hi every one,

Firstly I have to say what an excellent forum. I found it on the Mytoos website which thought was equally impressive, some real home truths spoken.

Chazy is a 10 year old Medium Sulphur Crested Cockatoo who may as well be my 3rd child. He eats with us, plays with us and does arts and crafts with us (well he likes to do the cutting bits :o), I love him so much he is more than just a pet. We have 2 dogs, 4 chickens and a little Rock Pebbler, they are the pets (loved very much also). Chazy is different though, he brings the term 'Companion pet' to a completely new meaning.

All of our animals are rescued from one place or another and when I made the decision to get a bird it was no different. I found a rescue centre called 'Busy Beaks' and the day came for me to go and meet their birds. Having been to many rescue centers for dogs and cats etc I thought I knew what I was expecting..............how wrong could I be!!

Paula the amazing woman behind the charity run rescue center met me at the door. She welcomed me in and said 'let me introduce you and see if a bird chooses you'. In the back of my mind I was thinking 'I'm supposed to do the choosing am I not??'. Any way in I went....there is not a day when I don't think of all the birds I met, lots without feathers, one without a foot, some so badly mutilated they wore little sock vests to stop them digging under their skin and killing themselves. The birds in the worst shape were the big Mollucans one had no feathers on its scrawny little body with just a beautiful head sitting on top, so, so sad! Most of the birds weren't even offered for adoption due to special requirements and healthcare costs. When we got to Chazy he came right to the front of the cage and happily stepped up on my arm. I know it sounds silly but we clicked instantly and Paula was right he had chosen me. It was one of the most powerful moments of my life and I feel so honored that he choose me. I wanted him home right away and hated that we hate to wait a few weeks for home checks ect.

He settled in with us very quickly and with a few very strict rule between him and the Kids things have gone really well.

I have one problem though. Well if you call it that?? I don't really mind and neither does he but it would be nice for him to go to other people (hubbie included). He happily hops on their arm and seems happy but after 5 mins some times less without warning or any signs he retracts a chunk of flesh from a finger arm or tummy. Some of the bites have been quite serious so now he is banned from going near any one other than me.

Any insight into why would be appreciated, I am thinking it is because he is testing the water and boundary pushing like a child or showing he is top bird?? any solutions would also be appreciated, all I do is put him in his cage so he knows it is bad. It would be nice for him to befriend other humans though.

I also want to start taking him out and about with us and am looking into harnesses etc. We often go on family picnics and would love to take him.

Any so that is us....

look forward to meeting everyone here and hope you enjoyed my introduction !!

Jes and Chazy xx

Welcome Jes and Chazy!

First off I wanted to commend you for seeking out adoption! So many wonderful angels in the need of good loving homes out there.

Not sure how long you have had Chazy, but these angels go through a honeymoon period always. His attitude and actions will change over time. The key is going to be making them positive changes! For now I would have the other members of the family not hold him, but to be the ones to offer up special treats (food items he doesnt get freely in his dishes). Have them sing, dance, talk, read to him etc. Keep all interaction positive, but no holding. Not sure how old your children are but please be very careful. Toos dont always like children due to their fast movements etc. A Too can also do great damage to a little one and quickly! They have several hundred pounds of pressure in their beaks, and can tear into flesh quickly.

Chazy is testing the waters so to speak, he is in a new family, and needs to build up trusting relationships with each of you. His relationship may be different with each one of you, and that is ok. The biting needs to stop immediately, and the only way to do that, is by not allowing it to happen in the first place. Learn his body language, watch for the signs...they are there. Time and patience will help you to realize that all the warnings are present when he bites.

Do lots of reading in this forum, there is a wealth of information and caring folks here to guide you.

Start here, and read all the articles posted in this section.
Applied Behavior

I am sure others will be along with more specific guidance. Best of luck to you and Chazy on your new wonderful journey!

Welcome!

In addition to the excellent advice given by Deborah (read it several times!) I just wanted to add that, as you probably know, these guys are complex beings -- wild animals that should not be in captivity. They frequently do things that don't seem to make a lot of sense. It is far more productive to focus on the behavior itself rather than drive yourself crazy trying to figure out the why/insight behind it!

(As an example, I have a caique who will attack people reading magazines on the couch. He is fine with us reading books on the couch. He is fine with us reading magazines anywhere else but the couch. Instead of trying to figure out why this bizarre magazine + couch combination sets him off, we just don't read magazines on the couch!)

Also, be prepared that your husband and children will probably have a different relationship with him than you do. He picked you (and isn't it amazing when they do that?) but the rest of your family is kind of like assigned roommates.

You can get him to a point where he doesn't attack/bite them, though (read Deborah's post and then post with more specific questions).

Again, welcome, and thanks for adopting!

thank you for the warm welcome,

Chazy has been with us for 3 months now but it feels a lot lot longer. He is absolutely great with the kids if he is with me, on his perch or in his cage. I supervise at all times and always keep them at arms length. To be honest though the kids (2 & 4 yrs) ignore him most of the time as they are just used to him being there now. You are right though, he loves it when we sing and dance and whistles along enthusiastically.

I have gotten pretty good at reading his body language and can tell when he is warning me or unhappy. With other people though he shows no signs or at least by the time I recognize them it is usually to late.

I understand that he will never bond with others in the same way as me (I wouldn't of liked that so much). I thought it would be good to stop the biting in case others need to handle him. Plus I suppose it is just good manners.

The only reason I can see is fear, he does have real attitude (naturally being a mature cock bird). Everyone is scared of him and of course he can sense it. I have to be really confident with him or he pushes his luck with me. I feel in control and he is good, I falter or hesitate and he seizes the opportunity. Now I am completely confident I can do any thing with him, open his wings, lye him upside down on my hand, tell him to go in his cage. He has only bitten me once and it was completely my fault, we had friends over for supper so not only did I let him stay up late I tried to bring him to the dinner table and when I remained sitting with him and everyone else stood up he bit me......he was scared and had no where to go, plus was tired usually gets 10 hours sleep.

I am really interested in the applied behavior and signed up for the FFB course at www.behaviorworks.org. Unfortunately the next available spot is in 2013. They sent me lots of links and a reading list for the mean time which was very helpful. Between them and all the very informative posts here (applied behavior seems the way ahead!!) I am sure Chazy and I can over come this biting issue.

If I were to let my husband have another try how and what would you advise?? Also how should I respond when he does bite?

many many thanks

Jes

Greetings and welcome from another chosen one.

After five years of having a Too and spending a lot of time observing and interacting with her, I believe there is always a warning sign before a bite. It might only be a barely perceptable change in eye lid shape or feather placement, but its always there. One just has to really observe and learn as much as possible about their bird.

I may regret saying this but its been a long time since I have gotten bit. I get a finger or arm tasted once in a while but no blood letting chomps like our early years.

I'm by far no behavior expert but suspect things may improve with time which could be as long as a number of years. Even after this, Chazy still might not be trustworthy around others and you may never understand why.

The previous posters have made some excellent suggestions. Take it slowly and let us know if things improve - good luck.

You said that he will go to your husbands arm for about five minutes. Find out his favorite treat and have it ready at the end of 4-5 minutes. At that time, take him back to you, treat him and make a big show of praise for him. You can gradually increase the time. Behavioral analysis will help in these matters as well.

When he bites, it is best to try and set him down and let him think for a minute. He should never be punished because he probably did attempt other forms of communication that you did not recognize. In the first two years with our bird, we would set her back on a perch and turn our attention away from her but only for a short time. A cockatoo hates nothing more than being ignored. After 3-5 minutes we would try to engage her in some other, unrelated activity.

Again thank you for the good advice,

in time I will try to introduce him to Kirk (husband) but having had more time to think about it. We are happy as we are and since avoiding the bad behavior (going to others) Chazy and I have moved ahead in leaps and bounds with our extremely positive, and trusting relationship. He has only bitten me once and that was right at the start of him being with us. I really don't want to pressure him at all and maybe just give it time as recommended. There is no rush as he will be with us a very very long time!! Also as advised, over time I should learn to understand and read him better which will also help with this issue.

I have a few other small questions but will post these in the appropriate areas. Also some picture when I work out how to (maybe that is something my husband can help with??)

It is lovely to meet such a great bunch of people. Chazy and I are lucky!!

thank you

Jes

Welcome to MyToos!
I am so happy that you found us, the rescue, and your feathered sweetheart! I think Charlie's idea is brilliant :-)
looking forward to the pictures; uploading to photobucket is a good way to do it... I am no expert in that regard and only occasionally remember how to do it myself!
Tania

thank you,

I agree and when we are ready Charlies advice will definitely be drawn upon. I love the idea of positive reinforcement and not punishing an animal.

I am going to attempt picassa as I already use this for photo editing. Wish me luck!!

x x

You will enjoy the Living and Learning with Parrots course. When are you scheduled to begin - I know there is a long wait. I took the course several years ago and learned so much. If you read through the Applied Behavior - Case Studies forum, it is all about positive reinforcement!

Yes, you have two things working for you right now, time and applying positive reinforcement.

One thing I would like to point out for others that are not moving in the right direction like you appear to be. The part of the quote "We are happy as we are..." All too often new caretakers, without thinking, will strive to give the human side of the equation the most consideration. If we really love these companions that can easily outlive us, it would be a really bad mistake to encourage a one person bird. These birds can form many different types of bonds just as a human can. Since most of these large birds will end up in other homes, sooner or later, we need to make every effort to socialize them and have them accept other people. A one person bird that loses his/her caretaker can be in for a very miserable period of time in the most loving and knowledgeable new home. The solution to this is work and time, both of which you will be working on.

I thought this was important to bring up since many people might consider it "cute" or "novel" to have a loving bird that attacks others. They live a long time and we need to always keep this in mind.

What a very important point Charlie! While we do work with Ozzy to be socially interactive, I hadnt truly thought of it in that context, and how important socialization could be for his future. None of us have any guarantees of what can happen in our own futures, let alone our beloved companions. No matter how much planning we do...well we all know what happens to the best laid plans sometimes sadly. How many lost angels are in rescues due to the owner dying, and nobody else could care for (or sometimes even handle) them.

I completely agree, to be honest it doesn't even need to come down to them out living us. If we go into hospital for a few days or months or need to leave our feathered friends in the care of others it would be unfair not to familiarize them.

I am still working out how to post a picture on here????

but here is a link to my 2 boys.............

http://picasaweb.google.com/104337891849756781452/MyToos?feat=directlink

Your boys are absolutely gorgeous!

thank you

x x

Nice pictures! Thanks for sharing!