Hello and Request for Help :)

[Pajarita]

Without seeing the behavior, it's hard to figure out exactly what the movement is from an explanation but, if what you mean by 'shaking' is moving his wings real fast without actually separating them much from his body (fluttering), this is what I call the 'pretty please with sugar on top'. It's actually what babies do so the parents would feed them and, sometimes, adult birds will continue doing it when they want love, closeness and even food. But, when they do it too often, it usually means a bird that has an eating disorder (usually brought on by improper weaning or not feeding enough on a regular basis). I don't know about the high-pitched retching sound - I am sure I am been dense but I can't even imagine it My GCC only screams in the evening when she is anticipating her dinner (you can set your watch by her! and the fact that her boyfriend does it too doesn't help to break her out of the habit, either ) and, as soon as she hears me saying "OK, OK, I'm coming" she stops and doesn't make a peep. She only goes into her cage to sleep and she has a boyfriend plus she spends two solid hours on me so she is quite content with her life and doesn't need to scream for attention. I took in a female that screamed all the time (her call sounded like PEEEE CHEW PEEEE CHEW) and never reacted to the name her previous owners had called her (Orlando) so I started calling her that (I always try to imitate their calls) and she would come flying like a bat out of hell to my shoulder whenever I called her. She also stopped screaming in a matter of a few weeks. She only did it because she was alone all day long in her previous home and had gotten into the habit of screaming for company (company that never came so she kept on screaming, the poor thing!) - but once she realized that she was not going to be left alone again, she stopped.

[mikella]

Hearing those things is encouraging

Yes, the behaviour is exactly what you described. I hope it will decrease in time (hope it's not because of improper weaning or something). I do think it's decreased a bit in the last couple days...

Did you have any problems with aggression with your g.c.'s when they first came to you?

No go for the gloop..... I've been praising when he picks any up and making like I'm eating it myself, excitement excitement, but nooooot yet. So far it's been in an hour and 15 minutes. He has picked around a bit, and nibbled here and there. He really likes sweet stuff, and I had put miniscule pieces of banana in there that kind of mooshed into the grain as it thawed (I've cut up fruits/etc. and frozen them). I wonder if I try a touch of (pure) maple syrup mixed in... I was feeding him corn through the bars with my fingers right by the dish and he even dropped one in, but wouldn't take it out and keep eating it. He's just not keen on it as of now.

How should I proceed throughout today with the food? It's still in his dish - when should I take it out and what should I feed him until "supper?"

He is really spooked this morning. He seems to have a thing with light... changes in light. I wonder if she kept a light on for him all the time. I will ask. I remember when I went to pick him up, she opened the blind (the type with the slats or whatever) and he got scared and flopped all around to the floor. He is really distressed right now. I tilted the blinds up so he can't really see out the window, but still distressed. It's as if it's nearing nighttime - this is what he does. Chirps incessantly and is very agitated, frightened.......

I wonder if he is hungry right now and it's making it worse... Yesterday he was really good (comparatively) through the day with me sitting here. Not today

Reply to Wolf: Thanks for the suggestions, much appreciated. When you say push his beak to the side when biting, I don't think that would be possible at this point. What seems to happen is he gets "irritated/enraged" when biting and once he starts he is on a MISSION. All you can do is try to get him off. Thoughts? He CLAMPS... Also, I am going to start working on that, having him come out, THEN step up. (Going to start with T stick first with treats. I've had it laying by the cage for the last couple days as, I think, Pajarita suggested. Was going to give that a go last night, but decided to wait.) Yesterday he was only out of cage twice in evening (I sat with him for several hours). He was ok, no catastrophes with biting because we avoided it and limited the time. He was on our shoulders. Have kept hands away since the 'big attack.'

Reply to cml: Hello and thank youuuuuuu. I really think you are right - I can understand and agree with what all of you have said - and I think you are right that cage time is good right now. I took that advice and have been spending a lot of time in this room sitting with him (several hours each day since you suggested it, so this is day three). He is started to "know" his cage now, and yesterday and the day before he was really quite good in there with me here... he seemed 'ok,' quiet, we talked back and forth, etc.

Today however, step back it seems

Questions:
1. Is there something I can do when he is like this, really distressed, to comfort him?
2. Is it possible that he is hungry right now?
3. How do I go about dealing with his food for the rest of the today (see above for explanation/questions)?
4. I have a fluffy thing tied to the side of the cage by one perch and he has been sleeping there/going there for quiet time. Is this ok at least for now...? Thoughts on this sort of thing?
5. Are rope perches no good? I don't like that I can't PROPERLY clean them...
6. Any suggestions how to work on taking his dishes in/out (they're on doors that open and swing out for access) without him lunging and snapping? It's always a mad dash to do it. Most of the time the only way is to open the top and have him away so I can do it (at least allows me a little more time to do it, as it takes him longer to run to bite my hands from the top as opposed to inside anywhere...).

He is on the bottom of his cage right now I think he must be hungry.... ugh
He's back to snapping at my hands through the cage again today. Yesterday I was able to do a couple things to the outside of his cage, verrrry slowly while talking to him, without him lunging.

Update: I washed out his dish and put about a tbsp of pellets in - and he's eating like he's never eaten before. ugh. Making little prrr sort of sounds, I've been assuming these are 'happy/content' sounds. Try again tomorrow with a little maple syrup I'm thinking. (Other suggestions to try to help the transition?)

[Wolf]

I understand that you are anxious and worried about him at this time, but really it is all alright. It will take him a little time to accept the gloop as it is new to him and he needs to get hungry enough to try it out. Don't add syrup or any other sweetener to it as the sugars in these products are really bad for him, birds don't taste sweet anyway. If you want to change the flavor of the gloop try adding basil, or chili powder, or parsley, but none of the spice mixes that have MSG or salt or preservatives in them. Leave the glop in all day and feed him his seeds for dinner he will start eating it soon and after a while he will even prefer it to most other foods. If the breeders would properly wean these birds to a good diet then you would not be having this issue, but they don't and most bird owners don't know this and don't do the research to find out about proper nutrition for their birds.
The fuzzy thing is fine as long as he is not chewing on it very much as it seems to be helping provide him with a little more security right now. Rope perches are ok if they are not frayed because they can get caught in the frayed fibers with disasterous results. You can clean them with vinegar and water and then rinse really well and let dry before giving them back. Also I only put one in a cage for a variety of perching surfaces. The best perch is a bird safe tree branch with the bark still on it that has not been sprayed with any chemicals such as fungicides or pesticides.
I really do understand how you are feeling and exactly what you are enduring with your bird, and at this point any further input from the previous owner is really a moot point as we already have enough information to know how to read his more confusing responses
and know that he was not cared for properly any more will just cause you to worry and fret even more and this is not good for either you or your bird as he is picking up on your emotions and reacting to them as well as his own problems and this is just too much stress for either of you.
When you want to interact with your new friend place his cage so that he his close to your eye level as it will help him to feel less fearful and intimidated by you. Unless you are in the act of offering him a treat keep your hands away from the cage, you are scaring the poop out of him. Take a couple of nice long deep breaths of air and calm yourself when you are going to talk with him. Sing to him it will help calm both of you and he doesn't care how well you sing, but he does appreciate the singing to him and he will respond positively to it. He needs you to be calm and patient as well as consistent with him, as well as loving. I know that you are not feeling this way right now but don't show this to him as part of his action are his response to your state of being while you are with him. I know that it doesn't appear that way to you but you will make much more rapid progress with him by relaxing and staying calm and consistent then any other way.
Almost forgot, but as for changing his food and water it is best to distract him so that he goes to the opposite side of the cage, use one hand for this while you change the dishes with the other one.

[Pajarita]

Ok, let's see...

Food: don't mix anything into the cooked grains except for a bit of a budgie seed mix. He needs to get used to eating the cooked whole grains before you start adding veggies, fruits or whatever to it. My birds like their gloop with a rough texture (nothing mushy in it, everything separated and not sticking together) and with no 'liquid', just the moistness of the cooked grains (they get infused with water as they swell in the cooking process) and veggies. And stop feeding him pellets or any other source of high protein in the middle of the day. He might be a bit hungry but he is not going to starve because you will give him a dinner he will eat - besides, it's the fact that he will get hungry that will make him start eating the gloop. But he won't if he knows you will give him something else in a matter of one or two hours (he is training you and not you him). If you want to add anything, add a sprinkle of Ceylon cinnamon or chili powder to it (they all love those two flavors).

Please describe exactly what behaviors he displays when he is 'distressed', 'upset' or 'scared' because I think you might be misreading them. Birds could get startled by a blind or shade moving but it makes no sense for a bird to be startled by the sun going down - unless he has some kind of a very negative experience from the past related to it. Vocalizing is normal at sunset. It's a completely natural behavior (they are called 'flock calls') and all birds do it, from finches to macaws.

Don't interact with the bird at night. For one thing, he should be fast asleep when it's night out but, for another, dusk is the time for dinner, unwinding and getting ready to roost so it's always better to make it a quiet time without extra stimulus. The best time to interact is after breakfast and before dinner.

I scrub rope perches with a stiff brush, soap and warm water - rinse thoroughly and allow to dry.

Birdy hut is good, all GCCs love them!

Try distracting him to the other side of the cage when you change his bowls - I have a quaker in a cage right now because she gets very aggressive during breeding season, got in a big bird's face (quakers are completely fearless) and he grabbed her wing, pulling out 4 of her primaries so she cannot fly which is dangerous for her right now that the amazons are nesting. Anyway, this quaker, true to quakers' nature, is extremely cage aggressive this time of the year because she has a nest in there (a cardboard box) so what I do is I take the bowls out and close the door real quick before she can reach that side and, putting my other hand on the other side of the cage and wiggling my fingers to distract her so she comes rushing toward them, I open the door and quickly put the bowl back in (I have double -and triple!- sets of everything so I always have one set clean and ready to be served when I take out the 'used' ones).

[liz]

Are you talking about the rope perches that attach on both ends to the cage?
I put them in the washing machine.

[mikella]

Wolf: I actually feel MUCH better now - I was super anxious up until a couple days ago. And yes, I figured that, needs to be hungry enough to eat it. After he had some pellets this afternoon (after not eating the gloop for a few hours), he was calm haha until then, he was really unsettled (I'll explain below). I think you are totally right about being calm around him. I try to keep my energy down. He feels it when I'm stressed. You are ALSO totally right about not bothering to contact his old owner... I was talking to my husband about this last night. There's no need to ask her any more questions... I'm beginning to feel resentful; I need to snap out of it. He's with me now - Who cares, move on. (But it's entirely beyond me, how someone can have a pet, mistreat them, then ship them off..... I thought it was weird from square one that she asked me NOTHING about myself, and I was asking her a billion things about Quigley. Wouldn't you want to know where he was going...? I could be a 12 year old child haha And when we left with him, not a tear, not an "I love you"... nothing. I just am not.... that. I feel things so deeply and I have a hard time understanding when other people don't.) Finished my rant About hands - I keep my hands behind my back unless treats and dishes. One glimpse and he is maaaaaaad.

Pajarita: Will do with the food. He always goes for mushy stuff. The only thing he will BITE so far is apple and pellets. So I thought with the teeny bit of banana it would entice him. And it did, but only those parts with banana. Nothing else, no grain no veggies. So I will try the seeds mixed with the grains. What I'm calling "distress" is this: Incessant chirping, very skinny, long, low like he's cowering from something, *darting around like something touched his back and looking for it*, random loud 'painful' chirps like something poked him or something (does this when he jumps right around to look), wide eyes... won't stay in one spot... He might relax (puff up a tiny bit) for a second, then goes back to "startled"... What does this say to you? Happens in the evening as it starts to get darker, and happened this morning when the light was low and he was 'agitated' without his pellets (was fine after he ate some, I caved and put some in his dish bc I didn't know what I should do at the time...). About interaction at night - He is covered at 7:30, and in cage from 6 on (last few days we just take him for a 'stroll' around suppertime, before 6).

Rope perches: Ok, sounds good. I normally use a toothbrush and natural dish soap, rise well, etc. I guess it's just me - the thought of not being able to clean it "enough."

Picking up some seeds to add and gloop will stay in dish tomorrow all day until supper. We'll see what happens!

[Wolf]

If you can, please try to get some video of these behaviors and sounds and post them. If you can't post them , then pm me and I will give you my e mail address so you can send the video to me and I will get it posted for you.
Don't worry about whether he eats the gloop tomorrow or even the next day, this is normal to begin with, it is part of the process and he will be fine. I know that you haven't been here long enough to see for yourself, yet, but we care as much about your bird and its well being as we do about our own birds.

[mikella]

That means a lot to me... and I can tell. I have been so impressed by the amount of time you all have spent offering me advice and information. Very grateful.

Will take a video and get back to you about it - I'll see what I can figure out or pm you.

[liz]

If you can, please try to get some video of these behaviors and sounds and post them. If you can't post them , then pm me and I will give you my e mail address so you can send the video to me and I will get it posted for you.
Don't worry about whether he eats the gloop tomorrow or even the next day, this is normal to begin with, it is part of the process and he will be fine. I know that you haven't been here long enough to see for yourself, yet, but we care as much about your bird and its well being as we do about our own birds.

It is so true that we care about all the birds especially Wolf and Pajarita. They work hard to research and get information for those who need help. I don't really know them except through the forum but I love them for their dedication to help us with our babies.

[mikella]

I feel a little "blah" because yesterday and today with Quigley have not been going as well as the previous two days. I know it's ok. I just wish this process would be easier for his sake. I want him to be comfortable.

So far still no-go with the millet/quinoa/amaranth plus seeds. I got a bag of a cockatiel mix because I knew that he liked the big white seeds in that (he had this "treat" and he would pick those off of it) and thought that they would be good to use as quick little "good boy" treats here and there. He picked out the few white seeds and that was it.

He's chirping constantly again today. I wish I knew what I could do for him, if anything, other than what I'm doing.

Just muddle through.

T perch is going well. He'll do anything for a treat haha Literally only did it a few times with him then he went on without a treat a few mins ago. I'll see if he will tonight. While he's on it tho, he is GLARING down at my hands...

Few quick questions:

- It says that the sun goes down at 7:32 tonight. Does that mean that RIGHT AFTER 7:32 I can cover him? Or do I wait until it is dark to cover? Initially I thought I had to wait until it was dark (and he has such a hard time with that). The last couple nights I covered him just a few minutes after the time it was 'down' and it was much easier on him. Just wanted to confirm that this is the right way. I think I may have misunderstood in the beginning. Or maybe I'm wrong now. (?)

- The birdy hut that you mentioned, Pajarita, is this the same as a happy hut? The last two nights he has slept clinging to the BARS behind one flap of the fluffy thing I have for him. I didn't realize what my husband meant until last night That can't be comfortable... (?!) Would you be able to tell me which exact one to pick up for him? Also, I've heard bad things about them... (?) Is it just a concern if they are chewing at it?
One of the pet stores here has these two (at least online):
http://www.petsmart.com/supplies/nesting/multipet-happy-hut-bird-hideaway-zid36-14153/cat-36-catid-400035?var_id=36-14153&_t=pfm%3Dsearch
http://www.petsmart.com/supplies/nesting/prevue-pet-products-bird-snuggle-hut-zid36-14221/cat-36-catid-400035?var_id=36-14221&_t=pfm%3Dsearch

- He seems to have a snag in one of his nails. Just had him on my shoulder for a stroll to see if he would calm down and it was grabbing. Was grabbing yesterday too. Is this ok to leave? My only concern is that he has some rope perches. Also, I've wondered since I got him about his nails possibly being too long. They look mighty long to me, but I'm also used to budgie nails. Info? Also, what's the deal with "beak trimming?"