imrul2001 Posted March 16, 2009 Author Share Posted March 16, 2009 guys i feel bad now, i think i should have gave him a couple of weeks until the shower. the guy i bought it off only gave a small cage, however i have bought a bigger one and waiting for delivery. Thanks for all the help.... i think i am jsut being toooooooo impatient, i really want it to step up in my hand and not bite, so instead of caging him up, i can open the cage, leave it open and let him enter and leave at his own will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 BY all means open his cage door he probubly won't go far from his cage but he may like to come out and sit ontop of it so he can streach his wing. Let him come out on his own if he chooses too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaxtersMom Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I was impatient too at first so I understand but it is very important to let him get comfortable in his new home. The more comfortable he gets the less you get bit:laugh: so there is incentive to taking things slow. I mentioned before, I got bit alot by Baxter in the beginning because I was rushing him (and scaring him) because I wanted to handle him. It was pretty painful and if I had just let him settle in better I may not have gotten bit at all. It didn't take me long to learn though and it was much less stressful on both of us. The way to earn his trust is to talk to him, sit by his cage. Tell him about your day or your plans for the day, talk about the weather, anything. If you read, read aloud to him. If you don't read, maybe you could just for him. You can sing, whistle and just talk to him so he knows you are a friend. And give him treats for him to take from you so he knows your hands are not "bad or scary". One of my biggest break throughs was when I had a project of something I was putting together. I did it a few feet from his cage and wasn't even interested in Baxter at that moment but he was very interested in what I was doing. He watched intently and eventually started making noises right in front of me. He got very curious and that is the key. Let him get comfortable and curious on his own. Let him go at his pace. If you try to push it, you will only go backwards. There is plenty of time, too and no need to rush. I am glad to hear that you have a new cage on the way. The one you describe did sound much too small. When the new cage comes and you get it all set up, remember that is going to make him nervous a bit too. You might want to have it near his current cage for a day or so so that he can see it (less scary for him) before getting him in so he can get used to it before putting him in it. Some greys are scared of new cages and some go into new cages with ease. You will just have to watch and see how yours reacts. And by all means, leave the cage door open and see if he wants to come out. It might take awile for him to come out so don't be disappointed if he sits in his cage with the door open for hours or even a few days. He will eventually come out. Keep us posted;)<br><br>Post edited by: BaxtersMom, at: 2009/03/16 15:10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imrul2001 Posted March 17, 2009 Author Share Posted March 17, 2009 Thanks guys!! good news, kiddy loves apples and ate a whole apple yesterday and is alot friendly towards me. he talks to me and also comes right near to me and puts his head down far scratches. also he tried to jump on to my finger from inside the cage, which is good news!! i really want to take him out the cage but he can fly, and the last owner said once he comes out the cage, he dosent like going back in, and i think the room might be dangerous as there is a fireplace, windows, massive mirrors, plants that might be toxic! so.......... im think real hard if i should clip his wings, i dont know how to do this my self, and the prob is we dont have a avian vet around my area!! but the bad news is, kiddy seems to bite women!!! although he takes food from there hands, wen they try to tickle him he bites them!! my wife is gutted lol, i dont dont want to make kiddy soooooo attached to me, so i let everyone that comes to my house give him food and talk to him. wat can i do out him hating women? as always i really appreciate your help and once i get my new cage i will take sum pics and post them on the forum!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaxtersMom Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 You may not be able to do anything about him not liking women. I think most greys (not all) turn out to be one person birds. Baxter started out liking both me and my husband but a few months after getting him he turned out to be pretty much my bird only. My husband can give him treats, pet him, head scratches but he will not allow him to handle him. He will bite my husband if my husband wants him to step up. They do still have a good relationship though. Baxter just made it clear who's bird he is to my husband. Perhaps your grey has had a bad experience with women and there may not be anything you can do about it. If you don't have an avian vet near you, you will need to find the closest one to you. If there is ever anything happen or your grey gets sick a regular vet will not know how to treat your grey properly. Atleast know where one is if such a problem should occur. If an emergency should occur you atleast need to know where to go beforehand. It could be matter of life and death and a regular vet is not qualified to treat birds and may do more harm than good. I would not clip the wings if you do not know how. A bad wing clip can really cause big problems in a bird. If they are not clipped properly or clipped uneven the bird may still attempt to fly and end up crashing and hurting himself. I have heard of other bad clips that have led to serious plucking issues too so please do not try this yourself. It is a personal choice whether to clip or not to clip but my opinion is that birds should not be clipped. I have 3 that I have never clipped their wings but I do have an exception which was my amazon. He was so scared when we brought him home and half wild. He ended up flying into walls and hit really hard a few times so we thought it was best for him to get clipped before he got hurt. I have a conure that is fully flighted and I will admit he is a pain sometimes flying like he does and have considered (briefly) clipping him but I do not have the heart to do it. It would break his heart. It would be like crippling him in my eyes and just can not do it. Each person has to make up their own mind about it. But before you do anything...please consider the grey (his feelings) and waht it will do to him in anything you do. Whether he can fly or not you need to "grey proof" your home. They can walk very well and will get to cords, plants and other "no no's" in the house. Even if clipped they can't flap hard enough to get up on things if they want to bad enough. If you do feel he needs to be clipped atleast in the beginning mayber there is a pet store that sells birds that clip wings. Many pet stores that sell exotic birds do clip wings and it doesn't cost very much. If you find a store that does sell exotic birds and they don't, then ask if they know where it can be done at. Your grey is still new to you and I would wait on clipping the wings (just my opinion) to see after he gets settled in good if he really needs it. He may not. Mine parrots usually just stay on their cages and don't fly that often and they are not clipped and never have been. Sometimes a flighted bird is not really even a problem. Don't think you have to clip the wings. Don't have his wings clipped untill you see that it will a be problem you can not handle. It takes a LONG time for them to get their flight feathers grown back so think long and hard if you really want to do it. And don't think just because they are clipped that they can't fly because they can, just not as good. I have heard of parrots getting their wings clipped and taken outside and flew away the very same day. Which leads to, after getting settled in, if you want to take your grey outside get a harness for him to make sure he doesn't fly away and get lost. So hang in there. Sounds like you are doing good. Keep reading the threads. You will be fine. Keep building the trust and offering treats. Keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I wouldn't worry too much about out of cage time or clipping his wings until you get the new cage and get him into it. His hesitation to go back into the cage after being out may be partly because the current cage is just too small for him to comfortably stretch and move around. Once you get the new cage, bring it into the room in pieces and let him see you put it together from a safe distance. Depending on how fearful or curious he is it may take a few hours, or a few days, for you to move it closer and closer to him. Take him out and let him investigate it but don't force him in. What works with Dorian is using a dowel or rope perch and attaching one end to the old cage and one to the new, building a bridge for him. Then I let him see me put a favourite treat and a favourite toy in the new place and let curiousity take over. Since you're not in a bird safe room yet, this will all have to be while you're around to supervise, but this way it's his decision to go in. You're doing great. One baby step at at time and soon you won't believe how far you've come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Hi. I was just wondering how it's going with kiddy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imrul2001 Posted March 23, 2009 Author Share Posted March 23, 2009 hi, its going really well thanks!! he loves vegetables and i also let him out the cage now, he loves sitting on top of the cage. however his ok with me tickling him, but when i try to step him up on my hand he tries to bite, so trying to work on that, have you got any advise or tips on how best to do that? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Have you tried stepping up onto your arm or a perch/dowel? Approach slowly with the perch if you decide to try it. Some birds, like my Dorian, are scared of moving sticks. He's just recently decided the broom is not out to get him:silly: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imrul2001 Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 Hi Acappella, i am afraid kiddy is scared of moving sticks tooo! i think im just gonna be brave and try to step him up on my hand some time, if i get bit i get bit :-( lol.. kiddy is alright with the broom, but his really really scared of balloons! another question, how many times a week do you give Dorian a shower? do u use a spray bottle or is it ok with the shower? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Just curious, my Ana Grey uses her beak to test things out, remember their beak is their "hand." She is now only 8 months old and I know babies test that way. She beaks my arm or whatever to test to see how steady it is. Are you sure your grey is trying to bite you or is he just trying to "test" out how steady this "perch" will be? When I first got Ana Grey I mistook her "testing" as trying to bite and once I recognized and understood what she was trying to do, all was well. Of course some greys really want to bite you, so you must learn their body language!!!<br><br>Post edited by: luvparrots, at: 2009/03/27 18:46 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaxtersMom Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 When I first got Baxter, after he started coming out of his cage I dont think he wanted to go back in and he would bite me so he wouldn't have to. When he was on top of the cage he was way taller than I was and I read somewhere on here that you need to be higher up or atleast eye level. If they are above you they feel they are in control and for the most part I think they are. :laugh: Anyway, what I would do is get a chair or stool and step up on that to get him to step up on you. It seemed to work very well for me. That is what I would recommend. Let us know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imrul2001 Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 i tried steppin kiddy up on my hand last nite. i dont think he was biting, but he was testing my hand, he was nipping a few times and then the last nip was tooooooooooo hard which really hurt. so i just said no and put him back. how can we make them realise that it hurts? kinda confused now, also i havent clipped his wings, he dosent really fly about. and if he dose he just flys around the room returnin to his cage. so..... i dont think i'm going to clip his wings. also with summer approaching and really want to take him out to the garden/park, etc. but i dont know if im gonna be able to put a harness on him. Thanks for the advice guys, its really appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaxtersMom Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Greys do realise that the biting hurts. That is why they do it. That is their only means of defense. If you are doing something that they are not comfortable with or the trust has not been built up properly the only thing they can do to let you know they do like something is bite you. He is still new to you. It takes times, sometimes several weeks, sometimes months depending on both you and your grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonek Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 congratulations imrul2001 you just take something great in your live(CAG)as long you falling in love at 1st look just get!!! same like me i just get 3 year old(CAG)he just 4 day with me,bonek still bite,i belive i will get his love... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Don't worry your doing great the biting will lessen as he trusts you more don't give up when he bites don't react at all to the bite imediatly put him in his cage then say no bite and shut the doo and turn your back he will soon realize that it is unacceptable behavour and stop the time out in his cage should not be to long about 5 to 10 minutes then try again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I give Dorian a bath with a spray bottle about once a week. He only enjoys them if it was his idea, when I catch him trying to bathe in his water dish. I've been taking him upstairs when I shower and letting him see it doesn't hurt, let him investigate with the water on low, splashing him from the tap. Hopefully I'll convince him the shower won't kill him soon! Being an optimist, I'm ordering a shower perch tomorrow:unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imrul2001 Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 Thanks guys, i think i'm wrong in letting him out the cage all the time. From now on im gonna try the step up process in his cage, and if he steps up i will bring him out the cage. however if he tries to bite i will just shut the cage door and walk out the room for about 5 minutes. The big problem is once he is out the cage, he dosent go back in, the only way to make him go back in is by getting a stick and moving him towards the cage door and then shutting it. I HATE everytime i have to do this, because he dosent like it and is scared, but i dont have any other option. i've been doing alot of reading before i bought kiddy and even to this day, but unfortunetly it is always harder in practice than theory. Do you guys know of any good parrot training videos that i can download and watch? your help is always appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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