Bringing Home Goldie

[luvmyfam]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Randi, and I wanted to come here to get some advice on a BG I'm bringing home in a week and a half.

I live at home with my husband, three kids (9, 11, and 12), four dogs, one cat, and one bearded dragon! It's a handful, but I'm a bit of an animal lover, I love organized chaos, and my husband allows it

I went to a new pet store in my neighborhood to pick up some dog food since my usual pet store was out, and as I walked up I noticed they had a beautiful BG in their bird room. I guess she (only an assumption - the store manager said they are not sure but they call her a she) caught me looking at her, and she started swinging on her swing and dancing and just acting all silly. I just kind of laughed it off and went about the business of buying dog food. As I was leaving, I went over to look at her through the glass, and she started dancing again. The next day, my husband came up to the store with me to see her and we actually went in the bird room to visit and learn about her. Of course the first thing she did when we walked in was say "Hello" in that squawky voice only a mother could love .

This is where it gets interesting, and this is where I get trapped by my heart, she has been at the pet store for over 15 years. The owner felt like she was their mascot, and just kept her in a cage in an enclosed bird room where she got limited contact with people. I guess the new manager finally got the owner to let her go, but no one had really showed any interest in her. To top it off she came from a bad home. The previous owner’s husband hated her, and he would throw stuff at her cage if she would make any noise. They eventually donated her to the store, and that is where she has been since. I'm a sucker for sad stories... that's how I got two of my dogs… so of course I looked at my husband with those "we have to save her" eyes. We left and talked about it for a few days and then took our kids up there to meet her. I swear she saw us walking up to the store because we heard her blowing kisses - just tooooo cute! We spent some more time with her, and my husband said we could bring her home. I told the store manager she had me at hello, which made us all laugh and I told him we would take her.

We put a deposit on her, and she is still at the pet store. They have moved her from the bird room into the main store area so I can come visit her freely. I don't want to bring her home right away because she has no idea who we are, and I don't want to stress her out any more than she obviously already is. I have been going to visit her every night when I get off of work to take her treats and spend time her so she can get to know me. She seems to be okay with me, and spends every minute talking to me and blowing me kisses as long as her cage door is shut. Every time I open her cage door she runs to the farthest corner, turns her back to me, and completely shuts down.

So I guess I am here today to get some advice from all you wonderful feather moms and dads. I previously owned a grey - Chase (named so because he would chase me around the house when he was younger) - but we gave him to a friend once we started our family. I will say I'm not proud of that, but he was definitely a little aggressive with other people, and I was worried about our kids putting their fingers in his cage. So I’m telling myself that means I have some experience with larger birds, but this will be my first BG. It's a big deal, and I'm sure some people will say I'm in over my head, but I promise to be a committed mom, and to do whatever it takes to make it work for her - not me.

Some of my questions are...
1) Why does she go into the corner when I open her cage?
2) Will she ever get over her fear of men?
3) How can I gain her trust?
4) What should I do when I bring her home?

I really am looking for a plethora of information. We are bringing her home next weekend, and then we visit our vet the following weekend - of course he is out of town We don't really know how old she is, but we know she is at least 20.

I look forward to reading your responses!

- Randi

 

[JerseyWendy]

Welcome to the forum. I am going to MOVE this thread into the Macaw section.

 

[TheKomoman]

Birds cages are their home, their safe place. She's been abused & neglected so for her it's doubly, triply more of a safety net for her. You need to respect that because her knowing she has a safe place is THE most important thing. When you get her home (and frankly considering her environment, sooner would be better even if she doesn't know you, she's not getting proper care now) it's all about patience. Give her attention and even for a while leave her cage closed, give her treats, see if you can work up to her taking them from you while in her cage. When you open the door, give her space, let her be the one to decide what to do. Step 1 will be to let her get comfortable while still in the cage with the door open. Eventually she'll relax and come out, but let her do it on her terms and make sure she gets rewards at each step along the way. The bigger the step the bigger the reward. Patience is the key, and then some more patience. Remember, they live a long time, there's no major hurry!

You're doing a good thing here, best of luck!

 

[luvmyfam]

I went to visit Blue (my girls decided this is what they want to name her) last night, and it wasn't as pleasant of an experience as I had hoped for. They moved her all the way to the back of the store behind all the rows of dog food and out of view of the people and all of the other birds she used to be around. She seemed very agitated, and didn't really eat any of the treats I took here... except some crackers with cheese on them that my daughter wanted to take her.

I felt so bad that she was pushed back in a corner that we have decided to bring her home tonight, but I am really worried about how she is going to take it all. I guess I am afraid it is going to overstimulate her. Is that possible? She has been at the same place for the last 15 years, and if this is how she reacts by being moved to a different spot inside the pet store how is she going to react when we put her in a carrier and drive her to our house?

 

[TheKomoman]

On the whole parrots are creatures of habit and when you disturb their routine they don't like it much, but the amount of reaction varies wildly. With Blue you have a bird that hasn't been well cared for so she likely clings to anything familiar and what she feels like is safe so I think you're just going to have to accept it's likely to be traumatic and potentially awful for you and her. Keep your eye on the end game, this is the short term pain for the long term gain. In a few months Blue may remember the trauma of it, but by then she'll also know she's in a safe place and more likely to trust.

For the actual transport it again varies by bird, but they're very visual so *most* like to see what's going on. However if she's completely freaking out you could try putting a sheet over the carrier and see if that makes her feel better. Talk to her in a soft voice the whole time and try to re-assure her. Our B&G hadn't been in a car in 4 years and was probably only the 3rd time every and while he didn't love the experience he did very, very well and adjusted to the start/stop movements pretty quickly.

When you get her home try to get her in her cage as quickly as possible, remember, that's the safe place. Change only as much as you absolutely need to, any familiarity will help her at first, even if you think the position of things in her cage isn't ideal I think it's better to leave things be and then start changes after she's settled. It will be very exciting to have her there and your girls will likely want to lavish her with attention, but that may be the absolute opposite of what she needs. Give her some quiet time to adjust. It's ok to be in the room with her or even somewhere she can see you all the time (that's probably a good thing overall actually) but don't be right up on her cage. When she settles you can try approaching her and just sitting near the cage, see how she reacts and adjust from there. Anticipate that it may very well be days or even weeks before she settles enough to really start to interact. The change will be good for her, but she won't know that yet.

 

[luvmyfam]

We were going to put her in the living room - which is actually a great room since in kind of combines the living, dining, and kitchen in one. It's large, but we were going to put her over by the patio door so she would be able to see outside. We do use that door a lot to let the dogs in and out. Do you think that would be a good spot for her? It is the only room were she would be able to always see us, but it is a very busy spot for us since our family is so large. I can make sure the kids stay out of her space when we go in and out of the door, but it is also right by the TV... I'm an starting to get a little paniced that I am going to totally mess this up...

I really want her to be happy and to feel safe. I am totally prepared to do whatever it takes, but I don't want to make things worse for her.

 

[TheKomoman]

Very hard to guess without knowing the bird, she's accustomed to commotion after having been in a pet store, but after the move putting her in a super busy place may not work great. I think the spot you have in mind will be very good for her long term and might not be ideal immediately, but I think you're going to have to read her mood and reactions and adjust accordingly. My preference would be to have her somewhere she's around you and your family rather than tucked away somewhere but apply common sense and do what seems best for the bird. Their moods aren't that hard to read, Macaws aren't big on being subtle....

That she's going to be stressed is inevitable and it may seem like it's "worse" for her at first, but they're smart and it won't take her long to realize "hey wait, this is better!"

 

[luvmyfam]

I will let you know how things go after she comes home tonight. Thank you for all of the helpful information. I feel good about what we are doing, and I am looking forward to giving her a home where she can blossom

 

[TheKomoman]

I will let you know how things go after she comes home tonight. Thank you for all of the helpful information. I feel good about what we are doing, and I am looking forward to giving her a home where she can blossom

Best of luck. It's really easy to overthink these things (and I do it all the time) so just take it one step at a time and do what you think is best for her each step. We expect lots of pictures!

 

[luvmyfam]

So we are home... It's pretty loud right now because she doesn't like dogs as much as the people told me she did... And my yapper Champ doesn't like her too much either and has decided to show that by constantly barking at her. One word for you... FUN!

She is screaming pretty loud every few minutes. I'm not really sure what to do to calm her down. Should I put her in another room so she can be alone? Or should I put her out by the pool area? I don't mind the screaming but I know she is doing it because she is unhappy. She never did this when we went to see her and my husband is freaking out! Please help me do the right thing!!

 

[TheKomoman]

So we are home... It's pretty loud right now because she doesn't like dogs as much as the people told me she did... And my yapper Champ doesn't like her too much either and has decided to show that by constantly barking at her. One word for you... FUN!

She is screaming pretty loud every few minutes. I'm not really sure what to do to calm her down. Should I put her in another room so she can be alone? Or should I put her out by the pool area? I don't mind the screaming but I know she is doing it because she is unhappy. She never did this when we went to see her and my husband is freaking out! Please help me do the right thing!!

If she's still screaming then yes, I'd say put her somewhere she can calm down. If getting her off in a room by herself does the trick then it will be time to slowly introduce what will soon be her normal life a bit at a time. You go into the room and sit for a few minutes, get her used to having you around. If she screams when you first start going in I'd stay for a short time, but you'll have to start conditioning her sooner than later that screaming doesn't get her what she wants. If she'll take treats from you, or at least you can put something you know she considers a treat in her food bowl then when she stops screaming for a minute, give her a treat. Show her that good behavior earns rewards.

Then bit by bit add more stimuli - the rest of your family, the dog, etc and then you can try leaving the door open so she can take things in without being in the middle of them. She's a wounded (emotionally) critter, you're gonna have to go slow.

 

[luvmyfam]

So we are home... It's pretty loud right now because she doesn't like dogs as much as the people told me she did... And my yapper Champ doesn't like her too much either and has decided to show that by constantly barking at her. One word for you... FUN!

She is screaming pretty loud every few minutes. I'm not really sure what to do to calm her down. Should I put her in another room so she can be alone? Or should I put her out by the pool area? I don't mind the screaming but I know she is doing it because she is unhappy. She never did this when we went to see her and my husband is freaking out! Please help me do the right thing!!

If she's still screaming then yes, I'd say put her somewhere she can calm down. If getting her off in a room by herself does the trick then it will be time to slowly introduce what will soon be her normal life a bit at a time. You go into the room and sit for a few minutes, get her used to having you around. If she screams when you first start going in I'd stay for a short time, but you'll have to start conditioning her sooner than later that screaming doesn't get her what she wants. If she'll take treats from you, or at least you can put something you know she considers a treat in her food bowl then when she stops screaming for a minute, give her a treat. Show her that good behavior earns rewards.

Then bit by bit add more stimuli - the rest of your family, the dog, etc and then you can try leaving the door open so she can take things in without being in the middle of them. She's a wounded (emotionally) critter, you're gonna have to go slow.

Kind of feeling like I'm going crazy. The majority of the screaming stopped once I got everyone out of the room and turned the music on for her. She is in our main room by the patio doors, and I am sitting at the table doing work. The screams now seem kind of random... I can't tell if she wants attention or if she is just bored. The only toy she has in her cage is a swing so I'm thinking she might be a bored. She swings and dances to the music nonstop... looks kind of like a crazy person!! Should I put a toy of some sorts in there to give her something to do? Or do you think that is too much for now?

 

[TheKomoman]

Kind of feeling like I'm going crazy. The majority of the screaming stopped once I got everyone out of the room and turned the music on for her. She is in our main room by the patio doors, and I am sitting at the table doing work. The screams now seem kind of random... I can't tell if she wants attention or if she is just bored. The only toy she has in her cage is a swing so I'm thinking she might be a bored. She swings and dances to the music nonstop... looks kind of like a crazy person!! Should I put a toy of some sorts in there to give her something to do? Or do you think that is too much for now?

You're not crazy, you're a macaw-Mom.

Glad that she has found some equilibrium. I have always left music on for my birds, boredom is a legit concern with all parrots. You're going to have to take it easy on introducing things into her safe place though. What we've had success with (our re-home wasn't given a lot of things to chew and he can be new toy shy) is mounting the new toys on the door to his cage while it's open. That way he can come investigate on his terms without it being suddenly in his cage. I use it as an example as I think at this point open door isn't an option for you, but slowly introducing new things is. Getting her something she can chew will be a good thing. I'd start with toys meant for medium sized birds, though be sure that they don't have small beads that a macaw could swallow whole. We got a big ol' wonderful macaw toy for Rock and while he chewed it a bit he mostly had no idea what to do with the monstrosity. Backed him off to a toy I had left from my Grey and within a day or so he started destroying it. So put the toy somewhere she can see it, move it closer and then finally hang it on the outside of her cage, but away from where she normally roosts. If she displays interest, starts chewing on it through the bars, then you can try moving it into the cage.

Deep breaths.. you're doing fine and so is she!

 

[luvmyfam]

So I put her out on our screened lanai so she could be away from the hustle and bustle of our house for a while. I left her out for about and hour, and then I went to visit her and give her some treats. She actually came out of her cage and walked around the top, and then... she let me pick her up. I was a little uneasy at first because typically when I say step up she comes over and lunges at me, but this time she actually picked her foot up. It was short lived because my husband came out and she kind of freaked out - which then made me freak out - so I put her back in her cage. I tried to pick her up again after he went back in, but she wasn't having it! She is still outside, and she won't have anything to do with the toy I put in - put it in before I read your post - but she is quiet, and eating her food. I figured I will take the toy out when I go to bring her back in. So day one seems to be ending on a better note... please keep your fingers crossed for me. I'll try and take some photos of her tomorrow for you so you can see her.

And to end on a somewhat humorous note, I found out she says some pretty choice words. My mother decided to be funny and say a curse word to her when she was screaming earlier, and she shot right back with the worst of them all!!! Who would ever teach their bird to drop the f-bomb???

 

[Buzz2537]

Lol. I do not mean to,laugh about the cursing. A a funny story a local bird club helps place birds and the lady placed a nice parrot with a very religious family. Later that night the woman called the bird club lady and said "we have a little problem." Turns out the parrot she placed with them cursed like a sailor. Now imagine this man and wife with religious figures all over the house, SUnday church etc. well, the bird club lady was embarrassed and apologized up and down and told them she would immediately come pick the bird up. The new owner said to her, none sense, it is the most fu we have had in years. It is only my husband and I and we get a charge listening to what comes out of her mouth next. LMAO. It is a wonderful thing you are doing for that bird. Only advice I would give is to not let the kids handle her at least for awhile. They will not know how tom read body language and can and up getting a bad bite. Secondly, the animals as well. Never leave them un supervised no matter how well they may eventually get along. There are many good books and I would read as many as you can find. Also do not react to the screaming even by correcting. Even bad attention is still attention and as hard as it is, if you do get bit, do not pull back or show a reaction. They love drama and may find it to be a game. Do a google search on parrot books. Good luck. I too have my first Macaw, a mini though. She is a little Hahns baby, 12 weeks old. They are just like the big macaws but in small bodies but you cannot tell them they are tiny. Before that I had a wonderful umbrella cockatoo.

 

[kq_fan]

Hi, welcome to the forum! She sounds like a sweet bird. My tiel I use to have, he would go in the corner and hiss at me so I left well enough alone. He was abused in his first home, they would hit his cage when he made noise! They gave him to a lady at my church because they hated him and his noise ( his "noise" was so cute, I don't understand!) he never came around to being hand tame,they said they want to get a Macaw after him! Now I know that macaws are a LOT different then teils but she might not ever come around maybe. But try this, he trained his biting macaw and cockatoo into sweet loving birds. www.parrottips.com Hope it helps, good luck!

 

[luvmyfam]

I would like to thank everyone for passing on their own experiences and all the helpful advice. It is very helpful. Today has been a lot better for us all. She is out on the lanai again... she seems to love it out there. I let her out of her cage and she climbed all over it. I wasn't paying attention, and she decided to go for a walk around the pool! Needless to say I freaked out because she looked like she wanted to go for a swim. My daughter saw me run over to the pool and came outside to help. She went one way and I went the other. As I was approaching her from my direction my daughter kneeled down and told her to step up, and then she did - no questions asked.

I think it is definitely going to be an adventure for us. She has some issues, and I have a lot of learning to do. I guess we will grow together.

 

[luvmyfam]

I'm not really sure what happened tonight, but I guess the last unknown straw had been pulled out from under my husband. Maybe we shouldn't have tried to clean her cage out, but it smelled awful and my husband couldn't stand it anymore. I took her out of her cage and let her hang out on a table right by us. I gave her food and water, and some treats to keep her occupied... it didn't work. As soon as we had taken her trays out of the bottom of the cage and started spraying everything down she completely lost it. She literally screamed for a full 5 minutes until I stopped what I was doing and went over to her and picked her up. I talked to her for a bit and she mumbled to me the entire time. I put her back down to go help my husband, and she lost it again. My once understanding husband almost lost it! I was so absolutely confused by both my husband and the birds behavior. I guess he was expecting her to be similar is noise level as our Grey. He wants me to take her back... I feel like I have just committed the ultimate crime. I tried rescuing this poor baby, and now I have to take her back to the same place I got her from! I was so prepared to help her, but I guess my husband wasn't on the same level as me. He was aware she made noise, and even some loud noises, but I guess its the nonstop screaming that he can not deal with. I mean he even bought her for me! I totally thought he was on board!! I guess I should have made HIM do more research.

I guess I just wanted to come back on here to thank you all for your advice, and to apologize for wasting your time. I am truly embarrassed by having to even type this posting. I know I don't personally know any of you, but I reached out for advice and help and everyone who I had the pleasure of speaking with responded with open arms.

Thank you all for your time.

 

[TheKomoman]

Ugh, so sorry to hear that. Macaws can be VERY loud. I'm sure the non-stop wouldn't be a permanent thing, but some of them do get very cranked up around sunrise and/or sunset and there's no getting around that. I'll keep my fingers crossed that maybe in the cold light of dawn he takes a deep breath and decides he can give it a try to see how she'll do.

 

[JerseyWendy]

I'm so sorry to hear this. Isn't it possible to talk your husband into giving her some time to get used to her new home?

My GW had never seen dogs before, or vacuum cleaners...actually he hadn't seem much of anything, and would scream on top of his lungs whenever something "new" popped up. He has calmed down significantly.