Hello from a new owner to lscc and new to forums

[Jemini_uk]

Hello to all. I have 'acquired' a 15 yr old (tbc) lscc called Jasper. His previous owner was my daughter, she had him approx 4 months and these were very loud and stressful (to Jasper) as he was left for long periods of time and also, her partner hated him and Jasper hated him back. Before my daughter, my understanding is that Jasper has had numerous owners for whatever reasons unknown to us. You may think I've been foolish adopting him but if you had seen his poor feathers, from plucking, you would have said the same..... bring him here to me. He's been with me for a little over a month and his feathers are growing back slowly but more importantly, no more plucking. He's due to see an avian vet in a week or so and also having a new, larger and rust free cage.
All this said, I am terrified of him when he's out of the cage as he has bitten, both myself and my partner but I intend to persevere in whichever way is needed to ensure Jasper has a secure and fulfilling life. Watch this space.....advice will be needed and much appreciated, lol

[Wolf]

Well whether or not you were a bit foolish is not an area that I care to make much of a comment on, that is something that you will have to decide for yourself in time. I just want to thank you for taking the bird in.
The bird screaming for attention and its biting are most likely the reason behind it being rehomed so much. The bird sounds as if it has learned that humans are not to be trusted and that biting is the only way to make them listen to him. This is going to take a bit of time for you to reverse so it is going to require some patience and persistence and consistency on your part. Patience because it is not going to go away over night. Persistence because you are going to have to show the bird that you are listening to it and that you can be trusted while the bird doesn't have any reason to trust you and consistency as you need to do the same things in the same way at the same time to help the bird understand that good things come from you and that it can trust you. Birds require a schedule to do their best as they do not handle change very well.
Why don't you think about Jasper for a few minutes and let me know as much as you can about him both past and present and let me know also about what his daily schedule is, what lighting he is exposed to and what his diet consists of. Also what foods he receive at what time of day. There are many things that affect their level of aggression beyond the amount of time they receive interacting with their human and their schedules for eating and sleeping, the types of light they receive and their diets are major factors in this area.
Well I am a bit late feeding my birds so I will check back later and perhaps be able to be more helpful then.

[liz]

I would not call it foolish. It is more like heroic. Bless you for taking him. I have quite a few kids of my own who came to me the same way.

A 15 year old bird has been through a lot. You only know how it was treated when your daughter had him. You know she did not give him care that he needed is why you have him.
There could have been cuelty and neglect from the humans before your daughter. You also don't know how many homes he has passed through and how the humans treated him.

Biting is caused by fear and he has a lot of fear in him. Only your time and care can heal that. Since you do not know how forgiving he is it could be a week to many years. Biting is also caused by not paying attention to his body language and the only way he knows to stop you is to bite.

Myrtle was only a year old when I got her but it was 4 years before she would present her head for skritches.

His fear may go so deep that you will never be able to touch and cuddle him. But he knows where he has been and just has to learn where he is now. Refer to the thread on "Mimi" to learn how much they remember and how long it took Wolf to get the right response from her.

Most of the members in this forum have information, concern, and support you will need. If you don't see an answer just ask the question. Wolf and Pajarita have researched on about every subject. They also have a feel for the birds. (Wolf's first bird found him and insisted on claiming him as his new human.)

I have rattled on too long and will get off to make room for someone to assist you.

Welcome to the forum.

[Pajarita]

Thank you so much for taking him in! Cockatoos are the number one given up bird precisely for the same problems poor Jasper is showing: screaming, biting and plucking -and consider yourself lucky he is not self-mutilating because lots and lots of them do in their despair, the poor things!

See, the thing with cockatoos is that the same thing that attracts most people to them is the same that makes them suffer so much in a normal household: their cuddliness and incredible reserves of love! But, like a double-edged sword, the other side of these wonderful qualities is that they are terribly, terribly needy and cannot stand been on their own - they need company 24/7/365 (and that means their body touching yours) which people with a normal lifestyle simply cannot provide.

Cockatoos imprint and love VERY deeply and, when they lose their human, their psyche is damaged the same as a child that has been abandoned by its parents would have a lifelong trauma from the experience. And this poor guy has been abandoned many times so is it a wonder that he now bites, screams all the time and pulls his feathers out in his desperation and loneliness? No, of course not.

But, the good news is that because they are so loving and needy, they are also much easier to rehabilitate than other species! I have two of them. Freddie (23 years old) came to me because his previous owners could no longer care for him and he was a screamer (a real bad one, too!), it took me ten months but he now only makes flock calls early in the am and in the evening which is normal. He also plucked his legs bare and that has improved but has not completely disappeared. On the other hand, he is the sweetest thing ever, never, ever trying to bite me and always been extremely careful to be gentle with me - he is also a ham which LOVES attention and to make people laugh. He is one of the few birds I take among people other than me and I used him for a chat I gave to one of my grandkids summer camp (4, 5 and 6 years old children) and they adored him! (The three ladies in charge took so many pictures of him to post in FB, the bulletin board and the newsletter that I am sure half New Jersey knows him by now ). The 'new' one is Linus (25 years old) which came to me recently because, again, his owners could no longer take care of him and which I was told was not a screamer but he is (he has been driving crazy this morning, as a matter of fact ). He is also a plucker and barberer and, if you look at this thread http://www.theparrotforum.com/viewtopic ... 12&t=14446 you will see pictures of him. He has allowed some down feathers to grow on his chest and has not plucked them out so far (but it doesn't mean he won't) and we are working on his rust and screaming issues.

Please tell us what his diet, light schedule, daily routines, etc are so we can give you specific pointers on how to help him.

[Jemini_uk]

Thankyou for your lovely posts, quite inspiring. I've spoken to my daughter for some more details about Jasper before and during his time with her. The owner previous was in her words, a waste of space, Jasper arrived with bald patches and holes where he had also been biting. His diet is also a bit naughty, he likes junk food!!!
Now on to our home: Jasper sleeps in the front room, in the bay window. The curtains are drawn and he is covered, 8.30 to 9pm, after it has become dark. He sleeps all night. He will either call me or I will go into him at about 8.30am. The curtains and cover are not blackout so light does penetrative somewhat. He doesn't like to stay in the bay for long, once the curtains are open he'll have a look around but then I have to move his cage to under the stairs next to the kitchen. It isn't very bright there. He can see me though, I talk to him, put the radio on and feed him. Depends on his mood when I clean his cage, sometimes it has to be late afternoon. Late morning he will usually want me to fuss him, stroking the feathers back on his head, around the eyes and down to the neck ( I read that this has to be done by the owner as he can't shift the dust himself) and he does enjoy it. Sometimes he will want me to fuss him late afternoon and before bed but these times I'm cautious as he has tried to nip during. His diet is a constant supply of parrot mix (mixed seeds, nuts, dried banana and who knows what else) and a separate dish of sunflower and cockatiel seeds. In another dish I will give him fresh fruits, kale and greens - morning, then veggies, meat or fish and more greens around 5pm. He does have treats here and there, oh and he does like his toast 1st thing for breakfast. Between 6pm until bed I've started moving him back to the front room as he insists on full attention, there I stay with him, even if he shouts at me, lol. I hope this gives you some insight to what I may be doing wrong or right

[Wolf]

To be honest with you I see several areas in need of improvement such as in his diet and his light schedule. Time out of the cage and for interaction is also in need of an overhaul and this is the area that is going to give you the most difficulty.
Let us begin with diet, here is a link that you should read viewtopic.php?f=8&t=13666
it contains the basics of the main food that both Pajarita and I feed to our birds. It is a home cooked food that is referred to as gloop, it is a mixture of whole grains, vegetables and legumes.
I feed shortly after my birds wake up in the morning a fresh fruit, a fresh vegetable and a fresh leafy green, these are raw and enough to last all day long. I follow this in about an hour with the gloop again enough to last through the day. Then around dusk I feed a seed mix for dinner and a tree nut or two. I would consider this diet for your bird as opposed to what you are feeding it. The reason for this recommendation is that the bird's current diet is high in fat and protein and in addition to increasing aggressive behavior places the bird at risk of liver disease and heart disease.
Lighting is also very important for our birds as they are photoperiodic. This means that their breeding cycles are controlled primarily by light. Breeding season means hormones run high and this contributes to aggression and in birds whose systems are not in sync with the proper seasons it can lead to intense pain for the bird which also increases aggression.
The proper light schedule is that the bird is exposed to the pre dawn twilight period gradually waking up as the sun comes up, they then usually limit their exposure to indirect sunlight until dusk and then go to sleep as the sun sets and it becomes dark. it is exactly the same as the wild birds outside receive. The twilight periods are especially important as they are used to set and adjust the birds internal biological clock which is what controls the breeding cycle.
The last is time for personal interaction and time out of the cage. This is extremely important to this bird and in addition to most likely being hormonal is probably the number one reason for his behaviors of plucking, self mutilation, screaming and biting. It is also the most difficult area for you as you have been on the receiving end of his beak and are fearful of it and him. Here is the catch to this; in addition to reducing his level of hormones and aggression through diet and lighting, you will not get him past his biting and screaming without a lot of close personal physical interaction with him.
It is at this point that it is best that I let Pajarita take over and make her recommendations on how to approach this as she is more experienced than I am and she has some of these birds while I do not.

[Jemini_uk]

Thank you Wolf for your reply, however now my problems begin. First, the ingredients listed in the recipe are not available here in the UK so I'm searching for similar products here. Secondly, Jasper is now resident in the front room. His cage is in the bay window where he benefits from dawn and dusk and full view during the day but.....he is not talking to me now, won't allow me to stroke him until just before bed even backs away when I approach the cage. Yet he still screeches if I leave the room; I'm at a loss

[Pajarita]

Check Amazon UK for the whole grains, they have them there but I am sure there are other UK online sources where you can get them, too. You can't free-feed (having a full bowl all the time) high protein food (pellets, seeds, nuts, nutriberries, avicakes, etc), it's not only unnatural (there are no abundant and constant sources of vegetable high protein in nature) and unhealthy (they are hardwired for protein and would gorge on it when available so they end up with fatty liver, high uric acid, etc), it also makes them hormonal and sexual frustration from been overly hormonal is the number one cause of behavioral problems in captive birds

Let's clarify a point: been exposed fully to dawn and dusk means no artificial lights whatsoever so, although it's great that he is in front of the bay window during twilight, if you have any artificial lights on, it would not work because it's the change in spectrum that triggers their endocrine system but there is no change if artificial lights are on.

The other thing is that he needs a good quality full spectrum (and bright) light wherever he is during the daylight hours so under the stairs where there 'it isn't very bright' is not good, my dear. Birds are the most vision-dependent animals of all the vertebrates and need good and bright light. By the way, the specifications that you should be looking for in a good quality full spectrum light is a 94+ CRI and a Ktemp of 5000 to 5500.

He has taught you the correct interaction times (after breakfast and before dinner) so you are good on that! The thing with captive parrots is that they need very consistent routine so try to think up a schedule that would fit with your usual routine that you can keep every day (and that means weekends, holidays, etc)

[Saerphe]

he is not talking to me now, won't allow me to stroke him until just before bed even backs away when I approach the cage. Yet he still screeches if I leave the room; I'm at a loss

It's important to remember that even though parrots are extremely social birds, they also aren't domesticated. It sounds like your 'Too really wants your company, but isn't ready to fully trust you yet. Try doing hands-off bonding, like hanging out quietly next to their cage, and singing or reading to him. He wants to be near you, and like most cockatoos, is desperate for physical affection, but he doesn't really know or trust you yet. It can take a lot of time and patience, but just know that his instincts make him want to be close to you, but he's also fighting with his other instincts that tell him not to trust new people or situations right away.

Take your time, and let your bird set the boundaries. It can take a long time, but you will get there.

[Jemini_uk]

Jasper's cage is permanently in the bay now, I'm not moving him anymore. This means he benefits from all available natural light as well; I don't put the house lights on until we're in darkness. This is now about 7.30 to 8pm but the nights are drawing in so by November it will be around 5pm. As he can't see me during the morning chores I tend to pop in and out of His room (formerly my chill out room) This morning was a plus, he allowed the morning contact again. I'm taking things slowly and allowing him to set the pace, next week his new cage is coming so I expect it will take time for him to adjust. I just hope he likes it!
The kashi is available for me to order but it's very expensive to buy compared to USA cost plus import and customs costs so I will have to search for alternatives here. I have found someone who makes and sells homemade food especially for cockatoos so will investigate further (ingredients, etc)