New Member of an Abused CAG and a recently adopted CAG

[SusanBarnes7]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm Susan Barnes. I'm a 41 yr old busy Wife and Mother. Las Vegas, NV is currently home but I am originally from Chicago. In my spare time I raise Cockatiels, I am a regional director for the American Cockatiel Society. My family and I also share our home with three Pitt Bulls, a male White Cap Pionus, a Cherry Head and Golden Head Conures, a Lilac Crown Amazon and two amazing CAG's. Skooter is 2 1/2, he came to us in April. According to the person we aquired him from Skooter was abused; his owners used him as a volleyball or socer ball. Not really sure the story as the person I obtained him from changed his story later that Skooter was actually his bird that became to phobic and he just didn't want to deal with him. We are dealing with Skooters phobic issues and I'm needing help and support. On Tuesday we brought home Clarisse, a 5 year old female CAG from the store where I purchase my bird feed. I just feel in love with her. Day one went well, now she refuses to step up and has nipped me twice. I know patience and positive reinforcement. To top it off, Clarisse was on a seed only diet for 7 months! Yeap breaking my seed whore may be an issue in itself. Skooter on the other hand cleans his bowl every time! I'm a huge fan of serving a fresh/whole food diet. My birds see chop, bird bread, or other warm pasta/grain meals with lots of veggies and fruits.

 

I'm looking forward to being a part of this forum. I am looking forward to a long and healthy relationship with my birds and I know there is so much to learn and do to accomplish that.

[danmcq]

Welcome Susan, it's GreYt having you here.

 

To say a grey became phobic, is pretty much just describing a part of their personality. Most do not like change or new things and must be introduced to them slowly. As far as a 5 year old grey, well she is going to take a while to trust you and other family members. She may prefer men as well and you may end up the #2 in her list of humans she wishes to interact with. Only time and patience, as you mentioned will be effective during this settling in time period.

 

I look forward to hearing more from you and seeing some photos when our get a chance.

[CLB]

Welcome! I am new here too. Just 3 months ago I opened my home and my heart to an 8 year old CAG. I have pretty much let Shadow determine when she was ready for each step. She has made amazing progress! I look forward to hearing more of your story. I think we can all learn so much from everyone's experiences.

[SusanBarnes7]

Skooter AKA MR. Phobia does well with both my husband and I. But when he is on the floor after flinging himself off the perch or table, he crawls over to Mom! He will let me kneel down by him and kind of circle my arms around him and talk to him. Rich my husband has of yet to be able to hold him. I have on occasion. The person we obtained him from who totes himself around town as a behavoralist told us to just trap him in a corner and he will submitt to stepping up. We I am no behavoralist but I'm not going to use terror to get Skooter to react. Overall he is calming, RIch noticed I was strocking his foot through the bars the other day and Skooter was just hanging there, not thrashing himself. Progress...??? Maybe.

 

Clarisse responds to me. She did aswell as the store. When I walked into the bird area I would call her and she would come running. The owner said she never saw Clarisse reacting in such a way to others. Even my husband would talk to her and say "she is here, just wait" and he said she would look and then react when she saw me. Even at home the other morning he took her out of her cage by perch and had her on the kitchen table. He said she was looking for me. Happy bird when I entered the kitchen. New cage, new surroundings, new sights and sounds. Plus her schedule is messed up. My house is active into the evening. She had quiet time as of 5 PM at the store. Last night I tucked her into a dark corner and corvered with a darker cover. This morning Clarisse gave me the happy dance. We will see how happy she is when I go to clean her cage this afternoon!

 

I've got some photo's I'll upload.

 

Thanks for Welcoming me!

Susan

[SusanBarnes7]

We are sort of trying that approach as well. Yesturday we opened the cages and had coffee near them. Kind of ignored the Greys and let them do their thing. Clarisse would sit near me just never came to me. Skooter keeps a healthy distance. But comes closer when he notices I am filling his bowl!!

[emlee]

Welcome Susan,

 

I am so happy for Skooter and Clarisse to be in a better situation where they can flourish. I understand about taking time and going at their pace. I have a 2 yo CAG named Quinn. I have had him from when he was weaned. We had a greyt relation ship. One day while I was at work my husband was feeding him and he jumped out of the cage onto the floor. Well he tried everything to get him back and they ended up cornering him and toweking him to get him back. After that he was terrorized. All our progress went backwards, I was heartbroken when Quinn would not come to me. He would thrash and scream. So now we are taking it at his pace. He too is a chow hound, loves his food. I can now give him treats and occasionally scratch his head. His vocabulary steadly increases. All is well but I miss my Quinn. You will find alot of great stuff on this site, I learn everyday. I use alot of information for my other birds as well a U2 and conure.

 

I look forward to hearing of your progress with Skooter and Clarisse.

 

Eileen

[chezron]

Hi Susan we welcome you and your family of pets to the forum. Look forward to hearing all about them. Sounds like Clarisse picked you! Sweet!