crying baby

[EngTeach]

This is the second evening with my baby Goffin. He is 4.5 months old. I've not owned one before but did lots of research before deciding on a breed. I've read that I should only handle him the amount of time I plan to when he is older.......and I'm trying very hard. We've allowed him out of his cage in the mornings and again in the evenings after 5:00. The middle part of the day he stays in his nice roomy cage with lots of toys to entertain him. So far....he's been really good during the day. But, in the evenings about 8:00 when we put him back into his cage after a 3 hour session of play with us and on his play stand he starts in crying...well....screeching. We try very hard not to give in and bring him back out again. We have other animals that need to have "their" time with us too. My question: Am I doing right? I hope I'm not sounding like he is being ignored all day, believe me, he is not! Its just that I want him to develop a sense of himself and be able to also entertain himself in his cage so that when school resumes...I'm a teacher on break....and he is left at home on some days he doesn't become crazed. Some days I will take him with me to class, others he will stay home. Also, he is grabbing our fingers in his mouth and bobbing up and day.....is this a feeding thing........he's been weaned about 2 weeks.

[KimBear]

The grabbing of your fingers sounds like a feeding response, but your bird may not be doing it because he's hungry. Sometimes newly weaned babies can be insecure, and may seek attention and comfort this way. Feel his crop to be sure that he is eating and moniter his weight. Regression can occur but I don't suggest putting him back on handfeeding formula unless you see that he isn't eating on his own. You can offer him some of his own food with your fingers once in a while.

As far as the idea that spending too much time with a baby will "spoil" him, in some cases, it's really more a matter of how that time is spent rather than how much. Many people get caught in the idea that the bird is either in his cage and must entertain himself, or he's out and being held. These are two extremes--There's really a lot more options than that. He can be in his cage while you interact with him, and he can be out without having direct attention from people.

You're not likely to ruin your Goffin by spending more time with him as long as what you're doing involves activities other than cuddling, and he learns to be out without being the focus of the room. For example, he can be out of the cage and sitting on a playgym next to you while you watch television or read. Once in a while, you'll talk to him and give him a little scratch on the head but he's not the main focus of your attention. He's learning that he can be out with the family, but isn't being held. Instead he's playing with his toys and interacting with everyone here and there. This is a good way to develop independence in a cockatoo--to show him that being out with people doesn't always involve being held or talked to the whole time.

You can also ijnclude interaction while he's in his cage. He should learn that he doesn't always get to come out just because he wants to or just because someone walked by and talked to him. And it's never a bad idea to establish some training times where he has some "school" of his own. Teaching tricks and even reinforcing basic rules like "up" and "down" give him something to think about.

You can experiement with your routine to see if you get less fussing in the evenings. Instead of having him out for 3 solid hours at night, try getting him out for a while, cuddling only for a bit, then either play some games with him, or set him up on a play gym and let him do his own thing. Put him back after about a half hour or so, then after another half hour, get him out again and repeat the process (the times are up to you, the half hour is just an example). Games and activities can range from very active, like wing flapping exercises and "dancing" to more relaxed, like teaching him a simple trick.

It's hard to know what to do when a baby is crying. By ignoring him, it's possible that he becomes even more insecure, but if you rush right over the minute he cries, you could teach him a bad habit. If you can predict these screeching episodes, you can manipulate the situation to possibly prevent them, or at least keep them to a minimum. You may find that if you let him be pretty active in the evening, then feed him something warm and soft in his food bowl, he may settle down for the night a bit easier.

Young Goffins can be pretty frustrating because of their tendancy to whine, so don't think you've gotten a "defective" bird. But if you don't see that it's getting better after a few weeks, think about contacting me for a consult.

[tielfan]

A month ago I got a two month old cockatiel. That's tiel not too, althought this bird is so energetic and curious about everything that she might think she's a cockatoo! She was newly weaned and fully capable of feeding herself but still did a lot of begging and crying behavior. So I would hold some food in my hand for her to eat and then shift over to head-scratching. I think it was comforting to have someone feeding her occasionally even though she didn't really need it.

She's mostly outgrown the desire to eat from my hands now. She'll happily do it but doesn't have an overwhelming craving for it. She WILL beg for head-scratching but I have no problem with that! She frequently seizes one of my fingers with her beak during the scratches (not the one that's actually doing the scratching of course) and holds on to it while she enjoys the petting. None of my other tiels do this, and they were all a little older when I got them.

[EngTeach]

Thanks for the responses. Chaucer is doing pretty well now. I may of made it sound as if we weren't interacting with him while he was in his cage....we were. We keep a small stool seat by his cage and drop by for a powwow with him throughout the day. I have put a second cage in another room and placed Chaucer there last evening around 10:00 so my late night tv would not disturb him. I've been coughing a bit and noticed every time I coughed I would hear a cry from the other room. After a while, however, he stopped and slept through the night without a peep. My husband transfered him back into his livingroom cage this morning before he left for work. The information you gave was great, I'll try not to be such a worry-wort mother. Chaucer has his well-bird check tomorrow and I'll feel better after the vet gives him a thumbs up.

P.S. Chaucer hasn't been sexed yet....will do that tomorrow. If he's a girl I'm going to have to delve in to female literary greats for a new name: maybe Maya (Angelou), Pearl (Buck), Willa (Cather). My students might balk if I called her/him something non-literary.

[rpopebirdz]

I have been told, and truthfully have seen for myself , that Cockatoos as a general species are more accepting of humanization. We have a handicapped Umbrella. A more pitifully ruined child you will never see. But, she will play, talk, and interact with her flock from across the room or upside down in our laps. Young toos just cling. Alot of older ones do too. But they mostly grow out of it just like kids. It's their nature. I'm thankful for it. She's one of the best cuddle buddies I've got.