15mnths old untamed CAG YELLS

[imran]

hi ppl.. it was really good to read this forums.. a place which offers help for our greys..

i adopted a wild grey 3 days ago.. his age is 15 months..

i have this problem.. as some1 from my family or me go next to his cage to put food for him he yells so loud its kind of irritating.. very very loud..

i think he is scared.. he is a CAG.. 15 months and his tailed is pulled out.. he got very small tail with small red feathers.. i just wanted 2 also know.. do tamed and untamed one take the same time for training or does that differ..?? also plz let me know what to do about his yelling part.

i ll put his image later

[Guest Lidia]

Hi Imran,

Is this bird actually wild or is he captive-bred but untamed?

If he is a captured wild bird he will be extremely traumatised and you might have to make a decision about what to do about this. If he is captive-bred but untamed, then it will simply take some time to get him used to being around people.

You will need to be gentle and persistent and resign yourself to the fact that you will undoubtedly be bitten, and bitten badly, during the process.

You need to make sure that you don't make sudden movements around your bird, no loud noises, speak in a gentle and well-modulated voice. When he gets to the point where he stops screaming when you approach (and he will continue to do this until he stops being frightened, so all the more reason to be extremely gentle and kind with him), you can begin to pass treats to him through the cage. Try and get him to associate you with things he likes. Bribery, in sum.

You can't afford to lose your temper with him, even if the sound drives you insane. In order for you to 'tame' him, you will have to get him to trust you. Thus, patience and perserverence.

This may take some weeks to achieve and you probably don't know how he was treated wherever he last was. It sounds like he wasn't treated too well, wherever he was, as he is now screaming.

In terms of cage placement, it might make him feel a little more safe if at least one side of his cafe is against a wall, so he feels a little bit protected. Remember, these are prey birds in the wild, and his instinct is probably shouting 'fight or flight' at him.

Gentle courtesy, gentle talk, gentle voice, gentle movements.

Let us know how you're doing and welcome to the forum.

L

[Guest]

Imran, welcome. I'm happy you joined us

 

A 15-month wild bird seems like a hand-ful to me.

[imran]

thank you fairy for the warm welcome..!!

lidia you have been very informative..thank you.

about he being a part of wild or captive breeded i am not quite sure..

and i just wanted to tell you i can make out that he is really very scared and fearful, i dont know of what.? ya, i am trying my best to make it feel comfortable and being very gentle with it..

a towel covering, little part of the cage does the job when he becomes really hyper..

can you please tell me about his tail will he grow it back or will it remain same??

will he overcome his fear or should i consider giving it back to the person i got it from..??

 

p.s - he plays when no ones around him and eats also when he feels he is safe.. help plz..!!

thnk you

[Guest Lidia]

Hi Imran,

His tail should grow back, but that involves him not pulling the feathers out. Presumably he plucked the feathers because he was depressed, bored, frustrated, scared, lonely, or something. If you keep him happy and entertained, he should stop and the feathers will regrow.

What he is plainly very scared of is human beings. I cannot stress this enough, you HAVE to be very very very very patient. If you really take your time with him, and are not scared by his biting (which he will undoubtedly do when you get to the point of holding him), he will come to trust you.

You must be careful not to react to his bad behaviour and conversely you must reward his good behaviour. Think of him as a rather slow 2-year old child.

Make lots of eye contact with him. This is very important for their well-being and will make him feel less like he is about to be pounced on. Don't stand over him (ie, make sure his cage or the perch he most often sits on in his cage is high enough so he doesn't feel threatened).

You'll get there so long as you're loving, consistent and attentive.

L

[imran]

hey lidia thank you..

i thot as much he is just afraid of human beings.. infact very very scared..

i met the person i got him from.. he said this is a wild bird not breeded..

he had 2 more CAG 3 years old which also were wild but they were well mannered and tamed..they sat on my hand and allowed me to pet them (vry sweet and cute)but the price of them was double.. so i am just confused to tame the one i have or then just go and buy the tamed one..i am really not sure what to do..

i cant think of getting this guy out of the cage cause its too early right now its been only 3 days i have got him.. and he doesnt even allow me to put his food.. he just growls and growls feeling insecured.. so i got to be really moviing slow and doing things gently..

leme know if i can tame this guy to that level or should i just go ahead and take the tamed one..

[Tari]

Here in the US we do not have legal wild caught birds. But maybe someone that has or had one well log in soon with more answers.

[Guest Lidia]

Hi again Imran,

I would say whether you can tame your bird depends on how confident you are with the bird. I would say that, yes, it's possible if you're patient.

But I would question whether it is morally or ethically correct to even have a wild bird which has been traumatised by being taken out of its natural environment. As Tari says, it is not legal in America to have captive wild birds, nor is it legal here in Ireland or indeed in any country that has signed up to CITES: http://www.cites.org/.

If you are not confident, I would spend the extra money and get a hand-reared bird that is accustomed to being around people and enjoys their company. If you are confident, maybe you can help this poor captive wild bird to recover from the trauma it has undoubtedly experienced.

L

[Tari]

Oh we still have wild parrots but from long ago. Cause it is not legal to bring them into the us anymore.

It is possble my amazon was a wild caught but he is 25 years old and as sweet as they come. One day Ill read that dang open band that is one him. lol

Hmmm maybe Ill try that today. You would think after owning him for 6 years I would of done that by now.

[CeasarsDad]

Thanks for joining us my friend.. Even if it's a wild parrot....which I highly doubt... you should still be able to tame him.. Like any living life form, this one will soon recognize that you are no threat... and will soon see that you care for him.. Now it could take some time for this to happen.. But if you are patient you can win this battle.. Give lots of time, talk in a loving, warm caring voice and you will see major changes before you know it..

[imran]

hey ceaserdad,tari and lidia it was very kind of you people to give me your views..and thanks for ur warm welcome..

as far as the growling it has reduced by 50%.. i think he is plainly scared of humans i think that should go in sometime..i am trying my best to act according to his instincts..

yea i also feel that i should tame him and get an expirence of taming a wild CAG.. i m sure he ll come out of the trauma it will just take time which i m ready for..

i am in love with him now itself in 4 days..

getting another tamed CAG will be easy but making this guy learn will increase my love for him since i care and taught him.. and yea i think this guy can get tamed..

lidia i ll surely will help this poor bird get back his confidence and help him get out of his trauma..

i hope god helps me with patience and determination..

thankkkkkkkk you people.. i ll let u know the expierence tooo...

[Talon]

I for one, would never want a wild bird. They deserve to be in the wild like Tari said. But good luck with you efforts. :dry:

[judygram]

Like everyone else said it will take lots of time and I am saying not in weeks but maybe in months to get him to trust you. Take everything slow and gentle and one day you will be rewarded with his love. Just don't give up and be very very patient with him. Keep us informed as to how things are going and let us know if you need any help.

[lyndalynn]

Imran...I would hate to think what might happen to your new 'baby' if you were to give him back. Stick with him, believe in him and follow the advice of the others. Before you know it you will have friend for life.

[dblhelix]

Imran,

 

Hello and welcome! A wild caught bird is a handful and challenge even to an experienced bird handler. That being said, I agree if you stick it out you will have a great friend for life and certainly be doing the bird a great favor to provide it a home after what was and continues to be a frightening/stressful situation. Imagine going from the independence in the wild and being with other birds to a cage where you have lost everything you knew and are completely dependent on unfamiliar humans.

 

My Grandmother's Red Lored Amazon was definitely wild caught a long time ago. We have had him now for over 36 years and really dont know how old he is...he is a great bird but their personalities are markedly different than a hand raised bird.

 

In any event, if you are patient and earn his trust you will indeed have a very special friend for life. Patience is key, particularly with a wild caught bird. I wish you all the best and hope you stick with him/her. There is a lot of info on this site so please ask questions, buy books, read up etc.

 

All the best.

[Tari]

I wish you tons of luck and remember we are here for you anytime you need to ask questions or just get frustrated and need to vent. Heck I cant even tame a parakeet. lol But I can retame birds that have not been untamed for very long.

Did that make since?

Good Luck

[imran]

hey thanks ppl..

so like some of you said that a wild bird has a diffrent personality then a hand raised..

which one is more better..?? i know both are best but then..t can you atleast letme know the diffrence between the personalities..

like a wild one is slower or faster in learning things and stuff..? ??

thank you

[Guest Lidia]

Imran,

A wild-caught bird will have been severely traumatised. It will take time and patience for it to recover from this and endurance on both your part and the bird's to learn to trust one another.

The difference in personalities is that a wild bird will have developed its personality in its natural setting, ie, in a flock of greys. Its instincts will be much closer to the surface than a hand-reared or captive-bred bird. If it has been taken from the wild it will have fully and traumatically experienced what it is to be a 'prey' species, albeit it wasn't killed and eaten. It will also have fully experienced being part of a flock and will probably need a lot of love and attention and eye contact (eye contact, I repeat, is very very very important) for it to develop emotionally. It will have memories of its past. And remember, if it is a wild bird, it will remember that it was a human that took it from its flock. It will probably have a problem with hands and gloves and you should be very sensitive to this until it becomes used to the fact that you're not going to hurt it.

Both a captive-bred and a wild bird will be intelligent. Both will have many of the same personality traits (even a hand-reared bird is only a few generations away from wild).

You sound as though you haven't yet made up your mind what you want to do.

My opinion is that if you expend the time and effort on the bird you have and are consistent in your demeanour towards it, it will eventually become tame and friendly. It will have the same capacity to learn to speak as captive-bred birds, mimickry is clearly a useful tool in the wild for these birds, so it is highly developed.

I totally agree with the other opinions posted here. The main ingredients are patience, courtesy and gentleness, all things we enjoy ourselves!

But be very sure that you are making the right decision. This should be a life-long commitment, not just a strings-attached commitment in case the bird does not turn out how you want it to. The more people it is passed to, the more likely it is to be mistreated.

Please think carefully before you decide whether to keep it or not.

 

ps. You will be bitten, and bitten badly at some stage. Don't be frightened of this. Just be careful and NEVER punish the bird for reacting in fear or anger. Persist patiently. Most of us parrot people have scars, even from our hand-reared birds!B)<br><br>Post edited by: Lidia, at: 2007/06/16 12:33

[imran]

hi lidia..

ya at first i decided that i ll keep him and wait for time to heal him.. coz time was the best healer.. but then after reading a lot of articles and research over the net. i figured out that it may take years for healing and getting him out of the stress and truama.. it was only a week i had him and i saw no changes he didnt eat anything except for sunflower seeds which is not really healthy for him..and the growling didnt reduce too.. so today i decided to go bak and give him back to the owner i feel really bad about it, plus the owner is a gem of a person.. i am very low right now after seeing what happened.. i am not plannin to have a grey right of now coz cant get over him yet.. but i ll surely make sure that i own a legal breeded grey rather than having an illegal wild grey and encouraging people to sell these greys.. i really appreciate and thank all of you to help me regarding this incident.. i got to learn a lot from this forum and you people.. thank you so much everyone for the help and information.. i really had my handsful for this week..

 

P.S:- this is for everyone avoid having an illegal wild grey coz it encourages sellers to catch these wild greys more coz of the buyers.. atleast in countrys where wild greys are sold..!!

[Guest Lidia]

Imran,

It sounds like you made a hard decision. Do you know what the owner's plans are for the grey? Do you think he'll be all right? I would suggest you suggest to the owner that he/she might consider handing the grey over to a zoo with other greys or to a parrot shelter where he'll be well looked after.

Do take time before you decide what to do next and remember, even if you get a tame baby grey, they're still a lifelong commitment.

It is better to have made your decision now rather than a month or two down the line. I would like to hear that you followed up with the owner, though.

Best of luck.

Lidia