Jocko Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 (edited) Hello All. We are Jocko's third/fourth family so we don't know a lot about how she was weaned. She is 14 years old and while not well trained, she does know a few simple commands and some words/sounds/whistles. In coming to our home, she has aquired two new companions - Birdy (male(?) peach face lovebird) and Pudgie (male (?) fischer love bird). We are joining this forum to learn more about how to care for our new baby. She seems to be somewhat timid and unsure of herself, so we're also interested in leaning how to build her confidence. The story of how she came to be with us is long, if you're interested continue reading... I apologize in advance for the long story but here goes: We are Jocko's third/fourth family so we don't know a lot about how she was weaned. The first family purchased her as a baby and was told she was a male. When she was approximately 4 years old she laid her first egg. Her humans did not want a female and sold her to the second family. While in this family she decided she did not like the wife and got to where she would not trust females at all. When the couple divorced, Jocko went with the husband. When Jocko was about 9 years old, the husband met my sister. Jocko immediately fell in love with Sis (I think this may have helped him decide to marry her) and has since gained her trust in females again. Last Thanksgiving, we were asked to bird-sit so her humans could go out of town for a week to visit family. We enjoyed having her so much, we joked about keeping her. After another week, Sis admitted that due to medical and financial problems, they had been thinking about selling Jocko. We agreed to have a 30 day trial to see how things went. Suffice to say, Jock has found a new home and my checkbook has found a new black hole. We also have 2 lovebirds - Birdy (male(?) peach face lovebird, 8yrs) and Pudgie (male (?) Fischer love bird, 5yrs(?)). They have gone to stay with Jocko’s family several times while we went on vacations. Birdy is my ‘loverboy’. He has been with me since he was four months old. When he was 3, I purchased Pudgie to be a companion for Birdy. We were told he was about 3 also, but from his behavior and maturity, I’m guessing he more like 1. He had not been handled much and was on an all seed diet. He thinks pellets are treats and loves them. He still bites, but not as hard as he used to. Thank heavens he’s a small bird and can’t do too much damage. Edited January 30, 2012 by Jocko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 (edited) Hello & Welcome, Jocko. Congratulations on the new member of your flock. We're always interested to hear how parronts came together w/their fids. Sounds like Jocko's might be a story for the Rescue Bird Haven...? But please do tell us & go ahead & post any pics or anything else. Then maybe you could post some things about your lovebirds in the Other Birds room, too. Jocko may be unsure of herself because she's still settling in. Greys, especially by her age, are pretty slow to trust new flock members. It doesn't sound like you know exactly what type of baggage she has to unpack, either. Be patient. Use whatever you do know to try to gain her trust. It may take a while. But it's so worth the effort!! Edited January 29, 2012 by birdhouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Hello Jocko and welcome to our family, so glad to hear you could give Jocko a new forever home, poor thing being passed around to several families before coming to you but if this is her final home then you can start working on a lasting relationship with her. It would help to know her background if you know it and if you are willing to share how you came to acquire her then by all means share it with us, it will assist us in being able to help you with her. She needs time to settle in and feel comfortable, she is an older mature bird so she is set in her ways but it will take time and lots of patience to build a trust with her for she may feel like this is just another stop in her journey to yet another home. Just give her lots of space and time and do not try to rush her into anything she doesn't want to do right now, let her make her own decisions about coming out of her cage and interacting with you. Be sure to browse thru the many threads here for loads of useful information from firsthand grey owners, many of us have been thru what you are going thru now and experience is the best knowledge in many cases. Feel free to share some pics with us of Jocko as we would love to see them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Hi Jocko, oh yes we love to hear about our re-homed friends. Welcome to the Grey family! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray P Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Hi Jocko and welcome to the grey forum. You have been given some good advice from some of our members so read and ask all the questions you want. The forum and members are here for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Adopting a pre-owned parrot is a different type ofthing and with it comes some difficulties and situations although the new informed owner is able to understand what they're actually seeing in that parrot. Usually, those people already own or have owned other parrots and are able to ease the pressure that the pre-owned parrot is going through. These parrots have usually lived in either one or a few homes in the past. With each home, the parrot develops habits that pertain to what's going on there. Parrots don't forget things very easily and when that parrot moves on to that next home he/she takes those habits with him/her. It's frequently referred to as 'baggage' which involves many aspects of the parrot's personality and habits and ways of thinking. The ideal adoption of a pre-owned parrot is getting one that has no 'baggage', but that's impossible. First of all, the parrot is older and very sure of itself. The 'baggage can't be gotten rid of. Usually, a person that adopts a pre-owned parrot forfeits the experience of that parrot living and acting like a baby. Many people, be they experienced or inexperienced don't have a problem with that phase of ownership. The people who do have a problem are the ones that expect that experience. They don't get that experience. What they do see is an obvious amount of previous 'baggage' and they become disillusioned and many times, the parrot will soon be off to it's next home. The amount of 'baggage' that the parrot stores away when living in that home depends on how long the parrot has lived there. Part of that newly obtained 'baggage' are the personalities of all the different owners and the methods used to make the parrot conform at each home. Again I say, parrots don't forget and they have the natural ability to store away more and more situations. Some of these owners should have never taken on the adoption of a pre-owned parrot and some of these same people should have never taken on the task of owning any parrot. The only similar thing I can compare this situation to is the adoption of a child. The ideal adoption is when the child is very, very young and the new parents are being given the chance to easily intergrate that baby into their family life and style. But what about those children that 10, 11, 12 yrs and older. They also come with 'baggage' which will remain with them. Some people can't handle that older child and then he/she will shortly be making that familar journey back to those different foster homes and all over again just waiting for the right people to come along and who will accept them for what they presently are. Adopting an older child isn't for everyone. Adopting an older parrot isn't for everyone. Luckily, there are those experienced people out there who can cope with either situation. The people that get baby parrots are doing another type of wonderful thing by providing that new creature with a hopefully good future. Good luck and ask questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocko Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 Thank you all for the kind words. She has been with us since Thanksgiving. I posted Jocko's journey on the profile page since it has been a long one. For past 4/5 years, she has been with my sis and her husband, so we're not total strangers. However, I have always been a little nervous with the larger birds. She did try to bite me once (not hard) a couple of years ago so it took us little bit to gain trust again. I now let her climb on my hand to get out of cage and she loves to be cuddled/snuggled, although I don't let her anywhere near my face She likes sitting on the arm of my chair to get scritches and I'm learning which ones 'turn her on'. Staying away from those! I've never seen anything more pathetic than when she's in her 'come-hither' mode. lol. She has her own facebook page (Jocko Burns) if you would like to see pics/video but I will try to post some here as well. This way her previous family can stay in touch. They clipped her wings for shortly after arriving because we had a little run in with the mirror, but now I'm thinking she might be more confident if she could fly and am thinking about not clipping again. My lovebirds are flighted and I enjoy them being able to come to me or go back to their cages on their own. No unacceptable behaviors other than an ear piercing 'screech owl' imitation we could live without. She doesn’t do all the time and we've been trying to see if there is something that triggers it, but so far it's starting to look like it's just part of her vocabulary. With any luck she'll forget it a few weeks/months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 She likes sitting on the arm of my chair to get scritches and I'm learning which ones 'turn her on'. Staying away from those! I've never seen anything more pathetic than when she's in her 'come-hither' mode. Definitely stay away from those, no sense in getting her all hot and bothered and no way to satisfy those wants, stay away from petting her down the back, under the wings and anywhere around her tail area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is Greyt Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Welcome Jocko!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocko Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 (edited) Edited January 29, 2012 by Jocko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Nice pics of Jocko and I hope those are human grade roasted unsalted peanuts for the others can carry mold, thanks for sharing the pics with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawL Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Hello Jocko, and welcome. I am sure Jocko will adjust to the new home...it is still early yet. I would imagine that some of the self doubt Jocko is having may be exacerbated right now due to being in a completely new environment. Give it time, and you will get there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocko Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 I hope those are human grade roasted unsalted peanuts for the others can carry mold. A big definitely on the peanuts judygram. She also only gets two or three a day, as I understand they're fattening. Although, yesterday she got a few extras to celebrate the new playstand. I'm very picky about what my bird babies get to eat. I have a huge list of 'NO' foods on the fridge and I've even trained my human companion to quit putting butter and salt in the veggies when he cooks dinner since the little one's usually get some too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocko Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 Thank you Dawl. She is adapting surprisingly well. I was concerned she might get depressed but she seems perfectly happy. Part of the reason her previous family gave her up was because they could not spend as much time with as they knew she needed. With us, she's rarely in her cage unless it's bedtime or we need to go somewhere and we're always talking with her. I put her shower perch on the side of the microwave so she can be in the kitchen while I make her breakfast/dinner. Sometimes she likes to snack other times she's more interested in clearing of the top of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocko Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 Definitely stay away from those, no sense in getting her all hot and bothered and no way to satisfy those wants, stay away from petting her down the back, under the wings and anywhere around her tail area. The first time it happened, I wasn't sure that's what was going on but had my suspicions. Wings drooped and she was making most pathetic whimpering sound I've ever heard from an animal or human. I felt so sorry for her. Sometimes she starts doing it for no good reason. I started trying to distract her with something else and if it doesn't stop I put her back in cage until it passes. She getting better and it hasn't happened spontaneously in a couple of weeks now. I'm wondering if the last family misinterpreted as her wanting to be cuddly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocko Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 My apologies to all. I thought I had uploaded Jocko's story but realized it was not there. I have added it to the first posting in this thread. Thank you again to all for the encouraging words of kindness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocko Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 Well, Jocko has been with us for only 3 months now but it feels like she has always been a part of our family. She's been coming along very nicely. We've been weaning off the seed diet. Had to soak the pellet to make mush and mix with fruits to get her accustomed to the taste. She's now up to getting dry pellet substituted for 1/2 of the seed while in her cage, and gets fresh veggies/fruits for breakfast/dinner while out on her playstand. We'll keep decreasing the seed gradually. She did drop about 5g a week the first couple of weeks, but now she's holding steady at 525-530grams. Next chore - learning to bathe somewhere besides her water bowl. We've also figured out the trigger to the 'screech owl' noise. This means it's time for bed and we're disturbing her. If we're not ready for bed yet, we roll her cage into the bedroom. I'm thinking about getting a smaller 'sleep' cage for bedroom - any suggestions on size and furnishings? Both of our lovebirds have 'happy huts' they sleep in, we were wondering if Greys like these too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I would expect a grey to just take apart a happy hut fairly quickly. Welcome to our Grey world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocko Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 Here's a video of Jocko the first day she got her new playstand. She's gotten much better on it since this was taken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerial.2000 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 what a great great playstand!!!!!!!! I hope marco's turns out that cool. my neighbor is making it .. i sent him the video lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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