sanzoni

Oh, thee is definitely some comfort knowing that there is nothing medically wrong. Isn't it too early to decide if it is out of habit? Especially since it might be due to lack of sunlights and therefore lack of vitamin d production? Isn't there a spray or something that Dave007 suggested to spray on them to help with the plucking? I mean, there has got to be a way to help him get better. I am very stressed about it, and will do my best to make sure he doesn't know that. I will also definitely try to find cheep chewing toys like the mop one I can make to help him take focus off himself.

Thanks for the great advice. I will post a current picture of him and get it on here tomorrow. I wish there was a way to tell if it was habit or not. You guys are really helping though so please check in on this thread over the next few days as I update it with pics and such.

Yeah, I was actually just reading that. Do you think there is a big chance it is related to not having enough uv so the CAG can produce Vit D? Do you have any other suggestions?

Hey guys. I have been battling my CAG's plucking behavior for a little over a year now. The vet said he is healthy. I moved him near a window, to give him sunlight to help with vitamin D production and boredom. I gave him excessive amounts of stuff to shred. Make sure I vary his diet. Comes out of the cage and interacts with us and climbs around his cage for a couple hours. He is a VERY happy bird and loves to talk our ears off. I am lost and it feels horrible (even though he is beautiful regardless) to see him look like this and doing this to himself. I just want to make this stop. Please help me guys. Thanks

And also... I been doing the target training along with the clicker. Should I be using my finger to do the touch and let go or should I stick to the target stick that I am using for a little while and then use my finger as the "target stick".

Thanks a lot tweedle for making this thread. It definetly helps when people show what they have done with their bird instead of always just watching video. Videos aren't always as detailed.

lol i know they have no teeth, i just heard a lot of people call this the teething stage. And yes, TWEEDLE if you do not mind that would be cool if you can outline the clicker training approach.

Ohh no. You didn't come off like anything. No there is nobody else.

I had mine for about 5 months now. It is not so much the cuddling that I want, more of my cag just letting me touch him more without following my finger wherever he goes and grinding on it. I want him to almost not react to my fingers as much and let me scratch his head, back and feet more. Do you or anybody have any suggestions for this? And when I mean there is almost NEVER a time where he does not let me touch him without grinding on my fingers, I mean NEVER lol.

Hey everyone! I have a 9 month old CAG. He is an awesome bird but I don't know how to tame and train him. He knows step up command and sometimes he will try to bite my thumb while he is on me. Every time I go to touch him he always grabs my fingers with his beak and then grinds my finger in his mouth and it hurts. No matter where my finger is going near him he follows it and starts beaking hard on my finger. I guess a lot of people call this the "teething" stage. I put the blame on me because I do not know how to properly train him. He does let me scratch his neck sometimes but I want to be able to touch and rub his feet, chest, without him always trying to grab my fingers and munch on them lol. How do I change this nipping, grinding beak behavior so that I can interact with him more and eventually be able to cuddle with him and stuff? I was in the pet store the other day and all the greys there do not respond to your fingers and let you pet them almost wherever you want. That is the kind of relationship I want. Please help me how do I fix this with time? Thank You

Hi everyone. I have a 8 month old grey. I know he is still young but he is getting into the habbit of biting hard. If i try to touch him anywhere on his body he tried to chew hard on my finger. Even if he is just perched on my arm he will try to bite my finger, skin, whatever he could find. I don't exactly understand the whole concept of positive reinforcement. When he bites me do I say no? or do I just ignore him. He goes for my fingers so often that I don't have a lot of chances to give him a treat for being good. I just need help because he is a great bird and I want him to stop with the biting. Thank You

let me also add that it has been three weeks since the vet checkup, he shouldn't be traumatized from that appointment after three weeks.

lol I think I probably confused you with what I am saying. I am not afraid of the bird at all. He is the one that is afraid of me. He NEVER comes onto me unless I absolutely need to get him in the cage like if I am leaving my house. When I am home I always leave the cage door open and he himself climbs out of the cage to go to the top of it where the playpen is. It is getting him in the cage that is a huge problem. I do love the my CAG a lot, which is why I am asking this question because I want it to be a good relationship for the next 50-80 years lol. I just don't know why he is so afraid of everything. I know birds need a couple weeks to get used to everything but I never seen a parrot or CAG this afraid of everything and neither did the people I know who I explained all this to. And it is just not me he is afraid of, it is everybody. The day we got him he was letting us pet him and pick him up and right after we brought him to the vet it is like he is traumatized and nothing is getting better at all.

So my last post I asked a question about that way my CAG is not perching onto me and stuff and they gave me some suggestions and said to give the bird some time. So now, I almost had him for a month he is over 4 months old. Like I said in the old post if we perfectly fine before the vet and was coming onto my hand and stuff. He is still not perching onto me or anybody. He climbs out of the cage and goes to the playpen at the top. Then when I need to get him back in it is a big problem getting him in. He starts screeching, lowering his body so I can't get him, starts biting. I don't understand what is going on. I know he is still somewhat new but his behavior is not like any other people's CAG that I knew of when they first got their bird. I just wan't him to be more "affectionate" and not to freak out like he does. I am worried that he will continue to act like this. Please help! thanks

forgot to add this... I already been trying the drop your hand a bit to make him lose balance for a second. But then he starts flapping his wings and once he stops he continues to nip, chew, bite, whatever you want to call it lol.

Thanks everyone for the replies. You guys really made me feel a lot better about this situation. I was getting worried that the vet traumatized him really bad. But it has been almost a week since you guys replied and he is already starting to do a lot better.

So I had my CAG for about 2 weeks now. He is slowly starting to perch, but the thing that is questioning me is when he is on my finger, why is he always trying to bite and chew on it? Most of the time it doesn't hurt but it does sometimes. How do I teach him to stop with the chewing on my finger? Or is this something I just have to wait for him to grow out of? Thank You

So I just got my 4 month old CAG last week. He eats really good and plays with his toys a lot. The first few days he was letting me pick him up and rub and scratch his neck, but every since he went to the vet he screeches when I go to pick him up (and doesn't end up stepping up) and always tries to nibble and chew on my finger when I try to touch him in anyway. What do I do about this? How long is this behavior going to last? Also, what do I do about the chewing on the finger in general? He was doing that since day one but it never hurts when he does it. It is like he is exploring or something. People said to catch the chewing in the beginning so he don't end up biting hard by saying no firmly and ignoring him for a little bit. But he does this all the time so that would mean I would be ignoring him all the time and that don't seem right. Please help with some advice. Thank You

Thank you for all the advice. Does anyone have a good website where they have a variety of perches to choose from?

Thanks a lot. It really helps to have it narrowed down a bit in the beginning because there are so many different toys you can get.

Oh sorry about that it was www.theperchstore.net I put .com. Yeah I understand it is a hit and miss because they are all different. But, the problem is I almost do not know where to start because there are so many. Just a few suggestions would be great. You know, like a couple for the foraging category, a couple for the wood and rope, and whatever else YOU would get for your grey lol. I am sorry to be a pain it's just there are so many to choose from I would like a couple people to show me some of the toys you guys would get. I want to make sure my grey is as happy as can be because I am a dedicated person when it comes to pets and really take care of them.

Hi everyone. I really like this site for toys called www.theperchstore.com. I am getting a CAG in less than a month and I am kind of nervous on selecting the right toys for him. I want to make sure he gets all that he should. Would it be a problem if someone can look through the toys on this site and pick out what you guys would choose for your CAG. I am looking for a variety of toys like foraging, rope, block, and others. I already got a few toys but I know I am going to need more and I am starting to get a little confused on what to pick. Thanks

Hi everyone. So I am getting a 4 month CAG in a few weeks. Got the cage already it is a 36"x28". I been trying to get perches and toys for it but when I look online or go to the store I get a little confused. I already got a pedi-perch, rope perch, and my cage came with the dowel perch. Is there anymore that I need to get at this moment. Also, when I set up the perches is there any certain way to place them, like which perch to put at the top where he sleeps and what perch to place near his food bowls. Now moving on to toys. I got a couple toys and I was just wondering if you guys have any ideas or websites to buy them at. How many should I buy just to start off with and how many of what type (by type I mean foraging, rope, wooden, and foot toys). I just want to make sure he has everything he deserves and set up the right way before he gets home. I want to make sure he is very happy. Thanks