Jillann

Yes, I have! I wait until she is not making the sound for a bit, so as not to give attention to the sound, then I give her tons of attention. No difference.

Hello all, I'm quite new here and posted about a week ago about the older grey I am fostering for a rescue. She is very scared of people after years with a hoarder, kept in a dark basement, but she is a great talker. I've had her a couple months and she talks like crazy, and has picked up about 20 or so new phrases, words, and sounds since coming here. Here's the strange behavior: for the past week, she has pretty much stopped talking, and instead is making the sound of a smoke dectector alarm ALL the time. She begins first thing in the morning and does it every few minutes until lights out at night. No more long chattering sessions, no more constant hellos and other words, just this really painful loud sound. I ignore it, or walk away, or turn off the lights, when she does it. I haven't given her any attention for it, or yelled or anything. On a few occasions I've covered her cage, because I really can't stand living with this painful sound. She has not heard this alarm sound in my house at all, so it's not like a recent thing that she fell in love with. Does anyone know why this might be happening? Why has she stopped all her other vocalizations to do just this one, over and over? Any suggestions on how to stop it? Thanks in advance for any advice! Jill

Thank you, birdhouse, and luvparrots! I really appreciate your responses. Birdhouse, how old was your Phenix when you got him, and what was his history? Was he handleable when you got him, and is he now? If you got him to be, how did you do it? I like what you say about your bird figuring out how things are safe by watching the other members of the family play and interact. I've read that greys learn by watching behaviors modeled for them. So my dogs and I sit in front of Molly's cage every evening and have treats and do alot of petting. Molly watches it all. She watches the cat climb in my lap while I work on my laptop next to her cage. She watches the parakeet play on my shoulder. She seems to be getting the idea that all is safe and happy. She fluffs up when I pet the dogs. But it's slow going! Tell me more about Phenix! ~Jill

Hello All, I am new to this group. This is a kind of long post to give you some background on a bird from a rough situation; I appreciate your patience if you end up reading all the way through! I'm fostering a CAG for a small animal rescue in Michigan. Molly is an unsexed bird somewhere between 15 and 25 years of age. She spent 10 years in a hoarding situation, in a pile of cages in a dark basement, with unreliable care and feeding. At some point someone mutilated her wings, cutting off the primary flights so they will not grow back, so she will never fly. When she arrived in the rescue last year she would scream and throw herself on the floor of her cage when anyone entered the room. She spent a year in the foster care of a lovely young woman who kept her in the loft of a heated barn with a big window looking out on a rolling green farmland. Molly had a very quiet year there and got used to that one person, who came daily to care for her. Molly came to live with me two months ago, for more socialization and more frequent interaction than she could get in her barn situation. She now clearly loves human presence with familiar or slow, gentle people, and likes being around me, but is still terrified of any rapid movement, and of human hands. She loves my dogs and is happy to have them stick their big heads in her cage to say hello. She talks up a storm and has probably learned 30 new sounds and phrases in the two months I've had her. She will take food from my hands now, but only if I offer it in the exact same spot and the exact same way; otherwise she'll thrash around and scream--like if I offer food from my left hand instead of my right, for example! When relaxed, she fluffs herself up when I sit next to her cage and talk to her or sing to her, and offer to pet her. But so far, she does not allow me to touch her. If I try, she gets very scared and backs away, twitches her head nervously, or screams. She will only stand in two spots in her large cage; she will not come out, even though the door is open whenever I am home. She will not play with any toys, and if I introduce an unfamiliar perch, she will scream and then refuse to go anywhere near it for weeks until I remove it. Currently she lives in the dining room with a clear view to the kitchen and living room so is a part of the daily household life. I live alone but have a dog/petsitter come in a couple days a week while I'm at work, to walk the dogs and visit with (and play guitar to) the bird. So she meets other people but has a nice quiet structured routine, which she seems to like. The birds in the hoarding situation were all in rough shape. It's uncertain what all Molly had to endure. I am wondering if anyone has any knowledge or advice about how to work with a bird that has had such a long period of restriction and neglect. She is in great health now but just so afraid of even moving around her cage, after all the years in a tiny cage with no light and no movement. I would love advice on any ways to get her to feel more safe and confident with human handling, and be able to move around more freely or play, etc. Thanks for reading this long post, and thanks in advance for any feedback or advice! Jill