I'm not sure about this bird

I have had my CAG Kendi for about 3 mos now, he is a yr old as of 6-15-11. He is the most insecure animal I have ever been around, unsure of everything, mostly just sits and stares, there are some days he acts as if he has never been on a human hand, he is not engaging or curious about anything. Are some birds just "not right"? I know it takes time for birds to adjust but to be honest he doesnt act any different today than he did the first day I brought him home.

For instance: I have been gradually getting him used to being misted with a spray bottle, he has grown to enjoy it, and he tells me when he's had enough, the other day I took him and my Amazon outside to mist them, which I have done many times, he had a complete meltdown over it, fell off the perch and flapped around on the ground like he was dying, it took him hours to recover and to start acting normal again.

I cant add ANYTHING new to his cage, no new perches, nothing!!!, it completely unnerves him and makes him uneasy.

My birds are with me in my living room sharing a large play area, when I get up to go into another room he starts screeching and doesnt stop until I come back.

His body language in most situations is " I'm uncomfortable, I don't like this!!"

I take my birds to work with me on a regular basis but not everyday, Lucas my Amazon loves it, but Kendi .....not so much, but he doesn't want to be left behind either. It's frustrating , I find myself looking at him and saying/thinking "what do you want?"

All in all he's no trouble, not a bad bird, not mean, but I can't say that I enjoy him in the same way I enjoy Lucas.....just being honest.

I want to make this work and I am willing to be patient but could use some advice.

He and Lucas both came from the same place, a pet shop but one that does a great job rearing and socializing their birds, and is owned by people I know and trust, they and their staff are knowledgable and great with the birds. The birds are only caged at night to sleep and are exposed to new things regularly. But I am wondering if thats a great environment for all birds?.....Just throwing this out there. Could something traumatic have happened to him before I got him?, is he just being a CAG?, is he just a weird bird?

Thanks

Cindy's new home update

I went and visited Cindy today and took some photos. She's very happy and was enjoying being outside with her new mom Christina. Cindy is such a sweet and happy little bird. For those of you not familiar with Cindy and the story behind this post you can read about it in post titled Cindy New Home

African Grey Post

Kendi. He does not know how to hold a foot toy with his foot.

I find most parrot bios a bit vague and "general" so thought I would post this in hopes of getting some "meat & potatoes" info about Congo African Greys from those that live with one.

I've had my CAG Kendi for 2 weeks, Still waiting for DNA results to come back so not sure whether I have a male or female. I will refer to Kendi as 'he". His hatch date is June 2010.

Here's a little about how I came to bring him home. I knew I wanted a CAG at some point, was actually planning on waiting a while and wanted a very young bird. Long story short he was purchased by someone that only had him for about a month, he was never named, he needed to give him up, he apparently had to move to Florida and could not and or did not want to take the bird with him.,,,the details are a bit sketchy. I have no reason to think Kendi was mistreated in any way. I was contacted by the place he bought the bird from since they knew I was wanting a grey at some point.Thats the story in a nutshell.

This a very different bird!, He just sits back quietly and observes. I found my amazon and caique to be very active and making themselves at home within just a few days. Kendi is very happy to step up, comes out of his cage with no problem....in fact does not really like to be in his cage. He is very quiet, makes a few clicking sounds and whistles a bit but mostly just sits next to me on the couch, or on his perch being very quiet. I have not been able to get him to eat anything but pellets. I offer him fruit and veg everyday but has yet to eat any of it. I'm pretty sure he has never seen or been offered fresh food of any kind. He has couple of toys in his cage and has just started being interested in them. I've also noticed he never holds anything with his foot, not even his pellets, he just munches over the food dish. I posted on BirdTricks a week or so ago that I didnt feel he was drinking enough water, thats still the case and his poop seems very dry to me so I am going to take him to the vet just so they can give him a "once over", probably not a bad idea.

Thats just a bit about Kendi. If anyone has any feedback I would appreciate it. I am not having any problems with him, I don't feel like I have a bird with issues, he's gorgeous, sweet and easy to be around. I would of course be thrilled if he talks but know thats not a guarantee, what will be will be. I do talk to him a lot and spend a lot of time interacting with my birds.

Kendi

Cindy/New home

Many of you have come to know my Caique Cindy threw my photographs of her that I have posted. She came to live with me in early February 2011. Cindy is no longer living with me. The story is a bit too lengthy to explain in a facebook post so I thought I would share the story here as to why she is no longer in my house. I spent many hours of thought and prayer over it before I made the decision.

The problem with Cindy was she was extremely noisy. It didn't start out that way, but as time went on it escalated and became a problem. I am a dog groomer and own my own business, therefore I can take my birds to work with me, Cindy went with me everyday and had a large play perch to play on during the day, I also have several employees that would pay a lot of attention to her. After a month or so Cindy stopped wanting to be on the perch at all, she expected to be with me or the girls that work for me, we would ignore her demands for attention but to no avail, ,,,then the screaming would start, it would go on for hours. She would pace back and forth on the edge of the perch screaming. I decided to get her a cage at work to go in thinking that might help, and also thought that possibly being on the play perch in the open was overstimulating her, I began putting her in the cage about mid morning when we are getting into our day of work with the dogs, that didn't help, she just screamed in the cage.

On several occasions about 5 or 6 weeks ago I had to be out of the shop for a few hrs and left my assistants in charge of keeping an eye on Lucas and Cindy while I was gone...on both occasions they said the minute I left she stopped screaming and was quiet and even did something she never did....played with her toys, but when I returned and she saw me the screaming and demanding attention started. I kept trying to make it work hoping she would stop, and that eventually my ignoring the undesirable behavior, and rewarding her when she was quiet would solve the problem, I finally had to stop taking her to work with me. One day when I was using scissors around a dogs face Cindy screamed and I almost cut the dog when he got startled and jerked his head. Her screams were short and ear piercing. Cindy would also start screaming when I turned my clippers on, it would always set her off, since my clippers are running most of the day, the screaming would go on most of the day.

I had to start leaving her at home which I did not like, I did not like the idea of her being in the cage all day, and one of the things I really like about being able to take the birds to work with me is they are out of their cages most of the day, and when we get home they are for the most part happy to go up for the evening and are quiet and content to be in their cages. I could no longer take Lucas to work either, he also had to stay home in his cage because if I took him with me and didn't take Cindy all hell broke loose!

When I would come home from work I had 2 birds that had been in their cages all day and needed attention. My quiet care free evenings became trying to keep Cindy happy and entertained. One night the smoke alarm in my apt went off, ...Cindy decided that was her most favorite thing to imitate, and she did it all the time, it became her favorite new sound to make and it was LOUD!!!

One day when I was at work my landlord called me, one of my neighbors had called her saying he heard a smoke alarm, and it was coming from my apt. ....it was of course Cindy but it was a big ordeal...no landlord or neighbor wants to think there might be a fire in the building.

The same week my wonderful neighbor below me who is sick with cancer mentioned to me in a very sweet way that she could hear Cindy, and that her cats could hear Cindy and they were climbing the walls. The building I live in is old, well made with very thick walls and floors, none of us ever here each other....but everyone could hear Cindy......I spent weeks stressed out wondering what I was going to do.

My assistant Christina who Cindy has known since day one (and loves her ) had been really wanting a bird. She has been looking for a blue crowned conure but decided maybe she would get a caique but couldn't afford a bird in that price range. A couple of weeks ago she really wanted to take Cindy for the weekend, I was going have to be out of the apt a lot that weekend so it worked out. All weekend Christina sent me pics and texts of every wonderful thing Cindy did, I asked her if Cindy had been noisy and she said no....hmmmm... By Sunday I started thinking about maybe letting Christina have Cindy, I struggled with the idea, I really do love this bird, but maybe with all things considered and the frustration of it all it would be best for everyone if Cindy is in a different situation. I was no longer enjoying her except in the evenings when she was quiet and my days at home were spent trying to keep her from screaming. I asked Christina if she would like to keep Cindy....she was over joyed and now has a bird she loves very much and that can do no wrong. Aside from occasional caique noisiness there has been no screaming since Cindy has been with Christina. I do miss her but I know she's with a wonderful person that I would trust with any animal. I still get to see her, actually saw her yesterday, she was glad to see me but it was more like "hey, whats up?" ...then she went back to what she was doing when I got there.

Just wanted to share the story. I wouldn't have let Cindy go to just anyone, It just worked that someone that she loved and that loved her was able to be her new "parront". I really feel like it was a win win situation for everyone.

Kendi "The Loved One"

When I brought this bird home 7 days ago I was told he was a boy, since then the 100% certainty has come under question. There seems to be a lot of bird owners that are fine with not knowing their birds actual sex, I am not one of those people. I had blood drawn yesterday and will not know the test results for 10-14 days.

I decided I did not want to wait that long to give this bird a name. I came across the name Kendi and liked it very much. The name is of African origin, is unisex, and means "The Loved One". I like the way it sounds and I thought it would be cool to choose an African name

Lucas, My "neurotic"/ "throw away" bird

Lucas

First of all I did not go into parrot ownership blindly. I researched as much as I could before getting my birds, trying to study the pros and cons and questioned " do I really want this commitment?". I knew they were messy, knew there was the noise factor, knew it was not like having any other "pet". I worked part time in a pet store that sold parrots about 10 years ago, which gave me a glimpse into the reality of what parrots could be like. I grew up having budgies and lovebirds, so I was not a complete stranger to life with birds, but knew a parrot would be a lifetime commitment and not the same as having a lovebird or budgie. Since I work for myself, am single and have no children I knew I would be able to devote time to a parrot and I have the luxury of taking a bird to work with me, I know thats not something everyone can do....so I went for it!

I have a White Bellied Caique named Cindy that I got in January from a pet store owned by friends. They do a great job with their birds and are the only place in town that sells parrots. She came to me healthy, well socialized and has been a very fun, wonderful bird.

I decided to get Cindy after spending several days in the pet store taking photos of the birds and other animals for their web site. She would always come to me and was fascinated with the camera, was friendly and fearless, I decided she was the bird for me.

Cindy

After having Cindy for a couple mos I started entertaining the idea of getting another bird at some point down the road. Long story short I decided on a young Panama Amazon that was at the same store Cindy came from. He was friendly and also well socialized. He will be a year old in June. I brought him home 7 weeks ago and named him Lucas......Here is the story behind the reason for this post.

Lucas, Photo taken in January, before I decided to purchase him.

Before I decided to get Lucas I noticed his wings and tail feathers were sparse and frayed. I asked why is feathers looked that way, and was told his sister (who was in a communal play area with him) was picking on him causing his feathers to look the way they did. This sounded reasonable to me. I trusted what my friends said, they after all were the experts. I purchased him but asked them to hold him for me for a couple weeks because I was going to be out of town for a week, then I was going to be out of my apt for another 5 days while painting and new appliances were being brought in, I could not get both things to coincide. When I returned from my week out of town I went to see him, his wings and tail looked a little worse and he was starting to molt as well. I really wanted to get him home but still needed to wait just a little bit longer. Finally I went to get him and his wings looked even worse, once again "its juvenile molt". I was never in any way concerned that I had bought a bird under false pretenses , Like I said the owners of the shop are friends and their business has a good reputation.

On Wed Lucas jumped off his perch, and one of his wings was bleeding, it only bled a little then stopped, I knew blood loss was not good but it was not horrible. I called the same avian vet clinic that had looked at Cindy a couple mos ago when she had a nostril that seemed irritated. The vet had gone home, I didn't feel like it was an emergency since there wasn't a lot of blood loss and it had stopped. I kept him in his cage the rest of the day, and watched him closely, he ate and drink and acted normal the rest of the day but I took him to the clinic early the next morning just to be on the safe side so they could get a better look at him. I dropped him off early that morning before the vet arrived, explained the situation to the techs and went to work, was told the vet would call me when she got in and after she examined him.

The vet called me early in the afternoon, her tone and demeanor was harsh. " How long has this bird been chewing his feathers?" I told her he doesn't chew his feathers, at least I have never seen him do it. I told her my birds are with me all day, and basically only sleep in their cages. I told her everything I mentioned earlier about why his wings and tail looked the way they did and she said that "birds do not chew each others feathers, its impossible". She said he was not molting, that the pet shop was dishonest with me, that I should take him back, ask for my money back, that he was a neurotic feather plucker that would cost me a fortune in vet bills and should have never been sold to anyone, and that I should never have paid money for a bird in his condition, she said, "you know you can get a bird with issues for free". I went to pick him up after work, the vet was gone but the tech "consulted" me on what to do to keep my neurotic feather plucking bird happy, even suggesting that I stop taking him to work with me because that could be over stimulating him and causing him to pluck. As I left the clinic the receptionist said "good luck!".

On the ride home he kept saying 'Hi!" over and over, my heart exploded with love for this bird, I cried so hard I had to pull over to the side of the road until I pulled myself together, something that to be honest took me by surprise. Then he started saying "watcha doin?" which made me stop crying and start laughing.

Needless to say I was confused, felt stupid, and questioned what my pet store friends told me. I had no intention of taking this bird back, he was my boy, and IF he had issues we would figure it out...but at the same time I kept asking myself "what have I gotten myself into?'' I kept thinking my friends had lied to me and had pawned a bird off on me that had issues, I felt a bit betrayed. Do I confront them?, will this put a strain on our friendship? What do I do? The vets words and attitude discouraged me, she was in no way helpful, and even if she was right about everything she said concerning Lucas being a plucker and chewer, her attitude towards me and my bird and accusations towards the pet store was unprofessional and way out of line, She could have said "lets figure this out together and see how we can solve this problem". It would have been to her benefit to do so and to have me as a client.....lets see, .....how long do Amazon Parrots live???

I decided to get a second opinion and made an appt with a board certified avian vet on the other side of town, our appt was this morning.

I told him the entire story, he examined Lucas's wings and said the same thing that the pet store told me. His opinion was that Lucas has not done this to himself, that it was done by another bird. His opinion was that Lucas was healthy, happy, and just needed time before his wings came back. He trimmed some of the frayed ends of his wings concerned that they could be causing irritation. He was so nice and I was grateful to him. He also said that in his opinion the pet store that Lucas and Cindy came from was a good place. He said he actually purchased a Cockateel there for his daughter who also had some frayed wing and tail feathers and that it was no big deal, sometimes birds pick on and bully one another, Lucas was just probably on the low end of the pecking order.

I just wanted to share this story. I learned how important it is to get a second opinion. I was shocked and angered that an avian vet, a "proffesional" who is supposed to help animals and people would give such horrible advice and suggest I return a bird , or any animal, because they may or may not have issues, as if an animal is an ipod, or a "thing".

We live in a throw away society, the animal shelters are testament to that, Im just not one of those people.

Big thanks to Laura Sims Buxton for giving me such great, encouraging advice and to BirdTricks for connecting me with so many great people.

Lucas, Cindy & Blossom, my bird dog

People think we're crazy

DARWIN, A FRIENDS YELLOW HEADED AMAZON

Life with a parrot is not for everyone, which is one of the reasons I like it, if everyone did it then it wouldn't be special. I have a feeling my friends think I am a bit crazy, they don't understand it, their perception is that birds are mean, noisy & dirty, in fact that is most peoples perception. They fail to marvel at the fact that a wild non domesticated animal can share our lives, and if given what they need to be happy can make the most amazing companions. People don't realize that you can't put a bird in a cage, leave it there all day by itself and not expect it to be unhappy. Birds make noise, thats what they do, and yes they make a mess......I'm actually messier than they are, part of having a pet is cleaning up after them, children are messy...yet no one questions that choice. " We're going to have a baby!!!"..."Oh gosh , are you sure you want to do that?, kids are so messy, and noisy, they need attention, are you sure you want to do that?"....that dialogue rarely happens but maybe it should.

I have raised and trained dogs my whole life, I own a dog grooming shop, my birds go to work with me everyday,....they are more socialized and mentally stable than most of the dogs that come in the shop, they also make less noise and are not as needy as even my own dog, they are also easier to train and keep happy. I have noticed something interesting since taking my birds to work. They have a play perch in my work area, the dogs can see them and usually difficult, nervous or squirmy dogs sit still and watch the birds, allowing me to groom them with little fuss, they are mesmerized by them and so far none have shown the slightest hint of wanting to harm them or get too close.

So.....I dont feel crazy owning 2 parrots, A Caique named Cindy, and an 8 month old Panama Amazon ( sub species of Yellow Crown Amazon). They are a constant source of joy and amusement. I enjoy making their lives interesting and am just crazy about em!!