Hello from Louisiana

[ArtVandelay]

Hello all,

 

New to the site and thought I would say hello from Louisiana and give you all a little backstory. I just recently decided I was ready to get a new friend. I previously had a mustache parakeet and a Severe Macaw, but when I split with my ex the birds went with her I found out through a friend of a friend that a family was looking to rehome their 2 year old Timneh African Grey, Zydeco. Upon visiting and handling the bird I decided Zydeco seemed like a good fit for me. I brought him home Sunday and put him in a bigger cage I had available at my house. He seems content in the cage, he is eating fine and will eat treats out of my hand. Ever since I put him in the new cage he seems a little more aggressive with me. He bonded with the female of the previous family so he can be a nippy with me and seems to do better with my sister and mother. Any tips on getting him out of the cage without him trying to bite me? I would like to take him out and start working with him a little but I don't want to force the issue and have him dislike me more. Any suggestions, am I trying to do too much too soon?

 

Here's some pictures of me and him when I first brought him home.

[Timbersmom]

Zydeco is a good looking guy! Hello and welcome People with more experience will chime in. I rehomed my TAG last year and it took 2-3 months for him to get comfortable with me. Time and patience wins the day, and trust has to be earned. My advice would be to follow his lead. When he is ready for more interaction he will let you know. Spend quiet time with him just sitting near his cage, talking to him, some even read to them. I left Timber's door open and let him decide when he was going to come out. Good luck and God bless

[judygram]

Hello Art and welcome to our family.

Zydeco is an unusual name but he is a fine looking Tag.

Greys tend to be a little cage aggressive, after all it is their safe place, their kingdom and they do not like any intrusions so open his door and allow him to come out on his own, I am betting he will more readily step up when outside the cage and it lets him make the decision to come out and interact with the family. He is new to you so he needs time to settle into his new home and feel comfortable so be very patient with him as he adjusts.

[ArtVandelay]

He's obviously become a little territorial of his new cage. the previous owner had him in an acrylic cage, but I got him something a little bigger with vertical bars for him to climb on (I'm not sure he has realized these can be used yet, he seems to favor the two perches within reach) When he was in the acrylic cage he came out with no problem, but ever since he's been in the new cage he does not want to step up. I did some target training with him today ,in the cage with the door open, and he seems to be responding very well. I can use my finger instead of a dowel. He will follow my finger anywhere, touch it with his beak, and take his treats from my hand. The problem comes when I attempt to have him step up. He looks as if he is testing my hand for sturdiness then he latches on a squeezes hard enough to break skin. Should I just continue with the target training for a few more days before trying to have him step up again?

Edited January 31, 2013 by ArtVandelay

[Timbersmom]

As Judy said, he will step up easier outside the cage. After Timber started stepping up easily, I made the mistake of sticking my arm in the cage for him to step up. I was rewarded with a bite. That is his safe place and his territory, and he doesn't want my arm invading his space. Outside the cage? No problem (most of the time). However it took 3 months for me to get him to step up. He did a couple of times when I first brought him home, but then the honeymoon was over and he was having none of it. One more thing which may not be applicable to you. Timber will not, under any circumstances, step up on my hand. He steps up on my forearm. He is rehomed, and he apparently has a problem with hands in his past. He takes treats, petting etc. with hands, but won't step up. Also, he doesn't like the words "step up." Bad connotations from the past I guess. We use "wanna go" instead of step up. That little change made the world of difference.