Buckeye Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 (edited) As some of you may know, my 3 month old CAG Stanley came home with me yesterday night. Everything has gone well except that all that he wants to do is for me to hold him, if I put him in his cage, we will start climbing on the door and desperately trying to get out. He has been out for about 5 hours today. He is really starting to bond with me already. Does anyone have advice or is this normal? http://youtu.be/ugb0WcX3x2o He only does this when I put him in his cage and he goes poddy and when I'm in the room. Edited June 12, 2014 by Buckeye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 20mo Grey that does the same. If she can see me, and I lock her up in the cage, she will relentlessly crawl all over the inside of the cage and screech. The only exception is when I move her cage outside. She seems to understand that outside time there is no getting out of the cage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Have you tried talking to your grey or playing the radio or just not sitting where your grey can see you. How is the toy or foraging situation. Frankly I have never had this problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckeye Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 He's good if I play spongebob for him then leave for about 5 minutes then when I come back into the room he is fairly decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray P Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Awe, He is just a baby in a new home, a new cage and a new human. He may see you as a place of comfort where he can feel safe. They grow up so fast and than they become independent. Take some time and just enjoy his company. Make sure he has plenty of toys in his cage so when he is in there he can learn to play on his own. Learn contact calls so if your not in the same room and he wants to know where you are you can do contact calls back and forth and he knows where you are at. That`s a good bonding activity. Just a thing or two that may help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Of course it is normal. Stanley is a baby, and wants to be with his mama or papa. Satisfy this need as much as you can. Promise to come and get him the " moment you are home", and deliver on that promise! Your baby will eventually understand your routine. Eight hours is a long time for a baby,so make sure if you work that long, baby is first priority. Any longer than that... I suggest a second family member be involved, or someone that can bond past eight hours. I was lucky to have kids home when I was still at work. Sophie has bonded to all of us! She was bonded to me, but if I worked past eight hours, kids were responsible for her.She eventually learned to love all of us. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 A baby this young is insecure plus being in a new environment is a little overwhelming right now but he will be more independent as time goes by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2birds Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Is that your new baby in your profile pic. He's adorable!! I would be tempted to spoil him like crazy. I'm going to be in the same boat in a month or two. I'm curious with this thread because I would be torn between not wanting to spoil too much but at the same time not wanting baby to feel abandoned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezron Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Your bird is a baby. In the bird world a Mama would never leave a baby for eight hours. Try to empathize with what is happening. Your baby bird needs comforting and reassurance. You might try holding him for awhile, putting him back in his cage, and telling him, "I will be right back" and then leave for 5 minutes and come back and hold him again. This will help him understand that your words mean something and that you have not abandoned him. Think about it, up until now he has been with his clutch mates and fed often, and never left alone. I imagine this is terrifying for him to be left alone. Can you check on him midday or can someone check on him? They are not this clingy for long please give him lots of love right now because he needs to grow knowing he is secure and taken care of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 He wants to be with you, that is especially endearing to me as my older rehomed girl has worked that hard just to avoid any contact. I wouldn't be able to resist Stanley's charming entreaties to be with me or on me. He is still new and as others say, this baby dependence won't last long. When he is out with you, teach him to play with toys and soon he will be curious about other things and learn to entertain himself. I think it's too soon to worry about him being a "Velcro" bird. Comfort him, build a bond and he will settle in and learn when he can be with you and when he needs to entertain himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckeye Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 When I woke up this morning to go uncover his cage, he was at the bottom of his cage already trying to get out. The reason I don't leave him out all day is because I want him to get used to being in the cage when I go back to school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 You have a good point about helping him learn to find his happy place with the cage door closed. What he is learning now is that you are wonderful, safe and predictable. On one hand you don't want him to get so clingy he can't be alone at all and on the other you want to be with him every minute you are home because he is so darn adorable. Since he is brand new and your baby, I would tend toward reassurance now. When you do put him in his cage, leave the house for a while, just a few minutes at a time. Leave a tape recorder to listen to what he does in your absence. My guess is that he settles right down. The other thought is from your baby pictures. Did his breeder have his cage in front of a window? The reason I ask is that some greys are overstimulated by having no quiet little corner to relax. You might try moving his cage to a spot against a wall or in a corner so he can be approached from one predictable direction. If you can't do that, maybe cover two sides with a blanket just to see if he feels more secure in there. Also, mine didn't like the play top "drawer" on top. When I removed that so she could see her ceiling she climbed up there to hang upside down. When she plays on top she tends more to hang onto the edges rather than walk across the grates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 I think kat has made a great point about cage placement. If you can put the cage against a wall or in a corner Stanley may feel a bit more sheltered and secure. You're right on track trying to do the right thing teaching him how to be in his cage alone. You don't want to have him on you all day now, and then have it suddenly change when you go back to school. I can tell you're going to be a great parront! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezron Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Kat brings up an excellent point. I have read about several African Greys who did MUCH better when their cages were placed against a wall to give them a feeling of protection. Conversely, I have also read about African Greys who started plucking or other neurotic behaviors when their cages were in the middle of a room or in a place of great activity because they never felt safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 I believe, for parrents, cages should be a few feet away from wall, as when you introduce new foods, they are going to throw them against the wall! " I don't like it!" Some fruits can really destroy the paint. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezron Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 (edited) Also, I don't feed my guys in their cages. I have feeding stands surrounded by washable mats. They are actually less messy then they used to be. Edited June 15, 2014 by chezron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 That was one of the first things I learned when I first brought parrots especially a grey into my home is to place one side of the cage against a wall, it gives them some security. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex2014 Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 I put both cages in a corner and the food dish for the veggies is on the side not against the wall. that way when they don't like the food as i'm experimenting it doesn't hit the wall. I also found it keeps then from pooping all around the cage when they are out playing. I put a boot tray with newspaper in the front and the one side, a lot less to clean off the floors that way. They also like to sleep on the perch in the corner at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muse Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Oh so adorable! I love those sweet baby noises they make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muse Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Awe, He is just a baby in a new home, a new cage and a new human.He may see you as a place of comfort where he can feel safe. They grow up so fast and than they become independent. Take some time and just enjoy his company. Make sure he has plenty of toys in his cage so when he is in there he can learn to play on his own. Learn contact calls so if your not in the same room and he wants to know where you are you can do contact calls back and forth and he knows where you are at. That`s a good bonding activity. Just a thing or two that may help. Emphasis mine - but THAT! Soooo true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezron Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Buckeye, How is Stanley doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckeye Posted June 24, 2014 Author Share Posted June 24, 2014 Stanley is doing great! We LOVE him, he is doing great and hasn't had any problems. He had a vet visit and he said that Stanley is really healthy and will be a great pet. We had a party with 30+ people and everybody loved Stanley and Stan loved all the attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezron Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Great! Glad to hear it! It is really important to have him introduced to many people now that he is young. Getting him used to being held by different people is a great idea. I wish we had lived around more people when Brutus was younger. He loves people he just doesn't want to be touched by them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Poor Sophie misses the parties we use to have! She was always the " popular one"... would get to " pick" who she wanted to sleep with for the wrestling parties. When I got up... she was always found sleeping on someone and would hush me as they were still sleeping. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckeye Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 Yeah, Stan is the main attraction at our house. He will step up onto anybody and we are trying to get as much interaction as we can wit new people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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