African Grey training progress advice needed

[ParrotSnakeMan]

I’ve had my CAG over 5 months and she is around 10 months old. I got her from a breeder in my area that I’ve heard mixed reviews about since purchasing the bird. In the beginning the bird was absolutely terrified of everything and growled and trembled in fear anytime my wife or I came close. The breeder claims she was hand fed but not socialized much.

Since having her I’ve worked on target training and she will take treats from my hand and do a few simple tricks on command such as big bird ( flap wings on command ) and whistle on command. It took nearly 3 months to have her stop growling at me, she stopped growling at my wife sooner.

The bird will only step up if she flies off the perch or play gym to the floor. The breeder originally had her stepping up with this method holding both hands out and sweeping her feet from behind while distracting her eyes with his other hand. The bird hated this and flew away when he attempted this in front of me. So now I have a bird that refuses to step up for me 5 months later. I don’t need to hold her but in the process of moving the animal for cage cleaning, vet visits etc it would be really helpful if I could get some amount of cooperation instead of flying away or backing into a corner and growling.

Currently I have to get her to the point of flying away and then have her step up from the floor. Which isn’t ideal as half the time she flies into something and Im worried she going to get hurt.

She isn’t progressing much now with training. Her target training is limited to putting it right in front of her. She won’t even walk across the play gym for it. Treats aren’t a huge motivator and I’ve offered her just about everything imaginable to find the treat she likes best. Now she hasn’t taken to any new tricks in nearly two months. She will still do the tricks she knows but lately I’ve been asking for new tricks and step up and she’d simply rather not have ANY treats than comply.

I ask, show the treat and when she seems to back away I also back away. She will walk over to me on the perch and is willing to do the few tricks she learned in the beginning and wants treats. I just can’t get her to make any progress ok anything else. I tried rewarding her for letting me just touch one foot with my finger but if I even move my hand in her direction she becomes upset and may fly away.

I know greys are neurotic and you can’t force them to do anything. but I feel like my bird is more neurotic than most and in my opinion I think some of the the things the breeder was doing with her have added to it. The bird still trembles if I get too close and I’ve never even remotely risen my voice im her presence. I’ve been patient and slow and speak to her as if she were my baby.

What am I doing wrong or is this normal?
Will I be able to progress her training and eventually her step up and learn other tricks? Or do some birds just decide thats never going to happen.

Note I spend 12 hours per day with her and my other bird as I work from home and they are in my office. My other bird(IRN) is very well trained.

 

[ParrotSnakeMan]

Never-mind, I’ve figured this one out for myself.

 

[rheashard2]

At 10 months your CAG is still very young. Introducing new things too fast (CAG individual preference) can cause resistance. Sounds like you're doing well. The key is PATIENCE and consistency. Try to discover what your CAG likes to do. Mine hates tricks. She'll even roll on her back going flaccid. I have to coax and bribe her to stand. She loves talking and talking and talking. Talk shows, news, documentary, as well as cartoons, anime and action movies are her favorites. I accept that is her personality.

 

[wrench13]

Right! Every parrot istheir own bird, so to speak. An individual, unique and often not compliant to the species norms.

 

[ParrotSnakeMan]

I’ve started today closing her cage door once shes out and moving the play gym away from it so that she “needs” to step up to go from place to place. She of course doesn’t love this but is now actually complying with my request at least more consistently than before. I tried this a month and half ago for a couple days and it didn’t work but now that shes a little more comfortable at the house shes complying more than I’ve ever seen her comply.

 

[ParrotSnakeMan]

Right! Every parrot istheir own bird, so to speak. An individual, unique and often not compliant to the species norms.

For sure. I can’t help but think so of the things this breeder did made this more difficult than it needed to be. I learned some things about this person after the fact that I wasn’t real happy to hear. Regarding how he treats the birds. Either way my recent move closing the cage door and moving the play gym seem to be helping my efforts. The bird would rather I wasn’t needed for go from one to the other but as ling as she steps up on her own will and doesn’t back away its a victory in my mind.

 

[rheashard2]

Remember cats, dogs and birds etc need to have a safe place. A dog it's kennel or bed and a bird their cage. To deny them that safe place can contribute to anxiety. It's what they think, feel that's important. This can make them more resistant to leave. Discover that favorite treat and use that as a reward with lots of verbal praise.

 

[ParrotSnakeMan]

So if I open the door again she will retreat and hide in the cage if I even say the words step up. Again my motivation is not to hold her endlessly its mainly just to safely move her which is necessary for cage cleaning, vet visits etc. If I open the cage and allow her that space what would be the suggested way of moving her? I haven’t toweled the bird as many ppl have told her it would lead to less trust.

I am open to suggestions

 

[ParrotSnakeMan]

So if I open the door again she will retreat and hide in the cage if I even say the words step up. Again my motivation is not to hold her endlessly its mainly just to safely move her which is necessary for cage cleaning, vet visits etc. If I open the cage and allow her that space what would be the suggested way of moving her? I haven’t toweled the bird as many ppl have told her it would lead to less trust.

I am open to suggestions

Note there os not a single treat item that holds enough value for her to comply

 

[rheashard2]

She sounds traumatized. I wonder what could have done that to such a young bird.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Some breeders just breed and feed, without taking care of birds' emotional needs. They quickly fill their crops using crop needles and toss them back in the brooder so they don't even get to enjoy feeding and bonding to humans. It's a money making scheme.

 

[ParrotSnakeMan]

so I met somebody who worked for this breeder about a month after I purchased the bird. Mind you if you look at them online and speak to a lot of people around the area I live they’re very well repeated and liked. However, the person that I met that used to work for them and some other people have met since then have had drastically different opinions.

I was told that this person to get the bird to step onto your hand or arm without fuss, would to toss them into a pillowcase and spin them around multiple times to dizzy them, disorient them, and then take them out of the bag and place them on his hand. I was also informed that he trained all the birds to not bite using a towel and a stick. This meant that he put the towel on his arm attempt to hold the bird and if it tries to bite you, you whack it across the beak with a stick.

I honestly believe now that these things are true. I had asked this breeder for advice and help with training and behavior and he told me to Google search it. He also claimed that the bird would calm down within a couple weeks and be fine.

 

[ParrotSnakeMan]

Some breeders just breed and feed, without taking care of birds' emotional needs. They quickly fill their crops using crop needles and toss them back in the brooder so they don't even get to enjoy feeding and bonding to humans. It's a money making scheme.

I thought in the beginning that it was just lack of socialization. Now I fully believe that the bird was previously abused by the breeder.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

How does one abuse a baby bird?

 

[ParrotSnakeMan]

How does one abuse a baby bird?

I think this is just ignorant. I don’t think he sees what he’s doing as abuse. Doesn’t excuse it by any means. Wacking a bird across the beak, tossing it into a sack and spinning it around to disorient it. Sounds like abuse to me.

 

[rheashard2]

Definitely physical abuse.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Yeah that's abuse alright! Baby parrots are also worth a lot of money and to mistreat one is not just cruel but stupid.

 

[rheashard2]

Take what you know to an avian vet. To determine if a calming agent can be used. Note calming which is usually something herbal and/or natural. Side effects tend to be few. Not sedative which are drugs and can open up a bag of worms, many negative especially when it wears off.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Th

so I met somebody who worked for this breeder about a month after I purchased the bird. Mind you if you look at them online and speak to a lot of people around the area I live they’re very well repeated and liked. However, the person that I met that used to work for them and some other people have met since then have had drastically different opinions.

I was told that this person to get the bird to step onto your hand or arm without fuss, would to toss them into a pillowcase and spin them around multiple times to dizzy them, disorient them, and then take them out of the bag and place them on his hand. I was also informed that he trained all the birds to not bite using a towel and a stick. This meant that he put the towel on his arm attempt to hold the bird and if it tries to bite you, you whack it across the beak with a stick.

I honestly believe now that these things are true. I had asked this breeder for advice and help with training and behavior and he told me to Google search it. He also claimed that the bird would calm down within a couple weeks and be fine.

That's sick. I would report him to the authorities.

 

[GivemeSeedsorgivemeFlesh]

How does a person do that to any living creature?