Helpful Advice on Bringing Home a New Bird
Going to a new home is a very stressful time for any hand raised bird and some take it better than others. Some will settle into the new environment instantly and other take a while to learn to trust this new person and strange place. Here are our hints and tips at helping settle in your new bird into your household:
- When transporting your bird, it is best to cover the cage. This helps keep the bird cool and also gives it a sense of security.
- When you get your bird home, just let the bird settle in before trying to take them out. I cannot stress this enough! It is a new house and new people and all of a sudden there is a strange hand coming towards them. This can give them cause to fear hands!
- We recommend leaving the bird in its cage in a quiet part of the house for a few days to let it settle in before trying to socialise with them. For the first few times of letting them out, just leave the door open and let them come out in their own time. This will make them feel more secure in the new environment.
- Until your new bird gets use to you, do not shove your hand in front of your new bird or chasing down them down to try and get them out of the cage. All you will successfully achieve is giving your bird a complete fear of you and your hands.
- Let your bird get use to your hands by holding a treat in it and resting it on the opposite end of the perch that they are sitting on. Allow them to take the treat from your hand without moving. This will help reinforce that your hands are good things in their life.
- Until the bird start to get use to their new homes, it is best to do lots of short play times rather than one big one each day. Try to offer treats as well. This helps them learn that time out with their new owner is a positive time and they get treats.
- Remember that birds are still classed as "wild" and are not like dogs and cats. They can and will bite at any given time. If your parrot bites you, do not react (they will be looking for a reaction) and push forwards into their beak. They will have no choice but to let go. You can also try to distract them from biting by offering treats.
- As said previously, some birds will settle into their new homes sooner than others. We find the larger parrots such as Galahs and Eclectus will settle in a lot sooner than the smaller birds. So even though they are hand raised, they may still be scared of people. Remember - its a VERY STRESSFUL TIME for them. They have lost their security of an environment they know, people they have known since they were 2 weeks old, lost all their "nest mates" and are now all alone in a strange place with strange people.
- If you have any other birds you want to socialise them with, it is best to let them get to know each other in the security of their own cages side by side. You will need to give it time as some birds (like Conures and Indian Ringnecks) can get very defensive to start with.
