New CAG Owner - Tips and Help Please

[Nicole07]

Hello all! I'm not new to birds in general as I've had a pineapple GCC and currently have a sun conure. I rehomed a CAG in May. I was contacted by the owners because they'd heard through the grapevine that I had other birds and did well with them. I didn't want another project to be honest, and I said I'd give her a look but didn't really plan on bringing her home. I was told it was a 29 year old female named Zoey. She had always had her wings clipped (ugh) and hadn't been handled or out of her cage in upward of a decade. I was told she bit the owner at the vet and they were since afraid of her. She was kept in a basement with a tiny window, fed seeds, and her cage hadn't been cleaned in years. She hadn't had access to water to bathe. Her neck was bare. She hadn't left that room other than to get clipped her whole life, and since hadn't left that room at all. They knew she was neglected and they wanted someone to take her who knew what they were doing, but expressed they wanted rid of her and didn't much care for her. Seeing the condition and the people she was with, I couldn't leave her there. So I began the new adventure of adding a CAG to my flock.

That night I spent three hours cleaning her cage (I can't begin to explain how horrendous). I cleaned inches of feces from all the perches. I salvaged what I could and gave her fresh seeds and water. She had a stress seizure when I transferred her to her cage. She sat for days on her food bowl gurgling, shaking, and growling. It took two weeks for her to finally perch on a perch. She hadn't used them in who knows how long due to the layer of filth on them. I began mixing pellets in with seeds and she was weaned to a pelleted diet within a week. She began talking more and more over time. I contacted the owners when she began showing mating behavior, and asked if she'd ever laid eggs because I had a hunch she was really a he. And now, we know Zoey is a he!

After a couple months, I began leaving the door open. It took two weeks before he'd explore at all. He now sits atop his cage all day, flaps away happily, talks nonstop, eats healthier, expresses interest in his surroundings and my companionship, he swings away happily upside down in his cage. He let me pet his head. Now he pets his own head to ask for my attention. He will not step up from his cage, but if he flies down to the floor or anywhere else, he will lift a foot and ask for me to pick him up to return him.

For as much improvement as I see, I have a few problems.

I intended to take him to the vet to get him checked out. His inclination to panic himself into a seizure has stopped me. It's almost a two hour drive to the nearest avian vet. He is past his quarantine period and shows no signs of illness. His plucking is reduced. He's beginning to lose his flight feathers as my sun is as well. He sleeps well, eats well, and has gained weight. I worry about him having fatty liver after decades of seeds, but I am unsure how to minimize the stress of having to transfer him to a travel cage, going two hours, and all the noises and being handled. I'm afraid it would do more harm than good but I hate feeling as if I'm neglecting him. Does anyone else have this issue? I've read from other sun owners that their suns have the same stress induced seizures.

Another thing I'd like tips on is how to encourage him to step up from his cage. He will reach out and hold my finger with one foot, but then tries regurgitating on me. Other than that and being pet on the head when he feels like it, he wants nothing to do with hands. I have to put treats inside his cage for him to go in, and that doesn't always work. It would be so nice to pick him up and set him wherever I need to. I've seen the t handle perches but he is terrified of everything. And those would send him into a fit.

Which puts me in my third issue. Everything is scary. I understand he hasn't been socialized or properly shown everything. He has a large dowel rod perch which is the only thing he'll use. I've tried different sizes and colors and woods for other perches. He panics for a few days, then ignores it. I've moved them around to encourage them to be used but then he goes back to panicking and not eating until it's moved back. He won't play with toys (he never had toys) and no amount of me playing with them or coaxing him has worked. He's afraid of everything. I want to find ways to stimulate him and encourage natural behavior but I can't even get him to get on a perch. I've tried paper string through his cage, veggies in cage bars, and any other foraging option that doesn't include a big scary toy and he ignores them all. I don't know if he understands but he treats them like they're out to get him.

I just want to be sure I'm doing everything I possibly can to help him and make the rest of his life enjoyable.

 

[Terry57]

First of all, welcome to the forum!
I am so glad you took in your CAG, he desperately needed a good home. He sounds a lot like my CAG, Justice.
When Justice first came to us he was terrified of everything like your boy. He was 17 and had never been handled, and was screamed at and who knows what else for the last few years before he came to us. He slammed into the sides of the cage whenever we entered the room for the first few weeks. We got his vet visit out of the way right in the beginning so that he could settle in without us having to take him anywhere. He hates my husband to this day for getting him out of the cage and into the carrier.
Although it may set your boy back a bit, I would still get him in for a checkup, just to be on the safe side. As it has already been awhile and he seems to be improving, it wouldn't hurt to wait until he is not freaking himself into a seizure, though.

How are his feet? If he has any pink spots on them, I would remove the dowels completely after letting him get used to other perches. We had to attach different perches to the outside of Justice's cage until he got comfortable with them, and then moved them inside to a place he usually doesn't go, finally replacing the dowel that Justice was also used to.

He also was terrified of toys, and we had to hang a toy outside his cage for several days, then slowly move it closer until we put it in. We had a hook on the wall where it would start before we could hang it on the outside of his cage and finally inside.
The first thing he ever played with was a phone book we moved closer and closer until it was hanging on the top of the cage with the pages hanging into the cage.

Justice has been with us 2 years now, and we can now put a toy directly in and change perches when we need to without him freaking out. He still doesn't step up but accepts scritches, but I am sure that given more time he will feel safe enough to step up.

He had also plucked around his neck and that is almost completely feathered now. We took him to a friend's the other day and let him use their aviary and while he didn't appreciate the going into a carrier part, he sure loved the rest.

Bless you for taking Zoey in, and I know that he is going to come a long way in your care. It sounds like you have already made remarkable progress

 

[DRB]

Awesome that you saved this bird from a horrible life.

Isn't the regurgitation thing a good sign, isn't it a sign of affection?

I don't have much to add to help. Maybe try rope swing perches, my Perjo loves them. They're comfortable, she'll swing on them and she sleeps on them. Try leaving his travel cage out in the open with the door open so he can attempt to engage it on his own.

 

[Flboy]

God Bless you! Another angel just earned her wings!

You took the equivalent of a 5 year old toddler out of a locked basement! Except, this poor creature went through this for much much more than 5 years! Think of yourself going through this for 20+ years! He really seems to be responding marvelously!

FYI, You better become a regular around here, we need as many folks like you as possible! You are in good company!

 

[Flboy]

Bumping you back into daylight!

 

[Nicole07]

Terry57,

Thanks so much!

That was Zoey's first night. I let him calm and then covered him as he was desperately thrashing around and growling these growls that sounded as if someone was torturing him or he was possessed. I felt terribly but after a night, he slowly began improving.

I'm Zoey's 'chosen one.' I'm the only one who can pet him, clean his cage, feed him by hand, and change his feeder bowls. I live with my fiance and my brother, and he loathes the boys. Loathes is an understatement. He will play around on top of his cage, swing happily and chatter away. One of them comes in and he sits still, fluffs, and glares daggers. He often runs down the length of his cage toward them as if to intimidate them or get a better attacking point. They have tried giving him treats and he'll use it as an opportunity to bite their hands. He snaps at the cage viciously at times when he's inside the cage and one of them is nearby. One day he ran out the length of his door as my brother walked by, flew at his head and bit anywhere he could. Luckily he had a hat on and Zoey just ripped his hat off and flew to the other room. They call him 'the gate keeper' as he guards my bedroom which unfortunately is the only way to the bathroom.

The ironic part is I was the one who removed him from his cage at his previous owner's house. I was also the one who moved him from his travel cage to his cage once here. But I'm his person. I don't quite understand. The only thing I have hypothesized is that the men in Zoey's life were less than nice and I make more of a concentrated effort to work with him than the guys do.

His feet have no pink or sores that I've seen. Honestly, as much as I hate the dowel, it's a large improvement over never perching. He would hang on the walls and ceilings all day and sleep there as well. I was so relieved when he began perching. He has some other natural wood perches currently in the cage, but he ignores them. I think when I find a good natural perch that runs the length of his cage, I'll switch it out with that and he might fuss less. I've bought a few that I thought would fit but they didn't. He has a 2' deep by 3' wide cage. He's only on the dowel to eat and sleep, but otherwise runs around a bar that circles his cage on top (it was made for a tray to sit on but I knew he'd love it on top. I removed the tray and use it to catch extra food he throws so he can run along the top).

I have a few toys in his cage right now and he doesn't mind them, but doesn't play with them. I have a little abacus toy in that he will run over to and push to get it swinging when I reach in and offer him food. He pushes it, but then runs back to me to take food. I think he doesn't know how to direct his excitement.

I'm glad to hear about how Justice has improved. It gives me hope to hear other good stories. I hope to get Zoey to that level where I can adjust things in his cage without his inner panic. He doesn't bite at me or really freak out, but he fluffs up and woo's to tell me he's uncomfortable. But as far as cleaning, he'll come running to wherever I am messing with his cage to be nosey and interject himself, lol. He never had much companionship so I'm glad he's begun being nosey and in the way, because that's a start.

I'm so jealous! I would LOVE an aviary for Zoey. He's terrified of even a room change and it would be slow going to prepare him for outside. I have seen aviaries that connect to windows and I thought about how great it would be to do that with him. However I rent and I don't think I could add an aviary anywhere. I'd love some bird owners around, but they're hard to find here in rural PA. I am determined to find a way to make an aviary that's able to be torn down and moved easily so I can set it up and move it, or put it on the porch as I have a wrap around porch and space to do so. So many ideas!

 

[Nicole07]

DRB,

Regurgitating is a sign of affection. I regularly offer for him to step up in the event maybe I will get lucky, and he'll either walk away or reach out to hold my finger so he can puke on me. While affectionate, it's not exactly what I'm going for, lol.

I have intended to add rope perches. I'll definitely do that, and begin leaving his travel cage out. He's not entirely unfamiliar with it, as he's had it all his life. It would be good to make it a positive thing, though. I'll start working on that. Thanks!

 

[Nicole07]

Flboy,

Thank you so much! I've often thought about how torturous it would have been to be locked in a tiny cage in a room for so many years. No toys, no real food, no baths, nowhere to stand. I don't know how he didn't have some sort of sickness after living in his own filth. He is 7 years older than I am, so the idea of living my whole life and then some in that situation deeply troubles me. I had to take him. He is now out all day, talked to and interacted with regularly. He's a much happier guy.

I will definitely be sticking around! I tried Facebook groups but senior members tended to be nasty to others in my experience (their way was the only way, God forbid adjusting approaches to individual birds). It's refreshing to find fellow bird lovers who are as enthusiastic as they are polite.

 

[Terry57]

Nicole, it sounds like he has fallen in love with you Justice does the same thing when my husband gets close to him, he fluffs up and glares. Reg (my hubby) made him a new toy using the same base I had been using, and it took Justice 2 days to even look at it simply because Reg made it. It took several months for Justice to not freak out, and we still have to be careful with new perches, but he does better all the time.

I'm glad to hear you are sticking around, we have so many wonderful members here, and all opinions are welcomed, even if we disagree. You are going to fit right in and we are glad to have you

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Welcome Nicole and Zoey!

Have you tried a mirror? Smokey,my TAG,she was a wild caught when I got her,really didn't play too much with toys,oh sure,she'd love to shred a toilet paper roll,or newspaper,but little else..but a mirror! oh she loved that! she'd bang it around,talk to it..and she had this weird thing where she'd put it between her arm and body lol.
Try a stainless steel one...that's what Smokes loved.


Jim

 

[Nicole07]

Amy,

I haven't tried a mirror yet! That's an idea. Zoey won't chew on any of his toys or anything I give him. In fact, the only thing he chews is the blanket that covers the back side of his cage. Or the trim on the door or window if he's close enough, so I had to pull his cage out. He is very watchful of my sun conure when I have him in Zoey's sight range. I wonder how he would fare with a mirror. I'll have to pick one up!

Speaking of tucking things under wings, my sun does that as well. He tucks the chain of his hanging toy under his right wing and sits his bum on the toy. At first I thought he was tangled and I moved it, but he'll move it back and tuck it back under his wing. So strange!