Roo coming home today

JerseyWendy said:
I have zero Cockatoo experience, so I fully expect a lashing if the following doesn't apply to them. :32:

I honestly wouldn't read too much into Roo's behavior on her very first day home. Surely she was traumatized from the vet visit, in addition to being in a brand new environment. :)

Must admit my jaw dropped when I read that she only came with one measly toy and crappy food. :( What about cage? Did the rescue provide you the cage or is she in a new one?

Take it one day at a time with her. I bet she'll be appreciate of anything and everything you do for her, especially because of what she's endured.
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Wendy may have zero cockatoo experience but her advice is excellent for any newly adopted bird and especially for a re-homed Too.

In my experience, compared to other species, cockatoos require more time to process new experiences. I wouldn't take any of Roo's behavior too seriously for a few months. She's been through a lot, Toos are emotional creatures, they bond deeply, I'm sure it's confusing to be passed from home to home, it will take time for her to realize she's finally in a stable environment.

I would let her find a comfortable place to think things over. Try to move at her pace, she'll let you know when she's ready for interaction. I would give her plenty of foraging toys to work on. Make her cage a safe, comfortable area, when she learns the routine in her new home she will go back to her personal space willingly. Who knows what her last situation was really like? She probably missed lots of meals. It will take weeks or maybe months before she realizes she will have food provided every day, that she will have human company on a regular basis, that she will not be chased with a stick or locked in a dog crate for hours or days at a time, that she will always have fresh water available...

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ramble, I have a very soft spot for Toos. I love to hear positive outcomes for Toos that have met with hard times. You and Roo have a big support group here, we all want Roo's transition to be successful.
 
Wow, Roo is exquisite, and lucky to have such a wonderful new home. I believe you are on the right track in every aspect! Keep in mind Roo will process new experiences from the baseline of her past, so be prepared for some stellar progress as well as stubbornness. The honeymoon will continue for a long while, but the foundation is strong!

Some terrific advice has been shared in prior posts, please keep us informed of Roo's progress!!
 
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Allee said:
In my experience, compared to other species, cockatoos require more time to process new experiences. I wouldn't take any of Roo's behavior too seriously for a few months. She's been through a lot, Toos are emotional creatures, they bond deeply, I'm sure it's confusing to be passed from home to home, it will take time for her to realize she's finally in a stable environment.

I would let her find a comfortable place to think things over. Try to move at her pace, she'll let you know when she's ready for interaction. I would give her plenty of foraging toys to work on. Make her cage a safe, comfortable area, when she learns the routine in her new home she will go back to her personal space willingly. Who knows what her last situation was really like? She probably missed lots of meals. It will take weeks or maybe months before she realizes she will have food provided every day, that she will have human company on a regular basis, that she will not be chased with a stick or locked in a dog crate for hours or days at a time, that she will always have fresh water available...

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ramble, I have a very soft spot for Toos. I love to hear positive outcomes for Toos that have met with hard times. You and Roo have a big support group here, we all want Roo's transition to be successful.
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Thanks Allee,

Very reassuring information. I think the challenge at the beginning will be lurching between her badly wanting to interact, yet her insecurities then popping up an inopportune moments. Getting the bird to trust us is important, but getting us to trust the bird is important too. Her behaviour was inconsistent enough yesterday that I can see we'll need some work here.

Mind you, when I look in the room and see Roo hanging off the cage and being hugged by my youngest, I know we have some great material to work with here.

So am I correct in stating that for the next few days, as long as she's content in her cage, we are ok with leaving here there? My hope is this will allow her to adjust to her new environment and flock, hopefully building some confidence, while helping her feel safe.
 
Scott said:
Wow, Roo is exquisite, and lucky to have such a wonderful new home. I believe you are on the right track in every aspect! Keep in mind Roo will process new experiences from the baseline of her past, so be prepared for some stellar progress as well as stubbornness. The honeymoon will continue for a long while, but the foundation is strong!

Some terrific advice has been shared in prior posts, please keep us informed of Roo's progress!!
Click to expand...

If only ... if only you knew what that was? Yes Roo will but she will also be driven by instinct and intelligence. Maybe my previous post appeared 'harsh' in it's interpretation which is not me or my meaning. What I hoped to convey is if you start with nurturing guidance and consistency on day 1 instead of wishing you had on week 4, 10 or 20 the prospect for all of a happy life is greater.
 
I am no expert on 'toos, and only have the one, but he comes from a very similar background to your Roo, and we faced some of the same issues with him. I had excellent advice (that worked!) from a friend, so I'm paying it forward.

The first thing is to help her feel safe and secure. Rocky likes having something draped over a corner of his cage (we call it his "Too Corner") where he can go and sort of decompress. We attached a basket to the corner with zip ties and sometimes he sits in his basket, back to us, and has deep thoughts. For a long time, we only spoke to him very gently in low voices, because he'd been yelled at and had things thrown at him and was hit. Now he likes to yell and have us sing and be silly, but that took a while. He still flinches sometimes when I reach out to pet him because of having been hit by other people.

He came to us with the same kind of food you're talking about -- utter junk that I wouldn't even offer to the wild birds outdoors. I gave him pellets and he dove in like he was starving (which he was). Never even had to ease him into the switch. He took to them instantly. Another rescue we have, a Quaker, had to be converted but it wasn't that hard. A few pellets in his seed dish. A few more the next day, and fewer seeds. And so on, increasing the pellet ratio a bit each day.

Rocky was also afraid of sticks, of stools, of straight chairs, and curtain rods and anything that looked like it could be used to hit him. He was okay with the broom as long as I held it upright and not horizontally. It took weeks and weeks of constant reassurance, and time to prove to him that we were not going to hurt him, and he is still uneasy around some of those things.

The best advice my friend gave me was this: Toss all expectations out the window. Live in the moment.
 
ScooterMcTavish said:
Siobhan,

Great post, thank you.

Key word: Patience.
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Scott, are you still at work?? I'm dying to get an update here....like pins and needles kind of thing, LOL.

Does your wife work, or has she been able to spend time with Roo today, and if so, how have things been going? (GEES, I 'almost' feel like I have a brand new family member...)
 
Hey guys, so I am home with Roo now and she's been doing something...odd with her tongue, not quite sure what, so I'm posting a video
[ame="http://youtu.be/UK4hPPCfvQU"]Anyone know what she's doing? - YouTube[/ame]
Hopefully the link works
 
Oh and hey Wendy! I'm home with her now (eldest daughter lol) and she's been good, no screaming, really sweet, hasn't eaten much it looks like though. Was doing the odd tongue thing above for a few minutes. Over all just settling down and being chatty and fluffy.
 
Yup, link works GREAT!!! Has she eaten anything.....sticky??? Sweet? Spicey??? Did she chomp down on a toy hard?

How long has she been doing the 'tongue thing????



Please remember, I have zero 'too experience. It may very well be something they do???? :confused::confused:
 
Has she been sleeping, Plum does this when we've disturbed him but only for couple of minutes usually.

I call it his beak slapping noises.
 
From what I can see, it happens at odd times, the first few time I saw her do it ( yesterday day and twice today) it's seems to be after she's tried some food, nothing particularly spicy or sticky, and the most recent time for no reason at all it appeared. She's stopped now, and is preening, and talking, so I haven't found the catalyst for it. I was just wondering if anyone had seen anything similar before, while she was doing it she kept staring at her tongue so I'm quite lost haha. I'm not overly worried about it, just kinda curious.

*edit* and plum that might make sense, as she has been napping on and off though out the day I'm pretty sure ( checked in on her at lunch as we'll)
 
Perhaps try and see how much liquid she is taking in ie enough. Offer her a little if possible, she'll let you know if not interested.

No different to us sometimes, when you wake up with a dry mouth.
 
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JerseyWendy said:
Scott, are you still at work?? I'm dying to get an update here....like pins and needles kind of thing, LOL.

Does your wife work, or has she been able to spend time with Roo today, and if so, how have things been going? (GEES, I 'almost' feel like I have a brand new family member...)
Click to expand...

LOL Wendy,

My wife is normally home, but today she had a date with some friends so was away. However, child #1 and #2 were home for lunch, and as you can now see, after school.

Kids reported she was active and interactive at lunch, and as can been seen now, still active and somewhat interactive. Reports back are she seems to be adjusting and is not screaming, although she's indicated a strong desire to come out of her cage.

Once I get home after work, I'll try and get a read for the situation to see if she gets out time today. I'd be happy to let her stretch her wings and see if we can get her off the cage. However, I also don't want it to turn into a biting/screaming/trauma thing getting her back in for bedtime.

These first few days are important, but I'd rather she wanted out and didn't get out, versus her wanting out, getting out, then having a stressful situation. As I keep reminding the kids, we're looking for CALM here.
 
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To have been through all that, and survived it without plucking, or becoming an angry bird... says a lot about this one. She's gonna turn out to be a find.

She probably remembers being a happy, pampered parrot at one point and time, and will revert back to that as soon as she gets the care she deserves.
 
Scooter my inlaws have a Sulfur who stays here occasionally, and he does that too! Never overly long, during quite periods of the day...
 
So the immediate issue we'll need to address is we cannot get her back in the cage unless she wants to go. I realize a normal next step would be stick training, but she has either been beaten with a stick or had her cage hit with a stick. When we used a perch to try and get her to step up, she was the most fearful I have seen a bird, ever. We tried wrapping a stick with cloth to camouflage it - no luck. Do not want to traumatize her with a towel this early in the relationship either.

WRAP THE TOWEL AROUND YOUR ARM, HOLD IT IN PLACE WITH AN ACE BANDAGE. LONG SLEEVE SHIRT OVER THAT. THE BIRD WON'T EVEN KNOW THE TOWEL IS THERE. THEN YOU CAN CONFIDENTLY OFFER AN ARM, KNOWING THAT IF THE BIRD BITES, IT GETS A BEAK FULL OF TOWEL.

I do not want to socially isolate her and encourage her to pluck, but yet I somehow wonder if a few days in the cage getting used to us and our home might not be the best thing for everyone right now. It is doubly hard when we called to her on top of her cage and she scurried down the side and began nuzzling us. Sweet yet insecure would be my immediate assessment.

IF SHE HASN'T PLUCKED AFTER ALL SHE HAS BEEN THROUGH, I DOUBT THIS WOULD CAUSE IT.

Anyhow, tips on the whole "step up" thing would be pretty appreciated. We are going to be patient with her as well - I don't feel frustrated with her, I feel just so sorry for her (second time almost moved to tears today) when I think of the life she's had up until now.

OFFER THE TOWELED ARM, KEEP YOUR FIST CLOSED, AND BENT, SO THAT THE SKIN IS PULLED TIGHT AND THERE'S NOTHING TO LATCH ONTO.

BE PATIENT, GIVE IT TIME. THE BIRD WILL ADJUST, AND REMEMBER WHAT THE GOOD LIFE WAS LIKE.
 
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Hey Mark,

That's what we're hoping for too. I think the aggression we saw yesterday was just to due to being scared. Saw her physically shaking at one point. But we've also seen an incredible sweetness in her already. Once she loses that initial fear, and learns we are safe, and this is a safe place, I think we'll have a great bird.

But, one day at a time, for the rest of our lives.
 
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