Tyson'sMom

I'm glad I thought of it! If Tyson gets that way again, I know I can crate him if he stops eating and drinking. Tyson's doing ok today. I think he was going without sleep as well, because he's spending a fair bit of time sleeping today. He's quieter and less active than usual, but I'd be the same way if I'd been hanging upside down for two days! He's eating and drinking as well.

Tyson is approximately 10 years old according to the vet. He's a rescue so we don't know his exact age.

Last night I decided to try the crate with Tyson, as I didn't want to leave him for another night without water. As soon as he was in the crate, Tyson went straight for his water bowl and drank, a lot. Then I offered him his favourite treat (apple chunks) and he eagerly accepted them. So, he spent the night in the crate with the water and a dish of pellets. The pellets were gone this morning. I put him back in his cage, so far no hanging and he went straight to sleep. I'll keep an eye on him and if he starts the hanging/no eating behaviour again, back to the crate and I'll call the vet.

Thanks, that was my concern as well. He's still hanging upside down and fluttering his wings, even in the dark with his cage covered, and hasn't taken a drop of water or food. I'm calling the vet first thing tomorrow. I'm also thinking of putting him temporarily in a plastic travel crate with food and water dishes, that way he'll be physically prevented from hanging upside down and may decide to take some water at least. I'll wait until tomorrow to avoid disturbing him when he's *supposed* to be sleeping.

Two mornings ago I found Tyson hanging upside down in his cage, making distinctive high-pitched calls. The last time I heard those calls he was hormonal. Since then he has remained hanging upside down, quivering his wings, refusing to stand on a perch even to defecate. He's now covered in his own feces and refuses to eat or drink anything. All he wants to do is hang upside down quivering or flapping his wings, and trying to mate with anything within reach. I've removed all hanging toys that he was mating with, but he remains hanging upside down trying to mate with the sides of the cage. He was never this bad during previous hormone cycles. I'm concerned that he'll get sick if he doesn't start eating and drinking, and doesn't stop pooping all over himself. What can I do to address this behaviour? At what point should I be taking him to a vet? I read that Lupron is sometimes used to control severe hormonal behaviour.

Thanks for the answers everyone! Tyson loves to shred newspapers, so I'll try hanging some big ribbons of paper on his play stand to see if that piques his interest. I will also put some pellets in the dish on the stand (on vet's orders he gets a measured ration of pellets twice a day). He already goes through quite a process to climb down from his stand to my lap (stand-base-lamp-couch-me) so I'll put him there more often after short head rub periods so he'll climb more. He does resist being picked up when he's getting his head rub, up to and including bites. My rule is "bite hard and you go right back into your cage" and I have a wood perch I use to enforce that rather than getting bitten again. Tyson is very familiar with the "step up" command (he even says "step up!" when he wants to be picked up) but will refuse to comply when he doesn't feel like being picked up. He does play quite vigorously with toys in his cage, including swinging from the ceiling to bat them around. I will bring his favourite toys out and try them on his stand when he's out. I look forward to the time when Tyson can be more independent. Right now I can't have him out of his cage for more than an hour or two at a time because I have to give him 100% attention, and I just don't have time to spend doing this for several hours per day. Also I have a couple of cats who ignore Tyson when he's on the stand or cage, but approach him when he's on my lap, so I have to shut them away, which isn't fair to them.

Tyson has a lot in common with Kaleah, he's a plucker too and he's extremely bonded to me. He has also had other homes before he came to me. I know where you're coming from re the rehoming, the screaming can really drive you nuts! That's where the earplugs come in. Tyson still screams a few times a day, even when I'm sitting in the living room a few feet from his cage. That's when I put the earplugs in. You can get foam ones at most drug stores. They don't totally cancel out all noise, but they sure take the edge off of the screaming, and make it easier to ignore. I completely ignore Tyson when he screams - I don't even turn my head towards him. If I'm whistling or talking to him and he starts screaming, I stop, or even leave the room. I think it's also important to remember to reply in some way every time Kaleah makes the kind of noise you're OK with. It could be a whistle, a few words or even a small food treat. That reinforces the good noises and gives her a reason to make an acceptable noise, when she's in the mood to make noise. I also make sounds to Tyson when he's being quiet. I don't allow Tyson on my shoulder. I'm afraid he'll bite my ear or face, even though he's never bitten me hard. He is cage aggressive, though. He sits in my lap and bugs me for head rubs for the whole time he's out of his cage. In spring and summer he regurgitates as well. Now that there's less light he's stopped doing it. I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do with him out of his cage, so I posted another thread asking about it. He only plays with toys inside his cage. Try the earplugs if you can, or leave the room. I live in a small apartment so I can't go too far, that's why I got the earplugs. Hopefully if you follow the strict rule "scream = no attention, good noise/quiet = reply" Kaleah will start to get better.

I try to make sure Tyson gets plenty of time out of his cage, but when he's out, I don't really know what to do with him. All he seems to want to do is snuggle in my lap and get his head stroked. If I stop stroking his head he gently grabs my finger and pushes his bowed head into my hand until I start stroking him again. He's not regurgitating, though he does this in the spring and summer time. He just loves having his head stroked. He'll spend hours at it if I let him. I have a play gym and a perch stand for Tyson. He won't even perch on the play gym (I think it's too high on top of his cage). He will sit on the stand for short periods, then he climbs down the stand and comes back to me looking for more strokes. He has no interest in toys, even familiar ones. He will literally fling them away with his bill and scream at them. Food treats are also out of the question - he refuses to eat anything while he's out of his cage. He's not food-motivated and it's very difficult to get him to try new foods. The vet says Tyson is fat, and he refuses to fly even though his wings aren't clipped. I've tried getting him to flap as the vet suggested, by bobbing my hand up and down when he's perched on it. He just grabs my hand with his bill. I don't mind stroking Tyson's head for a while, but I'd like him to find things to do on his own while he's out of his cage, like stay on his perch or gym and play with toys or climb - or flap his wings. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get him to do these things, or ideas on other things I can get him to do?

Tyson used to scream constantly, to the point where I was considering rehoming him. I couldn't understand why all he was doing was screaming when he knows how to make so many other sounds. But after reading posts here and doing research online I realized that the screaming was my own fault. The screams were hurting my ears, and I would immediately respond with anger by yelling at Tyson or even spraying him with a squirt bottle if it got really bad. If he was quiet or made whistling or speaking sounds I'd ignore him. By doing those things I was making the screaming worse. I think parrots can be like attention-starved children - any kind of attention, even negative, is better than no attention at all. I started to use ear plugs and ignore the screams. If he makes piercing sounds that hurt my ears I completely ignore him, I won't even look at him. If he whistles, speaks or makes other desirable sounds, I reply with a similar noise. It only took a few days for Tyson's screaming to almost disappear. I realize that parrots scream naturally and I will hear a few screams, but the key is to only reply to the sounds I want to hear. I've started singing to Tyson and he seems to enjoy that, and has been trying to sing back. Sometimes he will scream, then when I ignore him he switches immediately to whistling or speaking. I find I don't have to use the ear plugs much anymore.

I asked my vet about spraying Tyson, since he's a plucker. I thought maybe adding aloe or something to his spray water might help. I was told to just use pure water, topical products on the feathers aren't absorbed anyway, though the bird can ingest the residue when they preen. I'd NEVER use aloe vera to spray my bird, apparently it's toxic to dogs and cats, so why wouldn't it be toxic if my bird ingests it from his feathers? Even minute amounts might build up over time IMO.

Thanks everyone! I plan to come back to this thread and post any updates. I hope it will be informative and useful if anyone else encounters "beak alignment" problems in the future!

I just took Tyson to the avian vet for the first time since I adopted him. This is my first experience with this particular vet. They have given me a list of the wellness tests they want to run. The total cost of all of these tests at the same time would be about $650, which I can't afford. I plan to get one or two done at a time on subsequent visits instead. Which of these tests should be done first? Are they all mandatory? If not, which aren't? Here's the list: Avian Comp Profile+BA (resting)+PEP Fecal Grams Stain & Cytology Chlamydophila PCR Swab Bornavirus (PDD) Test They also charge additional "specimen collection and process fees" for a couple of these tests, is that normal? Thanks!

Tyson the CAG came to live with me in mid-Feb of this year (2013). He's my first parrot since the TAG I had in the late eighties. He had been in at least two homes before he came to me. He's 8 years old. When I first got him, the only "different" thing I noticed about him physically was that he plucks his upper neck and a couple of chunks on his wings (shoulders). After a few weeks, I noticed the two mandibles of Tyson's beak were starting to cross, with the lower mandible getting pretty long, since the tip wasn't in contact with his upper beak. (BTW feel free to correct me if "mandible" isn't the right word!") I finally took him to the vet a couple of days ago, thinking he just needed a beak trim. According to the previous owner, Tyson hadn't seen a vet since 2010! And it wasn't an avian vet. The previous owner owned and bred other large parrots, now I think she trimmed Tyson's beak herself just before I bought him, so I wouldn't notice the problem. Right away my vet noticed Tyson's beak has some signs of deformity from a long time ago. His lower mandible is wider than normal, and is "dented" on his right side, near the "root" of the beak. There's even a notch there. His upper beak has a bump that looks like at one time it was either cut way too short or broken off. Tyson holds his lower "jaw" crookedly to one side, the vet thinks this is due to either muscle/tendon damage or habit caused by the shape of the beak. My vet said that in over 10 years in avian practice she has never seen a case like Tyson's! She took photos and plans on consulting with other vets online, to figure out the best way to correct or minimize the problem. Then she spent about half an hour carefully grinding Tyson's lower beak. She couldn't do as much on the right (dented) side because the beak is thinner there. She told me she's not sure what could cause this deformity because it's one-sided, but she suspects trauma or a viral infection. Now the beak is not perfect, but it's a lot better and Tyson is able to close his bill properly - though he still holds the lower beak a bit to one side. I've been told to give him plenty of things to chew, like nuts, sticks with bark etc. to try to strengthen the weaker muscles on one side of his beak. The vet wants me to take him in again in 2 weeks so they can see how he's doing and if more shaping is needed. I was also told that they may have to wire Tyson's beak to get it back into shape, like braces on a person's teeth. I wonder if anyone else here has had similar issues with their bird? How did things turn out and did it take a long time to fix the problem? Here's Tyson getting his cuddles last night. You can see the notch (vertical line) in his lower bill near the "root". Note that his lower bill tip is overlapping the upper bill a bit, as well.

I've seen lots of TV shows and articles that say a major indicator of intelligence is the ability to use tools. For example, last week I was watching a PBS doc about crows using sticks to gather their food. Today I saw Tyson using a tool. He climbed down to the bottom of his cage and came back up with a large flight feather which he must have shed. Once he was back on his perch, Tyson took the feather in his foot and rotated it around so that the quill was facing him. He then began using it to scratch himself on the head, neck and upper back. He did this for some time, then finally dropped the feather and preened the rest of his body in the usual way. So there you go - Tyson used a feather to give himself the spa treatment!

Welcome Baz, I can relate to not knowing what the eff to do with your parrot, and being a bit afraid of him. I just adopted my 8 year old Grey, Tyson, two weeks ago. Re knowing what to do with him, that depends partially on your parrot's background and status, for instance is he tame? If so, once he settles down you'll be able to let him out of his cage for some time every day for play time. In the meantime I suggest you follow the advice of the experienced members of this forum if you have questions about cage setup/location, toys, feeding etc. and just work on getting to know him. One thing I've learned NOT to do is stick my fingers between the bars of Tyson's cage - even though he's tame, he WILL bite! I put Tyson's cage against a wall in the room where I spend most of my time, the living room. I talk to him, make noises to him and respond to the sounds he makes. As time goes on you will learn to recognize the meaning of many sounds your bird makes. For instance, what sounds like an alarmed scream can sometimes be a contact call, where the bird is trying to establish contact with you as a flock member. He may choose a sound to make only when he sees you enter the room or walk by his cage. Re being afraid of him - once you get to know your bird a bit better you won't fear him as much. However, it's important to respect him! Yes they can inflict pretty nasty bites when they want to, not to mention the ear-shattering screams. But there's a lot of info out there on how to minimize biting and screaming, including by asking questions here. Good luck with your new Grey, and I hope you will keep us updated on how the two of you are doing!

I'm thinking of getting a steam mop for my floors, as it doesn't need soap. Anyone ever tried one of these around their birds' cages? I've heard conflicting reports as to whether they do a good job.

Tyson has been with me for almost two weeks now and I've learned a lot about his intelligence and his behaviour. Re loud sounds (screeches, etc.). I was in fear of these at first, because I live in an apartment, even though there are other large parrots in my building and I obtained landlord's written permission before adopting Tyson. I've learned that Tyson makes two types of loud noises. Firstly, he makes what I call "purposeless" noises. Really they're sounds he makes because he's feeling bored or just wants attention. I found that if I just ignore these sounds and/or leave the room, Tyson will stop making them and switch to quieter sounds. I try to encourage quieter sounds like talking, whistling etc. by responding to them. So, if he wants attention he now knows to make sounds I respond positively to. Since he came to live with me, Tyson makes these head-ringing noises a lot less often! Next, there are the purposeful loud noises. The most frequent (and irritating) sound Tyson makes is a loud, piercing telephone ringing sound. It's extremely convincing (even though my phone doesn't sound like this) and sometimes I get the urge to answer it! But - Tyson only makes this noise under certain circumstances. It's his morning wake-up Mommy alarm call. Tyson's cage is at the opposite end of my apartment from my bedroom, so he's making sure I can hear him. He will also use this call occasionally if I spend too much time in the bathroom. Since I know this call has a purpose ("reach out and touch someone"? like the old long distance commercials) I do respond to it verbally. As soon as he gets that response, Tyson will stop the phone sound. Finally there are expressions like "Good Morning!" I always knew that birds know what this and other phrases mean (or at least they associate their own meaning with it) but Tyson proved today that he knows how to use it appropriately. He normally only says Good Morning to me only when we first get up in the morning. This afternoon, however, I fell asleep on the couch. It started getting dark outside, and I normally take the dogs out and feed everyone around that time. I was awakened by a little voice insistently repeating "Good Morning!! Good Morning!! Good Morning!". Even after I groggily replied "Good morning", Tyson wouldn't stop repeating it until I sat up and turned the light on. Then he began his usual whistles, chirps and other favourite sounds and phrases.

Re the noisy moments - I'm hoping that if I ignore the particularly annoying/piercing sounds and reply to the quieter sounds, Tyson will take the hint and make fewer annoying sounds. The worst one is his telephone noise. If I had a home phone (I only use a cell phone) I'd be rushing to answer Tyson! Luckily he only uses this noise as a wake-up call, and if he REALLY wants to get my attention. I just reply by saying quietly "nobody's home."

I just plan on taking Tyson out of the cage because I think there are enough advantages to justify this. For instance, I can put my hands in his cage for maintenance and not worry about being bitten. I don't think it really has to do with being "the boss". I've never considered training parrots as bossing them around, like you might do with certain "alpha" dogs. I'd rather learn to relate with my parrot as an equal and a flock member by learning what the parrot reacts positively to. Tonight I had another learning experience. It seems Tyson is accustomed to riding on shoulders! I had taken him out and was talking to him on my hand, and walking around the apartment with him. He seemed quite at ease, he ground his bill a few times and then lowered his head to be scratched. But right after I scratched him, Tyson ran up my arm and onto my shoulder. I was rather nervous at first but he made no sounds and didn't try to nibble anything. When I put my hand up there to get him down, he lowered his head for scratches again. I let him stay up there for a few minutes, but then I tipped him off into his cage. I don't have a problem with a trustworthy bird riding on my shoulder, but I barely know Tyson and I'd rather get to know him better before I let him back up there again.

Re letting Tyson come out of his cage on his own, the previous owner warned me in strongest terms never to do this. She said it would make Tyson think he's the boss. I guess different people have their own opinions on this subject. I am guessing Tyson is used to having people reach into his cage and bring him out. I didn't get the impression he was scared or upset when I reached in. I am willing to do it either way as long as there's no harm to Tyson. Tyson's cage is in the middle of the living room and that's where I spend 90% of my time. We can see each other for most of the day. When he whistles and speaks, I reply to him, sometimes I approach his cage. He makes the wolf whistle whenever I walk by his cage, so I guess this is the "word" he has assigned to me. When the dog or cat approach his cage, he belches. To me he seems happy so far - he is eating and drinking, climbing and swinging around his cage playing with his toys, and chattering away. Every day he says new words or makes new noises. I am guessing Tyson likes having company in the room, but I'd like him to have out of cage time too. I will buy him a playstand, and I also have a shower perch for him to use in future once he's settled in here.

In the Welcome board I posted about my new friend, Tyson the 8 year old CAG. He has been with me since Saturday (3 days). During that time I've been letting him get used to his new home and chatting with him through the cage bars. Finally yesterday I decided to try getting him to perch on my hand, since the former owner said he's used to coming out of his cage every day. I put my hand in front of his feet and asked Tyson to step up. He mouthed my hand gently a few times, then stepped up on my hand with no trouble. I brought him slowly out of the cage; he showed no sign of being upset. So, I walked with him around the room, talked to him, and let him have a look around. Tyson made no attempt to flee, just sat calmly on my hand. I brought him to the window to watch the busy highway outside and he seemed interested in the motion outside. I then took Tyson back to his cage. I'd like to bring Tyson out every day, but I'm not sure what to do with him! He has a play gym on top of his cage, but the cage is very tall and the former owner told me he doesn't like that play gym. Tyson's wings aren't clipped but I'm told he doesn't fly, preferring to walk on the floor. Should I just let him walk on the floor? (I have dogs and cats, but would shut them in another room while Tyson is out).

Actually it's a lot quieter here than Tyson's old home, which had dogs, other birds, and small children poking their fingers through the bars of his cage! The former owner was the one who suggested that I try picking him up after a few hours, she seemed to think he'd be lonely if I didn't. I get the impression he was a "family" bird and was used to a lot of interaction in a busy household. I live alone with my cats and dogs, and have very few if any visitors. My own animals are curious but not pushy. After Tyson first arrived the two cats took turns checking out the bird, but once they'd seen what was in the cage they lost interest. My Chihuahua walked around the cage on her hind legs, but she was quiet. In fact Tyson made all the noise, he climbed down to take a closer look, then belched a couple of times. My other dog seems to be afraid of Tyson and stays away. Today I have been restricting my contact with Tyson to vocalizations. I let him start, he usually starts with a kiss noise or a wolf whistle, then phrases like "Hello" (in both male and female voices) and "Peekaboo!" in a child's voice. He says other things I can't make out. Tyson seems to really enjoy these vocal exchanges. Sometimes I will approach his cage to talk to him, and he will climb up on the bars in front of me. I guess this means he's not afraid to be close to me. So, how do I tell when it's time to try taking Tyson out of his cage? In general, how can I tell he's beginning to trust me?

Today I just brought Tyson home. He's a rehomed 8 year old DNA male Grey. I am at least his third owner. The (breeder) I bought him from told me he has learned a lot of noises and words in a foreign language (she thinks Arabic) from prior owners. Tyson has a bit of a plucking problem as well, he has a bald patch on his neck and upper chest. Since he's been here I've noticed a few feathers on the bottom of his cage. Breeder says she thinks it's because nobody so far has had enough time to spend with Tyson. I don't work outside my home and have plenty of time to spend with Tyson, but I'm not all that experienced. I had budgies as a child, then in my twenties I had a TAG who I think was wild-caught. I've been doing a LOT of homework here and on other sites. I'm sure I will have plenty of questions. Tyson seems to be doing ok so far here. He does not move away or growl when I approach his cage, in fact his favourite thiing is to belch "Urrrrp-ahh!" I had to laugh watching him go to the bottom of the cage to burp at the cat and dog when they came to check him out! Tyson loves to make noises back and forth with me, whistles and words and clicks. But, if I leave the room for a few minutes, the huge telephone rings! I guess he wants me to answer him - but I don't want to encourage this loud noise! I tried to pick Tyler up on my hand but he was having none of it. He just stood there and wouldn't move, even when I pushed gently on his lower belly. I have to admit that when the beak came down I jerked my hand back because I was nervous. I will have to try again tomorrow and not worry if he's going to bite. So hopefully having more time with me will give Tyson a happier home! Right now he is eating and drinking and obviously settling down.