gangustahn

Thanks so much everyone. This is great. I will probably start another post outside of the introduction section! Ill have his picture posted there.

Thanks Jayd! I will definitely be careful of that. I am glad I am on this board!!

Thanks for the warm welcome! I have been using the search function quite a bit. I will definitely post pictures of Pearl soon. I have been taking my time with him and allowing him to climb to the top of his cage and play outside of his cage for a few minutes a day. I heard that I should not let him be in a higher position than me for a little while until we establish our positions on the flock, so i tried standing on top of the sofa while he was on top of the birdcage. My cage is over six feet tall and I am 5'8" ish. The funny part is when I did this he went right back into his cage. So that was kind of good. The sofa is a good five feet away from the cage. At least I found out the easy way to get him back into the cage without a towel or traumatizing him. I have also noticed that he is not a big fan of open palms. He will take treats from my finger but if i open my palm he gets really nervous. I am trying to counteract this with having the treats in my right hand while opening my palm in the left hand and slowly moving it closer to him. As soon as he shows signs of distress, I back my left hand away slowly and until he is calm and keep it at that distance. He is also pretty confident about grabbing treats from me from different sides of the cage. This is really good for me. I have perches in the higher corners so I can do all of my daily routine cleaning. He wont move more than a step when I have my arms in the cage, however. But that's understandable. But so far that's my progress. I hope, I am doing really good. Also, I noticed that he has a slight fear of men. He is very cautious around me. My sister and mother came and he perks right up for them. He bobs his head and calls them. My sister was even able to rub his head on a few occasions. For me, I have to spend a good ten minutes talking to him and giving him treats before he warms up. But once we get a conversation going, he keeps mumbling. Oh yeah, so i noticed that if I say outside he gets really excited. I can open the cage and move back about 6-7 feet and he will climb right outside. Hopefully, it will be a real command soon. =)

Thanks alot guys. I definitely know that owning/training a bird is completely different from a dog. I was just hoping to use the same posiitive reinforcement strategies for shaping and approximations to get him a bit more friendly. Otherwise, i would have already owned a parrot. =) I have been doing quite a bit of research and noticed that their should be no type of negative training whatsoever. I guess the good part is that I have had my fair share of dog bites, so i dont think i will overreact if he does end up biting me. Thanks for you post Jay. I will take all of those points to heart. Currently, pearl is doing very well he is eating from my hand and i can get him to move around the cage with treat lure. He still is shy, when I hover towards the cage. That is totally understandable. I really hope that his good behavior is not only because he is unsure in a new environment. So i will keep trying to get closer on his watch. I am not trying to handle him at all but want to make sure i can go and clean his cage with out any problems. That and giving him food and treats will be my ownly affection towards him until he naturally steps up on me.

Hey guys, I have always been fascinated with CAG's but I never pulled the trigger. I knew they were a huge commitment and I needed to be in a very secure place in my life. This was my thought for the past 8 years. Recently, I came across an abused CAG, who was in a bad situation. The grey had a cage mate that plucked most of the hair behind his neck and had not been handled or cleaned in a while. He may also be a plucker. I am currently a dog trainer and specialize in aggressive dogs, so i figured i could possibly use my animal behavior knowledge towards rescuing this grey. His name is Pearl and he is 8 years old. He did bite the owner as he was trying to place him back into his cage. I have ALOT to learn and was hoping I could get some advice and tips from everyone. Thanks.