Jaco with anxiety

[Rosebud]

Hello. I do feel very welcome, so please don't judge me for anything that I'm going to share with you.
My man raised his jaco since she was a baby, he fed her and used to keep her unlocked outside the cage all the time. She's 12 by now. We moved living together less than a year ago.
Two years before that he had a hard time with her because she was ruining things in the house. So he decided to keep her locked inside the cage until she'll calm down. It's been 3.5 years since then, and I think she's been traumatized by that. She's fearful. I can manage to caress her for a long time but I have to keep my eye open because she may bite. I understand I have to be super gentle with her to contact her. And I'm trying very hard but I'm afraid of her. I understand she has to have a routine every day. A day adjustment you know.
I also want her to be outside the cage for a few hours a day and to stop having this anxiety attacks. I know this May be a hard case but it's either that or I'll have to give her away which I don't think my boyfriend will approve. I can't keep watching her Bordem and misery, and worse I sort of have to do it myself because my partner don't seem to see the problem.
Thank you for your help.
Whisper has a very good nutrition and a large cage so you don't have to worry about it.

Rosebud

 

[sodakat]

I think its great that you want to help Whisper have a more rewarding life. Is she a red-necked Amazon? That's the only parrot I see referred to as a Jaco.

If she has been caged for several years I don't think she will be a very good flier unless her cage is large enough that she has been able to flap her wings each day and fly from perch to perch. She may not attempt to fly when she's first let out.

If it were me, I would open her cage about an hour before dusk and let her climb out on her own, if she will. Don't handle her, let her exit on her own and climb atop her cage. If she leaves the cage by flying, just let her be to explore a while, as long as the room is safe. When you want her to go back to her cage you can dim the lights to encourage roosting. If she does not return to her cage, make the room almost completely dark then approach her and place a towel over her and scoop her up to carry her back to the cage, place her on the grate and lift the towel off, letting climb out and up to her perch on her own. This involves very little trauma, no contact with your hands and is quick.

If you do this each day you will soon know her comfort level around you. Just take it slow. Eventually she will probably approach you. If not, stand and talk to her when she is out, showing her she can trust you.

 

[Marlene]

and Thanks for joining us to learn more about what you can do to help your baby. Soon others will chime in with some help. Good luck!

 

[Stormcloud]

and I hope you find the answers you are seeking.

 

[Katy]

Welcome. I think Kathy gave you some good advice. If I boiled everything down on my journey, it would be patience. Let the bird make the moved. Good luck.

 

[waterfaller1]

Welcome to Avian Avenue. I have to respectfully disagree that toweling her daily is going to win her trust. I would rather see you work with her stepping up onto a hand held perch. Talk softly, drop a treat in her bowl. Open the cage door as suggested, but having another spot she can climb to like a playstand or rope roadway will expand her environment, and give her some much needed exercise. We can help you set up her area for success.

 

[waterfaller1]

Also, birds do better if you shake up that routine a bit on occasion. It does not have to be a strict routine. Does she like toys? Does she get them changed out frequently?

 

[SandraK]

Can you post a photo of Whisper so that we can know what kind of parrot/bird he/she is? It will help if other people here who have the same type of bird know what you have and can give you advice. I will also say and welcome to AA. If you have any other pets in your house, we also like to hear about all of them even if we are about birds.

 

[sodakat]

Re: toweling. When people are very afraid of getting bit, a towel gently placed over a bird to return them to their cage is less stressful for both owner and bird. Of course it would be good to work on stepping up the bird. But if the fear of getting bit means the hand is pulled back, so the bird never gets out of their cage, then finding a safe, non-traumatic way to get the bird back after letting the bird climb out and explore on its own, seems justified IMO. I do not mean tight, scary toweling. If Whisper will fly or climb to another area once out of the cage and will step onto a perch to be returned, this would be even better. Best of course would be a hand offered for a step up on return. I'm trying to offer a way to help Nitzan achieve getting Whisper out and back into the cage.

 

[Shade]

welcome!

 

[Katy]

 

[Rosebud]

Hello everyone. Thank you so much for your warm welcome and understanding. This means a lot to me.

Katy you've been very helpfull. Whisper is an African-grey perrot.
Shall I open up the cage while we both are in the livingroom or should I be alone? I have to make the environment very calm so she'll feel at ease. My partner is very nervous by the thought of getting her out. I don't mean to use a towel but if I won't have a choice I will.
Whisper have some ropes in her cage, I'm trying to be creative with some new toys. If you have ideas for me, please share!
she loves to whistle songs and to imitate my boyfriend while he's talking on the phone, this is so funny. She is such a good girl, she is so gentle and she's trying very hard to bond with me. I had to teach my bf to treat her more kindly cause he was always thinking she was getting him angry by purpose. But sometimes people just don't understand nature when it comes to animals.

Further more I wanted to know some more about create a routine for her on a daily basis. I want to feel consciousness about her being in the cage or being alone in the house. I understand turn on some radio should help a little. I also wanted to put her cage in a place more lightning with a view to the outside but it's a bit complicated since we won't have any privacy at all It's either that or to put her in the hall.

Right now it's not possible to show you Whisper but I'm sure she looks just like ur own
Whisper shares a home with Lirix the cat. I have to say in her faver -she never ONCE tried to catch WHisper or even look at her in a dishonest way.
Wishing u all a very good night sleep.

Nitzan

 

[waterfaller1]

To create an environment that gives a bird extra space and a happy environment, making an area for play outside the cage is what I recommend. Expand her habitat horizontally.
Here are some pics of some areas I have for my birds.
boing attached to outside of cage strung sideways



cargo net

perches on outside of cage, toys strung all over for enrichment



atom,boings strung sideways,java tree playstand




before we had the atom and SS cage

magic mesh deters birds from flying out of room

"Wingdow" {toys were added to toy clip in the middle-not shown here}

 

[macawpower58]

It's wonderful what you're doing. I believe for now, it's best you work with her yourself, especially if your boyfriend isn't 100% on board with you in how to treat her. First earn her trust. It will take time, and you must be patient. Food treats are often a great way to help a bond develop between the bird and you. Don't push her too fast, allow her to make most of the moves first.

With time and patience you'll really see her start to blossom. Once your boyfriend sees that your way of doing things works much better than his, then it'll be time to teach him how to act with her.

 

[Rosebud]

Carole you've created an amazing jungle for your birds I wish I could do the same. I really like the idea with the branches, and you really gave me the concept of how it suppose to be like. Thank you.

Becky we are so so surprised of how well it's going for us right now. So smooth and naturally.
We're opening the cage everyday for a few hours and she's coming right out, stretching and communicating a little bit. We give her treats and she's taking them willingly. We're so happy and relieved.
Thanks a lot.
bringing her back to the cage is done by a treat and a dim light.
I'm thankfully for everyone, my boyfriend is enthusiastic by the success with Whisper.

Before I first came to this forum I tried to get help from some other forum and was treated with a nasty attitude. One of the managers there simply told me to give away Whisper and didn't even try to help me.

So my appreciation for you all is not taken for granted.

 

[sodakat]

Wonderful news! Thank you for letting us know how its going. I'm so glad you are enjoying Whisper more and that her life is being enriched.

 

[macawpower58]

That's awesome news! Keep us updated on your progress.

 

[GuineaPigster]

I'm so glad things are going well in your bonding process!

 

[Rosebud]

Hello again everyone
I must ask a few questions.
First of all Whisper is doing terrific. She's a very happy bird.
She's getting full of feathers, shes very friendly. We're not afraid of her anymore and my boyfriend can't stop telling that it's all because of me and that Whisper and him owe me a big thank you.
He's finally treating her and gives her love so it defiantly paid off to get her outside the cage.

I have two questions:
How would I know if she's cold and that she's not shivering of fright? Our house is quit cold most of the day in the winter. Do they like light blankets upon them?
The second question: there's a side in her behavior I can't understand. When she's on me sometimes she starts to make weird sounds like sucking or suction sounds. When she's doing that she keep asking me to cores her and if she's on my shoulder she's clinging onto me opening her mouth and dancing with her neck while she's spreading her wings. My boyfriend says she used to behave like that when she was a baby, and that's a good sign. Some other times she's lowering her neck on my hand and she even tries to climb on my head.
She went even further today. She did all that while she took out of mouth bits of pinnuts. I didn't know what to think.
I'm just hopping I'm one of the crew. I'm very curious of what this behavior indicates of.

Nitzan

 

[waterfaller1]

How cold is cold..what temperature? Have you no heat?
The behaviors you mention sound like she is bonding with you and loves you.