Oscar's training journal

[MoonRock]

I thought I would start a training journal for Oscar, the approximately 8 year old CAG I rescued from a bad situation. He seems to be becoming more comfortable with me as the hours pass, which is amazing considering I got him late night on 2/7/13 and it is early morning 2/9/13 as I write.

 

I will attempt to use a simple format for this journal, to provide for easy reading. I am certainly open to training and bonding suggestions as well, so please do not consider this thread a "closed" one. My primary goal is to teach Oscar to trust and accept me, with a secondary goal of helping others with their own training. I am by no means an expert, and this thread may evolve as I acquire new information about how to help my little grey guy. So let's get started, shall we?

 

The basics: Oscar, male Congo African Grey, approximately 8 years old. He appears to be in perfect feather, with no feather plucking behavior. His wings are unclipped and his talons are slightly overgrown. Oscar appears to be sighted in only his left eye.

 

Oscar's supposed first owner was a young adult male, who at some point became tired of Oscar and an Amazon purchased at the same time. Oscar and the Amazon were then placed in the care of the young adult's grandmother, who had Oscar for approximately 6 years. The Amazon passed away "prematurely", and it is unknown whether or not Oscar and the Amazon shared a bond. The grandmother seldom handled Oscar, but spoke to him through his cage bars. Oscar shared some kind of bond with this woman, as evidenced by reports from her son and daughter-in-law that Oscar "misses her".

 

The woman suffered a stroke and could no longer care for Oscar, at which point he was entrusted to the care of her son and daughter-in-law. This seems to have happened very recently, perhaps within the last four months. The man and his wife are not "bird people" and the home is very chaotic. Their 7 year old son frequently harassed Oscar, throwing apple pieces at him, screaming, and running around very close to Oscar's cage. Subsequently the child was scolded, which only appeared to increase his rough behavior with Oscar and created the additional problem of a loud, arguably unsafe household. It should be mentioned that Oscar came to the home with the grandmother's cat, and the cat appeared very stressed out as well. It is unknown whether Oscar shared a bond with the cat, though he frequently "meows".

 

Upon meeting me, Oscar proceeded to make a very loud growl/ scream. Though I spoke in soft tones and attempted "extinguishing behavior" (turning my back when Oscar screamed), generally he continued to make noise with the supposed intention of keeping me away. Oscar was in a cat crate while his cage was drying from being hosed down, and this is where he was when he met me. He refused all treats and only began to interact with me in a positive way after I had been in front of him for approximately an hour. Oscar appeared to be curious about me after some time, and I made a point not to look him in the eye or talk to much as he was "sizing me up".

 

Eventually Oscar calmed considerably in my presence, but as the child ran around and the family made noise, he reverted to screaming. I was told I should come back later to discuss payment for the bird, as the previously agreed-upon payment plan was refused. I was heartbroken for myself and Oscar. I didn't want him to spend another night in his current situation.

 

Shortly after leaving, I received a text message from the woman requesting that I come back for Oscar. I was overjoyed, and went back to the home. Oscar was placed in his crate by the woman's young adult daughter, as he was back in his cage by this point. Upon seeing me, Oscar screamed again. It seemed apparent that he understood I was more than just a visitor. Protesting the whole time, the daughter placed Oscar into the crate after toweling him.

 

The large cage was broken apart and placed in the small car. Oscar remained quiet for the next hour on the drive home. Upon arriving at my home, though I loudly put together the cage, Oscar remained seemingly calm in the crate. It should be noted that Oscar's crate was covered with a sheet, which probably aided in the smooth transition.

 

I put Oscar from the crate to the cage a little roughly, at which point he turned around and screamed at me. By this point it was past midnight, so I quickly covered Oscar's cage with the sheet and left the room (another attempt at "extinguishing behavior"). Oscar quieted down quickly and presumably slept.

 

The next morning I awoke late. When I partially uncovered Oscar's cage for the day (I left three sides of the cage mostly covered, for Oscar's comfort) he did not scream at me. In fact, he was standing on his perch very close to the cage doors, seemingly waiting for me to come to him. Most of Oscar's food was left untouched from the night but he seemed in good spirits.

 

After arriving home from work in the evening, I spent some time with Oscar. He puffed up his feathers with some seemingly strong emotions, but soon seemed to decide to feel OK about me. Oscar bobbed up and down, meowed like a cat, fake sneezed, and whistled. I spent about 10 minutes of "acceptance training" (attempting to get Oscar used to me and my home) about two times an hour until 8PM, when Oscar became somewhat agitated and screamed again. I covered the cage and left the room, and will uncover him again and get right into acceptance training at about 9AM this morning.

 

Today's training plan: If possible, reach hands into cage to affix a better perch or two. I mistakenly assumed Oscar would be very upset if I put new perches in the night I got him home, but I should have used the opportunity of him being crated to do so. Now I have to work around Oscar while he's in his cage, which will be harder. Potentially, though, this could prove to be a good bonding experience.

 

Furthermore, I will continue to speak to Oscar in soft tones, leaving the room if he appears too excitable or screams. If all appears to be going well, I will allow my hands to linger near Oscar, but at this time I feel it would be unwise to ask for a "step up", even if Oscar appears willing. Oscar forgave me for roughly getting him back into his cage the other night, I do not wish to damage his slowly growing trust by doing something silly again.

[Timbersmom]

Good idea! I look forward to reading more.

[MoonRock]

2/9/13 AM: Oscar slept through the night, as evidenced by his sleepy expression when I uncovered his cage this morning, and the giant poop pile he made moments later. In good spirits, Oscar proceeded to meow at me, puff up his feathers and bob, and fake sneeze. I spoke softly to Oscar, but made sure he saw me attending to the parakeets (a little jealousy is helpful to training, I think). Oscar made his various noises as I spoke to him, mostly the cat meow. Occasionally he seemed to feel slightly agitated and would make his "broken smoke detector" sound. Each time he did this, I would say "Too loud!" and leave the room. His softer clicks would get me back into the room.

 

I do not want to teach Oscar that he simply needs to make a loud sound to get his space, so I have the lofty goal of eventually teaching him to say "Space, please." Of course, Oscar may never learn to say more than his current hello, so I am thinking how to teach him to indicate that he wants some time alone. He seems to be understanding that I interpret his softer clicks as a call to me, since I have been going to his cage each time I hear them. I walk into the room and say "Hi Oscar, what do you want?" Though he won't likely ever say, "I want your attention, and a nut, please", I could show him through my actions that I am responsive to him. Just now, as I left the computer to respond to his soft clicks, he seemed to size me up and then made the broken smoke detector sound. I said "Too loud!" and quietly left the room, at which point I SWEAR he said "Ah!" (as in, ah-ha!) I think I am totally anthropomorphizing this bird, but it is very interesting to think he *may* be understanding that soft clicks bring him attention, and loud sounds bring him solitude. Seriously, three times while writing this paragraph he called me into the room with soft clicks (or at least, I am training him that by using soft clicks he is asking me to come to him). He seems to be having fun getting me to come and go. I swear I can sense some relief from him that life is slowly becoming somewhat predictable. Again, I am probably totally anthropomorphizing Oscar, but I swear he has a growing awareness that 1. I won't hurt him, 2. he has a way to get positive attention, and 3. I don't like loud sounds.

 

Fooey on me for choosing 8AM on a Saturday morning to really work on Oscar's training, as I have a sleeping roommate in the other bedroom. But Oscar's new life just couldn't wait!

[danmcq]

2/9/13 AM:Again, I am probably totally anthropomorphizing Oscar, but I swear he has a growing awareness that 1. I won't hurt him, 2. he has a way to get positive attention, and 3. I don't like loud sounds.

 

Your not anthropomorphizing at all. Parrots (especially greys) are one of the most intelligent creatures on this planet. The can and do learn human language and understand exactly what words and phrases mean. All creatures understand hurt, pain, fear, anger etc. Oscar is studying your ever move, body and facial gestures, voice tones etc. They are more astute of a persons body language than most humans are. You are doing everything right and this is a great thread for others who rescue greys from bad homes.

 

Thanks for starting and updating this thread. I look forward being able to share this rehab of a grey through reading your and oscars relationship progression here.

Edited February 10, 2013 by danmcq

[MoonRock]

Today is becoming a loud one! Oscar is enjoying making very audible vocalizations. Most of them sound "positive"- whistles, clicks, meows, fake sneezes. Occasionally he screams, but only for brief periods and only when I seem to be invading his space. One time, upon hearing him scream, I said my usual "Too loud!" and calmly walked out of the room. I swear Oscar made a door opening sound after I left, which I had never heard before. The same thing happened again and I knew I wasn't crazy. He seems to be linking his "naughty" sounds to me leaving the room.

[danmcq]

How interesting on that door closing sound. I wonder if it is linked as well to previous homes where he may have been kept in a room and that sound was associated with him being left alone again with no interaction. If he truly is linking that door closing sound to you leaving. He may respond very quickly to this and quite down so as not to be left alone. Oscar is one sharp grey.

[MoonRock]

2/10/13 Late morning: I was very slow to rise this morning, and Oscar stayed quiet in his cage. While I appreciate that he did not scream at the rising sun, I recognize I need to have more of a schedule to accommodate Oscar's needs. It is great that he remains quiet in a covered cage, but I cannot expect him to be happy with 14 hours of dark. Tomorrow is Monday and I will be sure to get right to a predictable routine.

 

I must admit, I did something stupid. In my eagerness to connect with Oscar, I playfully put my arm up to the cage and said "Step up!" I am not sure what I was expecting, especially because my arm was not inside the cage at the time. If you think about it, it is almost as though I was teasing Oscar. Oscar proceeded to clamp down on the fleshy part of my wrist, and it took several moments of saying "Gentle..." to get Oscar to let go. He didn't seem angry, just mildly frustrated and then, amused? While the skin was broken, I certainly don't need sutures. And of course, I don't hold my stupidity over Oscar. I did leave the room after the bite, but only to make sure I was OK. I will be going back to Oscar's cage to work with him some more very soon.

 

danmcq, what's funny is that the door closing sound Oscar makes is not the sound my actual door makes. So I absolutely agree with you that perhaps this association he seems to be making between a door closing and being left alone came about before he came to my home. The home he was in previously sure had squeaky doors.

[MoonRock]

What a vocal bird! Oscar is trying out all of his sounds today: cat meow, broken smoke detector, alarm clock, a lot of random whistles, a kiss-like sound, and a few screams here and there. For the most part he seems to be entertaining himself with these vocalizations, and occasionally gets annoyed when I go to his cage to say hello to him. However, he seems to almost miss me at times and call out.

 

I am not sure when, perhaps overnight, Oscar shredded a wood link toy I gave him. He seemed afraid of it at first, so finding evidence that it was well-loved (or at least played with) is awesome. Just now I crumpled a sheet of paper around a treat. Oscar didn't want it, and in fact scooted to the end of the perch when I presented it to him, but he allowed me to put it on the cage floor. I will give it a half hour before checking his progress. He seems to be enjoying his solitude for the moment.

[MoonRock]

I sneaked up on Oscar as he was about to explore the crumpled paper, and when he caught me looking he climbed up to his perch. I figured it would be a good idea to read to him, since he has yet to hear much of my voice. As I settled in near his cage to read from Of Parrots and People (I figured the subject matter was relevant, LOL) he quieted down and listened intently to my voice. After a while, though, Oscar became a little bored and proceeded to whistle to himself. I instinctively said "You're being rude!" and immediately Oscar "laughed". I don't know what to make of this exchange but it was really funny.

[danmcq]

Oh boy, yes the arm offer was a bit of a bad idea.

 

It's encouraging to hear that Oscar chewed on the wooden toy. In regards the crumpled paper, he was ceratainly going to check it out, but being on the cage bottom with a possible threat coming in the room triggered the instinct to get as high as he could. Him vocalizing while you were reading was not being rude. He was actually just kicking back and joining in. Greys do this often at times when they are comfortable. I suspect he laughed at your incorrect interpretation.

[MoonRock]

2/11/13 Midday: This morning upon hearing me move about and feeding the other animals before uncovering his cage, Oscar made an alarm clock sound. When I continued to take my sweet time starting the day, I swear I also heard Oscar make a door knocking sound. Clearly, Oscar wanted his day to start, too. When I went in to uncover Oscar's cage, I announced "Good morning, Oscar!" and he responded, "Yaw!" (his way of saying "yeah").

 

Oscar did not touch overnight the crumpled ball with the treat inside, so I made a new one with a better treat (an almond). Very quickly Oscar proceeded downward to the bottom of the cage, where I put the new "foraging toy". I don't know how much credit I should give the almond for being so darn tasty, but I am very happy Oscar now feels pretty comfortable hanging out on the bottom of his cage when I am in the room. He is also more willing to turn his bad eye towards me, meaning he cannot see me momentarily. He will also turn his back towards me on occasion, and while I am so tempted to reach out and pet his gorgeous feathers, I know better than to do that. One bite (okay, well two) is plenty. Trust takes time to build. I am essentially Oscar's fourth home.

 

I work today and I have an ill guinea pig, two things which will distract me from Oscar. However, I will spend some time reading to him and generally working with him before I leave today. Luckily I will only be gone about 5 hours.

[Timbersmom]

Greys have so much "heart." Reading all the rehome stories here reminds me that regardless of the neglectful or abusive situations they have been in, they still strive to communicate and interact given the opportunity. What spirited creatures they are! I was listening to Timber chattering away on the birdie cam (I'm at work) this morning. I thought, "he sounds so happy." And, I think he is! That makes me smile...

[danmcq]

What a pleasant morning it seems you had with Oscar. He really is coming along nicely with your patience and love shown to him. Whne you leave, if you don't alreasy do so. Tell him you are "Going to work" and you'll "See him later". He may already know what that means, but if not, it will be reassuring to him over time in terms of you'll be back. As time progresses, he may even surprise you with an "Ok, See you later".

[MoonRock]

I did in fact say to Oscar, "I'm going to work, OK?" Oscar said "Yaw" ("yeah") but I doubt he knew what I meant. Then I said "I'll see you later!" and he said something that sounded like "Hello!" Upon arriving home, Oscar was quiet as I took out my first dog to go potty, but was obviously impatient while I was leashing up my second dog because he screamed. It seemed like an attention-getting scream, as opposed to what I now consider his scream of terror in his old home. It is hard to explain the difference between the screams, except that when he screams in my home it seems he wants me to notice him in some way. In fact, while screaming he perches very close to where I sit when I am near his cage. His screams in his former home were much longer, louder, and accompanied by him backing up.

 

Of course, I am teaching Oscar that screams of any kind hardly get my attention, and that clicks, soft calls, and the like are much more effective. Still, Oscar seems to be testing me. When I went to his cage after walking the second dog, he took a few moments to size me up (or so it seemed) and then he screamed again. I left the room. The screaming stopped immediately, and after a minute or two Oscar made his alarm clock sound, followed by my favored "call click".

[MoonRock]

Oscar's really testing me tonight. There has been a lot of his famous velOSCARaptor screaming, though he doesn't seem particularly agitated. I truly think Oscar wants to find out if I am serious that 1. I want to give him attention and affection and 2. I withhold those things when he screams. Once again, Oscar made the door opening sound after I left the room, haha.

[danmcq]

Your right, Oscar is summing you and your intentions up. Your going to work and being gone for hours, then coming home and basically ignoring him while taking care of your dogs, no doubt had some level of impact on Oscars mentality. What specifically that was, well only Oscar could know.

 

My feeling is to always go with your gut instincts. If you are discerning a difference in growl, body language and closeness to you. Then you are probably reading it correctly. Heck as much as he has growled for who knows how many years, he could be saying volumes based on tone and intensity. If so and you are picking up on it, he will realize very quickly you are paying VERY CLOSE attention to him. Good for you!!!

 

You probably already know this, but it is going to take a long time to get to the final point of how much Oscar is going to trust you and how close he will interact. You will have good days that you thought you had finally broken through and then be smacked down almost seemingly to square one the next day. But through it all and over a long time, you and Oscar will always remember those moments. I hope the good ones become the "Norm" for you both.

[MoonRock]

Dan, as always I really appreciate your help with my training. Your input is invaluable.

 

As a result of your response, I realized I could certainly say hello to Oscar before taking the dogs out. While the dogs wait for about 5 hours for me while I am at work, Oscar does too. Oscar needs to know he is a part of the family, too.

 

2/12/13 AM: I was quicker to attend to Oscar this morning, uncovering his cage and greeting him for the day very soon after I awoke. The non-avians waited patiently.

 

Though I had to leave for an appointment fairly early and could not really squeeze in much quality time with Oscar, I do not work today and should be home by 3:30PM. That gives me plenty of time to interact with Oscar before bedtime. I already miss him right now.

 

Something neat: Oscar not only played with one of his foraging toys overnight, as evidenced by the straw bits torn apart from the wooden block base, but he took part of the wood and placed it very close to where we hang out while he is on his perch. I know better than to think he had offered me a "present", but the placement of this half-chewed block was very interesting. In fact, when I noticed it there and laughed, Oscar looked at me, then at the block, and then at me again. Given that he is sighted in only one eye, it is generally very easy to know where Oscar is looking.

 

Dan, what do you think? Could Oscar have been offering me part of his foraging toy or am I anthropomorphizing (again)?

Edited February 12, 2013 by MoonRock

[danmcq]

Your morning greeting, short it may have been, but the important point is you made Oscar feel like a valued flock member. Unlike a dog with pack mentality of an alpha leader, as you probably know, a bird has the whole flock mentality with no leader and a communal existence with all being on the same level and doing everything as a whole.

 

The block placement is very interesting indeed. It was obviously not just played with and tossed there. Greys do almost everything for a reason. He was certainly sending a message in my opinion. Not to any dog-o-morphism, but they will do this as well with a toy they wish to engage you with.

 

When we both worked full-time out of the home, a morning greeting, food placed etc.. Then it was out the door for 9 hours. Coming home, the dogs were at the door going nuts, the birds going nuts with sounds etc. and it was truly a zoo for about 10 minutes. You will experience the same I suspect soon with Oscar anticipating your walking through the door.

[MoonRock]

So much progress we have had today! When I arrived home at 3:30PM, I immediately went in to see Oscar. It was a quick hello and he seemed surprised to see me, as were the dogs. If this had been a work day for me, I would have been home 2 hours early. But why was Oscar surprised? I have only had him for five days now, he can't possibly understand my routine at this point. Or can he? Anyhow, I said hello, took the dogs out, and spent 5 minutes doing other things before I went in to talk to Oscar.

 

Mostly I discussed Oscar's leg band with him. I apologized that he appeared to be wild-caught, given his band inscription (I am still unsure of this so any leads to band reading would be helpful- I mostly came up empty via Google and various links). I kept trying to read Oscar's band, apologize to him, and tell him how awesome and strong he was, when he got into the spirit of things and proceeded to do upside-down loops inside his cage. Cage wall, cage roof, cage door, perch. Cage wall, cage roof, cage door, perch... I have seen gleeful Greys do this before, but certainly not my velOSCARaptor.

 

Indeed, when I offered my heavily fortified arm for a "step up" (just to get his baseline abilities or at least mood for the day), Oscar took my sweatshirt-layered arm and shoved it away. He also prefers the cage door closed in general, with him inside. But I am piquing his curiosity by doing something fun or silly while opening his cage briefly, and then closing it again quickly. He responds body language-wise as if to say, "Hey, wait, I might have wanted to come out!" Oscar is adamant that we become friends on his terms.

 

I offered Oscar a couple of various nuts, which he gleefully gobbled. Cage wall, cage roof, cage door, perch.

 

It is far too early to tell, but I think this *may* turn out to be a quieter day, if Oscar's patient waiting for me right now is any indication. I am about to go give him a very small bite of my lunch, yum.

[Mickeys Mom]

So inspiring to see someone keeping a journal. I have also started one for my 2 year old CAG and never seem to stick to keeping it up to date - but you have inspired me to pick it up and start over again.

[danmcq]

It sounds like you had some good interaction at your homecoming. I do doubt that Oscar is wild caught since he is only 8 years old. All imports of wild caught greys were stopped here in the usa in 1992. I look forward to hearing the update on how last night went.

[MoonRock]

I did read that there were no more imports of wild-caught birds after 1992, and that open bands don't necessarily mean wild-caught anymore. But Oscar's band has the now defunct Louisiana quarantine station code (or so it seems) and three numbers, which I read indicates a wild-caught bird. But even if Oscar is older than his former owners knew, I doubt (as do you Dan) that he was born anywhere near 1992. Either way, we already know Oscar's previous homes were not appropriate (to put it nicely). Even as a domestic-bred he has been through a lot.

 

Last night Oscar was very vocal, making his velOSCARaptor scream intermittently. As mentioned before, it seems to be an attention-seeking behavior and not due to him feeling particularly upset. However, the night was creeping by and I opted to cover the cage. I do understand that covering a loud bird's cage can ultimately reinforce the noise-making behavior, and may also lead to a neurotic bird. However, when used sparingly and appropriately (at night, really), I consider cage covering a tool in my bird training toolbox. I needed some sleep.

 

2/13/13 AM: The morning began with loud whistles and velOSCARaptor screams. Oscar simply wanted me to come to him, I believe. We have taken some giant strides forward with extinguishing the screams, but today we took a few steps back. And that is OK. When you consider that Oscar has been in my home for less than a week, we are making amazing progress together! So much so that I *almost* got a step up out of Oscar today. But admittedly in my eagerness to train him, I scared Oscar a little and for the first time in several days he gave me a brief but distinctive warning growl. I backed off, offered a softly spoken apology and left the room. Upon leaving, I heard the now unmistakable "door opening sound" Oscar makes (his "door closing sound" is different, which I discovered today). I went to Oscar and he seemed pleased he got his human to leave him alone when he was scared, and then come back when he was not (about five seconds later, haha). He got a nut and now he is playing (mostly) quietly on his own.

[danmcq]

Nice update and it seems things are going pretty well considering the time he has been there. You are both growing each day in understanding each other.

[MoonRock]

As I made my way up the steps to my apartment after work this evening, I heard Oscar make his "door opening sound". It was pretty cool Oscar seemed to be listening for me, as I was rather quiet on the stairs. I immediately said hello to Oscar, proceeded to take the dogs out and then came back in for some quality time with my grey guy. I have a full hour to give him, if he wants it.

 

When I opened his cage to see if he wanted to come out, he came out rather quickly. Also, though he refuses to step up he does problem solve, it seems, to figure out how he could get his beloved nut without having to sit on my arm. I honestly feel he was using problem solving skills, because he would near my arm and the nut, take a step back, then come towards the nut at another angle. No arm, no nut. Haha!

 

There was an awful lot of wing flapping while sitting atop the cage. Oscar seems very pleased, or is he just stretching his wings? I don't want to anthropomorphize any more than I am probably already doing.

 

Check out Oscar's first online photo!

[MoonRock]

I need to own what just happened. Oscar flew from me, in spite of his partial blindness, and suffered a small abrasion. The good news is, I got a "step up" right before it happened.

 

I was too eager and proceeded to take a few small steps away from the cage with Oscar on my arm. He panicked and shot away from me. Some of you may recall that I asked in another thread whether or not Oscar should have his wings clipped. Now I have no doubt I must do so, as he demonstrated tonight that he has no depth perception. What was a stupid mistake on my part could have lead to near-tragedy. I stepped away from the cage, Oscar's safe zone, while he was already anxious to be on my arm. Luckily Oscar is fine, even accepting a nut from me as an apology. I had to towel him to get him back into his cage, as I was unsure the extent of his injuries (again, just a small abrasion).

 

I am learning every day how to better work with Oscar, and clearly I am enthusiastic. But the reality is, Oscar has been through a lot in his relatively short life and I owe it to him to adhere to my new motto: EASY DOES IT!

 

I apologize if I let anyone down by my mistake, but I felt I needed to share it here to keep Oscar's training journal accurate and help others who are figuring out their own Grey training learning curve.

 

And have no fear, as I write this Oscar is making happy sounds to himself. As upset as we both were by the fly-away and toweling incident, Oscar seems to be quick to forgive.