What to do with a new CAG??

[SFsailor]

I have a 9year old male CAG that I just brought into the house. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could make the bird more comfortable in its new surroundings?

 

How long should I wait until I start getting the bird to sit on my hand/arm? When a bird reaches out with one claw is it trying to look for a place to grab?

 

Finally, I have noticed when I get near him his pupils will dilate and contract a lot and rather quickly. Does anyone have any ideas on what this body language could mean?

[estream]

Aloha SF,

Congrats! A few suggestions to help get you started ...

greys are very sensitive to change, take care to keep things slow and easy. You might place his cage somewhere where he can view the normal goings on in your home. Let him observe, get his bearings. and adapt to his new environment. When you pass him, or make eye contact, be mindful to say hello and speak with him in soothing tones. He's getting used to you as well as your environment, and you want him to feel safe and secure in your care.

After a couple of days of acclimation, step up training is a must for a happy healthy realtionship. Because your grey is 9 years old, hopes are high he already knows what the step up command means, however, you are still new to one another. Therefore, you each still need to go through the motions to build trust. Remember that a bird doesn't have any hands - he investigates with his beak. He might test your fingers or arm to make sure they are solid and safe to step on. Your allusion to his leg searching in the air is indeed usually a clue he's expecting to find your hand waiting for him - an excellent sign :-)

Eyes- pinning can be a sign of nerves, fear, or aggression. Use caution when he is pinning - my suggestion would be to wait until he's calm, especially while you two are still getting aquainted. In time you'll be able to read his body language without even realizing you're doing it :-)

Finally, you might consider checking out a few books - a few of my faves are Parrots for Dummies (light, fun, informative) by Moustaki and Parrot Training by Doane, both good intros to parrot behavior and training, and not so technical you consider throwing yourself off a cliff :-)

I wish you well SF :-) And welcome :-)

[SFsailor]

Thanks for the advice it was exactly what I was looking for.

 

The bird is adjusting quite nicely. It gets more talkative each day and its eyes have stopped "pinning" which is a GREAT sign. I plan on trying Clicker training on it when we start with the step up training (there are some videos on Youtube that demostate this technique quite nicely.

 

My previous parrot was a Citron-crested Cockatoo. These birds have powerful beaks because of their unique shape, so I am not worried about biting from the CAG when we being training.

 

Again thanks for the helpful advice.