New Grey- needing advice

[Jennilh]

Hi all. I'm new here. I have an BFA, Sun and GCC. I got them all as babies and everything has been going well. Today I brought home a CAG that is approximately 2 1/2 years old. At her previous home she was tame, "loving" and had no known health concerns. I understand I need to earn her trust and allow her to watch the activity in our home. I have her set up in our dining room so she can see into the living room and watch us. My others do not stay caged and have their own respective play stands. Here is where I am needing advice... Brought her home and she stepped up out of the crate. I scratched her, she actually spoke a couple words and I placed her on top of the cage rather than shutting her inside so she could stretch and experience the same freedom she got at her previous home. Time to put her away for the evening and of course she was not happy, pushing away at me with her beak and making some lunges. I continued with the up command, which she did at her previous home, and my doing, not hers, managed to get one foot on my finger but with the other, she had a death grip on the perch. I finally had her on my hand because I wasn't about to give up but she was very reluctant and I hated "forcing" her but hey, it's bedtime. When my others don't want to cooperate, which is rare, well they end up stepping up but I've not worried about them. The Sun and BFA came home as sweeties and the GCC nipped a bit but not hard at the time. And honestly I wasn't worried about the GCC because of his confident little personality. It's the new girl and all I've read about CAGs sensitivity and also her coming from what she has known as home for so long. Should I going forward, let her out to have free time while I'm home and work on "up" at different intervals, or keep her locked up, getting her out only to work and then putting her back in until she is more comfortable and the trust is there? Any advice on acclimating and earning her trust is appreciated. I have the parrot experience and have read countless info on Greys but now I'm finding that being in it is a whole other story.

 

[Bandespresso]

Greys are super stubborn so you have to trick her into thinking going into the cage is her idea. I would suggest bribing her with a special treat, patience, and keeping her on a schedule of sorts. When I first brought my CAG home, I had a similar problem and, unfortunately, she was totally unhandleable so it was definitely difficult to deal with. She will get there just be patient and reward her for every step in the right direction! Forcing isn't bad as long as you make the end result a positive experience. Additionally, after she gets more comfortable, I would definitely suggest stick training her for those exceptionally stubborn moments.

 

[Birdman666]

Greys are super stubborn so you have to trick her into thinking going into the cage is her idea. I would suggest bribing her with a special treat, patience, and keeping her on a schedule of sorts. When I first brought my CAG home, I had a similar problem and, unfortunately, she was totally unhandleable so it was definitely difficult to deal with. She will get there just be patient and reward her for every step in the right direction! Forcing isn't bad as long as you make the end result a positive experience. Additionally, after she gets more comfortable, I would definitely suggest stick training her for those exceptionally stubborn moments.

I SECOND WHAT HE SAID...

CAGS tend to be particular about getting handled on their own terms. The more you push the more they resist. Somewhere I did a long post on this one in response to someone else...

http://www.parrotforums.com/congo-timneh-greys/50345-finally-getting-grey.html

 

[Jennilh]

Great information! Second day and I worked into hand feeding her peas and pomegranate by the handful. I was quite surprised to find something she liked so well so fast. I'm equally stubborn so I will have to try to control myself and keep in mind she has to tell me when and not vice versa.

 

[Tosca]

You are brave not putting the new bird into quarantine.