GCC Behaviour

[Wolf]

Yes, it sounds like your bird is also begging for attention. GCC's are very hands on birds and are very needy birds and I do think that with his being locked in a cage and in the garage on top of that his fear and distrust is very much justified. Regardless of his distrust he does want to be with you and he feels very put out and starved for affection and attention. I think that everything that we have said to Lwalker concerning could be put to good use with your bird as well. I would hope that when he begins to get past his fear that he does not feel angry at the treatment that he received from the former human that had him, and decide to take his anger out on you.

[Pajarita]

Poor baby was, most likely, not weaned correct and, to put the icing on the cake, ignored and abandoned in the garage all by his lonesome - poor, poor baby!

Now, I caution you about free-feeding protein food to a GCC - these birds are mainly fruit eaters in the wild and pellets are not remotely similar to their natural diet. Please do more research about diet because you are feeding protein food in the morning and fresh food at night which is the opposite of what is recommended (aside from the fact that you will never get a parrot to eat enough produce that way).

[Lwalker]

Sometimes Cricket begs for me but when I go over and try to get him to step up (which he knows how to do), he runs down the back of the cage. I turn away and he runs back to the front and flaps again. I think he is testing me sometimes so I go each time to give him the option and hopefully let him know he can trust me (if it is confidence he lacks).

[Lwalker]

Hello again,
I have been devouring the information here and learning so much and know that it would be in Cricket's best interest if I transition him into a sleep cage in another room so that he can get more uninterrupted sleep. So my question is how slow do I go. He has been sleeping in his big cage in the living room for two months (since I brought him home) and has not been covered as I wanted him to wake naturally with the morning light. I have a second smaller cage he has been in when my sister babysat but he is not very familiar with the new room he will be going into. Any suggestions on transitioning him? I feel bad I didn't start out this way but hope to make the change while he is young so he adapts I have attached a picture of him giving me his classic quizzical look

[Wolf]

If you cover his cage with a blackout type cloth for the light and keep the noise level way down, he could remain where he is and then you uncover the cage when you go to bed so that he receives the early morning light from the coming dawn. Just like the rest of us birds will adapt to the normal quiet noises around them. Otherwise I would recommend that you make sure to spend time with him in the new room allowing him to fly around in it with you there for security and gradually transition him to going into the room just as dusk is beginning and perhaps even feeding him his dinner in the small cage and with the lights off, when he goes to roost and starts trying to go to sleep remove the food and when he goes back to sleep then you leave the room. Allowing him time to fly around and inspect the room and to explore it will speed up the process of his adjusting to being in the room.

[Pajarita]

Wolf is correct. I have birds in the living and dining room and they are kept to a strict solar schedule even though they do live in human areas. Granted that I am a maniac about it and don't allow any lights, TV or anything louder than whispers when they are sleeping But, this way, I manage to have to cover only the cardinals cage in the living room (which I do because a) the cats love to climb on top of it and b) there is a lamp right across the street and its light shines through the window even when I draw the blinds).

BUT, if you watch TV at night in your living room or receive people at night, etc. (I receive no company in the evening throughout the entire winter -and yes, my entire family, especially my husband, complains about it ) it is better if he has a sleeping cage in another room. If you put his dinner in it every night (it has to be protein food though, produce won't work), he will gladly go into it and roost for the night.

As to his begging and then backing away from you, it's because he can't help needing the attention but he also cannot help not trusting you 100%. Don't forget that this poor bird was so neglected as to be almost abuse! What you need to do is, when you see him fluttering, talk to him softly continuously while you approach his cage without looking directly at him (staring is a predator thing) and taking kind of a circuitous route (kind of like ambling, stop here and there, take a bit of a detour, like that) while watching him out of the corner of your eye all the time and, as soon as you see him tensing up or begin to move to the back stop in your tracks and take one single, small step back with your head sideways (but not completely because you want to watch him out of the corner of your eye). Stay there while you talk in a soft and calm voice (you can also sing softly - my birds are so used to one song that, when they are startled, if I sing it very softly, they automatically calm down) and, once you see him relaxed again, take one step in his direction and watch his reaction. It might seem like a waste of time and it does take long for something that should be as easy as a 1 - 2 - 3 but it's just a temporary thing. The idea is for you to show him, through your actions, that you are no threat to him, that you want to be his friend, that you will allow the relationship to be on his terms and that you will always respect his wishes. He has no reason to trust people so you need to show him that YOU are different.

[Lwalker]

I am having trouble finding an affordable blackout cage cover. Would a curtain work? I am worried about chemicals but found a polyester black out noise reduction curtain that can be machine washed. Otherwise I thought of purchasing a piece of denim from a fabric shop? Any ideas on a good cage cover material? My sheets are all too thin.

[Pajarita]

A black out curtain will do just fine. I use summer quilts for the cardinals cages, they are very large (queen size - it's a big flight cage), and they block out the light completely while still been light enough for me to drape over it (I use four THICK hardcover books on the four corners to anchor it).

I just want to add a for all the effort and research you are doing!

[Lwalker]

Thanks! I am hoping this is the start of a long term relationship so I want to get it right

[Wolf]

Just be sure to wash it before you use it on the birds cage as they always, as far as I know, use formaldehyde to preserve the material and that needs to be washed out first.