I've been reading the site for a few weeks now, but this is my first time posting.
I got a YSGCC back in August, she was born in May. I've named her Fey Ray (and yes, in case anyone asks, the misspelling is deliberate). A woman I've been dating has a GCC and the closeness of their bond made me decide to try it out for myself. Fey was jumping all over her cage partner to be seen in the pet store, and was very gentle, letting me handle her beak and more, so I brought her home. I have a cat and my roommate has a dog. For the first week or so I didn't let either go near her. The dog ignores her at this point, and she always gives the cat what for when he tries to go at her, so I have no issues with either of them (I also closely supervise anytime the cat is in the room while Fey is out of her cage, just in case he tries to get more frisky than she can handle).
My question is about her behavior. It's clear she's bonded with me very quickly. She regurgitates when I pet her neck and whenever she's out of the cage she tries her hardest to step up onto one of my fingers, even if I need those fingers for something else at the time. When she's in her cage, if she's not resting or eating, she does acrobatics to get my attention, hanging from the top of her cage and swinging around and making a spectacle of herself. Very cute. And I let her out for a reasonable amount of time each day, several hours. I try not to overdo it because I don't want her to become spoiled.
She's comfortable being in and on her cage, and comfortable with me putting my hand in the cage and all of that. She seems easily contented when I'm in the room, sitting on her perch with one foot and making happy squishy sounds. However, whenever I leave her line of sight, she freaks out and starts calling out. She'll do it over something as simple as me going to the bathroom (if she's out of the cage she'll hang off the side and crane her neck so she can see me). If I'm still close by, I'll talk to her to let her know I'm still here, but it doesn't seem to matter. And if I leave the room to go downstairs, she will cry for a good long while. I don't run back when she calls out, because I know that would only reinforce the behavior. Instead, I wait for a lull and come back into her line of sight at that time, praising her when she's making quieter noises. But doesn't seem to make much of a difference. The moment she can't see me directly, she freaks out. I've tried leaving internet radio streams or the TV on so she can still hear people, but that only seems to work sporadically, as it seems to be more of a visual thing than an aural one.
To compound the problem, I bought her a toy when I got her. I was told by the guy at the store (which is a very nice bird shop called Pampered Birds in Glendale, CA, they take very good care of the birds they have and know a lot about them) that when she's young, she shouldn't have a lot of toys, because it will promote biting, and right now she needs training. She is very beaky, but I expected that, and while at times she preens too hard, I give her the "bad sound" until she uses the acceptable pressure. But I have noticed that if I leave the toy in her cage, she bites a lot more, and is generally more aggressive. So I've only been letting her play with the toy outside of the cage. The woman I've been seeing has suggested putting the toy in the cage when I'm not going to be around, and taking the toy out when I'm at home. As an experiment, earlier tonight, I put the toy in her cage and went downstairs. She only called out twice and was quiet for the rest of the time, which was a good half an hour to an hour. When I came back up, she was happily playing with her toy. I just worry that giving her too much access to the toy will start up the biting trend again.
Anyway, it's been interesting learning how to live with a bird this past month, and I look forward to building an even closer bond with Ms. Ray. I was just looking for some advice on that particular issue. It's nice to be wanted, but I don't want her stressing out whenever I'm not around.
Well, the thing with psittacines is that their brains are wired for 24/7/365 attention from their family (flock) so her screaming for you when she is left alone is a perfectly normal behavior. That is what they do in the wild, Nature programmed them that way and there is nothing you should try to do about it. Some species are more vocal than others (the larger the flock and territory, the louder their voices so they can be heard by other flock members) and conures are the worst (that is the number one reason why people give them up, their screams). It's as simple as that.
I've never, ever heard of not giving a bird toys so they don't bite. It's a new one to me and I would be curious as to what is the logic behind it (if you have a chance, I would appreciate it if you could ask it of the store people because I am really curious). Birds that spend too much time in their cage do get cage possessive (they think of it as their nest) and bite when you put your hand in; some would bond to a specific toy for lack of anything alive and defend it as they would their mate (which I find incredibly sad) but even if a toy makes a bird more nippy (which I've never seen or heard could happen), keeping it toyless is, in my personal opinion, the height of cruelty. Parrots are very intelligent and they need to occupy their minds with something. Thankfully for us they are also very playful and can use all different kinds of toys to busy themselves during the long, empty, lonely days of captivity when we are not there to offer them company. In the wild, they are surrounded by family members, interacting with them all the time, foraging, playing, allo-preening, flying miles and miles to find a specific fruit they like, etc. It's a very busy life. In a cage, what is there to do but play with toys? You can't expect the poor bird to just sit there staring into space without anything to entertain her hour after hour, day after day... she might even start plucking or worse still, self-mutilating!
She will scream for you, this is a given and resign yourself to this fact. She loves you and wants to be with you, you are her family and she needs you with her all the time. It's not that she is or could become spoiled. It's a peremptory need that nature coded into their genes to ensure the survival of the species. If you can make her feel better with toys, please do so. If you don't want her to fixate on one, give her several different ones. We take so much from them when we make them human pets... their identity (when we trick them into imprinting to humans), their freedom (we give each of them a life sentence in a jail cell with some time out for good behavior), their natural habitat and diet (and that doesn't only mean the wrong food, it also means the wrong temperature and humidity which they have to cope with their entire lives), their family, the right to bond/mate/procreate as nature intended for them to do, etc. etc., the least we can do is try to keep them as happy as possible. And that means toys. Lots and lots and lots of toys.
Well, I certainly wasn't trying to be cruel. I was just going by what the guy at the store said. This, for me, has been the most vexing part of having a bird. I've heard so many contradictory things from people. And it's never in the form of "Well, this has worked with my birds, maybe it will work with yours..." It's always "This is the ONLY humane way to handle a bird..." and then the next person says, "Oh, no, NEVER do that, that's a horrible thing to do..." and back and forth. How is someone supposed to know what is best for their bird with all of this contradictory information floating around?
I agree 100% with you and I did not mean that you were been cruel. Of course that you were trying to do what's best for the bird and just going by what the guy told you! There are so many contradictory opinions out there that it is very, very confusing for beginners. And people tend to say things like: "Well, it's all a matter of opinion, I do things my way and you can do them yours" and that would work if it was a recipe but it's not, it has to do with the physical or emotional needs of an animal that depends on us 100% so we need to make sure we get it as right as we possibly can. And you are doing that by asking questions so kudos to you!
The way I figure things out is I put together all the info I can get and then I decide the course of action. First I go to the experts. And that doesn't mean a store employee who might not have more than a couple of years of experience handling birds or another owner who only knows his/her bird. I go to scientific sources like ornithologists writings, lab and field biologists studies, research on specific issues, etc. There I learn about their behaviors in the wild, their physiological needs and how things 'work' for them, in general. Then I ask questions to people who have had birds for a long time and a variety of species like people who are in rescue, for example. Then I observe the bird and make notes of what this particular individual (because, just like people, they are all different even within the same species) likes and dislikes, reactions to different stimuli, etc. That's when I put everything together and adding a pinch of common sense, I make my decision on how to handle a particular problem. If you do this and put yourself in your bird's place and treat him/her as you would like your 'owner' to treat you, you will do OK.
I'll tell you what I always tell people: Do not take anybody's word for anything, not even mine. Do your own research, make your own informed decision and be prepared to tweak it as you go along. Nobody was born knowing everything and, when it comes to parrots, nobody knows that much either so welcome to the boat, my friend! We are all here trying our best and learning as we go. If there is a humbling experience on this world is to care for birds because Lord knows it's a very, very difficult, time consuming and labor intensive thing to do and, you will find that you've been doing something for years and years one way sure that it's the right thing to do and, suddenly, somebody publishes a new study and you realize you had been doing it wrong all along. Birds are not for the know-it-all, that's for sure!
GCC can do better if you give it feedback using profiling of the actual use of the code, without any need to manually instrument the code with hints. The remaining optimizations need to be implemented in GCC.
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Brian
Our mission is to provide high quality end to end solutions to the BPO segment in a manner that will improve the operational efficiency while reducing the cost of the services to the client. 4thdimension1@gmail.com
I just wanted to say congrats on the addition of a GCC to your family! They are great little fids, I have a peachfronted and bluecrowned.
I have owned birds for many, many years and I still feel like I am an infant when it comes to knowing all there is to know about parrots and aviculture. Yes, there is alot of contradictory info out there in many areas-clipping, feeding, training, etc. But, I can say that I also have never heard to withhold toys to prevent biting, in fact I've always heard quite the opposite. I have a rescue quaker who is a plucker/mutilator and I feel like she was never taught to play with toys, she grew overbonded to her owner who couldn't fulfill all her needs and she suffered. Now at the age she is now it is very hard to get her to understand what toys are all about, but she is coming along.
I would take this opportunity while your fid is young to teach all about playing with toys and also about foraging-its a great time filler while you are not present.
As far as her screaming for you-yes, she will and you are doing correctly not to run to her. Sometimes it helps to flock call to them however from wherever you are, it lets them know you are about the house, they feel secure, yet know you don't have to be by their side.
I have teils, a quaker and 2 conures and all my fids flock call to me and I answer, they don't scream except first thing in the morning when they want their breakfast and when parrots are their noisiest.
I feel like your little fid will fall into your routine before you know it. But I agree she needs those toys for mental and physical stimulation. Also, I might add, GCC are known to go through a nippy stage-some from a few months old to alittle over a year or so. Just be patient with her. You will also hear contradictory info about training and getting them through this stage-I've heard really bizarre methods but I believe The GoodBird, Inc DVDs are the very best-you might check out that website.
GCC needing constant attention?
When she's in her cage, if she's not resting or eating, she does acrobatics to get my attention, hanging from the top of her cage and swinging around and making a spectacle of herself. Very cute. And I let her out for a reasonable amount of time each day, several hours. I try not to overdo it because I don't want her to become spoiled.
I agree 100% with you and I did not mean that you were been cruel. Of course that you were trying to do what's best for the bird and just going by what the guy told you! There are so many contradictory opinions out there that it is very, very confusing for beginners. And people tend to say things like: "Well, it's all a matter of opinion, I do things my way and you can do them yours" and that would work if it was a recipe but it's not, it has to do with the physical or emotional needs of an animal that depends on us 100% so we need to make sure we get it as right as we possibly can. And you are doing that by asking questions so kudos to you!
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