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birdguy · Dec 6, 2011

Hello all,
I have a couple of questions. My wife and I just bought a GCC last night and were way excited to have him. He was one of the last guys that was still there since the summer. He doesnt seem to like humans at all. He will run to the farthest corner of the cage to get away from us. What would be the best thing to do so that we can tame him? Will he ever be affectionate towards us?

roxynoodle · Dec 6, 2011

The best thing is to be patient. Yes, he will likely become affectionate and love you.

I would give him a few days just to get used to your home and routine.

Then you could start by sitting on the floor in front of his cage and just talking to him. Don't look him in the eye too much though. If he shows any happiness behaviors like stretching or tail wagging, praise him quietly with things like "I'm glad to see you, too!"

Try the blink game. Keep your head sideways and if he blinks, do a long, slow blink. A scared bird won't blink. So if he does, he's not that scared.

Keeping your head sideways and smiling coyly once in awhile seems to work as well. It's a submissive way to flirt with the bird.

If he bobs his head, you might bob yours. Chances are he will stop and look at you, then do it again. So you do it again, etc.

If he sticks his tongue out at you, stick yours out at him. Birds love that game, too.

Try singing softly. As he comes around more, dance and sing. I haven't met a bird yet that doesn't like a human that will sing for it.

Work your way up to his taking treats from your hand. Once he does that, you are earning trust. Eventually you might see if he will let you touch him through the bars, although some birds don't like to be touched.

Once you have trust, you might try to see if he will step up, or at least touch your hand with his beak. Birds will test the surface before getting on, so let him touch you. You will know if you're going to be bitten, or if it's just investigatory. If you are bitten though, I recommend not reacting. Unless of course he is latched on and grinding. If that happens, push your hand toward the bird to get it to let go. Instinct tells us to pull back, but that's when a worse injury will happen.

lexx510 · Dec 7, 2011

roxynoodle said:
The best thing is to be patient. Yes, he will likely become affectionate and love you.

I would give him a few days just to get used to your home and routine.

Then you could start by sitting on the floor in front of his cage and just talking to him. Don't look him in the eye too much though. If he shows any happiness behaviors like stretching or tail wagging, praise him quietly with things like "I'm glad to see you, too!"

Try the blink game. Keep your head sideways and if he blinks, do a long, slow blink. A scared bird won't blink. So if he does, he's not that scared.

Keeping your head sideways and smiling coyly once in awhile seems to work as well. It's a submissive way to flirt with the bird.

If he bobs his head, you might bob yours. Chances are he will stop and look at you, then do it again. So you do it again, etc.

If he sticks his tongue out at you, stick yours out at him. Birds love that game, too.

Try singing softly. As he comes around more, dance and sing. I haven't met a bird yet that doesn't like a human that will sing for it.

Work your way up to his taking treats from your hand. Once he does that, you are earning trust. Eventually you might see if he will let you touch him through the bars, although some birds don't like to be touched.

Once you have trust, you might try to see if he will step up, or at least touch your hand with his beak. Birds will test the surface before getting on, so let him touch you. You will know if you're going to be bitten, or if it's just investigatory. If you are bitten though, I recommend not reacting. Unless of course he is latched on and grinding. If that happens, push your hand toward the bird to get it to let go. Instinct tells us to pull back, but that's when a worse injury will happen.

Excellent advice!

roxynoodle · Dec 7, 2011

Thanks, lexx!

A couple of other things that can help:

Eat with the bird. It's a flock behavior. When it sees you eating, it will start eating as well. It's also a good way to get them to try healthy human foods. This has worked well with my Nanday since day one. If I have it, she wants it! I'll be honest though that it didn't necessarily work well for my Blue Crown. Her attitude was like, "I don't care if you tell me it's good, I don't want it!" This is also how I got my Nanday on a pelleted diet. I just put them on a plate and started eating them. Right away she wanted some as well. However, it took forever to get my other bird on pellets and I can't even tell you how many I had to eat to get her to even consider one. And right now I'm working with my new Amazon on the same thing.

And yes, if you are a bad singer, don't worry about it. They don't care if you are a bad singer. I am, but they are my biggest fans! I also sing to them when they are going to the vet, in the car. It helps lessen their anxiety.

When you bring new things in the room, act happy and excited to have it. Show it to the bird then and say, "Isn't this pretty?" That always helped my Blue Crown get over her fear of new toys or whatever. She would agree, yes, it was pretty, and then it was ok that it was there.

Gray · Dec 7, 2011

some great advice there, remember though be patient some birds will take a long time to tame......good luck

roxynoodle · Dec 7, 2011

Definitely, if you get something other than a positive reaction, back off and go back to less interactive behaviors.

noblemacaw · Dec 7, 2011

Try singing softly. As he comes around more, dance and sing. I haven't met a bird yet that doesn't like a human that will sing for it.

You have not met my Mihijo. I use to sing to him when he was a baby. That was up until one day he was lying in my chest and I was singing to him and the little freak rolled onto his side reaching up to my lips with his talon and clamped my lips shut. I never sang for him after that. LOL.

Noblemacaw

Mamanda · Dec 7, 2011

When I got Keen she wanted NOTHING to do with me. She was terrified of me. That was about 6 weeks ago I think. About 5 days ago she licked my check.
So ... YES, your GCC will become affectionate towards you. You have to be VERY patient, move at his/her pace, have slow movements when around him/her, and allow trust to grow.
Oddly enough, the more I "ignored" Keen when she was out of her cage, the more SHE became interested in ME. I would watch her, to make sure she didn't get into something that might hurt her, but I would try not to let her notice me watching her. I would just sit near her and then she started coming up to me. I always had a few treats on hand for that moment. When she came up I would slowly offer her a treat. Keen is HIGHLY motivated by sunflower seeds (which aren't healthy so they are given only as special rewards).
Trust = Bond = Affection.
Enjoy your new baby! And welcome!

roxynoodle · Dec 7, 2011

noblemacaw said:
Try singing softly. As he comes around more, dance and sing. I haven't met a bird yet that doesn't like a human that will sing for it.

You have not met my Mihijo. I use to sing to him when he was a baby. That was up until one day he was lying in my chest and I was singing to him and the little freak rolled onto his side reaching up to my lips with his talon and clamped my lips shut. I never sang for him after that. LOL.

Noblemacaw

Great story and very funny! They are just so smart, aren't they? I wonder whey he didn't like it though? As I said, my birds are, and always have been my only fans! I guess your birdie just isn't musical!

birdguy · Dec 7, 2011

Thanks guys! Great news, on our 2nd day, Chochito (little dude in Spanish), perched on our fingers, with caution of course. We we very excited and we have been doing all of the advice that yall told us to do. He likes it when I whistled I noticed. Is it ok if a feather or two comes out from the tail feather?

roxynoodle · Dec 7, 2011

birdguy said:
Thanks guys! Great news, on our 2nd day, Chochito (little dude in Spanish), perched on our fingers, with caution of course. We we very excited and we have been doing all of the advice that yall told us to do. He likes it when I whistled I noticed. Is it ok if a feather or two comes out from the tail feather?

Yes, that is probably okay. My Nanday is molting right now as well. They will lose all their feathers over time to be replaced by new ones. So you will find long wing and tail feathers, little breast feathers, medium wing feathers, downy feathers, etc. It's really obvious too if they have sheathed feathers on top of their head. I think my Nanday still has a few. If so I can try to get a picture of her if that helps in the morning when she will be easier to see. She's using what's left of an old toy right now to try to work the sheaths off, so she still has some. She has a key ring on a chain that she uses for grooming her face and head. So even though it hasn't been a toy for years now, I leave it there for here to use.

If this is the bird's first molt, you may be pleasantly surprised when he turns out even prettier than he is now. You will probably see even more colors in his feathers.

JamesC · Dec 7, 2011

Congratulations on the first small step(up)! I've been working with my rescue blue crown for several months now and she is finally getting the hang of the "step up" request and I've been noticing that she is progressing faster now that she accepts contact with me easier. Things might go a little quicker with your bird once Chochito begins to realize that people are a good thing.

Better get used to your bird shedding the odd feather or two at times during the year. It is normal. And when he/she goes into a molt it will seem like there are enough feathers coming off for two whole birds. But do keep an eye on him until you are used to the natural process of shedding. There are instances where a bird will pluck it's own feathers for a variety of reasons, stress or health problems among them. A vet trip would be warranted if you notice a spot where a lot of feathers seem to have been removed. With most birds, it is normal preening activity to pop a feather occasionally. My Tootsie loves to play with her feathers when she sheds one. She will spend up to an hour preening and playing with it.

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