# Hello!



## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

Hello everyone ! My name is Jesus but short a lot of people call me seus. like dr. seuss haha yes. Today I brought home a new friend! Her name is Missy and she is ~8weeks old !
Here's a pic of the cute little girl:








The breeder told me that this was a girl, and I believed him because when I was looking at the birds this one wasn't whistling or going crazy.

As of now Missy is still getting used to her surroundings. I feel she is stressed from the transportation, and new environment. She hasn't moved too much since we put her in the new cage but i'm guessing this is how tiels act when they are in a new place.

I plan to train her, hopefully teach her some tricks. When I first met her she was very shy. And she still is. She perched on my finger once when I first met her but since I brought her back home you can tell she is a little nervous. Hopefully she will begin to perch on my finger within a couple days or so..

IF you guys have any advice, please share ! I will be really active on these forums, for I want to to expand my knowledge about cockatiels!

Also, I plan to find her a male friend ! And if everything is well plan to start a new family !


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

Welcome to the forum Missy is gorgeous!!!! 


Please do alot of research before breeding and figure out if it is truly for you, it takes alot of work and preparation and there are many things that can go wrong with the parents as well as with the babies. There are some good articles related to breeding in the breeding section of the forum but you have tons of time to research before missy is old enough to breed!


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## stevechurch2222 (Sep 25, 2011)

Welcome to the forum,glad to have you here,Jesus.Look forward to seeing pictures of your new cockatiel.


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## WendyBeoBuddy (Dec 12, 2011)

she is beautiful! she is 8 weeks old? wow! such a young little one! is she pearled? the photo won't work for my computer, i cannot see it enlarged


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

Welcome aboard! She's a very beautiful Pearl.  If she is in fact female.. she will keep her pearling. If she is male.. as she molts when she's older.. the pearls will slowly fade out. 

There are many helpful threads on this site... I will list a few below. Feel free to do a Search on any specific questions you may have also. If after reading some of these threads and doing searches, you still have questions.. feel free to ask away! 

On a side note.. 8 weeks is still on the young side. Do you know how long this little one has been weaned? And also, do you have a gram scale on hand? 

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=3434

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27080

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27549

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=536

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=22073


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

Thanks everyone for the fast reply ! About the breeding: Don't worry I will do every bit of research I need to before I even start !

DyArianna - I'm unsure how long, but the breeder I got her from was a very nice old man. He seem to know a lot about the cockatiels and even had me choose my top 3. And then out of those top 3 he checked them out and let me know which one was the best and most tame. Also, I do have a gram scale on hand.


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

Good on the scale.. take a weight of the little one first thing in the morning before feeding. This will give you a base weight to work with. Read up on the links I sent you. It is possible with chicks this young to do something called regressing. Sometimes they don't.. but sometimes they do. So it is important to watch their behavior, eating habits and weight.


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

Ok sounds good. I read up on the articles you attached and I would like to thank you soo much ! Most of my questions were answered by those threads.

On the other hand, I need to find that scale ! My mom has misplaced it so I have to look around for it. Can you fill me on "regressing" DyArianna?


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

Regressing is basically when a weaned baby goes to a new home and decides that it wants to go back to either being fed by mom and dad or hand fed. It is really important to keep an eye on weight.. eating and pooing. There is a distinctive cry that babies make when they want food or attention. If you hear this loud strange noise coming from your little one, he could be trying to get you to feed him/her.. or just looking for attention. Just know that this is normal for their age, and as long as he/she is eating and pooing fine.. give them some attention. You will learn that they are much like human toddlers in that they try to push the envelope sometimes and do this whining just to see if it works on you. Give them some attention if they do this cry, but they also need to learn that they can't whine and get what they want every time. 

Bottom line.. make sure they are eating and pooing fine before and spend time with the little one before you come to the conclusion that they are just whining. If just whining.. it will stop. It will tug at your heart strings.. but it will stop. It's part of growing up.


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

The baby has yet to whine.. or scream... She has already poo'ed a couple of times but hasn't ate yet.... If she still won't eat tomorrow ill try hand feeding her.

As of now, the little baby looks like shes startin to get a little sleepy.. shes startin to closer her eyes and rest her head down so it looks like she is ready to sleep.


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

Keep us updated tomorrow on how little one is doing.


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

Will do ! Thanks a bunch !


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

I have covered the cage and now the room is dark with a little night light near the cage. The baby is finally moving around as I can tell she is exploring the cage playing with the toys she has.
Is it normal for them to do this when you put the cover over like its time to go to sleep?
Also, I heard her make the hissing sound a couple times but she stopped.


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

Woke up today, and she had moved to the lower perch. but she is stayin in the same spot. still She does chirp tho when I talk to her and she chirps when shes jus standin there but still not too much movement yet.. Any ideas on how to help her out ?


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

As long as she is eating, pooing, and chirping.. seems to do fine... just give her a few days to settle in.  Keep a good eye on her though. You mentioned you heard her moving around and exploring in her cage.. this is a good thing. You can also leave her cage a bit covered during the day.. for example cover three sides but leave the front open and a bit of the top. This way she only has to worry about keeping a watchful eye on one area. It will give her a bit more sense of security. Talk to her constantly.. even sit next to her cage and read out loud to her. Patience is key.


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

Awesome glad to hear ! The only thing I notice is she hasn't really eat yet and when i put my hand with some of her food she was scared to go close to my hand and was watching it carefully.. I feel as if she is still scared of my hands and me.


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

It will take some time for her to get used to your hand. Being that she is still fairly young.. I would suggest that you also sprinkle some seed on the floor of the cage.. and leave a sprig of millet down there. It is possible she's not used to where the food is located.. or just doesn't feel safe eating it there. She will get the idea eventually, but for right now, it's important to make sure she's eating ANY way.  If you take the seed cup of food that you have.. and you lightly blow on it.. some empty shells should fly up. This will confirm if she's eating or not. If she's pooing.. she has to be eating something.


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

Even if the bottom of my cage has a little grill i should sprinkle it on the bottom?


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## green parakeet (Oct 20, 2011)

[/QUOTE]


dokseus said:


> Even if the bottom of my cage has a little grill i should sprinkle it on the bottom?


If your cage has a grill you could put some paper on top of the grill then sprinkle a little bit of seeds on that


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

Remove the grill and then sprinkle the seed... Can you remove the grill? If you can't.. try laying a couple of layers of newspaper on top of the grill and then sprinkle seeds..


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

ya you can remove it.. should i jus remove it til i see her go down to eat some?


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

Keep the grill out until you see she will eat from a food dish the normal way. If all she's doing is eating on the ground with the sprinkled seed.. gradually change to a small bowl of seed sitting on the cage floor. If she will eat from the bowl, you can put the grill back and continue using the bowl on the grill.


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

alright awesome.. I'll take the grill off and sprinkle some food on the newspaper after I clean the one from now cause theres some poop on it.


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

Good.. I would also suggest you change the paper twice a day so that you can keep a close eye on the poo.. and besides that, the food will make it messy.

Also, here is a link to abnormal bird droppings.. This way when you are looking at her poo, this will give you a heads up on if something looks off.. 

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=10100


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

Will do. The poo from earlier seemed like it was regular. Jus some green mixed with white. Nothing crazy. She looks a little sleepy still, i'm guessing she didn't get too much sleep last night.


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## green parakeet (Oct 20, 2011)

Have you tryed to see if she would eat pellets?


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

In her dish, i have LM Farms Vita-Mix with Nutri-pellets.. she still hasn't tried to get the food sprinkled on the ground or in the dish. she is jus being really cautious and sitting in front of a mirror toy i have in the cage.. shes been in the same place all morning.. im sure she is still nervous to move around.


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

She finally made her way off the perch and to the food bowl! She was hesitant while I watched her and she waited til i looked away to get ontop of the bowl. Now she eats but right when she grabs something she brings her head right back up to see what I am doing.


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## green parakeet (Oct 20, 2011)

You might wana try to hide behinde a chair or behinde a door where you can still see her but she cant see you. Might make her feel a bit more confortable


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

haha I actually did that and she ate for a few minutes.. Now she went back up to her perch and shes makin these grinding sounds with her beak... What does this mean?


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## green parakeet (Oct 20, 2011)

dokseus said:


> haha I actually did that and she ate for a few minutes.. Now she went back up to her perch and shes makin these grinding sounds with her beak... What does this mean?


She is grinding her beak. It means she is content and feels comfortable in her new home


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

green parakeet said:


> She is grinding her beak. It means she is content and feels comfortable in her new home


awesome ! that's what I like to hear ! Hopefully she starts moving around more ! and playing with her toys and what not !


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

I came back home from gettin a bite to eat, and she was still in the same place. poor thing is probably still stressing.. But i tried giving her some millet but she got scared and started climbing off the perch onto the cage and she ended up climbing onto the taller one. So i just took off a bit of the millet and put some in her feeding cage so she can try it later. I started to put my finger closer to here in the cage and she started gettin a little scared so i stopped. Now she is on the perch grinding her beak at me haha.


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## green parakeet (Oct 20, 2011)

You might try sitting by her cage and read a book, laptop, etc. anything thats is quite and so she can see you for awile. that way she can figure out that you a friend not a foe  
But it all come down to time. In awile you and your bird will be best friends


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

yea, when ever i'm in my room (which she will b in here til she gets more comfortable etc.) im always on my laptop, reading, next to her


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

Hopefully some great news! While sitting by her cage out of no where she started chirping a lot. She finally started to move around the cage and it look like she was jus trying to be a silly girl.


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

It just takes them a little while to realize you will not harm them. This is great news!  She will open up more and more now. Give her a few more days to just start acting like herself before you expect anything more out of her now.


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

DyArianna said:


> It just takes them a little while to realize you will not harm them. This is great news!  She will open up more and more now. Give her a few more days to just start acting like herself before you expect anything more out of her now.


awesome ! thats what i wnated to hear! after her little chirping fun, she went down to eat and then back up to where she hangs out at.


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## smays810 (Dec 27, 2011)

Welcome to the Forum. Missy sounds like a little doll and shes just as cute in her picture!!


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

Thanks !

She seems to be doing fine now! Shes climbing the sides of her cage going to the top and climbing upside down. and shs chirping. im not sure what she os trying to do. ut she repeats going to the top and climbing upside down.


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

Hello ! Just an update and a quick question! I came home from work today and she heard my voice and started chirping ! now shes going crazy climbing up to the top of the cage and going upside down.

Does this mean she is trying to get outside the cage? Should I let her even though I havent trained her to perch on my finger yet ?


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## rainfeather (Jan 26, 2012)

Hmm, I dont think I can fully answer your question, but I do have a story related to this. My new cockatiel(that was getting used to her home after a few days of arriving) would do that, though, she was hand tame. I let her out, and boy, thats all she wanted! She was happy after that. It's a birds way of showing excitement, etc.


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

yea, my tiel lost her hand tame when the breeder I bought her from went into the hospital for a week... She was hand fed and all that as a baby though, but shes still a little scared of my hand, but I work with her leaving my finger near her saying up and when ever she doesnt back away or try to clumb away she gets some millet.


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## rainfeather (Jan 26, 2012)

I've heard that before you take a bird out of the cage you should first hand tame them. This way, they aren't wild birdies flying frantically around without the ability to be used to being caught, if needed. I'm not completely certain on my answer so I hope others can chime in. But, keep up on the taming process. Take it at their pace


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

Yea, that's what I would have guessed. Her wings are clipped tho so its a good thing. The Breeder clipped them in front of me before I took her home. But I will continute to train the pretty bird ! shes starting to get really used to me though. And I'm loving it !


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

* but I work with her leaving my finger near her saying up* 
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Many times birds are afraid of fingers which can cause a delay in the bird wanting to get on your hand. What you might try is to fist your hand, and present the flat back of your hand for her to step up on. This is a non-threatening gesture on your part, versus a finger that can scare her.


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

srtiels said:


> * but I work with her leaving my finger near her saying up*
> -------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Many times birds are afraid of fingers which can cause a delay in the bird wanting to get on your hand. What you might try is to fist your hand, and present the flat back of your hand for her to step up on. This is a non-threatening gesture on your part, versus a finger that can scare her.


Oh wow I had no clue ! Thanks for the advice ! I'm letting her take a break from trust training, but I'll give that a try in a bit !


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## rainfeather (Jan 26, 2012)

Yes, I completely agree with srtiels. How long has she been home? You want to start by simply talking to her to get her used to your voice (which I'm sure you've already done if she's been home for awhile). Then start getting yout hand near the cage in a non-threatening way. Once she's comfortable with that you can then move on to feeding her her favorite treat from outside the cage, gently opening the cage door and slowly slipping your hand into the bottom, _and then_ start finger taming. Make sure she's comfortable before moving onto each new step. This is a basic and general process. Hope all goes well and good luck!


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

Thanks for the post ! very informative ! She has gotten used to my voice cause I noticed when I got home from work right when i started talking to my mom she started chirping in excitement from the other room.

But I will keep trying and keep you guys updated !


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## rainfeather (Jan 26, 2012)

Sounds good! And if you need us to elaborate on any of the basic taming steps, we'd be happy to. Good luck!


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

rainfeather said:


> Sounds good! And if you need us to elaborate on any of the basic taming steps, we'd be happy to. Good luck!


would be nice if you could ! i read lperry's... I was thinking of using that one.


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

Woke up to a little chirping today from Missy. I've been hanging out with her til I have work at 11. She's finally letting me ball up a fist and bring it close to her but shes still a little scared. But she is learning about the treat system. She knows when she doesn't back away she gets some millet. And everytime I say good girl she chirps knowing shes getting some millet.


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

She sounds like she is adjusting well.


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

She is starting to! She still stands on her favorite perch in the same spot cause shes really shy.. but other than that everything else is goin good !


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

Just keep remembering.. patience. Move slowly.. talk to her.. fast movements will always throw them off. When she chirps at you.. talk back. Every little bit of her getting used to you helps with everything else. I also agree with the fist instead of a straight finger. Once you get her used to the fist.. extend your pointer finger but only to the first knuckle.. keep the rest of it curled. I've also found that sometimes when you go to pick her up from somewhere out of the cage, they are more apt to get up on your hand if you hold your hand with your thumb outstretched.. and all your other fingers together. Making sort of a V area for them to pick where to step up on. Almost as if you were going to grab them.. but you are low and at their feet.. flatten your hand out. Lots of times people confuse them trying to bite with them actually testing the object to see if it is sturdy. Of course, if you react, or you flinch and move your hand.. then the object is not sturdy. Gibbs and Hetty will still refuse to step up.. they come out on their own if they choose to. Nel will step up better for my daughter than for me. And McGee will come out much better for me. Sometimes he won't step up, but if I lean my shoulder next to the door, he'll hop on gladly. Picky little buggers they can be. They all have different personalities and so figuring out your bird's personality will help you greatly.


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

Wow ! thanks for that advice ! will try to use it all !


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

An Update on Missy:
She's starting to trust me a little more she doesn't mind my hand inside the cage but she still is yet to let my hand near her or try to have her step up.

She is still always sitting on the same perch, just chillin' I guess. Idk if she is still stressed or she just doesn't want to move around.

She also has been eating fine, a lot of the times right when I get home from work or somewhere she will start eating once I am in the room sometimes. I notice in her food bowl she has been eating a lot of the seeds and skips everything else. any ideas on how to get her to eat everything? I tried by putting small pieces of apple on top of her food this afternoon before work. But it looks like she didnt even touch them.

She has been pooping fine, and everything seems like shes healthy. She does a lot of grooming to herself but I'm guessing she does this cause she's still a baby and her feathers have been molting possibly?


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Keep offering treats with your hands or place some seed on your hand and if she is hungry she will eat it from your hand 
Mine like to preen most of the day too


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

lperry82 said:


> Keep offering treats with your hands or place some seed on your hand and if she is hungry she will eat it from your hand
> Mine like to preen most of the day too


I have been trying to get her to eat millet from my hand and ive tried seed but she just isn't having it. shes a little stubborn girl but i will work with her more !thanks !


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

Tried giving her a cut off piece of millet from my hand and she backed away a few times.. then I just made it smaller and tried giving it to her and she was a little hestitant at first (probably cause my fingers were right there) then she went to house on the millet.


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## stevechurch2222 (Sep 25, 2011)

Sounds like Missy is doing well in her new home,you are doing a great job with her.


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

stevechurch2222 said:


> Sounds like Missy is doing well in her new home,you are doing a great job with her.


Thanks !!!


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## stevechurch2222 (Sep 25, 2011)

You are welcome it's nice working with a new cockatiel that we have got and enjoy the milestones that they make.


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## dokseus (Feb 7, 2012)

Thanks for moving the thread ! BUt anyways

I woke up today and the silly girl was sleeping on her water bowl and she happened to poop in it.. haha so I washed it out and ended up washing her food bowl too because I had apples in there the other day but she didn't eat them.. 

I also tried leaving the food bowl out cause I know she is a little hungry and put some of her food in my hand and offered it, she didnt run away but she wouldn't come get any. and when I would bring it a little close to her she would start getting a little scared.

Shes startin to be a little more talkative too, more chirps here and there.


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