One Week In

I'm writing this from the bird room. I just sprayed Loki with a water bottle to calm down some of the dust he puts off, and now he's running around the top of his cage, wings outstretched, screaming his head off. It would be a lot cuter if my ear drums weren't bleeding (note to self: wear headphones in bird room).

Cray-ball cockatoo.

So we've made it one week. It's been quite an experience. I like lists, so here's what's been going on in list form.

1. We have started clicker training. So far it doesn't seem that either bird has really caught on, but it's only been a few days and I'm going to give it a lot of time to see where this goes. So far I'm doing touch training using a wooden skewer, where I ask the bird to "touch" the end of the skewer with their beak. I click, they get a treat. Touch training is apparently really good for building a foundation for other things, such as stepping up (which Mango already knows how to do, but Loki does not). I've only been doing this for a few minutes each day, so time will tell. I've also been working on "step up" with Mango. He already knows how to do it, but he's a little butt about it sometimes. He's very easily excited and easily distracted, so it doesn't always work. I'm attempting zero negative reinforcement, which is really hard when you have a crazy, bitey bird, but I've been pretty successful thus far .

2. Mango has pretty nutso separation anxiety. I don't blame the little guy, he's spent the last several years in a cage, and he LOVES coming out... I'd be a little crazy too. If I'm outside the room and he can hear me talking, he's screaming. If I'm in the room and Loki is out, Mango is trying to get my attention with a variety of screams, knocks, vibrations with his beak on the cage bars or a toy, or other repetitive motions that I do not like seeing. The only time that he's totally calm around me is when he's on my body somewhere. Hands and knees (I like to let him perch on my knees when I'm laying on bed watching Netflix) are ok. Shoulders/chest are a big problem. He goes into crazy territorial mode when he's on someone's shoulder or chest, particularly mine, and WILL NOT step up onto anybody's finger when there. Putting my hands anywhere near him while he's on my shoulder or chest results in an aggressive shriek and a hard bite. So until he gets "step up" down HARD, he is not allowed on anybody's shoulder.

Right before the last time I got bit super hard. No more, Sir Mango!

3. Although Loki was willing to come out into my hands and arms when he was back in Maryland, he does not trust me here. Again, I don't blame him. He's an old, smart bird who was just moved 3,000 miles across the country to a different time zone, climate, room, and cage. He's pretty traumatized. Touch training is going ok with him, and he loves to play on top of his cage, give me head boops, and get head scratches, so I'm happy with that for now. We're gonna take it REAL slow with him. He's very interested in toys (and by "interested in" I mean "interested in destroying") and treats, which I am thrilled about. Yesterday was cage cleaning day, and here's a before/after photo of his litter tray:

Above: The remains of many toys. Below: so fresh and so clean. But way more boring.

4. Two nights this past week, Loki has decided to sing the song of his people at midnight. MIDNIGHT. AS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAMN NIGHT. He goes for about 10 minutes and I cannot for the life of me figure out why. The window is shut, so he shouldn't be bothered by animals outside, but maybe he can still hear them? It's pitch black in the room. Someone suggested, "maybe he's still getting used to the time change?" I'd buy that, except that it would mean that he started screaming at 3:00 am back at home... which I know isn't true. I don't know what it's about, but I really really really really REALLY hope he gets a grip on himself and stops. Even Mango scolded him when he started in last night. All I can do is ignore it, and try to get back to sleep.

5. The "let's be friends" sheet is working beautifully. Loki has been focusing on destroying the perch/toy/fiber/whatever is on top of his cage, and he completely ignores Mango now that they can't see each other. I've even had them both out at the same time a couple of times now. It's great. HOORAY SOMETHING IS WORKING!

KUUUMBAAAYAAAAAAAAA

So my hope is that we'll have touch training down in three weeks. I'd really like for Loki to trust me enough to step up onto my hand within a month, but I've read varying accounts from different sources, so I won't be too devastated if it doesn't happen. I can be patient. I'm also expecting a huge trust set-back when I take them to the vet (hopefully next week). Micro-chips and nail trims for all!