Breeder said I should catch my bird and hold it.

[jtomalley]

Thank you all!

Houdini's cage is against a wall, open in front and the window is nearby on one side. The other side is near a corner but not dark. I had no choice in the wing clipping thing -- the lady who rescued him from her dog took him to her vet to be checked out after that event and the vet did it, before I even had him.

He's been DNA sexed as male and has been checked out for the various health problems that he might carry, so I do know he's healthy. He eats well, and plays with his toys. He's quiet and not terribly active when I'm in the room with him and spends a lot of time cuddled in his corner where he has a piece of micro-fleece attached to the corner of the cage. My other rescue lovebird is across the room where she has a separate cage (she is a peach faced lovebird, and she's quite a bit bigger than Houdini and is a toe biter so they are separated) - they can see each other and they do get chatty with each other, especially in the mornings.

I have a wifi camera set up near his cage so I watch him from work. He's far more active when there are no humans in the room. He especially likes his shredding toys.

I sit near him when I'm home and there's a radio on when I'm not. There's TV noise and my budgie has full run of the house when I'm home, so he can see me interacting with her as well as with the other lovebird.

I just worry that he has PTSD from his ordeal before he came to be with me. He's totally wild, as far as I can tell, and has never had human interaction that wasn't traumatic. I have no idea how his life was before the lady found him, I can only guess he was not hand fed and was a product of a backyard breeder. He is not chipped or banded.

I know he may never be a cuddle bird, but I would like it if he looked forward to seeing me and at least not be terrified of me. I drop treats in his cage and talk to him when I'm near. I don't try and engage him any further than that. I want him to learn that I'm the bringer of happy.