Is your cockatoo afraid of everything?

[gig]

Zazu my adopted Goffins seems to be afraid of silly things like a new perch or toy in his cage and today I put paper down under his cagetop play area and he won't go up there now! He's also afraid of new rooms and will fly off if I try to walk around with him. I'd like to take him into the shower with me but I know he'd freak out. Does anyone else have a loveable scaredy bird?

 

[MikeyTN]

Most birds don't like new things, some get over it quickly while some don't. Cockatoos takes a longggggggggg time to get used to something new. BUT once they're used to you, they accept new things easier if you present it to them slowly.

 

[lene1949]

Most birds gets scared... Just take it easy, and don't let on that it might be scary... Slowly does it...

 

[MickeysMom]

Mickey was afraid of new rooms and toys when we first brought her home. I would carry her around with me, and slowly she got used to everything. Now you can't keep her from exploring anything she sees! She thinks everything is a toy, and is fearless. It's like one day a switch went off and she realized she could trust us. We've had her now about 3 months, and she is a completely different bird from the one we brought home. Just take it slow... Zazu will come around.

 

[mtdoramike]

YES, YES & YES. It's almost to the point of being rediculous at times. But it's what you should come to expect being a bird owner. I'm sooooooo nervous about having to replace my birds cages in the future because I know Mac will have a fit if I change out his cage. Tiki I think will take the change a tad easier, but not Mac.

I have to be very careful when I introduce a new toy in his cage or to him period. I have to replace his playstand because the people that I got mac from kept the playstand outside by the pool area. It didn't look the best, but once I thoroughly cleaned it the other day, I noticed patches of rust has started forming on it and some of the powder coating has worn off.

So, I had to search high and low to find the same exact playstand that he currently has and had to back order it and it won't be in for a couple more weeks. So hopefully since it's EXACTLY like the one he currently has, he will accept it and I won't be out close to $200.00. I would have loved to get him one of those java tree stand, but I tried a smaller one to mount on the top of his cage. He would have none of it and refused to go near his cage until I removed it. I made a base for it and now my Senegal Tiki is loving it and getting to use it. Fortunately Tiki readily accepted it and it only cost $85.00 or else I would have been out of pocket there as well.

 

[gig]

Wow! I never realized they could be so overly cautious! My 6 month old red bellied is more adventurous. I can hand him a brand new foot toy and he will take it right away and start "attacking" it whereas Zazu will back away from it when I'm trying to give it to him!
I've heard you should change out toys often for Goffin's as they get bored easily. If he's afraid of new toys, that can be hard to do. Should I hang it in his cage anyway and just let him get used to it? I have a weakness for cute or interesting bird toys and have purchased so many just waiting to be played with...

 

[MikeyTN]

There's a big difference in my two toos! Dixie will not touch new toys for a very long time and she finds comfirt in playing with her old toys so I never change them out until its bad. Java is used to me now so anything I give him is a toy that he must play with.

 

[terry52449]

Cameo has been introduced to our whole house and has spent lots of time in each room. She enjoys exploring our bed room and really enjoys running around on the bed.The potty perch goes where ever I take Cameo and is very useful. Not completely full proof yet but work in progress.
Three to four days a week Cameo gets a shower with me. At first she was very hesitant but as she watched me showering she wanted to get into the action. I built a shower perch out of PCV pipe and now its hard to get her out of the shower.
Cameo loves to play with my toothbrush so much that I had to buy one for her. Now she will play with it while I am brushing my teeth, shaving and brushing my hair etc. She even uses the tap water to rinse. Its hilarious!!! Cameo loves the shower so much she will squawk if she hears the shower turn on. I have to make sure all the doors are closed so she doesn`t hear.
I believe each bird has their own personality and some take longer to expand they`re world. I have been blessed with a very curious Too (I THINK).

 

[Featheredsamurai]

My Galah(a rescue) was afraid of things at first, My cars trunk completely freaked her out when I opened it, and children walking under her made her fly. Also large trucks, driving by and random things around the house. She's pretty good now. Sometimes she will be startled and things overhead like balloons will freak her out a little but I'm working on that.

I expose her to new things all the time, I take her with me when I walk my dog and I sit in the backyard with her(she has a harness) so she can get proper sun exposure. I also bring her over to my friends houses and a few stores that allow her inside, I plan to start bringing her on short hikes once I find a good portable water dish that she likes.

 

[luvmytooo]

Yes , Yoshi was afraid of EVERYTHING when I first brought him home.
Everything caused him to jump or fly back to his cage. It was heart breaking to see him so scared of a sliced apple or God forbid something new in his cage.
But now, four months later , he is no way near as spooky . He surprises me with his reactions to new things , he just gives it a once over , then he will approach slowly , lol.
And , he flew to me when I called him from downstairs ! That is amazing because he has never been downstairs really , only once when he misjudged landing on my shoulder.

It will take time gig...everything is new right now. Bu don't give up hope , he will come around and when he does ,be prepared , lololol.
He is sooooooo cute

 

[MikeyTN]

Luvmytoo, seeing the name Yoshi, I think JoJo was previously named Yoshi cause he say it all the time. Now we're used to calling him JoJo.

 

[luvmytooo]

Awwww , maybe he had a friend called Yoshi , lolol.

 

[jamesp82]

Gig, I just got a Goffin on April Fool's day. Her name is Dexter (previous owner never sexed her). It sounds like we have the same bird. Dexxy is nervous of new things also.

Some things I have found to help with the toys are to simply make them visible from a distance, or even play with them yourself and act excited. I have a chain that I've hung on one side of the room to store toys. I have one for Dexxy and one side for my GCC. She seems a lot less nervous after they have hung for a couple days.

I just got her a new cage also. I was worried about how that would work out. I decided to bring it in and build it in the room. Mostly due to the fact it wouldn't fit through the door. While putting it together I went in and out of the cage numerous times before I put in the tray and grate. She started getting excited about it once she saw me get in and out of it a few times. Part of it could be that it's twice the size of the cage I had her in, plus she is more comfortable with things in "her" room.

As for leaving "her" room? Slow and steady! We can now go about 3 steps out of the room before she gets really uncomfortable. Any farther and she will try to fly, flop, and hop back to her room. It breaks my heart when she flops to the floor so I'm only going until she starts leaning back to her room from my shoulder before heading back toward her room.

I'm going to try getting her unafraid of her boing tomorrow. Wish me luck.

 

[gig]

Yes , Yoshi was afraid of EVERYTHING when I first brought him home.
Everything caused him to jump or fly back to his cage. It was heart breaking to see him so scared of a sliced apple or God forbid something new in his cage.
But now, four months later , he is no way near as spooky . He surprises me with his reactions to new things , he just gives it a once over , then he will approach slowly , lol.
And , he flew to me when I called him from downstairs ! That is amazing because he has never been downstairs really , only once when he misjudged landing on my shoulder.

It will take time gig...everything is new right now. Bu don't give up hope , he will come around and when he does ,be prepared , lololol.
He is sooooooo cute

Thanks! I took the paper off the bottom of his cagetop playstand, and he went back on it tonight. I guess he's so affectionate and willing to step up to me and my husband that I expect him to be like that with everything. He fits in so well I forget he's very new to all this! It's only been 2 weeks?! I will introduce things more slowly and not expect leaps and bounds. I have to keep reminding myself that in the wild they are prey!