mpr86 Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 Greetings all. So finally after the problems with the previous CAG we wanted to get, we located a new baby CAG. It was born in July and was being weened by the pet shop. We picked the baby up this week, still feeding via syringe, 30 cc's in the morning, 30 cc at night. I had a few questions. The bird was not taught the 'step up' command, so every time you bring your finger around, he or she makes a noise and seems unfriendly in terms of getting onto the finger. It does not bite though. Second, what really concerns me is the fact that she doesn't seem too active. If we leave her outside of the cage, she will climb to the very very top (taller than us) and just sit there the entire time. If we leave it in the cage, it will just sit on one of the perches and not really move around. She is very quite, and really makes no noise. We have some toys in the cage and outside, but haven't really seen her play with any of it. Occasionally she will rub her beaks together and make like a cracking sound. Is all this expected with a baby CAG? Shouldn't she be a bit more active, walking, climbing around etc? She doesn't seem to have 100% perfect balance yet as its even difficult for her to balance herself properly once on the finger. We have a perch high up in the cage, is there a danger to this if she falls down from it? Should we just leave a perch on the lower portion of the cage for the time being? Thanks a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loviechick Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 ***I had a few questions. The bird was not taught the 'step up' command, so every time you bring your finger around, he or she makes a noise and seems unfriendly in terms of getting onto the finger. It does not bite though.*** You need to start to enforce the step up command immediately. This one on one time will not only help increase your bond a bit, but also let it know that you are the alpha, the flock leader. Gently put your hand up under it's belly and while lightly touching the belly say step up and nudge your hand a bit. Most of the time it will eventually try to step up. Say step up again, and PRAISE the bird and offer treats. Do this as often as you can. I recommend doing it in a slightly dimmed room when they lights are lower and they can't see as much, they won't be as jumpy. I would suggest doing this at least 2-3 times a day. ***Second, what really concerns me is the fact that she doesn't seem too active. If we leave her outside of the cage, she will climb to the very very top (taller than us) and just sit there the entire time. If we leave it in the cage, it will just sit on one of the perches and not really move around.*** As long as she's eating fine, not acting sick with drooping wings, poor posture, poop looks ok, I'd say it's just adjusting. You didn't mention how long you've had the bird, but I'm assuming not long. I know that I've had mine for months and one of their favorite things to do is just to go and sit up on top of their cage, lift one foot up, and relax! Also your bird is probably still scared witless so naturally is not going to be making much noise to attract attention to itself. They usually loosen up after a few weeks, depending on the bird's personality and will start making whistles and other noises. However don't expect them to talk right away, as you can see from a recent poll it takes about a year for them to really start jabbering. ***She is very quite, and really makes no noise. We have some toys in the cage and outside, but haven't really seen her play with any of it.*** None of my Greys will play with a new toy until it has been in their cage for at least a couple weeks to a month, and even then they will just touch it, not play with it. I would suggest a variety of toys foraging toys, preening, shredding, chewing etc. Someone on here has mentioned that the toys sort of become the wallpaper of the cage and its very true, I didn't know that my younger Grey ZsaZsa loved untying knots until I had had her almost 2 months! Now she's destructo bird!:laugh: ***Occasionally she will rub her beaks together and make like a cracking sound. Is all this expected with a baby CAG? Shouldn't she be a bit more active, walking, climbing around etc?*** This is called beak grinding...this is absolute heaven to me because it means that they're relaxed and happy. She's nervous and in a new environment, if she's grinding her beak, you're doing something right! ***She doesn't seem to have 100% perfect balance yet as its even difficult for her to balance herself properly once on the finger.*** Keep an eye on this as balance problems can mean illness, but more than likely its comparable to when a toddler first starts walking. They don't have perfect balance yet and are still "working out the kinks" of walking, your bird is doing the same thing. Also maybe offer her the side of your hand or wrist to stand on, it might be easier for her to grip, and also for her balance. ***We have a perch high up in the cage, is there a danger to this if she falls down from it? Should we just leave a perch on the lower portion of the cage for the time being?*** With all my greys I had a perch lower in the cage in the event that they got spooked by noises in the night when they first came to live with me. I did this for about a weeks, it was about a foot from the bottom. I just did this so they could get used to the noises, and both of them fell once or twice in their first week, but haven't had problems since. I have high and low perches in their cages, but I've noticed that they're more apt to go towards the higher ones. Greys look at height as a protection thing, not as a territorial thing. When they go to a high perch or on top of their cage, it's just them making themselves feel safe. I know that for the most part my CAG's have a lot of trust in me, and earning more everyday, and even they still both love to hang out on top of their cage and relax! Hope this was helpful! Post edited by: loviechick, at: 2007/11/20 19:22<br><br>Post edited by: loviechick, at: 2007/11/20 19:23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 Hi MPR!! It's good to hear from you again :-) Your baby Grey is still settling in and may not even know how to play much yet, plus he is in a new cage and home, so he is being very reserved. How old is your grey? I know you said he was born in July. Which would put him at a maximum of 16 weeks. But, since you are having to feed him formula 2x a day. I can only assume he is not yet weaned and therefore someplace between 12 and 16 weeks. You can start interacting with him by playing with the toys yourself to show him how. Also, layout a blanket on the floor and get down there with him and interact by feeding pieces of fruit, veggies and some nuts. Get a small ball with a bell in it and let him play with it there too. There more you expose him to in these early stages the better :-) Yes, if he does not have good balance, place the perch just a few inches off the cage floor. Also place a towel or something soft on the cage floor to cushion a fall if he is climb around inside and falls. Is his wings clipped? If so is he able to flap at a 45 degree angle down to the floor? Was he able to fledge at all? Fledging is key to him developing balance and confidence. Sorry, I seem to have more questions than answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpr86 Posted November 21, 2007 Author Share Posted November 21, 2007 Hi! Here are some answers The hatch date was 7/15/07. We picked her up this last sunday after visiting her several times at the store. We took her in for an overall checkup yesterday and the doctor said she was healthy and weighed in at 382 grams. The wings were clipped when we picked her up. This morning she was sitting on top of the cage and then just sort of flapped her wings and glided down to the floor. It wasnt really a smooth glide but the landing wasnt too bad. I dont really remember at what angle she came in but it seemed about 30-45 degrees. She then climed on top of a transporter cage and started to flap her wings repeatedly for a few minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest briansmum Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 great answers to all your previous questions from lovie and dan. as for the wing flapping, well she has them.. she's gonna try and use them. as long as she is not plummeting like a rock to the floor she will get the hang of how far she can glide safely. just watch her in the mean time. also flapping is great excersise, it's fun for them and a way of releasing energy. they do like to have a crazy flap sometimes. my grey is fully flighted but he will still sit on his cage or stand, hold on with his feet and flap like mad without actually going any where. it must feel really good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siobha9 Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 My younger grey likes to crazy flap his wings as well. Unfortunately he likes to do it while holding on to my jumper! :unsure: Siobhan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 Loviechick gave you some very good answers, all in all a very informative post, I even learned some things. My Josey does the flapping wings also but she usually does it when she gets on top of the cage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 Thanks for the answers MPR. It sounds like he/she is becoming a little more adventurous in the new home. It also sounds like a good wing clip that allowed slowing down before landing. She/He will gain balance as the muscles develop more from the flapping and short flights, which will also become greater distances as those wings get flapped harder with more power as they do so. :-) Looking forward to hearing more as she/he progresses and maybe some photos. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 Keep us updated Mpr86 on the progress and some more recent photos would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chapala Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 Remember that this bird is a baby, and not a well socialized one. He/she needs time to figure out this new home, new people, totally new environment. Soothing, calm are good attitudes to have right now with the baby. Sitting close to the cage, reading, talking to the bird. See if you can get the bird to take a favorite treat from your hand (small pieces of nut, cut up shelled sunflower seeds). This will help the bird understand that hands are not to be feared. Patience and going slow are very good at this point to build up a good relationship with the bird. Rather than force the step up with such a young and not well socialized baby, please consider taking your time and letting the bird gain confidence and trust in you. A good way to train in a positive way for the step up is to use the food treats, then gradually lay your hand on a perch, getting little tiny steps towards the bird stepping on your hand to reach the treat in other other hand. Always watch the body language, and stop if the bird is getting uncomfortable. Pretty soon the bird will begin to think hands are great things! There is a lot of information available about positive training techniques. I can post links if you're interested in more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 Thanks Reta for the information on positive training techniques, I am interested in more and I think a lot of the others will be too, so please post the links so we can learn more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpr86 Posted November 22, 2007 Author Share Posted November 22, 2007 You guys requested some photos, just snapped these. It seems her step up and increased, she is more receptive to it and actually steps up about 60% of the time outside of the cage and 80% when inside the cage. Obviously not perfect, but we are getting there. When she does step up, we reinforce with "Good girl" and feed her a little treat of popcorn. She also has started to whistle occasionally which is surprising at 4 months or is that normal? She is still weening, and these photos were taking right after hand feeding, so she is a bit messy and refuses me allow to clean her beak. My brother and I had a concern about something the bird was doing, I will make a post with a video on that later with what he is doing. For now the pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 Very nice pictures, Mpr86, thats a lovely girl you got there, I just love the dark eyes of the young ones. Thanks for posting them for us to admire her. Josey does not like me wiping here beak but I do it anyway, LOL.....:whistle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chapala Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 What a beautiful baby Grey bird! Very pretty, love those babies. Re positive training links. Anything by Barbara Heidenreich is excellent - she publishes Good Bird magazine, and has one or more books out and a couple of dvds. Here's the website for the magazine, etc.: http://www.goodbirdinc.com/ Barbara Heindenreich has a Good Bird Yahoo forum, and she responds to posts there: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GoodBirdGroup/ Susan Friedman is a university professor, and in her free time teaches parrot (and other animals at zoos) behavior and positive training techniques. She has an on-line course that is 6 or 7 weeks long, and requires homework! I completed the course almost four years ago, but had to be on a waiting list for close to a year. The only fee is a donation to a rescue or sanctuary of a certain amount (forgot how much). She also has a Yahoo forum, and questions are answered usually by graduates of her course. It is a little more technical approach, but very beneficial in analyzing problem behaviors and figuring out what to do. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ParrotBAS/ There's also a bird click forum or two that I'm not very familiar with though I have done some training with a clicker (dogs and bird). Hope these sites help! Reta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chapala Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 Here's another link to specific articles on positive teaching of the step up. This is from the files section of Good Bird forum site: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GoodBirdGroup/files/How%20to%20Train%20Step%20Up/ There are some good articles in that files section if anyone want to take a look. Reta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 Awww MPR, what a cutey!! Thanks for posting those photos. They are just adorable at that age and especially their little panting sounds :-) Chapala - Great Links, thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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