inc0gnito

With me, I had a tough time getting my Parrot out of the cage. He is a phobic bird. And to this day he will never step out of his cage unless there is just me in the room or no one at all. And if he is out and about and someone other than me walks in the room, he panics and flies off all over the room. But if he sees someone else come in the room slowly and he feels he has ample time to climb back up into his cage he will do it. The problem is he gets scared too easily of everyone other than me. But I remember back in the day when I was away my brother let him out of the cage and he did come out and completely destroyed my room, because my bro couldn't figure out how to get him back in the cage. He just left the cage door open and left the room. Eventually he did come back in to eat and drink. He knows the cage is the "Safe" place. I have never forcefully put a parrot in a cage. I usually some how get them to go back in the cage by themselves. Whether that involves a person they don't like or just get hungry or give them some temptation to get back in the cage by themselves. Now that I am very good with my phobic bird, I usually pick him up and put him in the cage at will. He climbs onto my forearm and makes his way upto my shoulder. It took me 1 year to get to this level.

I got him a bigger cage just a week after the video. As usual he was very apprehensive to get into the new cage. But I played around with him for a few hours and he climbed up my hand. Then while talking to him I slowly slid my arm inside the new cage and he climbed off. He was still scared, but after and hour he was busy exploring it. He is a phobic bird and whenever I get him a toy, he is scared of it at first. But after a few days he is alright with it and tears it apart. The rest of the family.. what can I say. Since he isn't on friendly terms with them and only with me; they tend to avoid him. Except my mom. She talks to him a lot, but he will never see her face to face. If she so much as even looks at him, he gets really nervous and starts calling for me. I think I may have unintentionally developed a behavioral problem in him. Because as soon as he hears me or sees me he wants my attention. Wants to be let out and come onto my shoulders or atleast play with him. My brother says he is fine when I am not around. Have to figure that out. I have also noticed he tends to tolerate men more than women. Women he can't tolerate at all. Dunno why. Mom says he must be gay. lol. However even with all that it's very rare to hear him growl anymore. He has become more tolerant of others, just not as much as with me. I can pretty much do whatever I want to him. I had hoped that he'd become more friendly with everyone else, because the more friendlier the bird the more people want to take care of it. It would play out in his favor. For example I am having a dilemma these days, I am to get to a wedding this winter and will be out for 3 weeks. Everyone's going. So I need to give him to someone to take care of him for that duration. But its gonna be tough on someone and him ofcourse. He doesn't take well to change at all. If he was friendly and out going many people would jump at the opportunity. But since everyone knows he's phobic, not many are willing to handle him. I have some friends who can keep him.

Here's a video of him from September 2012. Here's a video of him from September 2013. [video=youtube;nwEwR-Zyt-k]

Guys, I got an update. The parrot now likes to come out of the cage and onto my hand and shoulders! He doesn't bite me. But nibbles. Sometimes he does sort of bite, but no blood letting. He likes to climb onto the hand and then make his way towards my shoulder. From that point on he likes to be walked around. Sometimes he climbs down his cage and follows me around the house. He also now likes to be scratched and I can pretty much handle him any way I like. Took a long time but I got to this level in a year. He still however growls at most of my family. The other's can't really touch him because he is scared of them and growls at them. He is still phobic and likes the cage covered up if there are other family members around. If it's just me in my room he doesn't care at all and usually comes out and climbs upto my Computer chair. So with me he's really cool. With anyone else he's not so cool.

Just wanted to give an update. They grey now never growls at me. Shakes his head side to side for me and bobs it up and down when I goto him. Doesn't let me touch him though. Once in a while he climbs down his cage now and walks just a little bit about when I am around. He gets really excited with me around. He opens his wings little and almost looks like he will fly upto me. Everyone else in the house still gets his growl, although its gone down considerably. In the process I tend to get bitten now and then, but its no big deal. He doesn't bite hard and the few times he did, its ok. I am used to bites now. So, I am trying to gain some more trust so he will climb on my arm or hand. I have done a few step up exercises whenever he comes down on the floor and wants to get back up. He resists at first, but if I keep at it patiently he climbs up on the stick. So there has been definite progress with my Wild Grey. Will try to post a video of him.

I have a wild caught cag and he responds so well when he hears other birds. He is very unsocial. Hates humans. Is afraid of us. But i feel incredibly sorry for him. Because i try to imagine him getting plucked away from his flock. Put into shipping containers. Stuck there for god only knows how long and in what conditions. And the abuse he must have dealt with, by the people who have no feelings at all. And now he is in my care. When he whistles to those other birds i feel a pang of sorrow that he needs to be with his own. But i cannot make that happen. I feel an enormous responsibility to make his life as wonderful as i can. He has suffered enough. He is a little child and should be treated with love and Patience.

I believe its a Wild Caught Grey. I got it from a family who was leaving the country. They had him in a large cage in their garage and nobody could go near him and I believe he was NEVER let out of that large cage. He was with them for a year or so. But the previous owner also mentioned that he thought it was a Wild caught Grey - because he said it simply didn't want anything to do with us. I mean if you keep it locked up away from everyone in a garage, yeah even I wouldn't want anything to do with you! I've had it for 2 months now. We are making progress. Its hard, not just because of the Grey, but also because of my family. I want the Grey to be accepted just as much as I want it to accept not just me, but everyone. So far he only allows me near him. That too if I indulge myself too much, he will bow his head down, look at me and make one audible Click. That's my cue to get lost! That I have out stayed my welcome. seriously. lol. I then comply. what else can I do? Anyway. I need him in my life. He is my companion. And I guess that's why I accommodate him the most in my house. We humans are such socially dependent creatures. We fall in love with all sorts of things.

You are lucky. I got a Wild one and He just barely tolerates me. If I offer it anything he just flings it away. Likes to be alone. Hates people around him. Sigh. Oh well. Tis life. Our bonding is light years away from where almost all these forum members are.

My Grey is named "Motu" which translated literally means "Fatso". hahah. And he does seem sorta fat. lol.

My previous Grey would eat anything - except Pellets. My Wild Grey is stubborn and.. well.. Wild. So far He only eats Sunflower seeds and absolutely NO PELLETS. NO FRUITS. NO nothing else! My frustration level is pretty high. I have now resorted to grinding the pellets to fine power and mixing it up with the Sunflower seeds. And yes I know those seeds alone are unhealthy. So I've been reducing them. But He only eats them. No Pellets. and I don't have the heart to starve him to lull him into Eating pellets. I tried cucumbers, he just throws them away. I tried Carrots, he picks it up and flings it half way across the room. I tried green chilli and he just tears it up but never eats anything. I got Harrisons High Potency and what not. Even some Power Treats. But nothing works.

You guys are so lucky to get hand reared greys. Try your hand on those wild caught ones. Then you will know what struggle is. lol.

Yeah. I let go of most of my goals now and then. However sometimes I do steal a touch here and there. Like when I am moving things around inside his cage he is sitting perfectly on a perch and while moving his toys around I "accidently" sometimes touch his feet. lol. He doesn't growl at all now, but he does make a face like he is going to growl if I don't stop this this instant. Which I do. I never let it come to the growl part. I may push it but just enough to the point where I feel he is going to growl at me so I slowly pull away. Aah family. Its tough to control family. I probably have a better chance at Training Motu than my family. hahaha. But they all seem to understand that He is OK with just me. And I didn't do anything special other than just show a lot of patience and still do. I make a lot of effort to make him comfortable and in return he gives me special treatment. Never growls or rarely growls at me and my dad says his response to me is usually a soft whistle, while everyone else gets a harsh squawk!

This grey that I have is really scared. He growls at anyone who even looks at him. He tolerates me after weeks of talking to him softly, bringing him food/water and basically just giving him some time and not forcing myself on him. The other members of my family seem to lack patience. Or they've been spoiled by the previous Grey I used to have. That one was more.. social. Never growled in its life at anyone. Liked to roam around the entire house. Wake people up who were sleeping. Basically that one was incredibly social and playful. But this one's different. He growls at everyone and pretty much only I work with him the most and as everyone can tell around my house, he tolerates me the most. The rest get his growl. My ultimate goal is to get him to trust me to atleast let me touch him, give him a scratch, or if nothing at all; teach him to eat from hand. Basically I am training Him to be more receptive of humans. Because If something happens and I am not around and someone else has to take care of it, I don't think many humans will be as accommodating as I am to him. I want him to be friendly to people for his own good. Because I know also how harsh humans can also be. At this time He refuses to let go of the cage. I would give him more time and more toys to tempt him to explore just a little. I understand the cage is his safe haven. But the previous Grey I had, hated going IN the cage. That one was content riding around everyone's shoulders and climbing up everyone's legs. As a result when I was going out of the country I had volunteers lined up to take care of him. For this one, nobody wanted him. So its for his own good. I personally don't mind him being the way he is. My relationship is developing slowly and he is showing progress. But the goal is for him to be as friendly as possible. And he will be, eventually.

Alright. Things have been progressing relatively well. He usually does not growl at me that often anymore. Tolerates me around and inside his cage a lot. But only me. The rest get his infamous growl. My next task now is trying to get him to leave his cage. Currently he comes out of his cage and sits on a perch which is attached to his cage. If the perch isn't there he will just sit on top of the cage for hours on end. I need him to let go of his cage and explore his surroundings. I guess its still too early for that to happen. But still. Need to get his curiosity going. I've tried putting some sunflower seeds on a table close to his cage, but to no avail so far.

Wow! You Lucky man!

I think the original owner should be given a proposition of letting you keep Pip/larry. I had once fostered a Cockatoo and it became so much integrated in our family. Everyone enjoyed it's company. Then 2 years later the original owner came back and asked for it. I proposed to him that we are so attached to this bird and that he consider letting us keep it. And luckily he did.

Naah. That's not his full time cage. But its the one I had for a previous african grey and it's usually sitting close to the balcony. Here's the thing, he loves being there. He will quickly jump on the top of the cage, flap his wings, start making all sorts of bird noises. He really enjoys it. One day I saw him climbing up the Balcony door! Usually he spends the entire morning and afternoon lounging away on top of that cage in the sunlight coming thru. And if he sees another bird outside he gets really excited and makes all sorts of bird calls to it and wants to get out of the Balcony doors! Anyway. What I have begun to suspect is that he still doesn't include us in his flock. And he loves being near windows and does actively try to want to get out. Basically he wants to be as far away from us as possible. I've been working on him for the past month now. Now he growls at me the least in my family. Like yesterday I offered him a green chilli from my hand, holding it out to him like a stick. He immediately bit the other end and tore it off and thru it away, which I presume was a show of contempt to me. I held on to it so he took another bite and again threw it in the other direction. But he didn't growl or anything. THen I left it in front of him. Only then did he start eating it. But had it been anyone else he wouldn't even let them come near him. So he has begun to tolerate me a lot more. But to me its more like he is dictating me that He is the Alpha here and I am tolerable to be his peon. Oh well. I do agree that I need to keep him in a place where there are more people. The thing is when I do that he just goes back in the cage and refuses to come out even if the door is left open. Once again if its me around then he usually comes out, since I am his slave...

Thanks for all the compliments! You are too kind.

I have tried the pinch one treat at a time, he still growls. I've tried it through the bars and he still growls. Who knows, maybe it just requires more time. Its a lot of patience, I won't say a lot of work - because he likes to mind his own business and doesn't bother anyone at this point. He won't call for you, he won't talk to you, he won't ask for anything. You just have to let him out, re-fill his feeders and that's about it. Easy maintenance. But if you want more interaction - That is the patience part and currently you can forget about it. lol. I never push him. I think he enjoys this part of the house because its the furthest corner from all humans. If you all know of any exercises to ease him up I am all for it? I sometimes try the "Keep your palm on a part of the cage" technique. He growls but he stops. Then he is fixated on your palm. Any slight twitch of your finger and he will growl again. Anyway, this is still improvement over what he used to do. You couldn't even approach his cage within 4 feet!

Well here's a short video of me offering him some sunflower seeds. He loves these. But so far I haven't managed to get him to eat from hand or even through the cage. Btw. That is not his cage, It is an empty one sitting by our balcony that he likes to occupy from time to time. As you can see he's got quite a growl. I usually just offer him once and he growls and I let it go. But for the sake of this video I offered it a few times.

I am gonna try to post a video to show you guys what I am up against and what all I do wrong. So you guys get an idea of how "angry/scared" my bird really is. Here's a snapshot of him today.

Aww thanks. He did something new today. He climbed down from his cage. Went to the Aloe Vera plant I had growing close by and almost destroyed the whole thing! I dunno if he was after the aloe vera or something. So I guess atleast he's started doing his destruction around the house. So that's a positive sign. Now he is in exploratory mode. Still afraid of me and quickly climbs back up his cage when he sees me.

Twix! Long time no see. As you can tell I am happy these days. lol. I found a new CAG for Free! That's the good news. Its a hand me down from some people who were leaving the UAE for good. But he's sort of not that social. Like a complete opposite than what my first one was. Anyway, I don't wanna hijack someone's thread. See you around. Just thought I'd say hi.

My earlier grey somehow managed to get its foot stuck in the door. He started screaming like hell I ran to see what's up and found it. Luckily I too got it out really fast and it wasn't damaged at all. Take it to a vet in the morning. What i've learned is that these birds are really fragile creatures. You have to be quick when you spot an issue with them.

His name is Motu. Its a slang for being Fat and lazy. Oh he is scared or apprehensive alright. If he is out of the cage, sitting on top of it and he sees anyone approaching from 20 feet away he starts getting all agitated. Doesn't scream anymore but he does start shivering. So you have to approach him really slowly - no sudden movements of your hands or feet. I usually talk to him softly while approaching him. That eases him just a little. I have taken away all of his Sunflower seeds and he is now on a Harrison's pellet diet. What I've noticed is that he is willing to do some extra work for a little bit of sunflower seeds. He absolutely loves them. So he has become just a tad bit bolder. So I decided to get a tad bit bolder myself and tried to feed him by hand. I poured a few seeds on my hand and slowly offered it to him. He immediately growled and moved back. I kept my hand really still in front of him, like 5 or 6 inches away. He stopped growling but would not approach it. Although I could tell he really wanted those sunflower seeds. lol. He is really scared bird. He will growl if you put your palm anywhere on his cage. But just for a while and then he would be glued watching your hand and any tiniest of movement of your fingers and he will growl again. Its really a game of patience between me and him. Some days I too get impatient with him and some days it he surprises me just a little. Like I said, as long as he keeps showing some little improvements I am all game. Here's hoping.