rjhammy

We have a 2-year old CAG named Ash. We just brought home a pair of bunnies, father and daughter (don't worry, they're neutered and spade) from the shelter. Now our house REALLY smells like zoo! Anyways, Ash... the ever-nosy-all-knowing-queen, was wandering around the room and started rummaging through my box of hay for the rabbits. She seems to be so intrigued by each individual straw of hay. It was as if she made her life's mission to pull out each straw from the box individually. I let her do it for about 20 minutes... and jumped on the computer to see if it was okay for her to play in the hay. Seems like it's fine, but I just wanted to add a post just in case.

I'm in the club now. *sigh* Now what? My next question is... when your bird bites you fairly hard... how do you react? Ash is starting to bite. At first, it seemed like it was just to get balance. But now... it's *bite* and a demand for a head scratch... and then "bite* stop the head scratch, *bite* when I'm giving her breakfast, and *bite* going in and out of her cage. I have been responding with a yelp and "dropping" her (where, if she's on my hand, I bring my hand down quickly, so she lets go). My boyfriend thinks it's better to not respond at all, and take the bite in stride and ignore it. His rationale is that, by acknowledging her bite, I am showing her that it gets my attention. Thoughts?

Ash, our 2 year old CAG demands her breakfast in the morning. Within 5 minutes of coming home from a hard day's work, and even before saying "love you," she'll give you a "want dinner". She asks for non-stop scratches, until she finds something better to do. If she says "dance," you better be bobbing your head up and down with her. And if she says, "shhh," you better stop what you're doing to listen to her. If she says "water," you have 3 seconds to bring her a fresh mug of water (and that mug better be her favorite maroon mug.) And after two years... my fiance finally said, "you know, I don't think we've trained her to do a damn thing... she's trained us!"

Thanks All. I knew I wasn't going to get a "magic bullet" answer, but it's nice to know that distractions work. I was afraid of distracting her because she may think of it as attention, rather than distraction. I don't mind the daily noises, chirps and talking... it's the non-stop ear-piercing screaming that makes me just want to run over and spoil her with love and attention to make her stop. (I'm sure if she really tried, she could convince me to hand over my wallet and jewelry!!) :silly: I was trying stuff like dropping a book or squeaking a dog toy, but not looking at her to distract her, but it wasn't working too well. Unfortunately, Ash competes with the tv... so that just makes her louder. I wonder if spoiling the dogs would distract her. Not only will I be ignoring her... I will spoil her arch-nemsis. :evil:

So for the last few weeks, Ash, our 2 year old CAG has been screaming and imitating a fire alarm. We've tried ignoring her, but I just hear her trying hard and screaming louder. We tried leaving the room, and that's not working either. I know this is all about patience... but I'm not sure if it's supposed to get worse before it gets better? Does the "terrible twos" stage really exist? So my actual question is...We have a small place with one bedroom, and the other "room" is the kitchen/living room/dining room. Ash's cage is in the living room. Instead of us leaving the living room, can we put her in the bedroom when she's screaming? I haven't quite thought it all the way through, and wanted to hear back from the board. My other concern is that although we're moving her to another room, I have to pick her up and take her there... and I'm not sure if that's considered "giving her attention." Thanks!

Just wanted to share some new (and embarrassing) words/sounds. 1.) We just got a second dog... and I've been working on "sit" with him daily. Ash (our CAG) has learned to say the"sit" command. Except she has a little lisp and pronounces it more like "s#it." You can bet I won't be teaching our dogs to "duck" anytime soon. :lol: 2.) Ash has picked up the fire alarm (when the alarm company came over to test it). She was proudly showing off the alarm when my mother-in-law asked... "do you burn a lot of stuff when you cook?" :blink: 3.) We "shhhhh" our dogs when they bark. Now, when we laugh too loud, or make too much noise.. Ash will "shhh" us!

As is my 2 year old CAG. About 3 weeks ago, they were testing the fire alarm in my building... and yes... SHE LEARNED HOW TO MIMIC IT! And yes... she loves it! Up until now, we haven't had a problem with screaming or obnoxious noises. But now she constantly does the fire alarm. We've tried to ignore it... but she's just too smart for us! For example, when she starts beeping, and I want to discourage it before it gets out of hand. When she goes on a beeping rampage...I get up and leave the room. It worked for about a day. Now... she'll do one beep. And then beep beep. Then beep beep beep. She's testing me isn't she? To see how many beeps she can get away with? Also... she'll beep and I get up and then she'll say "mama, love you" or "wanna play" as I'm walking away. I don't want to confuse her... because I'm trying to ignore her for the beep... not the talking. Do you think she's considering leaving the room as attention? Should I stop leaving the room? Any advice is much appreciated!<br><br>Post edited by: rjhammy, at: 2010/03/28 03:40

My boyfriend brought home a HUGE bouquet of flowers. They had a celebration at work, and when it was over, people could take home the floral arrangements. They contain stargazers, roses and violets. It is very fragrant, which is nice to have, since we haven't used chemical cleaners or deodorizers since we brought home our CAG. Just curious... is it safe to have a big fragrant bouquet of flowers around her? (just in the same room, not to eat)

After a year of serving Ash breakfast in the morning... followed by saying "breakfast time," she's got it!! I'm so proud of her! Around monday morning, when I walked over with her bowl of fresh foods, she repeated breakfast time! breakfast time! She's been consistent about it too! HOWEVER.. in the evenings, I've been saying "dinner time." But when I walk over in the evenings, she'll still say "breakfast time." Any suggestions on how to help her distinguish breakfast vs dinner? Are there ways to help her with day vs night? Also... just for my information... should I have picked something more generic... like "chow time" ?

Thanks all for your responses. I think she was just moody and gaining her independence. She'll come out when SHE feels like it... not when *I* feel like it.

Ash is now over one year old. We've taught her "wanna come out?" and she'll come to the front of the cage and I'll give her the "up" command. About a week ago, she would hide in the back of the cage if I came near the door, and she won't come out. She'll try to bite. I'll leave the cage door open and walk away. Sometimes she'll come out, most of the time she won't. Any thoughts? This is a brief intro. I can answer additional questions. Thanks

Hello All: I wanted to ask... how do you socialize your bird in reference to human contact with kids? Ash is a very brave girl... she's very receptive to new objects, toys and people. However... I don't have little kids and am not usually around them. The other day, I was getting the mail with Ash and a little boy about 10 years old asked politely if he could pet her. His parents are on the homeowner association board, so I kind of know them. Although Ash is fairly receptive to people, I wasn't sure about kids. I'm not sure how to go about it. Any advice? I don't want Ash biting him. She's nice... but she's not always nice. And an unfamiliar hands reaching for her from nowhere is a big no-no. But I also didn't want to say "No, she bites" because I don't want him to get the wrong impression. Yesterday... I armed myself with a grape (one of her faves) and thought he could give her a grape and watch her eat it instead of petting or holding her. She was too nervous to eat so he just stood there for a second and walked away. Thoughts?

I used to have... A living room. Now I have an aviary. :blink: :laugh:

My boyfriend and I sound very different and say things differently. For example: He says... Good morNING! I say... Gooooooood morning! We can always tell who she's copying based on how she says certain words. =)

Picture of the pug. =)

When my boyfriend and I are training Ash, our CAG, we try to say the words the same way (same tone, inflection, etc...) However... when we talk to our pug, Artie, we call out his name in different ways. Ash has picked up on them. She'll say a sing-songy AaaaAAaaartieeee... when she's being playful. A firm Artie... like when I want his attention during his training session. And the newest one... she's learned "ARTIE! NO!" when he's in trouble. Usually we say this when he's got something in his mouth that he shouldn't or trying to eat Ash's poop. Now... she's a little tattle tale!! Everytime Artie comes close to Ash's playstand to eat her poop... she'll say ARTIE NO!!<br><br>Post edited by: rjhammy, at: 2009/08/19 18:33

My boyfriend and I had to go out of town and bringing Ash, our 10-month CAG, was not an option. We lugged everything over to my boyfriend's sister's house. Three days later, we went to pick up Ash and realized she learned something new... Ash learned how to cry like their 1-year old baby!!

That's what I do too... I buy a bunch of everything in small amounts. But this was an emergency! The only place near my work is Whole Foods... which is way out of my budget for daily shopping, so I only picked up some stuff for Ash's dinner.

This weekend was crazy and I didn't have time to stock up on fresh produce. After work today, I went to Whole Foods and picked up 2 baby carrots, 1 piece of brocolli, 1 cube of tofu and 2 slices of mandarin orange. When I went to check out... the cashier gave me a very bewildered look and said... "diet?" And I said... "No... Parrot." :laugh:

I hit up all the pet stores at least 3 times a week to check out sales. I don't remember the last time I bought something that wasn't on sale. I smuggle cardboard, straws, water bottles... anything I can get my hands on to make the latest new toy. I plan my meals around Ash's diet. I have a stand in every room. Everyone thinks I'm crazy. The comment I get the most is... "wow... you really need a kid." I try to explain that it's not because I want kids. I just love them... all of them. If that makes me "crazy"... so be it. I know that I'm loved.

My friend's aunt has a 3 year old female CAG. She asked me if I wanted to have a "birdie playdate." Apparently Rosy was a rescue and has bonded with the lady's husband. Rosy is okay with strangers in her cage, but does not do well outside the cage with strangers around. My friend's aunt thinks that maybe a play-date would be a good idea to help socialize Rosy. I've put in a lot of effort with Ash, our 9 month CAG to socialize her with the city, people and other random things in life... but I never thought of a playdate with another CAG. Just wanted to know what everyone's thought was. Is this a good idea? Any advice?<br><br>Post edited by: rjhammy, at: 2009/06/03 08:51

I always get really excited when she poops on the pee pad. I'll have to get a picture of the begging for a head scratch

We're in the process potty training Ash. Whenever we take her out, we hold her above a pee pad and say "go potty." Most of the time, she goes potty and we get to our playtime. However, recently, she's learned to rub her head against my hand to beg for a head scratch. I find it so incredibly adorable. After I scratch her head... she'll potty. However... I'm not sure if I should withhold head scratching until potty? Or give her a head scratch that leads to pottying? I just don't want it to lead to... no head scratch, no potty. Am I over-analyzing?

Got a call from the vet today. Ash's DNA test results are back and she's a girl!! (I knew it! Ash is kind, loving and very smart. She MUST be a girl! j/k)

Go Emma! Pretty soon she'll realize it's the best thing on earth... for about 5 minutes. =P