Twizzle the naughty bird

[twizzle]

We have just bought twizzle a 3 year old male grey. We have had him nearly two weeks and when i bought him he was really tame with his owner. We give him treats on regular occasions and we have no trouble feeding him even with the door open. We have had the cage open most nights (with mirror and windows covered) and he dosnt come out. We coaxed him out last night and he was quite happy just sat there for 5 HOURS but when it was time for bed he wouldnt go back in. He bites us and growls at us. We are worried because the only way to get him in was with a blanket through the top and he didnt like it at all he was squalking and squeeling! Today he has gone back to totally not trusting us and seems off. I expect he is tired as i am we were up till 2am trying to coax him in with treats. He has never trusted us to step up and bites us when we go near him but i dont want to keep him cooped up in his cage. Should we let him out?

 

I have read other threads and read lots of books and grew up with one with my nan but twizzle is a caracter of his own and would just like a bit of EXTRA advise on this subject inparticular

[Jayd]

Thank you and welcome, and welcome for getting a older Gray. Yes, keep your cage open when your around, sit by him and talk, or read or sing to him. It will take a while to gain a older Grey's trust, thers some wonderful currart post's and threads about getting your Grey back into his cage....

[Malikah]

I love his name! Miss Kito sometimes is a pistol about going back into her cage at night too. If I turn off the TV and most of the lights like I am going to bed she's a lot more agreeable. I also gave her a little cardboard box with a piece of baby blanket in it and she likes to sleep in there. Good luck!

[Coral&Andrew]

hey welcome here, we had sort of the same problem as you, we had Georgia for about a day and a half we let her out about 4 in the affternoon and she went in at 6 , and then gone 10 at night she was at the bottom of the cage making like scratching noises with her feet and i said to my BF she wants to come out and we made the mistake getting her out at 10, she didnt go back in till 3am we tried to give her treats but obviously she had eaten all day so she wasnt intrested now we have got her in a routine where she she comes out every affternoon and whilst shes out i take her food pot out, when shes out for about 2-4 hours i top her food up with treats and what she likes, she flys back on top of the cage and then she goes back inside.

[twizzle]

thank you all for your helfull replies. i have put a perch in the cage for him to get used to and ill try taking his bowls out when he is out and put some treats in in for when he goes back in.

 

george

[danmcq]

Hi george and welcome!

 

The trust level just went to zero with the blanketing to get twizzle back in the cage. It is going to just take time, love and patience to regain trust. The others gave good comments regarding this as well.

[judygram]

Hello George and welcome to our family, so glad to hear you have given Twizzle a new home.

The others have given you some good advice, you have to realize this is an older bird who already has developed his individual personality with a little baggage and it will take time for him to come to trust you and bond with you, it takes longer with an older bird versus a baby grey. You will have to be patient with him as trust has to be earned and it can't be rushed.

You have suffered a setback with toweling him to get him back into the cage but all is not lost, just go back to square one and start over, when you are ready to get him back into his cage put a couple of treats in his bowl and do not feed him outside of the cage so he has to go back inside to get food and water.

You will also find lots of helpful advice in our many threads so do read thru them.

We would love to see some pictures of Twizzle when you get the chance to share some.

[twizzle]

thanks for the advise. i thought the towel would be a bad idea but it was nearly 3am and with no joy getting him back in after 5 hours. he had no food whilst out but started sleeping on the top of the cage. he is taking treats from us again but dont want to let him out again, i dont want another set back. I spoke to the previouse owner today and he said he never let the bird out in 3 years but was still very tame. I will try and teach him the step up before i let him out again. Thanks all

GEORGE

[Greywings]

This poor guy has not been out in all that time I woud allow him out but only provide food inside the cage, he will go back inside when hungry and thirsty they are smart birds. Fear of being shut in with no understanding that he might get out again-that is some of his baggage right now as he had a taste of being out. Patience and small steps to gain his trust trying not to force him into anything and do reward what he does to cooperate.

[katana600]

My best luck at getting my little wildcat into her cage early on was only to let her out after dark so I could turn the lights off in all the rooms except the one we were in. Then, every night at the same time we let her out and got into a routine of putting her back in the same predictable time period, with an almond for her night time snack. Soon, if we just asked if she wanted an almond, she would go get right into her cage. It is a predictable routine and for her to know what to expect that I think helped us the most.

[tbird]

Welcome George,

Patience Just patience that is all it takes............

[twizzle]

I will give the almond thing a go.

Thanks

[twizzle]

hi its now been months and still no joy. I have bought him a bigger cage and spend hours and hours talking singing and dancing for him and he still dont like us. HELP

[danmcq]

Could you perhaps expand in detail of how he is acting and what you are doing? A little more information would help tons.

[chezron]

Sometimes when it is difficult to get my bird to get into his cage, I turn off ALL the lights and he readily steps up. Birds do not see well at night and feel more defenseless when it is dark. You might give it a try. Also, try to make all your interactions with the bird positive. As prior posts mention, singing and reading to your new bird would be helpful. Always try to figure out how to get your bird to do things willingly. Use toys or food to get them to choose the right behavior. Careful observance really helps you in this regard. Good luck and keep us posted.