# help and advice for Mochi



## drewdrew11 (Dec 23, 2010)

Hi guys, I got mochi Saturday night. I made great progress with mochi within those days. Mochi ate millet from me last night and would follow the millet where ever i placed it. He even ate it from my hand which made it possible for me to feel his feathers. He doesn't fly everywhere or go nuts when i approach the cage anymore. I can talk to him easier too. Today he was on my finger and i was able to lift him up, but that was because i positioned the millet in a way that he would have to be on my finger to eat it. Unfortunately I dropped the millet and spooked him. He managed to fly out the cage somehow. He hit the oven which is worrying me. I hope he is okay. He also flew to one of the steps of my stairs. I was able to pet him on the back, but he did open his mouth to bite when i got near his head. When he reached to bite, i made the mistake of pulling my finger away. I did leave it there and he didn't bite, just had his mouth open. My mom later used a blanket to catch him and put him back in his cage. He made a screech. Did she hurt him? I was worried this ruined the little bond i had with him, but it didn't. He still ate millet from me. Do you guys recommend anything i should do to tame/bond with him. My goal is to have him on my finger and shoulder comfortably and for me to be able to pet and scratch him. I am on my christmas break so i have about another week. Thanks guys
Andrew


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It sounds like you're doing pretty well already, and it should be enough to keep on going the same way. There will be times when the bird gets scared or you have to do something the bird doesn't like, but he'll forgive you for it as long as most of your interactions are positive.

Some people still say that you should never, ever back down when a bird threatens to bite but I don't agree with this. The original reason for this advice is that we used to think that wild parrots had a dominance-based social structure, and we had to cast ourselves in the role of alpha bird. But this idea has been discredited because we've learned that birds do NOT have a dominance based social structure. They do have arguments with each other but the outcome of a particular fight doesn't have any long term implications for the relationship. What this means for us is that when our bird doesn't like what we're doing, it's OK to have a little respect for his feelings and back off. He's not going to start thinking he's the boss. You don't want to let him win all the time of course, because then he might start thinking that he can always get his way with a threat. But he doesn't have to lose all the time either.


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## drewdrew11 (Dec 23, 2010)

Yay! That's good to hear and i'll keep in mind what you said about the dominance thing the next time he tries to bite. Should I also try clicker training?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Clicker training is excellent. It's based on mutual cooperation not dominance so it's a mutual learning process. The human has to learn how to motivate the bird instead of just giving orders, and to do that you have to be sensitive to the bird's body language and feelings.


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## drewdrew11 (Dec 23, 2010)

Oh okay. Well i got Mochi a clicker today. He doesn't seem to get the concept. I click then give him some millet and pull it away. He follows it where ever i go, but I don't let him get more until i click. He doesn't really seem to notice the clicker. In this past week he never sang or called. The only time he made a noise was when he escaped the cage and my mom caught him with the towel. Today he actually called out or at least i think that's what the noise is for. When i came he lunged at the cage near me. He wanted some millet so i gave it to him. I don't think he eats his regular food. Did i get him used to eating millet when I was training him? He went on my hand again, but yeah I'm kind of scared because I am going to reno with my family tomorrow until Sunday. I don't want him to starve. Will he eat his regular food if I'm not there to give him the millet? I also have a question, would clipping his wings make him easier to train? I feel bad taking away his flying privilege because it will be like taking my legs away.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Was he eating food from his cup before you started offering millet by hand? If he was then he shouldn't have any problem eating it again. If you really want to be sure, you can hang plenty of millet spray for him to eat while you're gone. It sounds like you're going to be gone for two nights, so it would really be better if someone could birdy-sit him. Food probably isn't going to be a problem but birds tend to dirty up their water bowl and that's something to be concerned about.

Right now it doesn't sound like you're using proper clicker training principles. I have a description of the basic technique on my website at http://www.littlefeatheredbuddies.org/info/taming-clicker.html For more extensive information there's an excellent clicker group at http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Bird-Click/ and an excellent book by one of the group owners at http://www.amazon.com/Clicker-Training-Birds-Getting-Started/dp/1890948152/


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## drewdrew11 (Dec 23, 2010)

Yeah Mochi ate from his food cup before i offered him millet. I left one millet spray in there and cleaned his water cup. I'll look at the links yu gave me now. I miss Mochi haha. I wonder what he is doing.


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## drewdrew11 (Dec 23, 2010)

Oh i did do it wrong. I just kept clickng and giving him millet. I'll wait now and ignore it when he keep trying to eat it. Um so back to the clipping question. Should i clip his wings or is it too cruel?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Wing clipping is the #1 most controversial topic in bird care. I'm a middle of the roader myself - I think it's preferable to keep birds fully flighted if that's feasible but perfectly OK to clip them if it makes the bird safer, helps build a better relationship with the owner, or makes it more likely that the owner will let the bird out of the cage frequently. 

I clip my birds for their own safety. I tried going the full-flighted route but it ended badly, with my favorite bird getting killed flying into a window. But my birds are clipped lightly enough that they can still fly, just not as far or as fast. Most of them can make it across a couple of rooms before they have to land. This is a good compromise I think - they can still do some flying but aren't likely to build up enough speed to be hazardous to themselves.


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## drewdrew11 (Dec 23, 2010)

Oh yeah I see what you mean. When mochi hit that oven when he flew out that could have been fatal. I think i might clip his wings to see how it goes and when the time comes decide to reclip it or not. Mochi is my first bird so I don't want to risk hurting him when I clip the wings. Would a regular vet clip them or do I need a vet specialized in birds. How much des it usually cost to clip wings?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

You'd really have to check around locally to see who's available to do clipping and what they charge. An avian vet could do it for sure but other vets in the area might or might not be able to do it. If there's a good bird-oriented pet shop in the area they might do bird grooming. Local bird clubs sometimes offer clipping services too.


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## drewdrew11 (Dec 23, 2010)

I think mochi died. I came home couple minutes ago and he was laying on his back with his feet up and his head to the side. I don't know how he could have died. Is there anyway to check if he is actually dead?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

OMG!! Put his chest next to your ear and listen for a heartbeat.


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## drewdrew11 (Dec 23, 2010)

Nothing.. =(. I took him back to the pet store to see if they could tell and he was. I'm so sad. I didn't even want to go to Reno in the first place and now I come home and my buddy is gone =(. I don't think I can own another bird.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I'm so sorry. This was completely unexpected. If it would give you any comfort to know the cause of death, you could get a necropsy done.


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## drewdrew11 (Dec 23, 2010)

Yeah I think I will do that. I will probably read a lot more before I own another bird and preferably a different one. When I see pictures of cockatiels on here it reminds me of Mochi. Thanks for all the information you gave me. It was really helpful and I appreciate it.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

If you want to get a necropsy, you need to keep the body in the refrigerator (not the freezer) then contact a vet as soon as possible (realistically, that means in the morning) to ask what the next step is.

Again, I'm really sorry this happened. It must have been a terrible shock.


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## RentalWhisper (Sep 10, 2010)

Omg I was just about to ask and say if he hit an oven is he in a kitchen but god im so sorry! U must feel awful. I must say though I know it's difficult but if inwere attracted to Tiels for a reason, dont give up! I hope the pet store apologised big time or gave you a refund. It could be loads if things. Being in a kitchen can cause illness by fumes used in telfon coated kitchen ware or he could have been Ill when you bought him. So sorry


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Im sorry he died


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## drewdrew11 (Dec 23, 2010)

Thanks for the support guys =). I'm feeling better. I decided to get the refund instead of the necropsy. It was probably too late for that anyway. Well I'm going to save the money and look for another tiel. I spent the whole day finding mochi, but it was worth it. Thanks again =).


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I'm glad that you've decided you want another tiel. They break our hearts when they die and for a while we can't even think about getting another bird, but then we realize that we really need another one.

Be sure to disinfect the cage and accessories in case Mochi had something infectious. Stressful situations like moving to a new home can cause hidden medical problems to flare up and become serious.


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

So sorry that Mochi died, but it doesn't sound like it was anything you did to cause his death, so I hope you adopt another tiel when you are ready


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I'm so sorry for your loss, when they're gone they leave such a big hole for such little guys don't they? Its ok to take your time to find your next friend, finding "the one" is always worth it.


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