Scared of EVERYTHING?!?!

[KatherineI]

So, as many of you know, Sugar came home on Monday. Everything seems to be going well, but something we noticed before she came home has been exacerbated since bringing her in. This may be long, so please, bear with me if you can. I'm just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on dealing with a very fearful bird.

For starters, she's scared of perches. Not those in her cage, but rather stand-alone perches. She displayed this a couple of times before when attempting to place her on one at the place she was before bringing her home, once with such significant resistance that she was literally panting from the stress So far nothing as bad as that time, but you can tell even when she is placed on our table-top one, she's not comfortable on it. The shower perch is the only perch she seems to have no issues with.

On top of that, she seems literally fearful of everything. We knew fast movements were an issue, but now it seems like the only thing we can do and have her not freak out even for just a minute or two, is sitting down, talking to her and not moving unless it's to touch her.

After three days of observation, Hubs is starting to wonder if she was traumatized in some way. She was definitely an only bird and had limited socialization with other birds (which can happen as many people don't take their birds outside of the home except to go to the Vet). Loki has accepted her as part of the flock, and they're okay in the same room, even one being on the shoulder and one being on the arm of the same person at the same time, but he is VERY interested in her (in a good way) and it seems like all he wants to do is be friends. However, she actually hisses at him and keeps moving away any time he gets too close for her liking. Then he looks at us like "what did I do wrong??", poor things!

We were told the reason for her needing a new home was that the family had a second baby and this poor bird was screaming constantly because she wasn't used to be in her cage a large portion of the day. I have so far seen nothing in regards to this. Her loudest "scream" isn't much different from Loki's, except it's a slightly lower pitch and has more "umph" behind it as she's a bigger bird. And she doesn't do it incessantly either. She seems to already be adjusting to our nightly and morning routines, which is a good sign. She eats pellets with no hesitation, seems to enjoy fresh foods and is getting more and more vocal every day (vocal as in happy noises, the jibberish talk and the couple of actual words she knows, not vocal as in screaming). She's not biting when she's displaying fear, she almost never bites and when she does, she doesn't bite down or put much (if any) pressure, it's basically just her putting her beak around your finger and that's it.

She does seem to trust us, and seems to be bonding with both my husband and I, and as we see these things we're doing our best to accommodate while getting her used to them. I'm just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on dealing with a very fearful bird.

 

[Mayden]

Try getting Loki to do the things first?

I think it's just going to be a game of patience. When she feels more relaxed, you can do things like move the stand alone perch closer to her cage, etc. Get Loki on it, get him to touch the things she's scared of all over, proving to her it's okay. Don't try and force her, one day she'll just randomly jump on the perch and you'll be amazed.

Good luck with them, it really is just a waiting game.

Congrats on your new baby btw, not sure if I said it!

 

[BillsBirds]

First, she's new to your home. Give her time. Second, she's a cockatoo. Crazy birds at best. LOL Seriously, give her time. Show her that you are a friend, and are no threat. Use your other bird to show her that you are flock leader, and are bird friendly. By playing with your first bird, and happily interacting, she'll see that it's okay to become comfortable. Don't try too hard to have her accept you. It has to come from her. Since she goes to you, take her out often, for short periods at first, several times a day. But, give her alone time to process this new information. She'll watch you guys and come around. As for fear of perches & things like that, she's in "fight or flight" mode, and everything is scary. See how she is once she calms down. Then, address her phobias. And, being a 'too, she'll have some. (Note to 'too lovers...I love them also, but, you know I'm right! Any I've had, or known, were crazy birds).

 

[KatherineI]

Oh, I definitely know 'Too's to be neurotic, lol. No news there Seeing as I'm slightly neurotic myself, that's not really going to be an issue.

She definitely knows we're her friends, she actually seeks me out and has for a while. When I would visit her, she would look for me if she heard my voice, no matter how many other people were there. If she saw me, she would immediately move to the front of her cage for me to take her out, even as I slowly made my way to her while saying hello to all the others. She's definitely a Mama's girl already.

And thanks. I know it's going to take time, I wasn't looking for a quick-fix, but just maybe something to help things along. I do play with Loki in front of her, and do all the things suggested, so I guess it's just about time and patience. She's not afraid of furniture, ironically, just stands, lol. We'll get through it.

 

[Mare Miller]

When I moved new perches in to Amigo's living room cage, he wasn't in there at the time, he would fly away before we got within 5ft. of the cage. He wanted no part of the change. I would pull my rocker semi-close to his cage hold him and cuddle, then a little closer the next time till we were right next to it. It took a couple days. He was jumping up on his cage, going inside, soon after that. They are funny things, these cockatoos but it just took some time for him to adjust.