How to discourage bad behavior?

[Hawk12237]

May I suggest that you place a spraybottle in that room so he can see it.
Get a new one with a different color, that is important. Place it pretty far away from him. After one week move it. (or if he ignores it totally)
Continue doing that until he don't care or look at it. Then place the bottle near his cage. And let it stay. Place something he likes on top of it. (or attached)
For every time he ignore and don't care, place new treats. Also spray with it when it's empty so he get used to the sound too but only when he ignore and are far away.
You can also cover the bottle with a blanket and let him get used to the sound when he is eating some treats.

I have taught two birds to accept spraybottles with this method, both was abused with a spraybottle. One was terrified, and the other one did go to full attack-mode as soon as she saw it.
I always think it's worth a try to make them accept things in our home. And for their sake knowing that the past is the past.

My zon loves the spray bottle, her preferred way to shower, my grey,, ehh, he's ok, not a fan of it, but accepts it.

 

[Rain Bow]

May I suggest that you place a spraybottle in that room so he can see it.
Get a new one with a different color, that is important. Place it pretty far away from him. After one week move it. (or if he ignores it totally)
Continue doing that until he don't care or look at it. Then place the bottle near his cage. And let it stay. Place something he likes on top of it. (or attached)
For every time he ignore and don't care, place new treats. Also spray with it when it's empty so he get used to the sound too but only when he ignore and are far away.
You can also cover the bottle with a blanket and let him get used to the sound when he is eating some treats.

I have taught two birds to accept spraybottles with this method, both was abused with a spraybottle. One was terrified, and the other one did go to full attack-mode as soon as she saw it.
I always think it's worth a try to make them accept things in our home. And for their sake knowing that the past is the past.

Yes, & the slower-closer method is sort of a pain, but they (birds) except these new items so much faster than when they're pushed to be near it.

 

[Snowghost]

That's why I took the T stand down, he is terrified of it. Now that I'm at work I'm afraid all he does is sit on the back perch from the piles of poo I can tell.

How can I get a 19 year old CAG that has not been socialized unscared? I don't know what word to use. He won't forage for food, only rings his bell and ignores the other toys.

I found out he does not know how to fly.

How can I encourage him to be a fun, loving bird?

 

[Clueless]

Do you leave the tv or radio on for him?

 

[Clueless]

By the way, mine don't move around much either.

That's ok. Birds have long memories. It may take some years but they have the time.

 

[Snowghost]

Yes I do leave the radio on for him. Last night I noticed he didn't chew up his paper. Not sure if that is good or bad. Does he chew out of boredom?

 

[Clueless]

You really need a camera. I'm rather technically challenged. My nest cam was easy to set up. Downside of it you have to buy a subscription also. For me, it's worth it. I can always look at them. If they move, the camera tells me. If it sees a PERSON it tells me so.

 

[Snowghost]

I'll look into. What about plain old security camera or a trail cam? I already want a baby monitor, he is in my room, and now feels comfortable enough to slide down legs and walk around on the floor. Cracks me up.

 

[Clueless]

I had another camera that moved that broke.

The nest cam gives me the ability to go back and look at footage during the day while I was gone AND I can talk to them with it.

In fact, Secret's perch came loose yesterday. I need to go see how and when that happened.

 

[Rain Bow]

That's why I took the T stand down, he is terrified of it. Now that I'm at work I'm afraid all he does is sit on the back perch from the piles of poo I can tell.

How can I get a 19 year old CAG that has not been socialized unscared? I don't know what word to use. He won't forage for food, only rings his bell and ignores the other toys.

I found out he does not know how to fly.

How can I encourage him to be a fun, loving bird?

What about hiding the bell? I have an inverted priority mail box that Buddy's been working on. He likes the bells to be in it. I zip tied them in.

This started w/ a small box, then another small box then a microwavable hamburger box now this one. For Buddy he likes a few holes started for him to get into the box, I inverted it as Buddy has some issue w/ all white things...

This has taken over 2 years to get to this point. A ton of birdy eye staring too! It really takes time but how long do greys live? I'm being told 40-60 in captivity. 2 years is a drop in their bucket

Now, I don't worry about the rust speckling on these bells as, they are specifically for in boxes. Buddy's goal is to destroy said box, the noise is fun & he cares (if possible - more than less) about the bells. The Florescent Orange are the zip ties... I believe it's probable you will need something much stronger for Paco if you make him a box. It's also possible he's sleeping a bunch while your @ work. Buddy used to have days like that before he hung out w/ Dad all day. I'd confine him to his cage instead also for safety. There are 3 bells in here & he's always supervised when he plays w/ it.












I would never let him mouth these bells. He has real safety birdy bells "IN" his cage.

 

[Snowghost]

He has one bell and it is like the long cylinder one in last photo. I would hate to take his bell it seems to comfort him. When I talk to him he reaches out with his foot sideways and holds on it. He likes to ring it as well. He is scare of paper towel rolls and pretty much every thing. I just want him to forage and play. He just sits on the cage door or on his perch.

Since he doesn't know how to fly, I can I encourage some sort of exercise?

 

[Karen]

He has one bell and it is like the long cylinder one in last photo. I would hate to take his bell it seems to comfort him. When I talk to him he reaches out with his foot sideways and holds on it. He likes to ring it as well.

Hi Terri,

What did I miss? Why are you considering taking his bell away? Paco reminds me so much of my Kady when he came to live with me when he was 19 years old. I would like to offer a few suggestions. Don't take his bell away, get him another identical one, or two. Put one on the outside of his cage, so he can reach it when he sits on his door. Set up a play area on top of his cage if he cannot have a play stand and put another bell there. Start with what he will accept to get him moving around.

I remember the 1st. item I got my bird to touch was a scrap of paper, the size of my thumb nail. That's how small I had to start. I let him join in on my excitement over this little scrap of paper, when he was ready. We graduated to a straw, and so on. Eventually I made a small toy with some white paper, I made a small toy with a straw. I kept them at a distance. I talked to the toys, I made a fuss over them. Parrots are curious, my Kady eventually wanted to know why I was so interested in these items. I never went faster than what he could accept. If I accidentally did, I backed up two steps and went slower. To this day 15 years later, I still go slow introducing any new item. He will never be a bird that chews up wood toys like a beaver and swings from a toe but he does alright. He still loves paper and I buy him paper rolls now. I will tell you about his paper trails someday.

You mentioned earlier that Paco likes a walkabout. That's great progress in his new home that he feels comfortable enough to do that! That's exercise. Work with what he will do and build on that. I envision a perch or a rope that goes from his cage to a nearby playstand that he may one day travel on his own even if he has to look at it for a year until he gets used to it.

 

[Clueless]

Totally agree with her, it's gonna happen.

Maybe put a bowl on the bottom of his cage. Later you can start adding things to the bowl.

Currently MC has a bowl of toys there and I slip a nutriberry in it from time to time.

 

[Snowghost]

Karen, thanks for the tips. I just want to encourage him to explore his world and have fun. He had 2 owners and all they did waas keep him in a filthy cage and feed him bird seed. It breaks my heart. He plucked before but now his feathers are growing in. He tried cabbage last night, he is not a big fan of leafy veggies. I know he is scared and wonders who is this crazy hooman, giving me toys, strange food and clean warer bowl and cleans my cage 3 times a day. Patience and love and I have lots of that.

 

[Hawk12237]

I'll look into. What about plain old security camera or a trail cam? I already want a baby monitor, he is in my room, and now feels comfortable enough to slide down legs and walk around on the floor. Cracks me up.

Menards has cameras, you get two, for 29 dollars, you set it up, down load the app to your phone. The cameras have a built in speaker and quite loud. From your phone, you can be anywhere in the U.S. And see and talk to your bird on csmera. And hear him respond back. It's soo cool it will make you jump!

 

[Monaco]

Menards has cameras, you get two, for 29 dollars, you set it up, down load the app to your phone. The cameras have a built in speaker and quite loud. From your phone, you can be anywhere in the U.S. And see and talk to your bird on csmera. And hear him respond back. It's soo cool it will make you jump!

Can you give us a link, please?

 

[SmallFeather]

@Snowghost
I don't have Aries the TAG anymore, but perhaps some of my experiences with him will help. Ares was kept in a small cage with few perches for almost 20 years of his life. As a result, he didn't know how to play, had some gripping issues with his feet, and seemed to always want to be on the ground rather than the nice play stand I bought him, lol. The first month I had him, all he seemed to do was sit in his cage and showed no interest in his toys. I often played podcasts and music for him when I couldn't have him out, but I was sad that he wasn't having all of the mental and physical activity that a grey needs. I got some great advice from the shelter I got him from. They told me to clicker train him, starting with target training. That went really well, although he did start to get very hormonal during that time. What was important, though, was that Aries associated that "click" with positive things like treats. From then on, whenever I saw him looking at a toy or touching one, I clicked the clicker to let him know I liked what he was doing for the initial reward and rushed to get him a treat. Eventually, he started to associate toys with good things and started playing a little bit. He liked puzzle toys, shredders, and this one swing that he would hang upside-down from and swing in particular. Maybe you could apply some of that to help your CAG have more fun outside the cage too? The most important thing, though, with training any animal is to only use 100% positive reinforcement. Any negative reaction or "punishment", though they may not seem like punishments, will only set you back and associate you with negative emotions. The only "punishment" that is okay is non-acknowledgement. Hope this helps!

 

[Rain Bow]

@Snowghost
I don't have Aries the TAG anymore, but perhaps some of my experiences with him will help. Ares was kept in a small cage with few perches for almost 20 years of his life. As a result, he didn't know how to play, had some gripping issues with his feet, and seemed to always want to be on the ground rather than the nice play stand I bought him, lol. The first month I had him, all he seemed to do was sit in his cage and showed no interest in his toys. I often played podcasts and music for him when I couldn't have him out, but I was sad that he wasn't having all of the mental and physical activity that a grey needs. I got some great advice from the shelter I got him from. They told me to clicker train him, starting with target training. That went really well, although he did start to get very hormonal during that time. What was important, though, was that Aries associated that "click" with positive things like treats. From then on, whenever I saw him looking at a toy or touching one, I clicked the clicker to let him know I liked what he was doing for the initial reward and rushed to get him a treat. Eventually, he started to associate toys with good things and started playing a little bit. He liked puzzle toys, shredders, and this one swing that he would hang upside-down from and swing in particular. Maybe you could apply some of that to help your CAG have more fun outside the cage too? The most important thing, though, with training any animal is to only use 100% positive reinforcement. Any negative reaction or "punishment", though they may not seem like punishments, will only set you back and associate you with negative emotions. The only "punishment" that is okay is non-acknowledgement. Hope this helps!

Good advice Small feather!

 

[Snowghost]

@SmallFeather thank you so much, I was wonder if training migjt help us bond more. He has stopped pecking my head. I would also like to encorage hin to forage as he does not do it at all.

 

[Clueless]

Baby steps. He's doing great, looks great, and you guys are getting an incredible bond.