New to CAG

I recently adopted a 3yr old CAG. A quick backstory is a guy bought it for his daughter who turned into a teenager and was too busy for the birds so it was left in the cage with just food(luckily zupreem) and water so it plucked.

We get her because she seemed decent to my wife( wasn't hiding in the corner). Was scared of others but didn't mind her. Get her home, give her time(2days). Is cage aggressive but seems decent once it climbs out on it's own. Wife can hold her, pet her, and give her scratches. Myself sometimes she steps up mostly just backs away.

Fast forward a week, she seems more comfortable, makes clicks noises and whistles. Now does a growl when it doesn't like something. I go to pick it up and it's 50-50 whether it wants me to or not. If it's a no it's simply backs up and growls. My wife goes to pick her up and no growl no backing up just bites her hard. Not really sure where to go from here. Don't know if she needs more time to figure things out or what.

Another thing is since we had her she's been able to come out of the cage whenever somebody's home. Not sure if she's still plucking 100% but I do know she did pluck her last Tailfeather since she's been here. Other than that I haven't seen any other large feathers.

Any criticisms or suggestions or helpful tips would be greatly appreciated. Just want to make everybody happy for the next umpteen plus years that we have this lady.

Side note. Has two toys that it seems to like to chew. Also has toys on top of cage that sometimes it throws off and likes us to give back so I can throw it again. Is also on a mainly zupreem diet but also has a nut pellet mix in the second food bowl that it messes with from time to time.

It sounds like more time is needed to build trust. My grey is very sensitive to change, I can't imagine what he'd do if his whole world changed that drastically. I would take a step back from asking her to step up for now and work on hand feeding and reading her body language. She's giving other indicators before the growl and bite that she's not interested in being picked up most likely. As far as plucking I would suggest taking her to an avian vet to rule out a medical issue and if it's not don't worry about it for now. My Finnegan chews his feathers and it's sooo frustrating but I've resigned myself that it's a habit that he's not likely to ever give up.

Hey Cheeks!

Congrats on the grey. They're incredible birds. I'd love to keep them but they're crazy expensive in Australia. What's her name?

From what I've read, greys are so intelligent that they can often be neurotic and fearful if they're not used to new things. Keep that in mind when you introduce new things, it can often explain a change in behaviour. If you can, try and introduce her to new things regularly if she will accept it, that will help her be more flexible in the future.

Other things!

* Try offering chopped up fruit and vegetables. Pellet diets are OK but fruit and vegetables are also important. You might even consider making some chop which all your birds would enjoy too.
* Find out what her favourite treat is, and keep it out of her diet. You can use this for training.
* Once you figured out her favourite treat, consider training her to step up properly. It just involves consistently rewarding her for stepping up, first time. (Lots of info on this on the forums and the internet)
* If she bites your wife, try getting your wife to hold a perch (branch/ stick etc) and get her to step up on to that. Reward if she does it first time (like above) Or, try target training (again lots of info on the internet)
* If she's frightened of you or somebody else, have them back away and re-approach slowly as long as her body language is calm. (This might take a long time, like weeks.)
* Be patient! Birds can't handle going too fast. Learn her body language and understand what is calm/contented, and what fearful/nervous is. You want to make sure calm/contented is what she's displaying as much as possible.

Hope this helps, and if you've got further questions the forums are FULL of info! Good luck cheeks

Edit: More reading from the forums:
Tips for building trust
Clicker and Target Training

You need more time, she doesn't trust you guys yet and she is letting you know by growling and backing away. Read the signs, always, and let her dictate the pace the trust/bond takes until she is comfortable with you. Talk/sing hell even dance with your bird, be positive/calm and friendly at all times around the bird.

For petting, dont touch the bird (name??) any where other than its shoulders and head and feet as the bird may take other petting as flirting and you dont want to sexually bond with a parrot.

good luck, the effort is very much worth it.

Yeah, I figured time was the key. I also will get her checked by a vet (hopefully this week) or next. As far as the name goes, it was Brittney, but we changed it to Chicken Lily.

I was also going to get a clicker, but bot sure if that's good to start with yet or just wait.

Oh she will respond it may be a while but one day she’ll decide “I like it here” and settle in. Time, a good diet, regular sleep, talking (a lot) with her, misting and misting and showering plus all the above.

Love the greys.


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LeaKP said:

Oh she will respond it may be a while but one day she’ll decide “I like it here” and settle in. Time, a good diet, regular sleep, talking (a lot) with her, misting and misting and showering plus all the above.

Love the greys.


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Click to expand...

Will a shower be ok now that she is plucked?. I don't know if she has ever been and don't want to freak her out.

With greys you want to really gradually introduce something. If you want to mist her just leave the spray bottle where she can see it but far enough that it doesn't scare her for a day or two. Then over a few days kind of spray above yourself and be excited and happy about the mist and see how she reacts. If she gets curious you can get closer to her (again gradually) while misting yourself and eventually get close enough that she starts to get misted and see how she reacts. A shower is fine for pluckers : ) If you want to get her used to actually taking a shower same type of process would apply. If she's saturated you want to help her get dry. Some birds will tolerate being towel dried, some will tolerate being lightly dried with a hair dryer. If you go with a dryer make sure there is no teflon on it...teflon fumes kill birds.

Slow and steady, truly one day at a time. One thing I truly believe in is constant interation when possible. Even if the bird is cage bound and you're busy when home, talk to the bird make noises, IMO they learn that YOU want to interact with them as much as THEY might want to with you.

I don't there is 4 straight minutes of any day in which when I'm home myself or Perjo aren't making a noise.

Well Chicken Lily has clean bill of health. So that's good.
Now my issue is she is trying to wander, witch means she is jumping off her cage(scares me). She isn't gracefully about it either since there are no feathers. I don't want to keep the cage closed because she likes climbing to the top and playing with her toys. What can I do so she doesn't hurt herself?

Another question is what else can I put in her other food dish besides pellets. Should I get a dried fruit mix or a heavy nut mix or bean mix. Also is meat ok for them? She seems to like chicken and eggs (weirdos the wife out).

Thanks.

FreddyCheeks said:

LeaKP said:

Oh she will respond it may be a while but one day she’ll decide “I like it here” and settle in. Time, a good diet, regular sleep, talking (a lot) with her, misting and misting and showering plus all the above.

Love the greys.


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Click to expand...

Will a shower be ok now that she is plucked?. I don't know if she has ever been and don't want to freak her out.

Click to expand...

If she accepts a shower that’s awesome! My grey will shower or accept a good soaking with a spray bottle. He actually asks for a shower!

Hi,

You’ve gotten some great advice thus far. I just wanted to say hello and congratulations. :heart:

Best of luck to you all.

FreddyCheeks said:

Yeah, I figured time was the key. I also will get her checked by a vet (hopefully this week) or next. As far as the name goes, it was Brittney, but we changed it to Chicken Lily.

I was also going to get a clicker, but bot sure if that's good to start with yet or just wait.

Click to expand...

Yes yes yes! Get her a clicker!

At first, my CAG preferred my husband and would bite me about 7/10 times when trying to get close to her.

I read a lot of advice online and this forum and I echo those here who say talk to her...be in the same room, etc. I did that.

But the most effective thing was clicker training. I used a chopstick and a clicker. I showed it to her and when she would touch it, I clicked the clicker and gave her a treat. After a while of doing this, she will get the idea (CAGS are very intelligent!)

Then you can target train her around the cage. I would tap the chopstick and she would move to where it was and then click treat! I believe you mentioned she was cage aggressive...this is the best way to be able to move her around the cage without getting bit. I had to use this to change my CAGs water and food and place toys in her cage.

This made my bond with my CAG strong and she FINALLY includes me in the flock nowadays! I never get bit...and it all started with clicker training and talking calmly to her. I will tell you it takes time. It took my CAG about 9 months to accept me as a trusted person so be patient.

Best of luck!!!

Pellets and/or seed alone, isn't a good diet. When Smokey came home with me (about 30 years ago) She was wild caught,I took her home from a pet store,and that's all they fed her. She would NOT eat anything else! Fruits/veggie's,she'd pick them up,then THROW them on the floor,or at ME

That didn't change,until Amy came home with me. Amy was 4 months old ( he will be 28 this month) and the "breeder" had already gotten her to eat pellet's,and fruit/veggies.
One day,I was giving Amy a chicken leg bone ( chic bones are good for them,the marrow has calcium and other good things in it)
Smokes saw Amy noshing on the bone,and waddled up to me,"dancing" (shifting weight from one foot to the other,back and forth) So, I asked,"Smokey? would you like one?" She literally RIPPED it from my fingers,and beat-feet back to her roof top,ripping that bone to shreds,and munching down on all the goodness inside

Right after that,she started to eat ANYTHING..corn nibs,sweet pea's and sweeter 'taters..banana was a HUGE hit..she'd eat green grapes and toss the red one's,where Amy would eat the red ones,and toss the greenie's ( go figure,huh??) Then it was pizza,oatmeal,pasta shells with sauce ( called her "saucy beak" when she did that lol)
You get the gist of things..she ate EVERYTHING...thanks to watching Amy.

So...when you eat something,eat it in front of C.L....make a fuss! "MMMmmmmm...this is yummy!" sooooo good!!! Want some??
Before you know it,CL will be stealing things off YOUR plate!



Jim

Yes if you have a picky eater Jim’s counsel is spot on! Nigel is picky AND snobby but hates to be left out. He watches us eat and that’s how we got him eating (almost) everything. Where he was had him on seeds alone and his feather condition was terrible. Now, the difference is remarkable.


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AmyMyBlueFront said:

Pellets and/or seed alone, isn't a good diet. When Smokey came home with me (about 30 years ago) She was wild caught,I took her home from a pet store,and that's all they fed her. She would NOT eat anything else! Fruits/veggie's,she'd pick them up,then THROW them on the floor,or at ME

That didn't change,until Amy came home with me. Amy was 4 months old ( he will be 28 this month) and the "breeder" had already gotten her to eat pellet's,and fruit/veggies.
One day,I was giving Amy a chicken leg bone ( chic bones are good for them,the marrow has calcium and other good things in it)
Smokes saw Amy noshing on the bone,and waddled up to me,"dancing" (shifting weight from one foot to the other,back and forth) So, I asked,"Smokey? would you like one?" She literally RIPPED it from my fingers,and beat-feet back to her roof top,ripping that bone to shreds,and munching down on all the goodness inside

Right after that,she started to eat ANYTHING..corn nibs,sweet pea's and sweeter 'taters..banana was a HUGE hit..she'd eat green grapes and toss the red one's,where Amy would eat the red ones,and toss the greenie's ( go figure,huh??) Then it was pizza,oatmeal,pasta shells with sauce ( called her "saucy beak" when she did that lol)
You get the gist of things..she ate EVERYTHING...thanks to watching Amy.

So...when you eat something,eat it in front of C.L....make a fuss! "MMMmmmmm...this is yummy!" sooooo good!!! Want some??
Before you know it,CL will be stealing things off YOUR plate!



Jim

Click to expand...

Thanks. I have been trying different things here and there. Some she eats, others she feeds the dog. I never knew that bone was okay, but I'm willing to try whatever.

LeaKP said:

Yes if you have a picky eater Jim’s counsel is spot on! Nigel is picky AND snobby but hates to be left out. He watches us eat and that’s how we got him eating (almost) everything. Where he was had him on seeds alone and his feather condition was terrible. Now, the difference is remarkable.


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Click to expand...

I hope (fingers crossed) that she does stop plucking, and when her feathers do come in, they are nice.

On a sour note, I tried the stick to pick her up and it was a disaster. Once it was close enough for her to step up she screamed bloody murder and almost fell off the cage to get away. The stick isn't new or anything. It was the original dowel that was in the cage at first.
Now the problem is, she hates(and I mean hates) me. Any time I'm near the cage she goes after me. I use to be able to give her treats like dried bananas or new toys, but now she lunges at me, and if she does get whatever I had, she throws it.

I'm just at a loss now, because my wife is scared from the get go of being bit, and I use to have the confidence to put my hand near her to see if she'd step up, but now nope.

Is this another takes time thing, or am I now branded the enemy? I donno.

Welcome, and congratulations for adopting Chicken Lily!!

You've had her for roughly 3 weeks, still fairly new! Especially considering Greys are extremely cautious and resistant to change. I would give her a bit of time before attempting anything beyond food/water/cage cleaning. Be sure to revisit the links provided by Soyajam in the third post, particularly "Tips for Building Trust." Sometimes a "reset" of the relationship is needed in the early days.

One avenue to bond closer is with food. This link describes techniques to transition to a healthier diet with more vegetables and fruits: http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

Try making a vegetable/fruit bowl (aka "chop) for Chicken Lily and yourself. Parrots are "flock eaters" and you are part of her flock... even if currently in the "dog house!" Start eating, bob your head up and down, make "Mmmmmm" sounds, etc. Certain foods have wide appeal, including garbanzo beans, green peas, banana, pomegranate seeds, edamame in the pod, apple, etc. 100% whole grain cooked noodles are also popular, and some are infused with a significant amount of healthy greens.

Good luck, be patient, and let us know how things progress!!

DRB said:

Slow and steady, truly one day at a time. One thing I truly believe in is constant interation when possible. Even if the bird is cage bound and you're busy when home, talk to the bird make noises, IMO they learn that YOU want to interact with them as much as THEY might want to with you.

I don't there is 4 straight minutes of any day in which when I'm home myself or Perjo aren't making a noise.

Click to expand...

This, its actually quite embarrassing when guests are at my house as they always point out that Enzo and i are constantly chatting even when out of sight of each other.

I read somewhere that in the wild a parrot will always be in sight of its flock or mate so if you are not in the room, the parrot can think the worst has happened, and can panic. Enzo however just gets a more stern tone to her voice 'COME HERE!!!!' :34:

About eating, as explained above, eat in front of her making yummy noises, CAGs are so nosey and wanting to be included in flock eating they will want to try out what you eat. I used to make Enzo a tapas dish with whatever we where eating, this wasnt good enough as she wants to eat what you are eating and from your plate, she will also go for the largest piece of food she can find. Check what is parrot safe first though please as some foods are not good/fatal for parrots!

Hi,


Checking in, how are things going w/ Lily? Update please.