Is my goffins dumb?

vegitan

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Aug 6, 2011
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Quebec
Parrots
Goffins Cockatoo
I rescued a 6 year old goffins last year in May (2010). He is a loving bird who wants to be pet nearly all day. The people we adopted him from neglected him a LOT and he's scared of EVERYTHING except humans and paper.

The reason I am asking if he's dumb is that I tried to teach him the "poop" command for over a year now and I've been very consistent, I tried to teach him to say Hi (with his feet) and no luck. He doesn't talk except for the words he already knew when I got him, peekaboo and hello. He doesn't PLAY at all. if we try to play with him, he doesn't pay attention and just wants to climb on your shoulder. It's been over a year and he is still afraid of everything even though I slowly bring things closer to his cage and show him they are harmless. He still won't eat fruits or vegetables because he's scared of them. Help? He can't learn/won't learn anything.
 

IolaniAviary

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Aug 2, 2011
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Parrots
Lovebirds- Mango, Spyros, Ele, Aonani
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Quakers- Maggie
Conures- Paco
Don't call your bird dumb.
Secondly, your bird is NOT dumb. Most adult birds do NOT learn new words. Often times if a bird does not learn before the year mark, they never will (later for larger birds) . Sometimes birds pick up new words, but you can not force a bird to learn anything. There have been African Greys who NEVER talked, it doesn't mean they are stupid. He was neglected, he will never be like that hand-fed chick you think he is, it sounds like he is very loving if he wants to be on your shoulder all day.
 

mele

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Jul 26, 2011
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California
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Lotty- Umbrella Cockatoo,
Scarlet- Scarlet Macaw,
Paco- Lilac Amazon, Josh-blue front amazon
I have a U2 that I adopted and she was very neglected. She lived in a cage ment for a tiel and fed nothing but seeds. She was passed from home to home until she found me 2 years ago. I was told she never spoke. She now speaks, but only when she wants She also eats everything that she once feared. It takes time for these guys to learn to trust again. I still cant bring in new toys without her freaking out and even then I have to get small ones and play with it myself first.

Have you tried eating the foods in front of her and making a big deal out of it? This works for me when introducing any type of new foods to my birds.

I would keep trying to teach her and offer her foods. She will come around and surprise you one day.

Good luck
 

Abzeez

New member
Apr 26, 2011
807
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WI
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Bean the Blue Front Amazon, Chico the Ringneck, and Ida the African grey
Often times if a bird does not learn before the year mark, they never will (later for larger birds)

From what I read greys don't START talking until they almost a year old, and my amazon is learning new things all the time and he is going on 6. My ringneck is over 30 and said "Quiet" the other day... I know you said "often times" but come on, I don't find that to be even a little bit true. Some parrots just don't talk well, and don't learn new things, and given he is afraid of everything, it probably makes learning new things harder.

Your parrot isn't dumb, just a slow learner, and maybe he will never catch on. You can look up different training methods on youtube. Actually there are a lot of good, and helpful videos on there to help you train your parrot. Good luck.
 

Rennagade

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Jul 28, 2011
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Gympie, Queensland, Australia
Parrots
Male Alexandrine 3yrs old (Zeus) and Female Alexandrine 4 yrs old (Gretchen)
It is possible that he just doesn't understand what you want him to do! Look up different methods of training your parrot...there are heaps on utube! But maybe he just doesn't do it because he gets what he wants anyway (that is obviously being on your shoulder). My female does only one trick which is making the beads dance...she refuses to do any other....Zeus is much happier to show of what he can do but Gretchen is a one trick pony (I mean bird!) She clearly knows how to wave...she has watched other birds doing it right in front of her but she REFUSES! If I keep asking her she gets mad and goes into her bedroom! They are smarter than you think!
 

JensFlock

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Jul 31, 2011
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South Carolina
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Eclectus,
Blue Crowned Conure,
Quaker,
Lineolated Parakeet,
Diamond Dove,
Star Finch,
Spice Finch
Keep being patient with him. I rescued a 14 year old sulpher crested a couple of months ago, and he just started trying new things to eat, but most of the time he will pick it up with his feet, look me in the eye, and throw it to the ground.
As for saying new things, I have 3 other parrots and two of them talk very well. They have taught him to say new words because they get attention when they say them. He only says "hi" and "nooooooo", but even if he never says anything else, I still consider him one of my little Einsteins.
By the way, he learned "nooooo" because that's what the other two say when I get ready to leave for work. It's heartbreaking.
 

IolaniAviary

New member
Aug 2, 2011
195
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Parrots
Lovebirds- Mango, Spyros, Ele, Aonani
Cockatiels- Pineki
Quakers- Maggie
Conures- Paco
Often times if a bird does not learn before the year mark, they never will (later for larger birds)
From what I read greys don't START talking until they almost a year old, and my amazon is learning new things all the time and he is going on 6. My ringneck is over 30 and said "Quiet" the other day... I know you said "often times" but come on, I don't find that to be even a little bit true. Some parrots just don't talk well, and don't learn new things, and given he is afraid of everything, it probably makes learning new things harder.

Most small birds will not talk if they don't talk before the year mark. In Cockatiels if the bird does not talk before a year of age it's quite possibly a female.. People should NOT depend on their birds learning words after that mark, like I said it's later in larger birds. But people who adopt birds who do not talk and expect them to learn things will usually be disappointed, like this person. Some birds just don't talk! And usually they learn the majority of their vocab early on in life.
 
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vegitan

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Aug 6, 2011
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Quebec
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Goffins Cockatoo
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Thanks all. He really is a sweetheart but behaviorally-wise he needs a lot of maintenance. I love the bugger and perhaps I am too lenient with him in terms of giving him things even if he just calls them "hello". I will try different methods. i heard parrots can be trained regardless of age. they need mental stimulation.

I will be bringing him to a vet next week because he's been chewing his own foot in a too aggressive manner. He might need an Elizabethan collar because his old feather breaking habits have NOT stopped and I really think it's a rather nasty habit he can't stop doing even though he has plenty of toys and outside his cage nearly all day.
 
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vegitan

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Aug 6, 2011
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Quebec
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Goffins Cockatoo
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Don't call your bird dumb.
Secondly, your bird is NOT dumb. Most adult birds do NOT learn new words. Often times if a bird does not learn before the year mark, they never will (later for larger birds) . Sometimes birds pick up new words, but you can not force a bird to learn anything. There have been African Greys who NEVER talked, it doesn't mean they are stupid. He was neglected, he will never be like that hand-fed chick you think he is, it sounds like he is very loving if he wants to be on your shoulder all day.

Dumb isn't for stupid, it simply implies the inability to utter words :)
 

JensFlock

New member
Jul 31, 2011
284
0
South Carolina
Parrots
Eclectus,
Blue Crowned Conure,
Quaker,
Lineolated Parakeet,
Diamond Dove,
Star Finch,
Spice Finch
I'm glad my boys don't type. Oh, the stories they would tell you!!!
 

Rio Mom

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Apr 7, 2011
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Pennsylvania
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River - Green Cheek
Conure/
Pepper - Congo African Grey/

Rest in Peace Rio
It's a good thing our parrots can't type. They'd all be on here asking if their humans were dumb ... and not as in not being able to talk :p

LOL! I think River, my dogs, and my cats would ask that along with a lot more questions about their crazy mom n dad if they knew how to type!
 

derekandb

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Aug 24, 2011
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When I got my Goffins, the person rehoming him to me was telling me that he doesn't talk but trying to reassure me and so on but I told him that it's not the birds job to talk to me, I'm not getting him to entertain me, I should be there to entertain him in fact. And if life has been so crappy for them for so long, I'm just happy if he's not hurting himself and that he's eating all the healthy food I give him. Cockatoos are known to be loving and energetic..but when we rescue or adopt them a lot of times they don't "live up" to the hype. My Goffin will not step up on my hand yet, only a stick. He wants scratches and he wants me to reach two feet across the cage to give it to him lol He hardly plays with his toys and he's afraid to have fun or show his personality when your looking. But I know it will take a long long time for him to put those barriers down. He's very smart and he will get behind his cage and look at me through the bars, open his mouth into a smile (that's how I see it) and bob is head and make little sounds. I think it's the sweetest thing. And that's how we communicate right now. I think that abused Cockatoos react more differently that other abused/neglected birds because of how emotional they are and due to that, they just shut down after a while. Like when a child is abused, some act out, and some retreat into this shell.
 

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