Handling baby TAG

[Karcar]

I wasn't sure where to place this post, Training seemed like the most logical.

Anyway I have a TAG who is now about 14 weeks old she is just now weaned. I finished hand feeding her I have hand fed lots of birds so that wasn't an issue, but I almost feel like this was a parent fed bird that got pulled from the nest and sold to me as a hand fed bird, she is WILD, I am using a hand held perch to pick her up when I get lucky that is, You should see me I am black and blue and when she bites down it is for blood. I need some advice on how to go about calming her and getting her use to my hands. I have a Zon that I am clicker training and I have taken classes online about positive reinforcement with bird training but she is too young for all of this I know she is still unsteady and uses her beck for balance but when she sees me reaching toward her she gears up to bite, to make matters worse I just had her to the Vet and she had a bacteria infection that I have to give her meds for twice a day, so she hates me for that too, lol.......HELP

Karen

[Dave007]

""but I almost feel like this was a parent fed bird that got pulled from the nest and sold to me as a hand fed bird, she is WILD,""

 

This is just to make you understand what you've got there----

 

All parrots are wild and will remain wild throughout their whole lives whether they live indoors with people and outside with other members of a flock.

As far as *pulled from the nest*, parrots that stay with the parents for a long period of time are the most well rounded types of parrots. The longer they're with the parents, the more they'll learn about being a parrot so being with the parents is a good thing. Whether the baby parrot was fed by the parents or by the seller of the bird makes no difference at all as far as what he's doing right now. It's simply the way he's reacting towards things concerning stepping up. At his age, the biting is defensive. As you just described, she's still unsteady and may not be quite ready to take on the chore of learning different things. A bird who is being hand fed by a person isn't the same bird after he's weaned and independent. It's at that point that he/she must get used to many things that he already knew about as an unweaned bird. He needs to get used to many of those same things as an independent bird. Your bird is still a very tiny baby.

[Jayd]

Thanks Dave...................

[Karcar]

Thank you, Dave. I just want to make sure I'm not doing anything to pro-long the adjustment. I know it is a step at a time, but your words are very encouraging

Thanks again, Karen

[danmcq]

Dave always gives great and true comments from his decades of experience as a Grey breeder.

 

I can comment a little on this in a little different perspective of watching clutches of Grey babies go from hand feeding to leaving to a new home with a new owner. Everyone of the Greys I have watched reach that weaned and leaving stage had a different personality. Some were cuddle muffins, some will sit on you and preen, but not so much touching and lastly some were stand-offish and did not show any desire to be stepped-up or handled other than by the breeders themselves and sometimes that was a challenge once they were 10 to 12 weeks old at times.

 

Your new baby grey is still very much a baby, just not a cuddle muffin. It is going to need you to slow down to it's pace and respect it's space. It's is going to be a slower process with him becoming comfortable in the new home, cage, flock and maybe other critters in the home. Once the anxiety of all these new things reduces a bit. You will see him a little less anxious and more curious about getting closer and possibly some touching or stepping up interactions.

 

I know most the stories everyone reads of people bringing home their cuddle muffin babies and thinks that is how they all are, but to be truthful, there are many with the same anxiety levels as yours and those new owners must deal with it in terms of love and patience in large quantities. Otherwise the baby ends up in a rescue in 12 months because the new owners say the bird was uncontrollable and a biter. This is probably true, but the reality is, they made the condition worse, by not respecting and working with him. They feed off of emotions and are very empathic. This is what they use to survive in the wild and it is still intact to it's fullest extent.

 

Just give your new baby lots of time, space, patience and love. It will work wonders on how your new baby perceives his new world with you.

[Karcar]

I know that all things worth while takes time and patience and I am more than willing to give my new baby all the time it needs. I just want to make sure I am doing all the right things. This is a great forum with people that have much more wisdom than I , I am so glad I happen to find all of you, Thanks Danmcq

[judygram]

Those are the two things we preach here, time and patience for without both you are not meant for grey ownership, trust and bonding with your grey is not something you can rush, it takes time and lots of patience to earn it and it must be earned.

[Azzie]

Just to add to what Judy said about patience and trust being earnt... My Cleo is almost 2 now, and I've had her since she was about 4 months old. We bonded well, and trust has continued to grow over this time. It has only been in the last 10 days or so that she has felt confident enough to lie on her back, belly up, kicking her big feet and playing with me that way. This going belly-up is something she initiated during our play and wrestle time together, and as you see, it has taken a long time for her to get to this stage.