Going on almost three weeks in his new home

Hello everyone,

So my 15 y.o. B&G is going on almost three weeks of being in his new home (will be 3 weeks this Friday). *Knock on wood* I haven't found any feathers on the bottom of his cage the past 2 weeks so I am hoping that this continues and is a good sign that his stress level has gone down enough that he is not plucking as of this moment. He had plucked while at the rescue and was plucking a little bit the first few days he was here. I am really now only noticing down feathers on the bottom of the cage. I have noticed a few pin feathers coming in in some places where he has plucked.

He is doing less of the "Stevie Wonder Dance" and will chill quietly in his cage while I am in the room (most of the time).

He now does these long periods of leaning forward and massaging his head with one foot.

I still cannot get him to step up or come out of the cage. Being that we are going on 3 weeks now of him being here, should I start to be concerned by this? Everyday I pull a chair up next to his cage, open his cage door and talk to him. I have tried putting crackers (one of his favorite treats) outside the cage but he makes no attempt to come out for them. I feel like he is beginning to get antsy on some days and wants to come out but is scared to do so. When I put my arm into the cage next to him and tell him to step up he no longer will run away from it but will take a step to the side and lean away and just look back and forth between my arm and me.

He has still not had a bath since he has been here. I cannot take him into the shower since he won't come out of the cage and showing him the misting bottle made him climb to the side of the cage. He hasn't used his water dish to take a bath either. He scratches his head a lot so I know he needs to bathe and I feel like that would make him feel better. He has been preening himself a significant amount more than when he first came here (or at least he is in front of me now) but not pulling out feathers like I said before, but I feel like again this goes back to him now needing a bath.

He also doesn't play with any of his toys or leave his one perch. The only time he will leave his perch is to climb down the side of the cage to his food dish, grab a piece of food, climb back up the side of the cage, and return to the perch to eat the food. The perch is almost to the point of needing to be replaced because he has been chewing away at it since he has been here (it is the dowel perch that came with the cage that he only sits on and chews).

He won't talk while I am in the room but I can hear him talk periodically for 5-10 minutes at a time when I am not in the room.

I have done a lot of reading and am at a loss right now as to what to do to help him out with wanting to engage with items in his cage and even to want to come out of the cage. I have seen a little progress with him in these 3 weeks.

Any and all opinions, advice, and suggestions would be greatly appreciated to help my feathered friend and myself

Well, I have a different perspective on this one...

A new bird in my household would generally get handled immediately, unless there was some compelling reason why I shouldn't handle them. By that I mean that either (1) my suit of armor is on back order, and without one, you're gonna be flesh-eating parrot food; or (2) the bird will pluck itself raw if I even think about it, or (3) the bird is recovering from some sort of injury.

I've never been a proponent of the long drawn out settling in process. It's more like welcome to your new home, I'll introduce you to everything and everyone...

NOW LET ME EXPLAIN HOW THINGS WORK AROUND HERE...

1. Nobody is going to hurt you.

2. You will be well treated and well fed. You will have plenty of out time if you behave, but if you want to stay out on the big playstand, you have to learn to share.

3. We have a fairly set schedule for getting picked up, your name is automatically on the list, but you have to (a) wait your turn, and (b) take your turn.

4. We step up, when we are told without biting. NOT IF YOU FEEL LIKE IT, but when you are asked to do so. If you need a little extra practice with that, we'll make time for it. If you don't know how, I'll teach you.

I've never been big on "if the bird feels like it." Especially with something like a macaw. That only leads to "Let's see you try and make me" problems later on.

Coax, bribe, swipe your arm under their feet, trick them, and if all else fails, drag them out kicking and screaming if you absolutely have to... THEN make sure that when they're out, it's a pleasant and pleasurable experience. [Make the unpleasant part the thing that happens if the DON'T step up.]

BUT DON'T LEAVE THEM TO FESTER UNHANDLED, THEY WILL BECOME CAGE BOUND AND TERRITORIAL ALMOST EVERY TIME. You take them out of their comfort zone to expand it. Otherwise, their comfort zone shrinks to the size of what ever cage they are living in, and they will defend that to the death.

Don't like water? You're getting misted anyway. You need it! You'll feel better afterwords, even if you don't particularly like me now. Every bird should get a weekly soaking at the very least.

And yes, Tusk used to bite the crap outta me for taking him in the shower. And yes, there were times when I had to towel him to give him a bath. BUT now he takes them. He doesn't hate his baths any less, but... he does it once a week. (He still goes big bird on me everytime, and tries to convince me NOT to do this. BUT... when I call him on his bluff, that little foot comes up and gets on my finger.)

I suggest you read this post, particularly the bottom of page five, and take a look at that greenwing. He was considered "aggressive" because he was determined NOT to come out of his cage under any circumstances...

Then read my explanation of what I did, and why I did it on page 6. See if that makes sense to you. I literally had to tackle that bird and drag him out of his cage, kicking and screaming, and fighting me, to get him to come out. Fifteen minutes later he was lying on his back in my hands, and slipping me the tongue...

http://www.parrotforums.com/macaws/53118-excitement.html

This bird was simply NOT going to come out on his own. And he hadn't been handled in so long he didn't even understand the concept of "step up."
(He knew BACK OFF! And that worked with most people. Not so much with me.)

I wouldn't wait for the bird to figure it out. I'd get him out and show him.

Hello everyone,

So my 15 y.o. B&G is going on almost three weeks of being in his new home (will be 3 weeks this Friday). *Knock on wood* I haven't found any feathers on the bottom of his cage the past 2 weeks so I am hoping that this continues and is a good sign that his stress level has gone down enough that he is not plucking as of this moment. He had plucked while at the rescue and was plucking a little bit the first few days he was here. I am really now only noticing down feathers on the bottom of the cage. I have noticed a few pin feathers coming in in some places where he has plucked.

INCREASE BATHING, AND I USE THE 100% PURE ALOE VERA GEL ON THE BARE SKIN IN THE BALD PATCHES WITH PLUCKERS, IF HE'LL LET YOU.

SOME OF THIS MAY BE DUE TO LACK OF BATHING.

He is doing less of the "Stevie Wonder Dance" and will chill quietly in his cage while I am in the room (most of the time).

NOTHING WRONG WITH A HAPPY BIRD DANCE.

He now does these long periods of leaning forward and massaging his head with one foot.

I ALWAYS TAKE THAT TO MEAN "COME HITHER AND SCRATCH MY HEAD."

I still cannot get him to step up or come out of the cage.

THIS BEGS THE QUESTION, HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE HE WAS HANDLED REGULARLY? AND DOES HE ACTUALLY KNOW HOW TO STEP UP?
IS HE CAGE BOUND?

Being that we are going on 3 weeks now of him being here, should I start to be concerned by this?

I GENERALLY HANDLE THEM WITHIN THREE HOURS. (THREE MINUTES IF THEY LET ME...)

Everyday I pull a chair up next to his cage, open his cage door and talk to him. I have tried putting crackers (one of his favorite treats) outside the cage but he makes no attempt to come out for them.

SOUNDS CAGE BOUND TO ME.

I feel like he is beginning to get antsy on some days and wants to come out but is scared to do so.

OR DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO GO ABOUT IT ANYMORE.

When I put my arm into the cage next to him and tell him to step up he no longer will run away from it but will take a step to the side and lean away and just look back and forth between my arm and me.

WHEN THEY ATTEMPT TO RETREAT WITH ME, THE OTHER ARM GOES ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THEM. EITHER WAY THEY GO, THEY HAVE TO STEP OVER AN ARM. WHEN THEY DO, I LIFT THE ARM UP... GOTCHA SUCKA!!!

He has still not had a bath since he has been here. I cannot take him into the shower since he won't come out of the cage and showing him the misting bottle made him climb to the side of the cage. He hasn't used his water dish to take a bath either. He scratches his head a lot so I know he needs to bathe and I feel like that would make him feel better. He has been preening himself a significant amount more than when he first came here (or at least he is in front of me now) but not pulling out feathers like I said before, but I feel like again this goes back to him now needing a bath.

THEY NEED A WEEKLY SOAKING. I'D MIST HIM ANYWAY.

He also doesn't play with any of his toys or leave his one perch. The only time he will leave his perch is to climb down the side of the cage to his food dish, grab a piece of food, climb back up the side of the cage, and return to the perch to eat the food. The perch is almost to the point of needing to be replaced because he has been chewing away at it since he has been here (it is the dowel perch that came with the cage that he only sits on and chews).

AGAIN, SOUNDS LIKE A PARROT THAT HAS BEEN CAGE BOUND FOR A LONG TIME AND HASN'T BEEN PROPERLY INTERACTED WITH. DOESN'T KNOW HOW. REMIND HIM... TEACH HIM... PLAY WITH A TOY WITH THE BIRD ON YOUR LAP.

He won't talk while I am in the room but I can hear him talk periodically for 5-10 minutes at a time when I am not in the room.

THAT'S FAIRLY NORMAL.

I have done a lot of reading and am at a loss right now as to what to do to help him out with wanting to engage with items in his cage and even to want to come out of the cage. I have seen a little progress with him in these 3 weeks.

IT MAY BE TIME TO TRY PAGE 5 AND 6 OF THE EXCITEMENT THREAD. BUT BEFORE YOU DO THAT, TRY PUTTING YOUR ARM ON BOTH SIDES OF HIS FEET, AND SEE IF YOU CAN CONVINCE HIM TO STEP UP NICE...

Any and all opinions, advice, and suggestions would be greatly appreciated to help my feathered friend and myself

I bought a pump sprayer for pets. It holds about 16 oz of water. Any pet supply has them or Amazon . NO spray hissing sound like a regular spray bottle. BB is finally liking baths. I think when they are punished they are scared of the trigger bottles.

I would mist him right in the cage and laugh all excited like its a game. He caught FINALLY

Like birdman said, from the start establish the rules (lovingly as possible) and that settles them. They need the dependability of schedules, rules and play, benefits of following the order of the day and consequences of not flowing!

Just my thoughts.

Thank you SO much for all the incredible advice. I will try all of it. He was at the rescue for a year and I am not sure if he came out of the cage much.

kalielovesbirds said:

thank you so much for all the incredible advice. I will try all of it. He was at the rescue for a year and i am not sure if he came out of the cage much.

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he's probably cage bound. I'd start by assuming that he is, and work with him on that basis.

I got a text message from my sister after I left for work yesterday saying that he flipped out when he saw me leave for work. Before I left for work he started playing with one of the bells in his cage.

Today while I was at work I received another text from my sister saying he was again playing with his bell, again. After having a pretty crummy day at work that brought a huge smile to my face. And when I got home, I checked on him and he was actually EATING his food, not just picking out the 2 or 3 items that he has been the past 3 weeks. It almost brought tears to my eyes that even just between yesterday and today he has begun to play with one of his toys in his cage FINALLY and is beginning to eat more than just picking out certain things.

Yay!!!!![emoji38]

He is out of the cage today!

Birdman with the goooaall on this one. Good words sir.

He was very nervous being out for about an hour and then he started to calm down a bit. He just went back in the cage about 20 minutes ago and he has been squawking like crazy.

StephenAndKyleigh said:

Birdman with the goooaall on this one. Good words sir.

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I've never done this before! Okay, maybe once or twice...

KalieLovesBirds said:

He was very nervous being out for about an hour and then he started to calm down a bit. He just went back in the cage about 20 minutes ago and he has been squawking like crazy.

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The cage begins to equate to safety. At least they can't get me in here. I'm in control. Out there, there's nothing between you and them, so they're bound to be nervous at first. They don't know quite what to do. They get the sense that they are more vulnerable. But once they get used to it, and realize this is freedom and interaction time... there you go. It's something they look forward to rather than fear. And that's where you turn the corner...

He's beginning to wake up from "Perch Potato" mode. That's what all this tells me.

This is why outside the cage time is SO friggin' important, especially with a macaw or a large too...

Once he starts getting handled again, he'll really begin to open up.

If he likes the bell, you can play with a bell toy on your lap with him. Just hold it up in the air, and let him get it. I use the pipe bells on a chain with macaws, and I just tie blocks though the chain using sisal rope. When he's done playing with the bell, offer him a block of wood, see if he'll chew it...

Then, the Geenie is out of the bottle. Games like Peek E Boo, Tug of war with one of those doggie rope toys, and fetch the wiffle ball come next...

As well as head scratchies...

Thank you for all of the advice and help! It has been an IMMENSE amount of help! I am very excited to see the progress that he will be making within the days to come.

While he was out today, I got to see a close up of the areas where he had plucked and could see several more pin feathers coming in.

This was a great thread! Thanks to all, especially Birdman. Please know that your advice helps more than just the original poster. What you wrote taught me alot about methods I have never read about before and it makes sense! Lastly congrats Kalie on making gains today with your boy! I bet he felt your confidence level grow stronger which more than helped too!

He didn't resist coming out of the cage nearly as much today. He still tried to grab the bars of the cage when he stepped up but he didn't try to run away from my arm like the past couple of days. He's still not big on physical contact other than stepping up but as soon as he steps up he would rather try to climb his way back to the play stand perch.

He is being forcibly removed from his cage everyday now. He squawks loudly and his face turns pink when he is out and on the play stand but just stands there. He is still not wanting to be pet or so much as even be touched.

Patience and baby steps. Keep it going. They can be fickle.

I know I just wanted to give an update so I can continue to gain insight from others as he progresses and how to help him progress further. He has a lot of potential, I know he does, and I feel like he is definitely going to be a massive love bug once he adjusts and starts to trust people. I just feel so bad because I want to be able to take him out and play with him and teach him things and let him have freedom outside of his cage, but he is still so unsure of it.

Since he has been forced out of the cage on a daily basis, he is definitely much quieter when he is in the cage. I mean he was never really 'loud' all of the time but he hardly makes a peep now other than his occasional 5 minute talking spurts when no one is in the room. He actually squawks now when he knows he is going to be coming out and is loud while he is out. But man is he precious.