Scared BH Caique

[justwingingit]

Buddy is a 10 month old BH caique that was turned over to me to find a new home. He had a wonderful family, but his young mom is very sick and in and out of hospitals. His daddy lost his job because of all the medical with his wife. (That sucks!) Anyway, on top of all of this, they lost their home and had to move. When they first got Buddy, he was playful, relaxed and fun. After the move, he became frightened, agitated and very upset. I made some suggestions to her, but nothing worked. So I was asked if I could work with him and find him a new home. He's been here about a week and a half. He is singing, whistling and talking which he wasn't doing at their home. I was able to get him out of his cage, albeit with some resistance. Now, he screams, flops around and acts terrified. I have never had a bird that I could not turn around and I would appreciate any help or suggestions as what to try.

 

[Beatriz Cazeneuve]

I am sorry, I am afraid I don't understand. He was singing, whistling and doing great until you forced him out of his cage and, after that, he started screaming and acting terrified of you? If this is the case, I suggest you leave him alone.

I have found that leaving birds alone to figure things out on their own is always the best approach. What I do is I open the door of their cage when I first come into the birdroom and just go about my business cleaning, feeding, interacting, etc. If, by the time I am ready to leave it, they haven't come out, I just close the door. I always leave the choice up to them and I never, ever ask them to step up or come out of their cage. I treat birds the way I would treat a person: with respect. I always allow them to set up the parameters of our relationship and their own schedule for it. And, so far (19 years and counting), it has always worked for me.

 

[justwingingit]

I can appreciate that you have a lot of knowledge, and have firm opinions on things. I would never force a bird out of a cage! If that is what I indicated, then I certainly do apologize. I do keep the door open and talk with him often. I put my hand in the cage and leave it there until he gets on it himself. Then I slowly bring him out. I want him to come out on his own and therefore do give him every opportunity to do so on his own; even if that means that he will stay in for a while. I thought the purpose of this site was to help people, offer encouragement and share ideas. You may not realize it but the way your are coming across seems domineering as though it's your way or no way and I know that for myself, I wondered why I was asking for help if I'm going to get berated. There are many wonderful ideas out there and when someone asks for help, let's help them, not blast them.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

I treat birds the way I would treat a person: with respect.

Please make sure you demonstrate the latter half of that on these forums. You have had some very informative posts, but also many that are quite forceful with your opinions which are not always correct. Most of your posts have rubbed me quite the wrong way and it is apparent I am not alone in that.

Quite frankly I do not think you are nearly the expert you think you are. Your input is still welcomed and encouraged - but Beatrize, check your ego before logging on, or do not log on at all.

 

[antoinette]

Hi justwingingit.....
He is only 10 months old, still finding his feet.
Whether an older or younger bird they must settle in, new family, environment and different voices and sounds.
He must gain your trust first. Sit near the cage, with the door open, just talking to him. Each time go a bit closer, not approaching him at all.
When cleaning the cage, talk to him distracting him. Don't attempt to go near him.
It can be very frustrating , but be patient and he will come around. Leaving the door open, sit nearby and hold a small toy (preferably one that makes a soft noise) Shake it gently, talking to the toy even kissing it. Do this a few times a day, so he gets used to the pattern you have created. LoL If he could speak I wonder what he would say to you. His curiosity will eventually get the better of him, hopefully he will step out the cage and become your BUDDY.
Birds thrive when there is a routine, knowing what to expect. EG: Dinner, do your best to give it to Buddy the same time every evening or as close as possible.
My AG Mishka, 2 years old now, at exactly 5pm she makes the sounds of the microwave oven, TELLING ME IT'S DINNER TIME
Keep us posted on Buddy's progress okay
You are doing fine, keep the good work up!!!
Take care

 

[justwingingit]

Thank you so much for your encouraging words. I have been involved with birds for a long time and yet, situations arise and I feel as though I just began and don't know anything. You have made some excellent suggestions and I'm grateful for the help. He's chatting in his cage right now and we do whistle back and forth. But I also know he's been through a lot for the little guy. I will keep you posted on the progress and again, thank you for your support.

 

[antoinette]

Buddy Buddy slowly but surely, day by day
We all go through situations with our birds. Some mild, some sever.
I guess even the experts have different situation to deal with. They never stop gaining knowledge as well. Thank god they share it with us, giving great advice and tips. Where would we be without them !!!
I admit I am no expert, still learning all the time. Had a few birds, each one had their own habits and personality. Handled each one differently.
I joined the forum, knowing opinions will differ. Read through posts etc, and try get a gut feeling which will work for you. If not successful try another method. We are human after all.
I have gained so much knowledge since joining, made great friends as well.
Great day

 

[Dr~Pepper]

I'm brand new here and don't want to ruffle any feathers Normally I get my feelings hurt so easily. It is hard sometimes to read a message, you can't see body language, tone, attitude etc.
When I read justwingingit's post, I too took the info posted that Buddy was doing well since he was "singing, whistling and talking" but then you stated that "I was able to get him out of his cage, albeit with some resistance."
I wouldn't go as far as to say that you "forced" the bird out, I wasn't there, but simply the wording that you used, without any other information, says that you got him out when he didn't want to come out.
It seems that he was not ready to come out so when you took him out it scared him, that was his safety zone, feeling safe enough there to be able to relax and sing etc.
He has been through a whole lot of sad things and just needs time to take it all in.
Giving him time, and space (personal space, not cage size space).
I do the same things each morning, I always talk to my Caique and usually open the little door right near the top, not on top, but like a little side door. Anyway sometimes he will just stay put, just doesn't want to get out. I can relate, I hate getting up in the mornings LOL. Sometimes he will go up to the top and just sit there, or when he is there, I turn my head and look back and he is at the top of my curtains. Sometimes he is so excited to get out that he plows me over to get to his playground. He is a little guy, I've had him for 3 weeks, right after being weaned.
I bet that it is safe to say that Buddy probably had to spend the majority of his days in his cage because of the issues with his family. I'm sure they hated not being able to spend a lot of time, and felt bad, but their family issues were enormous and came first.
When you took him home he was relieved of a lot of stress, you gave him stability, your place was calming so he thanked you by singing.
Me personally, just what I think, I would give him a big amount of toys. All kinds, he can take his stress, worries, etc out on the toys, and have fun taking his mind off the past.
1 last thing, were they able to give him a big variety of fresh fruits & veggies? Little tiny birdie muffins might make him love everyone :32:
Anyway, I've talked to long, take care and I wish you the best

 

[Beatriz Cazeneuve]

I can appreciate that you have a lot of knowledge, and have firm opinions on things. I would never force a bird out of a cage! If that is what I indicated, then I certainly do apologize. I do keep the door open and talk with him often. I put my hand in the cage and leave it there until he gets on it himself. Then I slowly bring him out. I want him to come out on his own and therefore do give him every opportunity to do so on his own; even if that means that he will stay in for a while. I thought the purpose of this site was to help people, offer encouragement and share ideas. You may not realize it but the way your are coming across seems domineering as though it's your way or no way and I know that for myself, I wondered why I was asking for help if I'm going to get berated. There are many wonderful ideas out there and when someone asks for help, let's help them, not blast them.

The way your posting was worded, it seemed as if you had made the bird leave the cage when he didn't want to. That is what I reacted to. I have been involved with birds for a long time and it is a sad fact that there is a lot of incorrect information going around the birdsites on how to handle birds. Things like parrot dominance which doesn't even exist. Things like not showing the bird he hurt you when he bit you because it would make him bite you more (as if parrots enjoyed inflicting pain or were stupid enough to mistake an expression of pain for 'drama'). Things like birds breed because they want to when, in reality, they are just reacting to the environmental conditions we create. Things like 'taming' an aggressive bird by clipping it or forcing it to accept human touch or putting him in a situation where the bird is insecure so he has no option but to cling to you. I don't know you and I don't know anything about you but what you post, so when I read that the bird 'resisted' coming out of the cage and he started acting up after that, I would attribute the change in behavior to what happened and tell you that you did wrong. But I am happy to find out that I was the one who was wrong, that this was not the case and that you do take the time to allow him to make his own choices.

 

[Beatriz Cazeneuve]

I treat birds the way I would treat a person: with respect.

Please make sure you demonstrate the latter half of that on these forums. You have had some very informative posts, but also many that are quite forceful with your opinions which are not always correct. Most of your posts have rubbed me quite the wrong way and it is apparent I am not alone in that.

Quite frankly I do not think you are nearly the expert you think you are. Your input is still welcomed and encouraged - but Beatrize, check your ego before logging on, or do not log on at all.

Yes -LOL- that I rub you the wrong way is obvious from your not-so-veiled insults and name calling but I will not answer this posting because it's against the rules -as it was your posting such a comment in the public forum.

 

[justwingingit]

I appreciate all of the input on Buddy. I'm sure we are here to help each other since the focus is the birds and having a healthy relationship with their respective owners. No matter how long we have been doing birds, we all can learn something new. There will always be an opposite opinion to something as we have seen. The best thing is to remember that we all love our birds and want what's best for them. I look forward to reading each post, learning and hopefully making life with my birds a more enjoyable, rewarding experience. I want that for everyone.

 

[Riley's mom]

Very well put!!!!

 

[Auggie's Dad]

I have called no one names. I first used sarcasm and satire to get the point across and never referred specifically to you Beatrice, though the point was obviously not received. You claim to have read the forum rules, so you should not that within your first several posts you already had several violations of said rules, but I generally give plenty of rope. My jesting warning was insufficient however so I gave a very clear and direct statement on your behavior - this also was ignored.

I have been more than patient. Take a time out - for 1 week.

 

[justwingingit]

Today is a great day! Buddy came out on his stand on his own today and is playing and talking and whistling. I was so happy to see his progress. I'm not calling the press yet, but inside I'm doing the happy dance! Just thought I'd let you know. Thanks for your help. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Dr~Pepper]

I must have missed something here. I too came on here to learn. You can never learn enough, everyday we learn something new and having a place like this to come to is awesome and I'm glad that I found it.
Now, having said that, I still don't understand what happened here from the get go. It seems to me that everyone has essentially said what Beatriz said only that Beatriz used a direct, no frills answer.
I realize that there must be "bad blood" there and I will stay far away from that.
Did the statement "I suggest you leave him alone" come across badly? Everyone has said the same thing, just different wording. Some people get right to the point, like I said, a no frills post, and some people like me ramble on (I am talking only about myself here) to get to the same point, conclusion etc.
I wanted to be a part of this forum, this website and so this was the first I have posted. I posted with what I thought were decent, reasonable questions/answers/statements but never got a response, just skipped right over.
Now, I'm not being a baby and wanting a response from everyone but to at least not be 100% completely ignored. Maybe because I spoke up about the issue with Beatriz, maybe I should have just stayed out of it, but I'm not taking sides, or anything like that, I just wanted to post my opinion.
I found it to be a very interesting post, to hear what that poor bird's family was going through and how it had a direct impact on the bird and the bird being fortunate enough to find a new home with someone that will help him recover, love him and take care of him for the long haul.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[antoinette]

Hi Justwingingit
How is Buddy doing? Buddy Buddy yet?
Sure he is doing much better now !!!
Keep us posted
Great day

 

[Riley's mom]

Not sure how often she checks this, but Buddy is doing much better. Comes out alot and is warming up pretty good.

 

[justwingingit]

Happy New Year everyone! Here's an update on Buddy, the scared BH Caique. I moved his cage to a corner where two sides are against something. What a difference. He now comes out of his cage constantly, plays with his toys, throws his foot toys, sings, talks and is a completely different bird. I feel so dumb that I did not think of this sooner (actually, it was my husband's idea). Now, as far as my interaction, we are still working on that, but he has made great strides and his transformation came almost immediately after moving him.