SFsailor

Hehe, You guys guessed my attitude correctly! I am definately not firm with her, but only because 1. she is new to me and I am trying to go slow with her and don't want to get hurt or her get hurt (only had her for 3 months and we are still getting used to each other) and 2. apparently the 1st owner was mean to her by teasing her and such, so I am not forcing her because I don't to do something she doesn't want to. Hummm I think I see my problem now. I have to act more like a parent and less like a friend. At least until she starts listening and understanding more. Thanks for the advice. I'm going to go MAKE her step up now... (I just my be posting in the Bit By My CAG thread next:laugh: )<br><br>Post edited by: SFsailor, at: 2007/08/09 05:17

I don't think this is a SAD post. What will be will be. Let nature take its course (especially in dealing with other animals). The right bird will come to you.

Me and Birdie are not to the steppin' up on command phase yet. The only time she will get on my hand is when she chooses to for reasons like she has been in the same place for awhile, she knows she is not supposed to be where she is, etc... but she will never step up when I try to get her off the cage top. She will just run/climb around it until I leave her alone. So my question is if a bird is running away from you how do you get it to step up? cornering it seems like it wouldn't be a good idea bcuz it would get the bird scared. Also, once I get her on my hand she flaps her wings a lot. How do I get her to stop flapping the wings?

That bird won't sell for any $$. Thats crazy of them to ask for any. They should pay someone money to take care of the poor thing.

I got a clicker at Petsmart for $4, and I think they sell them online for $2. My CAG isn;t bonded with me/ still afraid of me, so it really didn't work. I plan on trying it again when she finally "comes around" to me :0

Geoff- Yes.. You sound knowledgable, but I thought PTBE reacted and formed HFL as the product. Does that molecule your talking about have HFL on it? Also I can confirm that my bird that died from teflon had a mucus in her lungs. I tried CPR and that mucus came up.... ughhh

Ionizers are not bad for birds!!! OZONE may be bad for birds and ppl because it is a "radical" oxygen molecule. (This means it has a free pair of electrons that will "attack" other molecules and cause damage to them. ) I live with my parrot on my sailboat on the Pacific ocean and use them inside the boat. But I really don't need them because the "outside" of the boat is surrounded by lots more negative ions that are always around the ocean. Ion generators add or change the charge of a atom or molecule to make it have a - charge. With this - charge the atom or molecule is attracted to the ground because the ground has a - charge (like attracts like). With this in mind the Ions generated by the ion generator don't get to far from the generator b4 they fall to the ground. Hope that helped a little.

Teflon (PTBE) can kill a bird EVEN if it not overheated. I read a story of chics dying from a warming lamp that was at normal operating tempetures. My last bird, Jasmine, a Citron Crested Cockatoo died from teflon poisoning. It was a very shocking and violent death. It took only like 2 minutes from the exposure until she died in convulsions in my hands. It was VERY SAD and it still brings tears to my eyes There is no need to use or have anything teflon coated unless you are trying to kill your bird in the most cruel way you can think of. Cast iron pans are defineately better, especially for women, once u know how u cook with them. Stay away from aluminum as it is a very soft metal and can "vaporize< in the chemical meaning>" and get trace amounts of it in your food.

Poncho has shown no ill effects from his "wilding" except for a HUGE increase in his appetite... So much so that I was able to get him in the cage by just placing regular bird food in it

Poncho has been recovered and is alive and well!!! I found him by going to his last known location and waiting... I waited for his familiar song/chirp/call, I repeated this, getting closer and closer each time until I found him. When I found him for the first time today my dog went up to him and put his nose on Poncho and then Poncho flew away AGAIN...Luckily a neighbor who was on the look-out for Poncho was out on her deck and saw where he flew off to. Then I took my dog back home and went on got the cage (which was already sitting in the back of the pick-up truck) and went to where he was seen headed. I looked around a bit and didn't hear or see him, then I stepped to the other side of the road and luckily spotted him in the bushes. I then got him some water right away...and got the cage and put it next to us. I tried to coax him into stepping up on to my hand but he would not have any of that, or take any of the peanuts or millet i had on me.... So after a bit I sneakily grabbed him and got him into the cage. ( I can also report that a CAG bite is FAR less hurtful than my Citron crested Cockatoo's) Currently Poncho is munching on some food, in between his naps. He seems fine and really not that harmed or hurt from his 2 days and nights in the wild. I hoped he learned his lesson. Thanks everyone for the great ideas and positive thoughts and prayers they are greatly appreicated.

Well, Poncho is alive, but still loose. Yesterday, I did find him and was feet from him, but he flew away again. I met all of our neighboors yesterday looking for him and they reported hearing him throughout the day on 1 specific area. I am going out now to look for him again since he is very vocal in the early mornings and late afternoons. This time I will definately bring some millet and peanuts along in order to coax him to come with me. Thanks every1 for the postive thoughts.

here is the correct link to the 911parrotalert http://www.911parrotalert.com/index.asp

ANOTHER question. How long can a CAG go without food and water? Should I be planning on a emergency vet visit when I find him??? When (fingers crossed) I find him, should I force water into him???

Thanks for the ideas. Cage is outside in plain view with plenty of food and water.(fingers crossed) We live in a mountainous, wooded area. So I have been looking in all of the shrubs around here. I think I will be sticking to looking in the edges of the shrubs...I don't think to bird would be able to get very high in elevation so I think I will be looking in to lower parts of the area.Its the hottest part of the day right now so I am resting, after searching for 6 hours, and getting ready to go out and look again. I already posted flyers throughout the area and talked to many people. Unfortunately I just got the CAG 2 months ago. The lady I bought him from said his wings were permently damaged from a previous clipping and not to worry about clipping them. The bird flew from the ground into the air so obviously the wings were in good enough shape. I blame myself for not getting them clipped and hope others can learn from my SAD lesson. ~James

Yesterday while I was not home my beloved bird escaped from the house while my dad was watching him. I immediately started the search when I got home. This morning, I started searching at 5 am. I could hear him chirping now and then. A neighboor said they saw him on the roof of the house next door at around 7:30am. The last call I heard from him was around 9am. My questions are....How far does the sound of a call travel in normal countryside conditions? The bird is not used to flying... Would it get tired from wandering? Do you think the bird will continue to wander or will it likely pick a perch and wait? Any suggestions are greatly appreicated. ~James

Thanks for the advice it was exactly what I was looking for. The bird is adjusting quite nicely. It gets more talkative each day and its eyes have stopped "pinning" which is a GREAT sign. I plan on trying Clicker training on it when we start with the step up training (there are some videos on Youtube that demostate this technique quite nicely. My previous parrot was a Citron-crested Cockatoo. These birds have powerful beaks because of their unique shape, so I am not worried about biting from the CAG when we being training. Again thanks for the helpful advice.

I have a 9year old male CAG that I just brought into the house. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could make the bird more comfortable in its new surroundings? How long should I wait until I start getting the bird to sit on my hand/arm? When a bird reaches out with one claw is it trying to look for a place to grab? Finally, I have noticed when I get near him his pupils will dilate and contract a lot and rather quickly. Does anyone have any ideas on what this body language could mean?

Hi, I just bought a CAG, and I was wondering if anyone knows if I could use pine as a perch? Are there any woods that are toxic to CAG's?