adopting an elder w attitude???

[bigbird519]

so i posted a thread in the nursery yesterday about the going rate for a CAG in dif areas, it was mentioned that maybe i should adopt a rescue. My wife came home from work yest and informed me of one of her frreinds that can't keep her CAG anymore. The gal actually rescued the bird from a very crappy situation. He is older (not sure of the age yet), and not handleable. was abused by the original owners. has anyone in here ever taken in a bird with major trust issues? and is it possible to earn there trust to a point of being able to handle them? I do have Mojo, and i figure that the other grey would eventually come around to being trusting if he see's my interactions with Mojo (who is over trusting in me).

Is this a possible Cag that could be added to the home??? I am now unempoloyed so time with him would not be an issue.

[bigbird519]

just got alittle more info.....

 

He has not been out of his cage in 3 yrs. He was abused by the previous owner, to the point that he hates human contact and the current owner basically stole him from the enviroment. the current owner also has a cockatoo, and due to a move they cannot keep them. I am going to try to set up a meeting with him and find out more.

[Ray P]

You have one grey that you have done a good with and with time I`m sure you could do the same for this one to. It just takes time to build trust.

You have had a good start. Just work on building trust and I bet it will work out

[thenabrd]

first make sure that the law isn't after the person who stole him, even though it was needed. i've read lots of posts here from folks that have rehomed older very abused birds, not just greys. i think if you've got the time it will work out. i know you've got the heart and love to do it! the biggest thing is allowing as much time as necessary for trust to grow in the new bird, because it could take months, maybe even a year or so. i did lots of web surfing when the opportunity came along to rehome kallie. i found this place and i've seen posts from those that have rehomed, so i know you'll get lots and lots of great info!! good luck

[bigbird519]

lol yeah the law is not involved in any way here.

 

so it is possible to gain the trust of a bird that is older who has never trusted before? obvisiouly i am going to have to see if they are even willing to seperate the two birds, then i need to get some kind of agreement with the wife as to if we will even be the ones to take him in.... lol

 

i am not too fearful of getting bit, and i am home all the time now so i am sure that if i don't push myself on him he should come around, and if that happens...WOW that would be a Greyt relationship.

[thenabrd]

try typing in rehomed, adopted, abused, etc into the search feature up top and that will take you to posts with those words in them and see if you can find some of the info you're looking for!

[MarcusCAG]

He has not been out of his cage in 3 yrs. He was abused by the previous owner, to the point that he hates human contact and the current owner basically stole him from the enviroment. the current owner also has a cockatoo, and due to a move they cannot keep them.

 

I'm sorry to hear about that situation.

 

In answer to your initial question, though, YES it is very possible to rehome an older Grey that has been abused/neglected and in time develop a wonderful relationship with them. Our Marcus has a somewhat similar background to this Grey you're thinking of adopting: He's been in a few households in his eight years, the last one seemed attentive enough (clean cage, regular feedings) but he had not been taken out of his cage in three years because the woman who cared for him was very afraid of his bite. Before that, he apparently belonged to the woman's son, but he spent a few years out on his back porch and we got the impression had very little interaction with humans then, too. On top of that, when we adopted Marcus we found out that he had been traumatized by a man (presumably the adult son) because whenever we tried to get him to step-up, he would throw these scary little fits and yell in a big man's voice and stamp his little foot around. Even though he still will not willingly step up for us except on rare occasions, at least Marcus doesn't throw those fits anymore...

 

But he's really come around in the time we've had him, about six months now. I think the influence of Beaker, our Quaker parrot, has been a good thing; they're not buddy-buddy or anything but they definitely do enjoy each other's company in their shared 'bedroom'. And Marcus is just blooming under our doting love and attention! He was picky about my homemade food and pellets in the beginning (he was on a diet of strange, colorful bird food that looked rather like kiddie cereal) but now eats them with relish, his vocabulary is just growing and growing, and he loves head-tickles and being kissed on his beak and he LOVES it when I sing to him. You can tell he is just so happy. :) And even though there's still a lot to work on even in terms of his issues with being directly handled (like a step-up), I do feel that with enough time we'll overcome that hurdle too. So even though I only have the experience of Marcus to share and speak from, I think that if you do end up adopting this other Grey, in time you both will be able to develop a lovely, trusting relationship, as well.

[Jayd]

2nd of 2 post's

 

 

 

I hope this will help, we'll be doing a update on Joey and Tango in the next few days.... Go for it!!!!, It's wonderful...[sorry about the bold, key stuck....]

Rescue #1 JOEY

Joey: Congo African Grey Parrot

Present Age: Four years old

Abuse Type: Mental and Severe Psychological (No visible sign of Physical abuse)

Background:

We know the pet store that Joey had originally been purchased from. He had been weaned and clipped, never allowed to fly. For the next two years we had no record and we have not been able to speak to the previous owners. After purchasing Joey and with some help also with help from Joey himself, we have been able piece together some of his past history and his previous owners.

His previous owners were a well-established young couple. The female was never fond of any types of pets, did not fit her lifestyle. Joey had favored the male and there had been a bonding but it wasn’t a healthy bonding. Shortly after getting Joey, which brought problems to the marriage, the male was more interested in maintaining harmony than integrating Joey.

This brought about bickering over Joey between the two owners with the female getting more and more agitated, putting him in a small room by himself, being ignored by both of them except for cage cleaning, food and water. There was a lot of arguments that took place within earshot of Joey, possible marital abuse, yelling at Joey by both of them, cage being tapped, arguments about whether to keep Joey or get rid of him.

At this point, the owners decided, (not mutually) to get rid of Joey. So, at this point, Joey and his cage was taken to a pet store where the owner agreed to hold him for awhile and let Joeys owners visit him for a while (which was wrong). They only visited him three times over the next six months, arguing in his presence each time. At this point in time, we took Joey into our hearts and home.

 

The Homecoming:

We didn’t know this young Grey’s name, so we called him Jim (Kirk) to go along with Spock. At this time, we had enough birds for everyone in the city. He was a quiet bird and would sit in his cage in the back and be soundless. He would let you change his water and food (he had been on seeds only diet). He would also shake if you came near the cage and would constantly head-search while chewing his toe-nails. He was extremely neurotic…he was a small bird and looked like he might have been stunted from lack of a proper diet. We introduced him to everyone and we did not attempt to hold him. We talked to him and talked to our other fids in front of him. If we saw that he was being extremely nervous, we would go out of our way to stop and talk to him with a “Hi Jim” etc, and we were slowly discovering the depth of his psychological and mental abuse. We left the cage door open whenever we were home and awake which at this stage was 24/7.

One day, Jay left the room and in the most concerned voice, Joey called out “Hello! Are you okay?” When Jay came back, Joey was standing at the open door looking down the hallway, looking for Jay to come back. He would also say “Hello”, “How are you?” at this time. He also started talking to himself…bringing up his past two years. While shaking badly, he would say things like “Are you going to feed me?” “Get a lawyer”, “You can run but you can’t hide!” “LIAR!”

He would make crying sounds…he would do this while we were not in the room (plus other things too sad to say). During this period, we were introducing him to all sorts of fresh veggies and fruits. (It has taken over a year to get him to eat veggies and fruits)

Besides his ruminations, he also started talking, calling to the other fids, calling us by name, singing but always reverting to his old self and chewing his nails and shaking. Out of nowhere, as Jay and I were walking by his cage, he looked Jay straight in the eye and said, “I’m Joey, NOT Jim”. He told us this twice (imagine us with our jaws on the ground) and we had to start changing his name on our threads.

Now and into the Future:

Joey lets us hold him and play with him more each day. He is coming out of the closet so to speak…he is an ideal parrot in a number of ways but it is all from his abuse years. He has built his life on his own routines. He eats at the same time each day, he talks at the same time each day, he preens himself at the same time each day…he definitely has obsessive-compulsive tendencies. For the last two months we have not heard him say anything from his abusive past. He has a growing vocabulary and strong cognitive abilities which we believe has roots in his abusive years. He lets us hold him when he wants to. At times, he is very cage-territorial and he stays on his cage. He will perch and let you take him from his cage for a few moments only. We have a perch on the outside of his cage and he likes to spend most of his time looking out the window. He is extremely vocal and interacts with Spock and Salsa and lets both of them eat and drink from his bowls and he plays tail-chase with both of them on his cage. He is very insecure anywhere away from his cage. It is an ongoing process to try to get him comfortable enough to stay away from his cage. He has attempted to fly on four-five occasions to fly and they have been disastrous. This is definitely due to the fact that he was constantly clipped. (We have set out pillows on his common landing areas that is more often missed than hit.)

At times, he will revert to something that triggers his bad memories and will pin his eyes and draw blood out of the clear blue. Once he snaps out of it, he is very affectionate and loving.

The Future continues:

On-going Progress: In the last couple of weeks, Joey has made some amazing changes. To everyone’s surprise, when you open his cage in the morning, he will hang from the top of the cage, wait for you to support him with your hand and involve you in beaky play. He will hang with one foot and grab your hand with the other (Yikes!) and play roughly while talking to you. (Non-Sexual) He’s molting and he’s also found out that a human finger is excellent for rubbing the pin feathers at the bend of the leg where it touches the body. In the few moments that he lets you hold him, he has leaned against our chest (on his own) and cuddled.

Now and Beyond:

Daily, you can still see the pain that he has endured. When he thinks we are not observing him, he reverts to his shaking and nail chewing to a lesser extent. His most recent trait that the past is still current in is memory is when we have to leave, he will let out a couple of loud contact calls and puff up to almost twice his size and stare and you and call while you are leaving. It is so sad…

They NEVER forget…any abuse is a major and daily part of their lives and they live with it….it is always there to haunt them.

 

Jayd and Maggie

Edited April 2, 2011 by Jayd

[Jayd]

Tango: Triton Cockatoo [blue Eyed?]

Present Age: 9 years old

Abuse Type: Psychological (Unintentionally inflicted)

 

Preface: An unintentional major cause of Psychological abuse is a lack of proper research before acquiring and a lack of continual research after acquiring. Another major cause of unintentional psychological and physical abuse occurs during the process of hand-feeding.

Unintentional abuse could be as simple as wrong size cage, improper diet, improper discipline, lack of proper sleep time and hygiene, giving treats, (such as chocolate, etc) with the thoughts of being kind to your bird.

Unintentional abuse when it comes to hand-feeding; once again, lack of research resulting in improper temperatures, environmental conditions, proper techniques, proper hygiene, pride, assuming that this is the only way to bond with your bird and pride as in afraid to ask for help when needed.

Background:

Last summer we received a phone call, asking if we were the “Bird People”. We laughed and answered “yes” and they asked if we would be interested in an Eight year old ‘Too that they felt they could no longer give proper care to. Without hesitation, we said we would take care of her. We took a ride to see Tango.

These nice people lived out of town in the country and in their yard we saw caged pheasants and geese. On the patio, was a large cage with this large beautiful full-feathered Triton Cockatoo. She said “HI!” when we approached. We introduced ourselves and they introduced us to Tango from a distance away. We approached her cage and gave her a scritch on her ear as she put her head up to the bar. She was beautiful.

We asked her owners why they thought they had to get rid of Tango.

Their Story Begins:

Almost eight years ago, they had gone to a friend’s house and fell in love with their friend’s cockatoo which was just recently weaned. It perched on her hand and cuddled with her so they purchased a large cage, toys and brought the baby home. They had no experience with companion birds, especially Cockatoos. For three days, everything went very smooth and she was carrying Tango on her arm when Tango slipped. Tango grabbed her finger to catch herself which cut the woman’s finger and drew blood. She had a normal reaction, she screamed and dropped Tango. From that point on, Tango was put in his cage and for the next eight years was never held by a human again. They were both deathly afraid of this monster beak. (Note: if they would have done a little research, they would have been able to handle a situation like this when it happened.)

For the next eight years, they gave the baby the best possible care, minus the physical handling that they could. Per advice from pet stores, they fed Tango pellets, dehydrated veggies and healthy treats. (Nothing fresh) They had two cages they could place door to door and scoot her into the other cage while they did main cleaning to her cage. Every morning she was given a half slice of warm toast while they had their breakfast. Someone told them about some of the Cockatoo’s body language and when she appeared “right” to them, they would scritch her. They knew it would be best if they gave her to someone who could give her proper care but it was so hard for them and they loved her so much, they postponed giving her away. These are good people, just lack of research about large birds.

 

The Homecoming:

We brought her into the crazy, noisy bird house in a carrier and as Jay opened the carrier door, she stepped out to his hand without hesitation. We were both in fear, this was the first time this bird has been held for over eight years. Tango stepped up to his wrist, bent her head and waited patiently for a scritch. He carried her to her new cage and placed her in the door way, in she went. Boy, did she look around…here was toys and food that she had never seen in her whole life. Everything was brand-new and so much of it. She flipped up her top-notch and bounced up and down, clicking in joy. The only thing she threw out was half of her pellets and then started eating. Tango was oblivious to all. She ignored Freddy, the other ‘Too, Spock wanted her to preen him but we were afraid that she would have him for dinner. From that moment on, she stepped up on command.

 

On-going Progress:

Since bringing Tango home, she has settled in like she has always been here. She is independent from the rest of the flock. Even though she steps up on command, she is still unsure of her footing and takes a few moments to step comfortably on your arm and she is still somewhat wobbly while carrying her. I feel that part of the reason is that for eight years, she had only two immovable perches to stand on and no handling. She has been the easiest transitional rescue that we have ever had to date. The only baggage we have seen is her previous owner was a foreman in the oil fields in Texas. He would work two weeks on and then be home for two weeks. He would have numerous phone calls, speaking to the callers matter-of-factly and curtly. He used a lot of hand movements while talking. At times, Tango will get on the top of her cage and will carry on a conversation which sounds a lot like orders while using head and body movements to simulate expressions with her top notch up. We have seen no ill-effects from this.

Food: we introduced fresh vegetables to her when we brought her home. This is something she took a couple of weeks to start enjoying, often with hilarious expressions and obvious enjoyment. She eats proper food without any encouragement needed.

 

Now and into the Future:

We are looking into the purchase of a lumber yard. Her favorite toy is 1”x2” clear pine cut into 12” pieces. She makes toothpicks out of two to three of these a day and then cleans her cage twice a day, throwing all these toothpicks and slivers and anything else, loose in her cage out the door. She is a wonderful bird and she balances her time very well. She is self-sufficient and is not demanding. She will let us know when she wants attention (she will yell out “POPPA!”) but once she is done, she will go back to playing on her own. She has a small vocabulary, “Poppa, Hello, Bye-Bye, Whatcha doin?, Night-night, Pretty Bird”.

[bigbird519]

WOW thanks for all of the stories, they actually are very helpful......

[judygram]

So Bigbird are you still considering getting this grey? I think if you have the patience you will be able to make a good relationship with this bird for we all agree that lots of time will be needed and along with that patience is your next best friend. We have seen the story of greys who have been mistreated, they no longer trust humans and they lash out and bite whoever comes anywhere near them go on to become the friendliest and sweetest birds you will ever know but it can be a long drawn out process. But if you are willing to invest the time it takes whether it be months or years then I think you will be rewarded with a wonderful companion and what could be sweeter than that.