Adopted 4 year Old CAG

[gh363s]

I have recently adopted a 4 year old Congo African Grey. He was very tame with the lady we bought him from and she got him out of his cage no problem. We have only had him for 2 days now, but it really seems we are having no progress with trying to have him step up. I open the cage door and he crawls out no problem he will take food out of my hand no problem. Every time I go to put my hand towards him to step up he seems to want to bite me. I do not actually jerk my hand away, but i do calmly pull it back to avoid bding bit. I use the command step up as his previous owner did as well. I also firmly, but not loud say no when he tries to bite. He does seem a little nervous when I start trying to make him step up as he starts a shivering act. I have always wanted one of these and will try next to anything to actually keep him around and train him. I know it will take lots of time and I am willing to give. If there is any hope at all for me plz someone tell me.

Thanks

 

[Abzeez]

You have only had the parrot a couple days. There is A LOT of hope! The parrot is probably a little uneasy in his new home. It could take a week or it could take a month to gain his trust. It could even take a year. Just sit with him and offer him treats. Talk with him and slowly work towards your goal. If you push him it will only slow your progress.

 

[Spiritbird]

He does not trust you yet. It will take time and your patience. Try to see things through his eyes first. Good luck

 

[willist]

Gaining his trust could take weeks if not months. You must be very, very patient with him. I would not recommend trying to take him out of his cage. Open the door and let him come out on his own. Mostly for now I would just sit near his cage and talk to him and be calm. Once again I can't stress patience enough with working with a Grey. Don't expect miracles. Good luck.

 

[mtdoramike]

I have recently adopted a 4 year old Congo African Grey. He was very tame with the lady we bought him from and she got him out of his cage no problem. We have only had him for 2 days now, but it really seems we are having no progress with trying to have him step up. I open the cage door and he crawls out no problem he will take food out of my hand no problem. Every time I go to put my hand towards him to step up he seems to want to bite me. I do not actually jerk my hand away, but i do calmly pull it back to avoid bding bit. I use the command step up as his previous owner did as well. I also firmly, but not loud say no when he tries to bite. He does seem a little nervous when I start trying to make him step up as he starts a shivering act. I have always wanted one of these and will try next to anything to actually keep him around and train him. I know it will take lots of time and I am willing to give. If there is any hope at all for me plz someone tell me.

Thanks

"I have always wanted one of these and will try next to anything to actually keep him around and train him. I know it will take lots of time and I am willing to give."

I hope so since you bought him. Now, did the previous owner hand the bird to you and did you have any interaction with him BEFORE you bought him? He's probably just nervous. Re-homing is very traumatic to a bird, especially birds like african greys, which are very sensitive birds. You need to allow him to get to know you. This could take days, weeks and even months. So, slow is best with a lot of patience.

Try just sitting near his cage, talking to him, reading and even singing to him. Spend lots of time with him so that he gets used to you being there. Then find out which treat he loves the most and use it as a bribe to get him to step up on command. Be sure to give lots of praise each time that he does it. You may want to start with a stick before using your arm. He may be more comfortable with the stick method. This will serve two purposes, teach him to step up and also teaching him to use a stick, which all bird owners should do. It will come in handy someday.

Now, if you didn't handle the bird before you bought him and the owner didn't offer him to you to hold, there may be a reason for that. He may not have been well socialized meaning, he may be a one person bird and hasn't been handles by other people. The owner may have known this. If this is the case, you will have a long hard road ahead of you because you will not only have to get him used to you, but if you want him to socialize with others, you will have to work on that as well.

I'm hoping it's the first part and not the latter for your sake. Good luck and let us know how the progress is going.

mike

 

[leomacaw]

Taking food from your hand is already a good sign. Be patient.

 

[kerry]

CAGs are very timid. You just got him. Hand feed him treat foods that you know he likes & be VERY patient. Parrots can take long periods of time to trust.

 

[brianlinkles]

You must be so, so patient. I sense that you feel like things should be going faster or that you are going to feel like a failure thus perhaps get rid of the bird. I could be reading more into your post, if I am, I apologize. Ok, now that I have said that. Let me try and be more helpful. Anytime you rehome a bird there is a period of adjustment and it totally depends upon the bird to set the pace. If he/she has been well socialized it could be a breeze. This however does not sound like the case. If you open the cage and read to him, talk to him and sing to him that should be reassuring to him. You also have one of the most sensitive breeds of birds so you need to take it extra slow. Just let him set the pace. I sit on a stool in front of my birds cage and talk and talk. I play music and sing and sing. I read to her, my daughter reads to her. I feed out of my hand etc. This process could take weeks, months longer. The harder you push the more difficult it is going to be. You must not rush this process, or you will end up with a nervous and anxious bird. You have to show that you are trustworthy and that is only going to happen if you take things slow with him. Right now everything is new to him. I rehomed an amazon and let me tell you I have the scars to prove it. These were given to me when I tried stupidly to interact with her because she interacted with me at the rescue so well. Things changed alot once I had her home! I took everyones advice on this board and she is now begging me to take her out of her cage. (she still refuses to do this on her own!) I can give her kisses, rub her neck etc. This took lots of restraint, patience and self control. Yes, there were times when I just wanted to take her out of her cage and hold her, but I didn't. Just be slow and patient, I hope you were prepared for the amount of time this could take. It will be well worth it in the long run!