I don't know what to do. My GCC's bed broke and it fell, and she was/is not happy

[Sizzlesaur]

Backstory: (question in bold at the bottom)

Her name is Kava. She is an incredibly sweet 6 to 7 y/o GCC girl. She loves to talk back and forth and eat the books on our shelves, but she will not come out of her cage. Aside from me opening the top up and her roaming freely around it, she doesn't want to touch or be touched. I have accepted this and have been trying to work with her for some time to put her more at ease and build trust.

Kava was given to us because her previous owner was injured and was getting too old to continue caring for her. I had taken care of a Macaw before so I was up to do everything I could to love/care for her. they sold us her cage and we decided to keep it all the same so she could be more comfortable with the transition. Her bed is made out of a blanket that was cut up and wrapped around what looks like a bottomless coffee can without sharp edges and it was all held together with safety pins. (we didn't realize this until about a week of Kava being here).

We left her alone and let her come to us as often as possible and have been trying to build trust ever since. (something like 4 to 5 months)

Last night she was picking at the thing holding her bed up (I'm guessing an old hanger straightened out) and she pulled it down. We knew she would need a new bed at some point so we bought one just in case, but we knew if we changed the bed out without her ever leaving her cage, it would undo all of the trust we had built with her. I try not to blatantly invade her space unless I absolutely have to. I didn't want her to hurt herself, so i removed the (metal wire?) hanger and bed but I really did not want to put the old bed back in there so she could eventually find her way to the safety pins and it had now fallen in her poop. So I hung her new bed up in there and she is less than pleased and really really upset with me. Puffed up, bit me a few times (bites worth mentioning), agitated at the sight of me, bobbing her head and rubbing it against whatever she is comfortable with. I feel awful and I imagine she feels violated.

TL;DR Question:

Should I find a way to fix her old bed and put it back in there? I feel so bad and i don't want her to be unhappy or lose any more trust than she already has. I have only gotten her to step onto my hand twice and she was not having it at all tonight, even trying to lure her with a treat onto my hand so I could fix everything. Is there a proper way I should hang the bed? Should I have handled this differently? Should I be caring for her differently? I don't want to force her to do anything she doesn't want to do, but i also need to be able to wipe any poop off of her cage without her having a meltdown too. I don't yell, I don't discipline and try to focus on only positive reinforcement. I change her water about 3 to 4 times a day and give her new food each day. She goes to sleep between 8 and 9 pm and wakes up between 7am and 9 am.

She loved her previous owner so much and I feel so bad that they had been separated and I just want her to feel as loved as she was before or as close as possible and I feel like I am doing something that she doesn't like without realizing it, which is keeping her her from trusting me and keeping me from being able to care for her in ways.

I don't know what else to say or ask. Thank you so much for your time and effort.

Nate

I tried to stay within the boundaries of the rules. I apologize if I didn't.

 

[itzjbean]

Parrots don't need bed,s so please toss it out! It only causes bad things -- they get hormonal and can get defensive of their 'nests', injest the material and have it kill them (we've seen it here MANY times) and just not good for them to have at all.

She doesn't need to sleep in a bed, a nest or anything like that. A soft rope perch would do well on her feet and she can stand on that to sleep. ALL parrots do this! My cockatiels all sleep on perches, there is no need for a nest of any kind unless you are wanting to breed. Even then, breeders typically only use wooden boxes with wood shavings inside them. Any fabric material can and will be ingested, it's just a matter of time.

I would give her cage a renovation with some new perches, toys and fun things to do.

 

[chris-md]

Here here, well said above. Beds are completely unnecessary and usually counterproductive if not outright deadly. Don’t replace it, and be well rid of it.

 

[lunyluna]

Clearly, you really care about the poor girl. I appreciate your patience and calmness, as many people are not this caring for their shy and stressed birds.

With that being said, I agree with the above comments that the bed needs to go. In fact, the very negative response from your bird may be due to the fact that she was hormonal with the blanket. Something I learned with my female Scarlet Macaw is that she LOVES nesting and will try to nest any chance she gets (carpet, blankets, paper, etc.). Encouraging this behavior (like giving her a new bed or fixing her old one) will only continue the hormonal behavior. Before I knew any better, I gave my macaw blankets because she seemed to enjoy playing in them and tearing them up, but in reality, I was encouraging the hormonal behavior and she showed a lot more attitude, especially with people she hates. Birds can get very mean when they are hormonal.

Maybe hormones aren't an issue in your situation, or maybe its a bit of a mix between being hormonal and being scared/shy/lonely due to the transition. Either way, I thought I'd share my two cents

 

[Scott]

Welcome Nate and Kava! Your intro post was perfectly crafted, a model for others to emulate!

Agree with all of the above. You mention Kava was well loved, do you know how much she was handled? Birds come to us with all manner of "baggage" we struggle to discern. Four to five months is a reasonable timeframe to become comfortable in a new environment. There are many techniques to bond and build trust, please consider this helpful thread: http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

Food is powerful motivator. Have you identified treats for encouragement such as bits of walnut or almond? Another potential "bridge" to time outside the cage is a playpen. You'd have to gradually introduce by placing a stand, etc somewhere in the room and gradually move closer to cage. Final step is to open the door and allow access with a lure of special treat.

 

[Laurasea]

I'm the outlier on the he forum .
All my birds have beds, and do just fine.
Fluffy beds are death by injested threads, can happen later in life as threads build up. Metal can be toxic to birds. Stainless steel untreated is safe. Others may know better in safe metal.
Beds can also sometimes lead to hormonal issues. With that being said they sell other types now that are safer, or you can make out if safer materials. Like I said I'm one if the rare ones that admits to useing beds. And I also admit their are beds that are death traps or lead to problem. Conures especially green check conures seem to really prefer beds. In the wild I think they use sleeping hollow, but science on parrots in the wild is pretty slim. But it is well know that birds don't sleep out in the open. You can provide a thick perch in an upper corner and screen it with a huge toy as an alternative. Or drsoe a little wash cloth or hand towel over that corner do they can visually retreat behind to sleep.

Welcome to the forum, thanks for taking in arehome!! Safflower seeds are a great bribe for GCC! And bribes are good for making freinds!!
Glad you joined, hope you read lots if other posts, and offer support to other members. Join our photo of the month contests. Abd share your journey with us!

 

[Sizzlesaur]

Thank you so much for the responses. I have taken her bed out while she was eating. She is really agitated today but not as bad as I thought she would be.

My wife and I are looking into getting her treats and some ner furnishings. I have written down the safflower seeds and she really enjoys her peanuts, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds but not enough as an immediate treat. We are also shopping online for a few new perches and toys as well.

I emailed the contact that asked me to take the bird in the first place and she informed me that kava was extremely close with her previous person, but the husband hated her. Kava would just nest under the wifes hair a majority of the day and since she was injured he was the one that would have to put her away.

Most of all I just want her to be comfortable. If there is even a slight chance these changes will improve her quality of life then I want to at least try, because she hates that bed already.

I have another question. I keep her food pretty stocked up through the day, and it often gets changed out for new stuff because she wants to hang out on the top of her cage and she poops in it. Will keeping it this full all the time affect her wanting treats as an incentive?

Thank you so much for the time and effort you have all put into helping me. I have been trying to find as kuch information online as possible to help her but I was stumped/worried with thus situation and it seems you have all helped me more than I imagined. Is there any common things that I should know that I wouldn't know unless someone told me? Any advice is much appreciated! You're all amazing.

 

[fiddlejen]

...I have another question. I keep her food pretty stocked up through the day, and it often gets changed out for new stuff because she wants to hang out on the top of her cage and she poops in it. Will keeping it this full all the time affect her wanting treats as an incentive? ...

Yes, it will. You might try keeping it full of a less-preferred food such as pellets, and holding back the seeds for treats.
... not that I do that, but, I think that's how it's supposed to work. Other people who are more successful with training than I am, may be able to confirm.

But anyways - is the top of the cage flat? I was having a problem with cagetop budgies getting droppings into everyone's food & water. So I cut some rectangles of cardboard and sat them atop the cages, directly over the food & water dishes. I wipe them off every few days, and when they get too messy I cut new ones. One particular rectangle seems very attractive to the budgies, they keep wanting to play with / move it, so I puched a couple holes so I can clip it in place.

IF your cage top is Not flat, you could probably do something similar Inside the cage by clipping a folded piece of cardboard inside the cage above the dishes.

 

[LaManuka]

You sound like you are willing to do whatever it takes to give this little one a happy life and good for you for doing so

My GCC named Baci, when I had him (God rest his precious little soul) would do pretty much anything for a sliver of cranberry. Poor little guy went through a phase of blood tests and psittacosis injections, one injection per week for seven weeks and would get so anxious he’d get panic attacks and vomit all the way to the vet clinic. Once I got him home I’d cut up a dried cranberry and give him half and it would all be forgotten (at least until the next week!) They’re pretty high in sugar so you’ll want to save them for an extra special treat but Baci loved them!

Thank you for doing so much to improve Kava’s life and welcome aboard Parrot Forums!

 

[itzjbean]

It's great to get several different kinds of perches for the cage. I have several soft rope, cement, natural wood and vet wrap-wrapped dowel wood perches. I find that the normal wooden dowel perches are too harsh for their fragile feet and so wrapping them with vet wrap (it's slightly soft and rubbery to the touch) works great for them and its easy to replace too! Mine also love the soft rope swings.

Different types of toys are also great to offer. If you think your parrot would enjoy a mat to chew and shred up, I recommend getting grass huts, they're super fun for them to stand in and on and climb on and chew up to shreds and no worries of ingesting harsh fabrics.

 

[Laurasea]

They sell acrylic sheets at home Depot, I use them on top of my cages.

I find I don't have to restrict foods for treats to be effective. That said when they are out if the cage, it's usually pellets and veggies, seeds are in the cage free choice at night, also with free choice pellets.

 

[Sizzlesaur]

Thank you for the advice. I ended up putting cardboard above Kava's food and clipping it to the cage it there to protect it, and it turned out to be of more interest to her than anything else I have put into the cage. We took out her bed and I purchase 3 more purches and put 2 inside and 1 at the top on the outside (she gets curious and seemed to want to see what is below her.) I got her 3 toys, new food, and I bought a variety of fruits and veggies from the store to see if I could nail down what her favorites would be. So far she only has seemed to enjoy apples, but it gives me something.

I am so sorry to hear about Baci. I did not try the Cranberries yet, but I am excited to try soon. I didn't realize the wood would be so harsh on her feet. She has been chewing on the wooden perch she got, so I think I need to just get something I know will be soft on her little feet. Grass huts seems like an amazing idea too.

So far without the bed she doesn't seem to be going to sleep. I know she must sleep most of the night but when I am up I can hear her ringing her bell, chirping, flocking 1 wing out (she does that a lot when awake and chirps loudly once. she usually really seems to enjoy making my wife and I do it with her.) Is this normal?

I have been trying to pay attention to her behaviors more and have discovered that she regularly tries to tell me thing. Like today she did her best to inform me that she had pooped in her water and wanted nothing to do with it.

Thank you again for all of your time and effort.

 

[SweetGreencheeks]

Hi Sizzlesaur
I love how much you care about Kava, so many poor babies aren't so lucky and it breaks my heart
I have two greencheeks and give them cardboard "chubes" high up in their cage to sleep in. I originally simply hung them over a dowel which I put in the top of their cage but now I use stainless steel bolts, washers and wingnuts so I can put them in better positions and change them easier when they've been nibbled. Both my little tykes absolutely love the cardboard tubes and go in them when they want to go to bed. I don't use any ropes, sisal etc except paper rope and no fabrics at all. The only toys I buy are from Karen at the Natural Bird Company because she uses safe wood, leather etc - and I also make some myself but Kiki and Sprout prefer Karen's to my dodgy efforts LOL