Two year old Zeus, a rescued CAG, has been with us for five months. He seems completely settled in and happy. He especially loves spending time with my wife. (I can't blame him, she's a pretty nice lady)
I'm a little bit jealous, though, that Zeus won't accept the same level of handling from me as he does from Gail.
Zeus will step up for pretty much anyone, and he always seems eager to come out of his cage to spend time "on" someone, whether perched on a finger, hand,
arm, or shoulder. He is quite cuddly with my wife; he allows her to pet his head and face, making happy sounds all the while. If I've been holding him for a while, and she is nearby, eventually he'll try to get to her.
Zeus will sit with me seemingly contentedly for a long time as long as I don't move to pet him. If I do, he shuffles away from my hand as if he's afraid. As long as I let him sit on me without trying to handle him further he seems very content. He'll fluff up, shake out his tail, and preen himself, so I don't think he's too nervous about simply sitting on me.
I don't know if I'm helping matters by backing off and not handling him more when he doesn't seem to want that kind of attention from me.
There's no hurry to get to the point that Zeus is comfortable with my handling him, other than a concern that he will bond closely with my wife to the exclusion of everyone else. Zeus will be with us for a very long time. I just hope I'm not somehow causing the progress between the two of us to go more slowly than it could by handling him less confidently than my wife does.
For what it's worth, my wife and I share care giving responsibilities for the birds. On any given day, it could be either of us who provides food, water, or treats. Either of us will retrieve the birds from their sleeping cages in the morning and move them to their daytime cages. I don't think Zeus's preference is based on his perception of who his care giver is.
I don't know a lot about Zeus's pre-rescue home, other than being told that he was surrendered to rescue by someone who kept him in a single wide mobile home with 30+ other large parrots. I believe the owner (hoarder?) of all those parrots was a woman, and I think His main caregiver in rescue was a lady, too, although I am not sure this is the case, though. He was staying with a retired couple in rescue.
Maybe Zeus just hasn't had as much experience with men as with women.
Any thoughts?
I'm a little bit jealous, though, that Zeus won't accept the same level of handling from me as he does from Gail.
Zeus will step up for pretty much anyone, and he always seems eager to come out of his cage to spend time "on" someone, whether perched on a finger, hand,
arm, or shoulder. He is quite cuddly with my wife; he allows her to pet his head and face, making happy sounds all the while. If I've been holding him for a while, and she is nearby, eventually he'll try to get to her.
Zeus will sit with me seemingly contentedly for a long time as long as I don't move to pet him. If I do, he shuffles away from my hand as if he's afraid. As long as I let him sit on me without trying to handle him further he seems very content. He'll fluff up, shake out his tail, and preen himself, so I don't think he's too nervous about simply sitting on me.
I don't know if I'm helping matters by backing off and not handling him more when he doesn't seem to want that kind of attention from me.
There's no hurry to get to the point that Zeus is comfortable with my handling him, other than a concern that he will bond closely with my wife to the exclusion of everyone else. Zeus will be with us for a very long time. I just hope I'm not somehow causing the progress between the two of us to go more slowly than it could by handling him less confidently than my wife does.
For what it's worth, my wife and I share care giving responsibilities for the birds. On any given day, it could be either of us who provides food, water, or treats. Either of us will retrieve the birds from their sleeping cages in the morning and move them to their daytime cages. I don't think Zeus's preference is based on his perception of who his care giver is.
I don't know a lot about Zeus's pre-rescue home, other than being told that he was surrendered to rescue by someone who kept him in a single wide mobile home with 30+ other large parrots. I believe the owner (hoarder?) of all those parrots was a woman, and I think His main caregiver in rescue was a lady, too, although I am not sure this is the case, though. He was staying with a retired couple in rescue.
Maybe Zeus just hasn't had as much experience with men as with women.
Any thoughts?
