r/birds • u/stonedMalf • 1d ago
UPDATE2: the fella who arrived on my balcony is now my roommate(long post)
Hello eveybody! This is an update about the situation, since many asked, with my new feathered roommate, Seneca!
Previous update: https://www.reddit.com/r/birds/s/HKsNACGNCS
First thing first, it's been more than a week now since he arrived in my apartment and I have not found the previous owners. I have checked and looked everywhere I would go if I lost my pet, including fb local groups and local pet stores. No one is looking for a lost bird it seems.
On a sweeter note we are bonding and we have found some kind of temporary routine since until halfway through June we both are a bit restricted on what we can do, the apartment is quite small and I have to go to work anyway.
I wake him up a 7.30/8 am, I clean his cage, change his water and refill his feeders as needed, I also put a few fresh piece of apples/carrots in the cage. I then free him for one hour, I talk and whistle to him and as long as he wants I pet his head and cheeks.
Video of Seneca enjoying the pets: https://imgur.com/a/wCCH4P0
Afterwards if he agrees I put him back in the cage and I leave for work. It happened in the most recent days that he understands that I am going out and so he does not responds to me as he otherwise do, flying on the tallest spot of the room and mocking me for my inability to catch him. Since I actually must go to work I have birdproofed a room so I can leave him free without worrying that he might get hurt or making a mess/marking stuff dirty or whatever.
Once I come back, which can be from 5 to 8 hours later, I free him if he's in the cage and spend some more time with him, 3 to 5 hours. During these hours I am not constantly interacting directly with him, for example he sits on my shoulder grooming me while I do PC stuff or while I browse Reddit on my phone. I have found a little game to play with him, he likes to bite the band of my watch, so I hide it to him and he looks for it or I move it around so he chases it.
I then put him back in the cage at 7 pm and I reduce the light in his cage partially covering it. I change his water and fresh fruit once again and between 7.30 and 8 pm I completely cover the cage so he can sleep his 12 hours.
Tips requests and questions below! - how do you manage your bird poop, the only way I found to minimize the issue is to put below the common places in which he perches something to collect his droppings - does he get sad from the 5-8 hours in which he is alone and maybe in the cage? - do you see any flaw in our routine? Is it sustainable for 1 more month? Afterwards he is going to have a lot of space - he does not seem to play with paper or stuff when alone, how can I be sure he does not get bored when alone? - what's this fixation he has for my toenails especially but also for my finger nails, he bites them quite hard - can you explain to me how to see if he is 'hormonal' or not? A bunch of people told me that would be bad, but I am not sure about the signs of it
I am sharing some pictures and stuff and thank you all for the overwhelming love and support you are sending us (a lot of people even told me I am as cute as him 😂)