Claire's Photo Diary: Today .... new cage for Polly and Ted and progress!

Today Polly and Ted got a brand new lovely parrot cage! It's a great cage, and will be so much easier to work with Polly as it is much more accessible and there is a perch at the top for the birds to hang out on, and a good place to offer millet and try to get Polly more used to hands.

Polly has been with me now for 3 weeks but because I have been away on holiday (with the tiels), she hasn't been out as much as I would have liked. Since I have come home she has been out in the afternoons and evenings and now is the time to work with her and Ted (who is already hand tame although obviously still a bit nervous as he has only been with us for just over a week. I am being guided by TBone who is much more experienced in these things and it's been going really well.

Yesterday T-bone got Polly to accept millet and she fleetingly got onto his hand which was great to see! She also accepted going onto a branch and was slowly coaxed into her cage that way. Tonight she did this again, much more quickly, and went into her new cage for the night without any trouble. Success! She also earlier took millet from my hands and I was able to get close to her and work with her. She already seems much more willing to go near hands and for a second did get onto my hand when I moved the millet a little way away. So I think she is doing very well and hopefully she will grow more and more used to me and will be less afraid. Ted is also doing really well and is a sweet natured little tiel, happy to step up and even fly to your shoulder or head on occasions.

Here's some photos of her and Ted over the last couple of days.

Here's TBone feeding millet to Herman (his cockatiel) and Polly and Ted