terrified citron crested cockatoo

[ljeanne]

I recently got a citron crested that had been abandoned by owners. don't know age or history of this poor thing but he is scared to death. if I move my hand even an inch he will jump off cage and fall hard ( he has no feathers from the neck down). I can't get him to the vet as I can't get near him to towel him. he did sit on my arm and let me rub his head after about 4 days but then suddenly stopped allowing me to pick him up. Any ideas? It breaks my heart to watch him tremble and panic about everything.

[pennyandrocky]

toweling is not a good idea unles you've already gained trust in the relationship,i still don't agree with it i've had 2 that were toweled when i went to pick them up from previous homes and it did not work out well both turned out to be so aggressive i had to give them up.how do you approach?when you come near watch body language when starts to shake or any sign he's nervous back off and try again later.mya doesn't like her food dishes in her cage touched so i change them before i let her out in the morning and when it's needed later i do it when she' off flying or playing.i respect her space and now that she knows that we have trust.

[ljeanne]

thank you for your kind response. i think you're right about the toweling and maybe I am just trying to rush things as he used to let me touch him. he would sit on my arm for as long as i let him but then he stopped and he never wants to leave the top of his cage. i moved his cage into the room with the other birds today and he seemed very happy but then lunged at me whenever I walked by his cage. but on the bright side he is growing a flight feather, I hope he doesn't chew up this one too.

[pennyandrocky]

i had an with cage aggression,if there is a play stand or anything else he can climb on to get him away from his cage that will help.did he come with the cage?if he did that could be his security and he will protect it. try to keep out of it and clean and change food/water when he's occupied with a toy, treats or putting a bird feeder outside a window he can look out of to give him somthing to entertain himself with.

[terri]

Hi I want to give you a idea how patient you might need to be with this .We got my lesser sulpher back in oct .Her owner had died and the family gave her to a local breeder. We believe she did not have her wings clipped and must have kept flying away from them .Her wings were hacked in half.[awful] She was scarred to death of me.But loved my husband .In april is the first time she would let me pet her through the cage bars.[Its a slow go] Im consistant with her and let her call the shots .[I think she sees me make a super big deal of my other birds] My advice keep her in a busy room with the door open [offer treats] go about your business wait for any interest to be shown.Good Luck Though you have no idea this birds experiences each bird is different.

[ljeanne]

thank you all for your advise. i have him in the room with the other birds but i can't leave him on the cage like i did when he was in my room with baby gate on door. he let my husband pet his head yesterday but lunged at me. i will keep trying.

[Melon]

hi jeanne,
i have yellow crest also,abused,and feather chewer.she also react the same way the first day i got her from her ex-owner.she prefer my husband,step u to him very easy,let him pet her etc..
like what terri said,this will take time and patient.
i dont know if everybody agree with this or not but i dont put her in the first busy room(living room).i put her inside my second room(alone,without any bird since i find out she is really jealous and pluck her fur if she find out we taking care the other bird) but i always open the room door and her cage door also.she can always control what is happening in my house but in other hand she had her own privacy as well.she always climb down when she wants to be with us and come back to her own cage when she feel she wants to be alone.maybe yours is different but i find out since she had her own room and she also able to come whenever she wants,she almost stop plucking her feather

and yes you have to be consistant with him,show you care and you able to handle him like your husband.i do get a terible bite and my hand is not pretty anymore but its worth.now she also step up to my hand,let me to do all the things that my husband can do to her.but..i still her second favorite person and i respect it.i still can have a really good relationship with her.she will not give me her special whistle and i hope she will share it with me soon

dont forget to control her diet.cook and mash veggie is very important.aloe vera spray also can help to prevent feather chewing(if u worried he will chew again).
give him foraging toys(mine likes pearl inside bag and she will try to take them out one by one).

remeber:love,patient and thick skin will win his heart
good luck!

[ljeanne]

ok. it's been a while and Rudy is still running away from me but he also (lunges) leans out with open beak? I find his body language so different from that of my amazon and greys that, well, i'm afraid. he might just want a head rub but he might be trying to bite me. i honestly don't know and did i mention i'm afraid? what do i do ? i almost tried to rehome him but i love this funny looking half bald creature.
he did bite me once before and i know he was just trying to save himself from the scary monster (me).
i really need some advise so please get back to me if you are familiar with cockatoos. thanx

[marie83]

Some useful info on body language on here.It's not all aimed at 'toos though and I havent read through all of it but Liz Wilson is generally very well respected in the parrot world. The intro is a bit lengthy though.
http://www.northernparrots.com/parrot-b ... ge-blog89/

Taming a 'too I wouldn't think is any different to taming any other bird. Grab a chair and sit down as near as the bird will allow without it freaking out. Talk gently or read if you struggle for things to say. Keep eye contact to a minimum to start off with due to the fact we look like predators to them because of the position of our eyes.
Keep edging your chair forwards bit by bit, never moving forwards til your birds completely comfortable at the last distance.
Eventually you will be able to sit directly outside the cage, when this happens you can hold treats through the bars and wait for him to come and get them. When he is used to this open the door and offer treats through that instead, but again don't go into his space-let him come to you.
Once he is comfortable with that and comes happily to the door for his treats, attatch a perch onto the outside of his cage right next to the door. Encourage him to climb on it for his treats, when he is happy with this he will climb straight out onto the perch ready for his treats and then you will know its time to move forwards a bit more. Using a handheld perch if you are scared you can lure him with treats onto that and teach him to step up, birds sense nerves so only use your arm at this point if you are confident and you feel like you understand his body language enough to avoid a bite.
If at any point your bird becomes scared go back a stage. Don't try to touch him at any point until you have his trust. Hopefully this wont take too long for you if he has already let you fuss him but bear in mind it could take days, months or possibly years.

[liz]

It took a year for Myrtle to get where she is but she has exceeded my expectation.

Try limiting your contact with the Too and let him watch you interact with the others. They do learn from each other.

I am wondering if the lunging could be trying to grab you to get on. Wear an old jacket when you walk by him to see if he is meaning to bite or to make contact. Remember though that your hands are scarey things.