lisachristine

The same with Rosie, only red grapes.

Just wanted to share this with everyone. For those of you who's greys hate water, here is an idea that might get them comfortable being around it. Although Rosie has not completely submerged herself in it, she continues to toy with the idea! I recycled some old foot toys that she destroyed and placed them in a baking dish full of water. It took her a couple of days to warm up to the idea of playing in water, but she couldn't resist the colorful toys that were floating around. Now it is one of her favorite daily activities.

looks horrible

Had a great laugh! Thanks

Just a quick video of Rosie. She got wound up, playing with her toys tonight and scared herself out of her cage. After she flew out and onto the ground, I was able to pick her up with pure perfection! no growling, biting, or shaking!! I took this opportunity to introduce her to the house. She is not afraid of my hand now due to hand feeding her through the open door of her cage. I know many of you don't believe in entering the cage, however I felt that Rosie's temperament could handle it. While I was in the kitchen with her, she started to play her favorite game of swaying back and forth. :ohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQhm_KySGLA

How big is your cage? This sounds similar to when Rosie came to me. She would fall or jump from her perch that was in a 6 foot cage. After breaking blood feather after blood feather, I came up with the idea to confind her to a MUCH smaller cage. After about six months she learned to jump from the perch to the bars if she was spooked. I really believed that this boosted her confidence. All her feathers grew in and her hot spot healed. But yes, I would take her in.

How old is Jellybean and is he a rehomed bird? Cute name by the way!

[I]"This is upsetting. Rosie seems not comfortable to me. I would never chase my bird around the cage like that. I have now idea what training we are talking about. I am still upset having watched this video. You might mean well but I don't think you have any clue. Patience.....go slow...trust....it takes time!!!!" The only advice is the advice you gave me. And please be gentle with others.

Sounds like down feathers. How old is Charley? I find that the best thing for cleaning the light weight feathers up with is a dry swiffer. It has been a life saver with cleaning feathers and dander.

Never thought about the back of the hand. Thanks, I'll have to experiment with that and see how she responds. How long have you had Wally?

She got to the very end and accidently knocked it off the perch! Poor thing. She scared herself out of the cage again tonight. Flew a couple of laps around the livingroom and bumped into the wall. I was able to get her on my arm with no hesitation. After standing in the same spot for a few minutes so she could catch her breath, I sat and talked to her on my arm for about an hour. When she started falling asleep and slipping off my arm, I knew it was time to put her back. So in love...

Just to clarify on my earlier posts a few weeks ago, Rosie has come out a couple of times, but only when she was startled and jumped out. This is the first time that she came out willingly and looked at ease and curious. Just didn't want anyone to be confused!

Poor thing! I hate to see their fragile bodies banged up. Glad to hear she is ok.

Thanks MistyP! I was so glad to catch this on video. I really wish I would have started a video blog from day one to see her progress step by step. I hope I can look back on this and think " I can't believe she use to not come out of her cage!". I would encourage any new parrot owner to start a video blog to fully appreciate baby steps and to see the progress.

Last night I thought long and hard about the wise words on the forum and how to get Rosie out of the cage and right before bed it came to me!! In the morning, I decided to put one of Rosie’s favorite perches on the inside of the door so that when I opened it, it would be on the outside of the cage, which I have done in the past only without food. Rosie was very hungry (I feed her first thing in the am). So when I approached her with one of her favorite reward foods, pine nuts, she was very attentive. She watched as I slowly made a trail of pine nuts from her, across the cage, and out to the perch. At the end of the perch (or the end of the rainbow) was her all time FAVORITE, a shelled almond!! She roused with excitement and that's when I knew it was time to leave. I watched from a distance and this is what happened! Thanks to all!! Oh, one quick question. Once she is used to the perch (if she gets used to the perch) should I practice step up from there??

Katana600, thank you for your post. You were very articulate and kind with your wording. In the video I did push her a little more than I normally do. Our routine is for me to offer my arm and after a few footings or when she starts crawling the top bars I offer her a treat and leave, kind of like a peace offering. I did not know so many Greys were cage aggressive, so I guess this whole thread has made me even more fond of my Rosie, and I didn't think that was possible . She has never tried to strike out and bite while cleaning the cage or changing out toys. How long have you had Gilbert and do you only head scratch through the bars or through an open door? Once again thank you for your thoughts.

Indecisive is EXACTLY what I think! After working with her, I will walk away and she will come to the front of the cage and hold her foot out like she wants to step-up. I will walk back to the cage and then she will bounce back and forth on just that one foot like the video. Like I said before, when she first came to me, she would throw herself screaming to the bottom of her cage breaking blood feathers if I attempted to open the cage. Now she shows interest in me and her surroundings. I really believe that she wants to come out, but doesn't know how. Right after I handle her, She will try to call me back to the cage. If she was really that fearful of ME, would't she stay poofed up in the back of the cage and not talking and doing tricks??

Sorry to upset you Dw. Trust me, Rosie rules the with an iron beak and she knows it. That's part of her problem. Jayd, thanks. She has never fallen from my arm. Can't get her on! So what you're telling me is that I should wait on Rosie? In an earlier post you told me to challenge her more because she's four-years-old. It's easy for people to watch this video and think "what is this lady doing to that poor bird" when they have a healthy, loveable, hand raised grey that can perch on their should while they go shopping or to work. That's not what I want. Rosie has been sitting in her cage for four years. I am just simply trying to broaden her horizons. We keep her cage open all the time, but she has no interest.

I'm teaching Rosie how to step-up (we say foot instead) however she won't put her second foot on my arm. She has been doing this for 6 months. Should I let her do this in her own time or do I get a little more aggressive with her? I'm really afraid of breaking the trust that I have built with her for the last two years. As you can see I can feed her with no problem (when she came to me two years ago I thought that it would be impossible to even put my hand NEAR the cage). I think her growling and scream is a combination of a learned behavior and a dominance thing. I am not afraid of her bites, but don't want her to be afraid of me. As you can see in the second video taken only moments after, she is back to playing and being vocal. I even get her to do one of her tricks at the very end!! So, is little girl just being stubborn or what?? What do you think of her body language?

It's been two years and I'm just now finally able to scratch Rosie's head. She is a CAG and let me tell you, she can growl and scream with the best of them. Don't know who this guy was, but glad you are getting a second opinion. Time and patience is the key to every grey's heart.

On Christmas day I opened the cage door where Rosie was hanging on to and off she flew!! After a couple of laps around the livingroom, she landed perfectly on the top of her cage where a wooden perch is! So proud of her! Now I have to practice getting her back in the cage. Almost everytime I went to get her she flew off. I dont want it to become a game, so I'm trying the reward system.

I just noticed tonight, before I got on the forum, that the bold spot on her chest from plucking is completely gone!! Please tell me I'm doing something right??

Thank you again for the information and the concern. I'm not sure if I completely agree with you, but that's why we're here right?? I think every Grey is different and I think I'm pretty intuitive with her and her body laugage, otherwise I don't think we would have made it this far. I know that there are a LOT of rehab CAGs out there and there are many different methods, but I think with her temperment the slower I go the better. We have years to come right? In her previous homes they forced her to interact by toweling and grabbing feet. Right now I know that she is showing an interest in me and that is GREAT!! My long term goals are not to have her as a parrot that I am able to handle and carry around, but to be trusting with me and confident in herself. Thanks again, and I will keep what you said in the back of my mind as I continue to rehab. I'm sure you have WAY more experience than me and I respect that. Either way, I am SOOO in love!

Jeff, before I used this method I would put the crown of my head to the bars. You can try this to let your bird explore how you feel, taste, and smell. If they try to bite your scalp it is too tight to bite (or mine is anyway). They may try to bite it at first only because their instincts are telling them to, however after they see that it's not a threat their curiosity will get the better of them. Thanks Jayd, after a few rounds of tickle, I open the door and sit on the ground beneath her. If she hasent had enough of me at this point, she will come to the edge of the door for us to play peek a boo. She will swing her head from inside to cage to outside every time I say "peek a Boo". Last week she acutally put a foot on my shoulder!

I just wanted to share my experience with those of you who have a long distance relationship with your grey. I've been working with Rosie for 2 years now and so far our progress has been slow, but steady. One idea I wanted to share (that TOTALLY has work for me) is to try bonding late at night with all lights out except a small night light. While sitting in a chair next to where Rosie likes to perch, we play a game that I created called "tickle tickle". With the lights out, I grab a small pinch of hair and gently tickle her beak and chest as I say "tickle tickle" in a soft voice. This has allowed her to explore part of my body without my hands being bit . She enjoys playing with my hair which has led her to be more curious about the rest of my body. Last night she wanted to explore my face, so I took a chance and pressed my face agaist the bars, of course praying that she wouldn't take my nose off. She slowly and softly beaked all around my forehead and eyebrows. Can't wait to see what tonight brings!