Maui's temper tantrum

Hi guys,

I've got something to tell you all. I'm new here, so let me introduce myself again, I'm Lisa and my CAG baby's name is Maui and he is 7 1/2 weeks old.
He usually LOVES to be in his cage, he's perching on his low perch, playing with his toys, chit chats to himself, me or anyone else who will listen while he's in there. Today, while out of his cage, he played for a good while on the couch, a big sectional with a corner section in the center. He played and played, climbing up to the top of the cushions and walking all along the top, trying to figure out how to get down, flapping and flapping his wings, even acting like he was thinking about taking flight. Finally, he got a little sleepy, I was busy cooking dinner, so my daughter (21) decided to put him back in his cage, once she set him down and latched the door, he began to literally throw a temper tantrum!! He was SO MAD!! He squawked and flapped his wings, started to bang his beak on the cage and even looked as though he was stomping his feet!!!:11:
I could NOT believe my eyes and ears!! He didn't want to go back into his cage AT ALL! So of course, we didn't make him, my daughter took him out, put him back on the couch where he proceeded to fall asleep, but only for a few seconds until he climbed up her leg, shirt and the nestled in under her neck and chin and cheeped until she gave him scratches on the head, if she stopped softly petting his head, he would open his eyes, look at her, do some cheeping and put his head back down, as if to say, " eh hmm, you're not done Missy!" So, she continued to pet his head and hold him until he was all the way asleep, then she was FINALLY able to put him into his brooder, where he was able to be warm and snuggle up to his teddy.

Can this be true? Could he have been throwing a little tantrum? I mean, my husband and I will hold him periodically throughout the day and rub him gently while he's nestled in under our chins and necks fast asleep, but, I had NO idea that he would ever tell us that he wasn't going to settle for being put in the cage to go to sleep without his daily snuggling!!! :18:

welcome to being a parront! Even my 8 year old alexandrine throws the occasional tantrum -though she tends more toward sulking and passive-aggressive ignoring-. The comparison to a small child is more than just intellectual

just remember to set boundaries for what is acceptable behavior and what isn't. You can certainly be forgivven for indulging a baby a little bit though

I dont want to be a bubble buster here as your story is super cute but he must learn that when mum, dad or whoever says it's cage time it means it's cage time
there will always bd times within hid life that it is not safe for him to br out etc and the last thing you need or want is a bird that is screaming for attention and such everytime he is put away
set boundaries now for a better relationship in the future
good luck and I wish you all the best with your baby

I just want to ask, you mention him throwing a tantrum when put in his "cage", then later say "brooder".. are these one in the same? If they are different then maybe he was cold in the cage and the brooder warmed him. 7 1/2 weeks is very young yet. Your baby may be chilly and seeking out the warmth of a human. Also, I would consider putting a stuffed toy in his cage for company.

This is a very young bird. Was the bird hand raised or raised by parents? There may be something about the cage that he does not like. GC has good ideas. How about foot toys since this bird is so young most likely not able to climb on the perches well yet.
This is the clumsy age. I will give you a link called bringing home baby that may be of assistance.

http://www.africangreys.com/articles/other/bringbaby.htm

Some of Gandalf's temper tantrums were epic. He had his favorite toy, which was also his tantrum toy. If he was ever naughty, and had to be put in his cage for a time out, he would beat that toy senseless. And not in a fun way. You could tell he was just murdering that thing. At least the little guy got his hostilities out without hurting himself or me. Never a plucker, and not much of a biter either...thankfully.

As for the cold shoulder, that is so true! Some times, Gandalf would get his nose out of joint to where he wouldn't take a treat from you, no matter how much you wanted to make him happy. in fact, sometimes, he would knock it out of your hand, or take it just to toss it over the side of the cage. It was at those times that I really knew that I was not understanding what he wanted. Boy, he must have been frustrated to act like that!

What a lovable spoiled little brat he was.

Nof: Talking about your bird here to others is good therapy for you. Hope you keep it up.

greycloud said:

I just want to ask, you mention him throwing a tantrum when put in his "cage", then later say "brooder".. are these one in the same? If they are different then maybe he was cold in the cage and the brooder warmed him. 7 1/2 weeks is very young yet. Your baby may be chilly and seeking out the warmth of a human. Also, I would consider putting a stuffed toy in his cage for company.

Click to expand...

No, his cage and his brooder are 2 different places. We keep Maui's cage in our living room, which we keep at about 78 degrees and he never seems to be chilly, but, he is only in there during his very active times of the day, once he's ready to go to sleep, we generally put him in his brooder. My daughter was only placing Maui in the cage momentarily so she could use the restroom, LOL, and so he couldn't get hurt while out of his cage unsupervised. We do have a stuffed, very soft and cuddly little teddy bear in his brooder with him, he loves it. We do like to hold him sometimes when he's taking a cat nap, because he enjoys being snuggled and his head to be petted softly. I, normally wouldn't even consider making a habit of this, however, from all that I've heard and know about Grey's, many of them don't stay quite so snuggly as they get older, so am taking full advantage of his loving affection while I can

Thank you so much for your input, I truly appreciate everyones comments, questions, concerns and lessons about how to properly care for my baby. I just want the very best for him.

Spiritbird said:

This is a very young bird. Was the bird hand raised or raised by parents? There may be something about the cage that he does not like. GC has good ideas. How about foot toys since this bird is so young most likely not able to climb on the perches well yet.
This is the clumsy age. I will give you a link called bringing home baby that may be of assistance.

Bringing Baby Home

Click to expand...

Thank you for the link, I will definitely take a look at it. Maui has several foot toys in his cage that he likes to play with, he has a perch VERY low to the ground that he LOVES to step up on and does a great job playing with his dangling toys while on his perch. He actually LOVES his cage, is generally very happy while he's playing in there. Like I was saying to GC, Maui is only in his cage during his very active and playful times during the day, when I can't be holding him or keeping a close eye on him because I'm cleaning, cooking, etc... He is still in his brooder for the majority of the day, unless I'm holding him.

Thanks again for the link, I'm gonna go read it now!