rush for her to be a certain way so if it takes awhile to be able to play with her like Pilot does it is ok.

I will be introducing toys to her in the next couple weeks depending on her temperment. I know this is a big change for her. She hasn't moved homes in 11yrs, going from a large bird room to just a two bird home, ect. So I'm going to add things slowly and try to find her comfort zone for new things.

Dana

Sounds very promising! It's excellent that she's so calm, and wonderful that you're not in a hurry. Looking forward to hearing how you both progress.
lisa
"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement."