What am I doing wrong?!

[Cynthia1014]

Its been 11 days since I got Eva. Ive been trying to do everything right. Lots of foraging items, different types of fruits and vegetables. Ive even started clicker training which is a complete bust but everyday i do it, and hopefully one day she'll get the idea. She used to listed when I would say "up" or "down", now she doesn't want to obey to come out of her cage. She goes to the cage door climbs up the cage door and just like to hang out there. I try to play with her on the couch or try to spend some real time with her one on one and she just wants to run back to the cage, climbs up and like to sit on top of the door and do her little dance. When I was asking her to step up so I can put her back in the cage, she grabs my finger with her beak ( not hard, but sometimes hard) and pushes my finger away and starts bopping her head again.

She bit me on the nose right before putting her to bed (more like a hard pinch, nonetheless, its a hard bite), she just doesn't listen to me anymore when i tell her to step up.

Please tell me what Im doing wrong, please!!!!

I don't want to feel like I regret getting her, but I'm beginning to feel like that.

 

[Sucre]

11 days isn't very long for her to adapt to the new changes. I would just let her do her thing, as long as it doesn't involve biting.

Is she biting when you're trying to get her into the cage, or just trying to handle her? Sucre was impossible to get in the cage the first couple of days we had her - probably because she was allowed constant free roam of the home she came from. She would grab onto anything to keep from going in. She's always "stepped up" well, but once we got to the cage with her she would sidestep and grab something and pull herself away. A friend told me to get her to step up on one hand / lower arm, and take my other hand and put it on her back. This way I can guide her into the cage when I am ready for her to go in for the night.

Oh, and I've learned to never offer an open hand to her, after she tried to amputate my finger at the knuckle once. I keep my hand fisted when asking her to step up.

I don't think you're doing anything wrong! I've got one who has fallen in love with my husband and is trying to figure out a way to get me out of the picture, so I am certainly not the best to give advice. But we've only had her 2 weeks, so I kind of feel like we're still feeling each other out a bit. I learn something new about her every day, and I bet she would say the same of me and my household.

 

[Peppo]

I think she is only testing you, seeing what the rules are.. 11 days is nothing! Keep doing what you are doing, but don't force her to interact. Just be nice but firm when she bites (no!) and she will want to interact in no time. Do fun things near her, sing and dance, play with toys, read a book, slip her yummy treats once in a while. Why rush? This is the fun part, lol... The challenge is worth it. Way, way too early to think even remotely about giving up. For now, keep your nose safe and out of the way!

 

[Cynthia1014]

11 days isn't very long for her to adapt to the new changes. I would just let her do her thing, as long as it doesn't involve biting.

Is she biting when you're trying to get her into the cage, or just trying to handle her? Sucre was impossible to get in the cage the first couple of days we had her - probably because she was allowed constant free roam of the home she came from. She would grab onto anything to keep from going in. She's always "stepped up" well, but once we got to the cage with her she would sidestep and grab something and pull herself away. A friend told me to get her to step up on one hand / lower arm, and take my other hand and put it on her back. This way I can guide her into the cage when I am ready for her to go in for the night.

Oh, and I've learned to never offer an open hand to her, after she tried to amputate my finger at the knuckle once. I keep my hand fisted when asking her to step up.

I don't think you're doing anything wrong! I've got one who has fallen in love with my husband and is trying to figure out a way to get me out of the picture, so I am certainly not the best to give advice. But we've only had her 2 weeks, so I kind of feel like we're still feeling each other out a bit. I learn something new about her every day, and I bet she would say the same of me and my household.

When I first got her she was hesitant about stepping up and down but she did it. NOW, she doesn't want to she wants to climb out by herself, when putting her back in she does the same thing your bird does, grab onto to everything she can find to not go in. but I can't hold her back or anything, sometimes she's fine with it and sometimes she comes at me for a quick pressure bite.

 

[Cynthia1014]

I think she is only testing you, seeing what the rules are.. 11 days is nothing! Keep doing what you are doing, but don't force her to interact. Just be nice but firm when she bites (no!) and she will want to interact in no time. Do fun things near her, sing and dance, play with toys, read a book, slip her yummy treats once in a while. Why rush? This is the fun part, lol... The challenge is worth it. Way, way too early to think even remotely about giving up. For now, keep your nose safe and out of the way!

Lol... Will do about the nose thing. I told my brother that she bit my nose and my brother said " why are you trying to sniff her!" :11:

 

[Siobhan]

We've had Rocky almost nine months. It took at least three just to get to know each other, and in some ways, we still are. Think of her as a 2-year-old who has tantrums, who has to learn everything from scratch, who doesn't understand everything you say (and you don't understand everything she says!) and let things proceed at her pace. If you must get her into her cage, find something she dearly loves to eat and only let her have it, INSIDE the cage, when you want her to go in. Let her see you have it in your hand, put it in her bowl so she has to go in the cage to get it, and there you are. I still have to bribe Rocky sometimes to get him to step off me. He'd like to spend all day every day on my arm. My general rule with all my birds is, let them come out of the cage IF they want to, and never reach in to get them. Their cage is THEIR space and I don't invade except for cleaning, and even then, I ask first.

 

[Dopey]

Toos are notorious for not wanting to step up.
One of my toos knows that if he doesn't step up when he is out of the cage he gets sent to his cage. The thing is...he will walk to his cage. All I have to do is point to it and say "go to your cage" and he waddles away.

Please don't regret getting your too. They are the world's most stubborn child but are usually quite loving after you get a relationship with them.

 

[Siobhan]

I can tell you that those first few months with Rocky tested our patience repeatedly and we had many moments when we asked ourselves if we could even DO this, and came to the very edge of the precipice of finding him a different home. But we stuck it out and he stuck it out and now you'd have to pry him out of my cold dead hands. LOL I understand TOTALLY how tough it is to build a relationship with a 'too, even a regular 'too who hasn't the troubled history that mine does. But it is worth it.

 

[Sucre]

If Sucre refuses step up, we will also grasp her feet firmly in one hand, place the other hand on her back / shoulder area and kind of push her down very lightly. This is the easiest way to get her back in her cage.

I wish we could leave her out all of the time and just let her come and go to her cage as she wishes, but between her terrorizing my little dogs and going after me every few minutes, it's just not possible. The rest of us have to have a life, too.

I have moments of frustration and I think "What in the world have I done?" Right now we're just taking it one day at a time. I know that we have altered her lifestyle drastically - from the looks of things when I picked her up at her former home, she had free run of the house. Her cage was in pieces, and the floor fully indicated that she wasn't caged, if you know what I mean. Now, she's here, and she's acting out, mostly towards me but occasionally everyone gets a nip. We're trying to break old habits and get to know her at the same time. We're just hoping that we can do it!

 

[MonicaMc]

Chances are, being in a new home, Eva wasn't sure what to think. Eva may have been scared and only listened perhaps because she was in shock. Once she started to settle in, she was trying to tell you what she is and is not comfortable with.

Having trouble getting her out? Why not try putting a short perch on the cage door and a treat cup next to it. When the door is closed, put a treat inside the cup. Allow her to come over to the perch to get her treat. Do this several more times. Then, slowly open the cage. Continue giving her treats.

Having trouble getting her back in the cage? Put her favorite treat inside the cage. It may help to somewhat restrict her food while she's out so that she's hungry to go back in.



As far as going away from the cage.... what about getting a gym for her to play on? Set it up next to the cage with toys and treats. Make it very rewarding to be there! As she grows comfortable with it, you can then start moving the gym around the house with you.



I would recommend just moving the cage around the house with you... but being that a proper cockatoo cage is typically pretty huge, that makes things less feasible... but this worked great for one of my birds until she grew more comfortable with me! Now she'd rather be on me than in her cage!