New member- new mom!

[TessC]

Good morning everyone!

 

I stumbled upon this site while looking for training info for my boy Zulu.

 

He's a rescue, 4 or 5 years old, and came from a horrible situation. His owner was in an abusive marriage and she and her children were eventually killed by the husband.

 

He also lived with a macaw and a quaker- now he's on his own, as my first and only bird.

 

(If you're interested, the full story is here

 

He's smart as anything, but reluctant to work with me. He knows step-up, for example, but only does it if he's jumped down and is on the floor. If he's in or on the cage, he'll bite.

 

He'll let me scritch a little, but that's all- no handling, no walking around with him, and he's terrified of stand alone perches. I've been trying to bring him into the kitchen and away from the cage, but it means having to 'towel' him, and since it starts with a traumatic experience, I hate doing it to him.

 

But now it's time for some tough love as appropriate. He's had about 6 months to adjust, and he's certainly calmer than he was initially, so I want to start really working with him. He's started regurgitating for me, which I take as a good sign, although he's terrified of my husband- not surprising, given his background.

 

Anyway, sorry to go on so long, I'm just happy to have found the appropriate place to blather about my boy!

 

Tess

[judygram]

Hello and welcome to the family, Tess, glad you could join us and I know you are going to love it here.

 

I commend you for taking on this grey, you have your hands full but with the proper love and attention I am sure he will eventually come around. I cannot imagine what horrors he has seen in his previous home but he is out of it now and can only get better for it.

 

You have accomplished a lot so far and it will take a lot of time and he may never completely get over the trauma but time will tell. Continue to work with him, talk to him and give him treats to get the better behavior out of him.

 

Please read thru the many threads on various topics for lots of useful information and do not hesitate to ask any specific questions you may have. We will do our best to get you an answer and help you in any way we can.

 

If you have a picture of Zulu that you would like to share with us we would love to see him. BTW, we love blathering about our greys and you can do it all you want.

[MazyAK]

Tess: I also commend you for taking on this obviously traumatized bird. I read your whole story and as a surviving victim of violent crime myself (my father was murdered)I know recovery for this bird will be a long process. It sounds like you are making progress over the last 6 months and things will progress. Probably slowly but be super patient and I'm sure you'll see improvements. I would recommend not toweling him to get him out as this is traumatic in itself for the bird.Also, don't try to pry him out of the cage as the shop owner did. Try leaving the cage door open when you want him to come out so it becomes his choice. If he acts insecure then close the door. It seems you have opportunity to hold him when you rescue him from the floor. Take advantage of that time and hold him for a while. This bird has witnessed violent abusive behavior in his previous home and it may take a longer time for him to build back his trust in any humans.(It has for me) Since (for prior obvious reasons) he may not like males, have your husband keep his distance and move slowly when in the birds sight.Have your husband show positive affection to you so the bird can start to see he is not a threat to you or the bird unlike his previous situation. You have a long road ahead but I truly believe you are on the right course and will be rewarded. You have rescued a hard case and it sounds like you are right for the task.

Bruce & Mazy from Alaska<br><br>Post edited by: MazyAK, at: 2008/01/09 20:49

[TessC]

Thanks for the welcome!

 

Here's the boy, in my favorite pose.

 

It's like he's Dr. Evil from Austin Powers, stroking his chin.

 

Post edited by: TessC, at: 2008/01/09 23:34<br><br>Post edited by: TessC, at: 2008/01/09 23:47

[judygram]

He's a lovely boy, Tess, and thanks for sharing a photo with us.

[Guest]

TessC and Zulu, welcome here

 

Hahahaha... he's cute, can't see no Dr. Evil in him :laugh: :laugh:

[lovemyGreys]

Hi Tess & , How wonderful that you have given Zulu a forever home,thanks for sharing his story with us & good luck with him.

[Laurie]

Wow, that's quite a story!

Just from reading your post I can tell your bird is in good hands now. He's lucky to have such a good mom!

[danmcq]

Welcome Tess!!

 

What a horrific story, my God!!

 

Zulu spent 4 or 5 years in fear from that abusive and violent homes atmosphere. The six months you have been so lovingly and patiently nurturing him is a relatively short time compared to his previous experience.

 

As Mazy recommended, let the toweling stop as it is just another scary and abusive act to his personal way of thinking. The "Tough Love" mentioned, is not the way to winning him over. He has already had plenty of that.

 

This poor guy is intelligent and knows what he has been through and at this point, probably thinks that is the way the world is, as far as he has seen.

 

Just the description of him stepping up willingly from the floor and starting to regurgitate for you are huge strides from him and shows trust he probably did not have in the previous home.

 

This guy has come from a real battle field and is suffering from the post traumatic shock of it all.

 

Mazy and others all gave good advice. The Cage is his place of safety and security. Leave the door open so he can come and go at his own pace. Once he realizes you and family truly love him and want the best for him, He will start responding to you more and more.

 

You have done a wonderful thing in taking on this huge responsibility and putting for the time, effort and patience required to get him this far. My hat is off to you and your family.

 

That is a great photo of Zulu. We'll look forward to hearing more of him and you. :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2008/01/11 15:15

[TessC]

Thanks all- and especially Mazy, for sharing your story. I cannot imagine how how horrible it all must have been.

 

I haven't been towelling him, because it seems self defeating- if he's supposed to be having fun on the perch but it starts and ends with something he hates, it won't have fun anyway, right?

 

I have a business out of my home, and his cage is against my desk- it has a domed top, which folds down into a little veranda.It stays open all day while I work, so he's got the run of inside/outside his cage and my desk. He comes right out in the morning and checks everything out.

 

It's resulted in cleaning A LOT of poop off the edge of the desk, :whistle: but it's well worth it. Little by little he ventures further out to come snatch something that's caught his eye. I talk to him sometimes when he does this, but he's most comfortable when I pretend to ignore what he's up to.

 

Dan, please be assured that the tough love I meant wasn't dragging him around and forcing him to do anything he doesn't want- believe me, the last thing I want is to lose what hard-earned good will I've built up! I only meant that I want to start working with clicker training and suchlike.

 

My thinking on that (I don't really know how the community here feels about the clicker), is that since it's a constant thing, a predictable thing, it should eventually help him be more secure overall. Eventually being the key word- at this point he's curious, but I've only been doing it sporadically, to get him to get used to targeting. (My business is Mardi Gras intensive, and until that's over I'm going to be a walking, muttering zombie:))

 

Please let me know what you think- I'm a total novice at this, and although it seems to make sense, I could be way WAY off base.

 

Thanks again, everyone- you've made me feel like I've actually made progress when sometimes it's hard to tell!

 

Tess

[danmcq]

Hi Tess,

 

 

Clicker Training is highly effective and actually a positive relationship building methodology while achieving good training results and building a closer bond.

 

There is a thread or two in the Training room specifically on Clicker training with some links to is also.

 

You are walking down all the right paths and obviously a very concerned and loving person to put forth the effort you have already. :-)