Tango gets angry about new experiences

[EFGriffith]

I'm definitely a beginner when it comes to raising little birdies...

 

Tango is 4 & 1/2 months old, and I've had him for about 2 weeks now. He likes to be held, will cuddle a little and loves head scratches. I'm not sure how well we're bonded though, because every time I try to introduce him to something new, he FREAKS. He still bites a little bit when we play together, not all the time, but every now & then for what seems to be no reason at all. Just out of nowhere he'll bite. Somtimes he beaks gently, other times it's hard, but he's never broken the skin at least. I put him in "time out" for 5 minutes when he does.

 

Here's the thing... I try to introduce him to new experiences and he gets angry. I've dripped water on him a couple times and he always screeches like it's the end of the world. I've had him 2 weeks and haven't been able to give him a proper bath. He doesn't take to bird baths himself, so I used a towel to drip water on him today and he tolerated it, but screeched like he was dying. I set him on top of his cage to clean up the sink area and when I came back to try and hold him, he wouldn't let me pick him up, just lunged at me and screeched. He's never been this angryat me Seems as though bathtime was pretty traumatic for him, and I absolutely hate it happened that way, but I couldn't figure out any other way to clean him

 

I'm not sure if I'm hurting our bonding process, but it's been 2 weeks and he hadn't had a bath, which I'm sure isn't healthy either. He also doesn't eat anything but seeds, just tosses everything else aside. I want him to live more than 10-15 years! I've read some other threads on this though and plan to start a new feeding pattern tomorrow.

 

I've also been trying to handle his wings & feet so in the future nail-trimming and wing-clipping (if we go with that route) will be easier. Should I stop trying to introduce new things for a couple days and just focus on love? I don't want him to be scared to come out of the cage for me, but at the same time, I want him to be able to handle basic birdie life experiences.

[casper]

Hi EFGriffith,

Congratulations on your new baby!

 

My latest grey is about the same age as yours, maybe a couple of weeks older. He was very bonded to the breeder and we have had biting and diet issues with him.

When I brought him home, he was only eating seed which had to be softened by soaking in water. Over the last two weeks, I gradually added soaked pellets to his seed then reduced the water. He now eats pellets only and Zupreem fruitblend. He has been introduced to different veggies and fruit, if he didnt eat them out the bowl I would sit and hand feed them to him.

 

For the bathing issue I use a fine mister, I dont know what you use but I find mine prefer this. The other two greys get misted on their playstand but I had to mist jasper in his cage to start off with, he didnt seem to mind it to much!

 

Try get some cement perches to keep the nails trimmed, I use these with all my three and find they work really well. I put one near their main feeding bowl so I know it will get used on a daily basis.

 

Your grey is only young and will get used to things in time. I hope some of this will of helped.

Caroline:)

[BaxtersMom]

Two weeks isn't a very long time and he is still getting used to his new home. Let him ease into things slowly or at his own pace without forcing too much on him at once. He may be overwhelmed with all the changes. Greys are such cautious birds anyway and he might not be too sure of his new routine yet.

 

I can't help much with the diet cuz I have a hard time introducing new foods to my grey as well but atleast he will eat the pellets.

 

My grey was 12 years when I got him and I know the previous owner never bathed him:( . I started out with one of those misting bottles. At first I would spray the mist up in the air and let it gently fall so he could get used to it. He didn't care for it at first but I think he did kind of like the water (but would never ever admit it;) ) Gradually I got to where I could spray it directly towards his belly, wings, etc. He will bite at the spray bottle but doesn't run away or back off. I think it became a game to him. Just recently I took him in the shower with me and eased him into the spray. To my surprise after he figured out it wasn't going to hurt him~ He ended up loving it! It all takes time.

 

I know I was very overwhelmed when I first got Baxter and wanted to do everything I could to make sure he was getting everything he needed but I think he was a little overwhelmed too. As much as I wanted to things for him was about as much as he resisted me:laugh: It will all work in time.

[Lyric]

Try taking things a little slower, greys are overly cautious in general and take awhile to adjust to changes.

As far as the bathing goes, the others have given good advice. I use a spray bottle for mine and sometimes they like it, sometimes they don't, but they get wet non-the-less.

For getting him to try new foods, let him watch you eating something that you want him to try. Eventually curiosity might get the better of him and he'll decide he'd better see what you are eating and try it for himself. Let him have some directly from your hands or off your plate. My TAG loves to eat from my dish, he thinks it's always better than anything I put in his dish. Best of luck to you.

[Dave007]

You need to forget that idea that a bird is unhealthy if he isn't bathed. Many don't bathe for much longer than 2 weeks. It's a fallacy that they MUST be bathed constantly. A couple of people have already told you that 2 weeks isn't enough time for the bird to get used to things. Well, the people are all correct. Getting him used to other types of food isn't something that happens overnight. Many times, it takes months and the transition is done in small steps. You shouldn't be dripping water on him with a towel or any other item. Many birds don't like towels and that's not the way to start ff a relationship with a parrot.

"" I've also been trying to handle his wings & feet so in the future nail-trimming and wing-clipping (if we go with that route) will be easier.""

If you really think you have to do wings, that has to be done by a vet, not you. You're inexperienced with parrots and if you cut those wings you'll cut them in the wrong way, might make him bleed and turn him against you. The vet is the person that the biird should get angry with.

""I want him to live more than 10-15 years!"""

In general, greys have a much longer life span than 10 to 15 yrs.

[EFGriffith]

Thank you so much to everyone who is helping me out here. Like I said, I'm new. If I didn't care about the bird, I wouldn't be posting and asking questions. Sure, I'm a little afraid of looking dumb in front of everyone who knows so much, and it's especially hard to admit my mistakes so publicly! But it's better for me to look dumb and ask than to do anything to accidentally harm my bird or our relationship in the long-run.

 

I think the new plan is to take some time to just love him. Let him eat his seeds, learn to trust me, give him lots & lots of cuddling and time perched on my knee or hand. Then once we've established that relationship I'll start with introducing new foods and the rest of what goes into having a healthy, well-adjusted companion. I've only ever had dogs before and was used to their immediate trust. Time to start back from square 1 and give him some time to settle in. I'm absolutely devoted to this relationship and understand now that I was rushing things, so it's time to slow down.

 

CASPER: Thanks for sharing the knowledge from your experiences. A concrete perch is a great idea, and is probably a much more natural way to go than having his nails clipped.

 

BAXTERSMOM: I like how you compared us feeling overwhelmed to his feeling overwhelmed. That's probably the situation I'm in right now. I might be trying to hard to show I love him, when all I really need to do is give him some cuddles and head scratches :kiss:

 

LYRIC: He always watches with curiosity when I eat the things I offer to him. I think I just have to give him more time to trust me and know that I'm not trying to play some sort of food "trick" on him.

 

DAVE: I'd never try to clip his wings myself! And I understand that their lifespan is 50+ in a healthy, happy bird. I think we had some miscommunication, so I sent you a PM :blush: Hope I clear things up for you!

[casper]

Dont ever feel like you are asking dumb questions!

Everyone of us on here is always learning something new!

I have three greys and that dosent make me any better than anyone else on here! I still get lots of help from other members of the forum.

I think its great when people ask lots of questions, it shows how much you care about your grey and want to get it right!

Karma to you for asking!

Caroline.

[BaxtersMom]

There are no dumb questions on here so ask all that you have concerns about. I've only had my grey since July. Totally different experience than any other animal I have known. I could relate exactly to what you are going through cuz i was there myself. Truth be told probably everyone here on the forum was too. Yep, I was overwhelmed and then when I thought of Baxter & his feelings, he had to be overwhelmed too. Probably thought "who is this crazy lady and what is she doing to me?" :laugh: :woohoo: :silly: I did go too fast with him and I know it. Not sure that is a totally bad thing cuz we made lots of progress on some things real fast too. I just loved him so much:)

 

I did get confused and aggrevated and I would give him a days space, cuz my feeling were hurt mainly and I had to mentally recover:laugh: It was those days I noticed him calling to me and wanting me to come back and give him more attention. Silly bird:silly:

 

You are doing just fine!

[bettyboop]

The others have given great advice , one other suggestion is to sit by his cage , door open and read childrens story books to him . Let him come to you , and he will . Do not worry about the bath thing , slowly introduce him to a water bowl by placing little plastic or wooden foot toys in it , he will be cautious , but will eventually go to it and start playing in it , then he will take a bath . I took a small spray bottle and set it near my Greys cage , so he could see it , then after a week or so I started carrying it around and he wanted it , then I put some warm water in it and sprayed but not on him , then he worked into beaking on it , drinking from it , then we gently sprayed it over him , never at him , now he tells me TAKE BATH ....Greys are naturally very cautious , so move slow , don't rush , let him make some moves on his own .

Good luck

[Tycos_mom]

I find with bathing Tyco usually will tell me when she wants one two or three times a week she will try and bath in her water dish thats when I will go and ask if she wants to shower she wil then say shower and I take her to the bathroom and she has her shower. then I put her back on her play top and she will take another bath in her water bowl go figure silly bird. with new foods make a huge deal about how good they are but don't offer her any until she absolutly is begging to try what you have. Her curiosity will get the better of her and she will just have to have some of what your eating. Pellets are a hard one. you may have to try a few differnt kinds before you find one your bird will eat. Mine all like Zupreen fruity maintenance and I think most birds do so You might want to try those first. I have 10 bags of different types of pellets in my freezer because I went for all the other before the fruity ones So every once in a while I grind some of the others up and put them in muffins and stuff like that so I can get them used up that way, Its also a way to get pellets into your bird if you bird really won't eat them. You can grind them and put them in anythin like scrambled eggs. pasta rice and bean mash squash what ever.

[cflanny]

ZZero goes in the shower with me, at first I just let the water bounce off me or my hands he might not get soaked but if you make it fun singing and acting silly he might enjoy it. Now he wants the water right on him and he falls asleep!! or just put him on the shower rod or at the top and let the steam hit him just a little usually this calms them and he can see you playing in the water . ZZero showers with me daily he doesnt always get soaked but we have a great time. We also made a game of the spray bottle I play peek-a-boo and mist above his head so it just gently falls on him he has a BLAST! and the end result is he gets very wet. Just some idea to try and make the experiences fun. he does not have to be soaked you will get there small steps that are FUN!!

 

Also try and show him 1 new thing a day not over whelming just 1 little new thing.<br><br>Post edited by: cflanny, at: 2008/10/22 19:09