TSBetsy

Thank you so much judygram for your reply! I really appreciate it!

Three months ago I adopted a ten year old CAG named Betsy from a rescue. Not much was known of her past. After visiting her several times, I decided that Betsy was a good fit for me and my husband. I have friends that have AG so I thought I knew what I was getting in to. I thought anyway… My first problem is that I can’t seem to get Betsy to play with any of her toys. I have tried the following… 1) Slowly introducing her to each of her toys. Put the toy in her line of sight from her cage for a few days, hang the toy on the side of her cage for a few days, etc. 2) Play with the toy myself in front of her. This seems to peak her interested a little but as soon as I give her the toy she ignores it. 3) Bought or made toys of every color (red, blue, green, etc.), texture (paper, wood, rope, sisal, etc.) or shape (blocks, circles, beads, stars, etc.) I can find. 4) Made toys in front of her and had her inspect every object/part while making it. She will just pick it up in her beak and fling it. Nothing that I have tried has worked. I was wondering if anybody has also had this problem? If so, what helped? Suggestions? My second problem, which I think is stemming from the above problem I mentioned, is that Betsy screams all the time when out of her cage. By screaming, I mean the high-pitched, migraine starting, teeth clenching, mind numbing screams that AG make. I expected some screaming but this is getting to be too much! Her screaming sessions can last up to five minutes straight with sometimes only a minute between. At first I thought that it was because she wasn’t used to me, the play perch, being outside, etc. but it doesn’t matter where she is, what she is doing or what I am doing, she screams. I’ve tried ignoring her and not giving her any attention when she does it. I’ve tried only giving her attention and/or a reward when she says the key phrase “Whatcha doin’?”. I’ll get up to give her attention or a treat when she says it but then she’ll start screaming right after so I then have to go back to ignoring her before I even really had a chance to praise her. You can see where I’m having problems with this strategy. Any suggestions? Anything would be greatly appreciated. Right now it’s getting to the point to where I don’t even want to get her out of the cage. I’m trying to stay positive but I’m slowly getting discouraged and frustrated.