Abused African Grey Training Update
Well I promised you I’d keep you posted on how the training of my abused African Grey Bean was going. So here’s the first update on his progress…
We had Bean in a smaller cage in a room away from the rest of our flock… and so on Monday we ended Bean’s quarantine and put him into a new large CagesByDesign cage where he has more room. The cage has full spectrum lighting installed onto the cage, and I’m hoping that will help his feather plucking.
For the first 24 hours Bean ate ZERO food, and I was actually worried about running into starvation problems if he didn’t start eating… even though he had full food bowls in his cage the whole time.
On the morning of day 2, he still had not eaten, so I made sure to put some of his favorite fruits in his cage to try and bribe him into eating. Note that I did zero training during this stage as it’s next to worthless to try and train a bird who isn’t even comfortable siting in his own cage by himself.
At this point Bean had not even moved one inch from the spot that he was originally in when I put him into the cage. He just sat at the bottom of his cage quivering, and chewing his feathers off 
On day 3 I noticed Bean had mustered up enough courage to come up off the bottom of his cage and sit on a perch near his food bowls, and even started eating out of his food dishes.
Day four and five consisted of nothing but making sure our little Grey continued to eat more… which he did.
It’s common for African Greys to be overweight, and his vet check during his quarantine verified that indeed he was overweight, so I wasn’t too concerned that he’d not eaten during his first day in his new cage… but I did keep a close eye on him after that first day, as all birds need food after a day.
Once he’d gone two days in his new cage of eating his full regular amount of daily food, overcame his fear of his cage, and of his new perches, food bowls and surroundings, I was then ready to start his training.
First Day of Training Bean:
During the first day we needed to ‘clicker condition’ Bean.
Since bean is totally phobic, and has no concept of how to step up, or enjoy being pet (except a quick scratch or two on his head by females only) my goal was to first target train him so that I could get him to move in and out of his cage, and eventually use target training to target him onto my hand so I could train him to step up in a way that wouldn’t scare him.
The results after the first day…
Bean received several rewards of a sunflower seed after hearing the ‘click’ of the clicker… thus training him that every time he hears a ‘click’ he gets rewarded with a treat. At first Bean wouldn’t take a treat from my hand after hearing a ‘click’ so I adjusted my strategy to only train him after a training diet had been implemented. His slightly elevated hunger was enough to overcome his fear of taking treats from my hand, and got him to take up to 15 treats from my hand in a session.
After 15 repetitions I presented a target training stick to the bird, and started ‘clicking’ for him touching it. You can learn more about this process in our parrot training course.
Bean was curious enough about the stick when I presented it to him that he touched it simply out of curiosity. I of course ‘clicked’ him for the behavior to mark the event and let him know he’d just done something to earn a treat. He quickly caught on that touching the stick earned him treats.
We didn’t want the session to go too long and stress him out so we let the session go about 7 minutes, and then left Bean alone, and gave him a mix of cooked beans and veggies which he REALLY enjoys to let him know that good training sessions always end with really yummy treats.
Afterall, we want him to look forward to the training.
Tomorrow I will take his targeting a step further and try to get him to start to chase the target stick around his cage, maybe even do some climbing up the cage bards, or negotiating around scary toys to help build his confidence.
I’ll be in touch with how it goes soon!
Chet
P.S. I’m sorry I don’t have any footage for you yet… and I hate to admit this… but I fell down the stairs and sprained my hip a few weeks ago. Heck, I didn’t even know a person could sprain their hip So it pretty much hurts like hell to sit at the computer and edit video footage for you to see online.
But rest assured that I did shoot the training footage, and will put it up online for you guys after I can actually sit down for a long enough period of time to work on it.
April 5th, 2008 at 9:12 am
So sorry to hear about your hip. Hope you are feeling better each day. Thank you for sharing this experience with us. Bean could not be in better hands.
April 5th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Awwe, hope you’re feeling better real soon.
Thanks so much for the update on Bean, I can’t wait - as I’m sure you can’t either - till Bean is comfortable and feeling safe in his environment and his personality shines through. Im so looking forward to reading about this rescue case. I agree with Sheila, he couldn’t be in better hands, and I can’t help but feel so glad that Bean is now in such a loving family and how much better you have made his life.
April 7th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Hi Chet I am so glad you are helping an abused bird. Bean sounds like he is coming along very well.
You probably already do this, but put some ice on your hip with a cloth over your skin (so you don’t get burned by the ice). It can relieve the pain quite well.
I will look forward to your future training of Bean.
I don’t feel like going into my birds right now. It’s a long story. I didn’t handle them enough when they were little and a vet assistant scared my Beenie to death so he does not like hands very well. The vet assistant was nasty to him (he was only 4 months old at his free vet check after I purchased him 4 years ago) because he was scared and he nipped her and then she grabbed him and got his wing caught in the cage door when she was taking him out of the cage. I should have never asked her to do it. She was in a hurry and impatient. I still love my Beenie and my Baby is 11 this month!!!
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:40 am
Regarding screaming, hmm where to start. My beautiful blue & gold, Casey loves to scream, he seems to be doing this more during the Spring, he lkes to scream at the dog while watching it outside. He is of course, fine while I am holding, petting or letting him ride around on my shoulder. HE seems to be a bit more aggressive this time of year as well.
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:44 am
My cockateil HATES recorded messages even if they are on TV.
I have learned to change the channel ’till the message is over.
We have worked together to get him to stop most of his screaming, the one problem I have is–On Sundays he gets
a special treat in a “penthouse” cage which I place on top of his
home cage. The reason for this is in the event of another hurricane, I want him to get into the smaller cage so I can transport him. The problem is that on Monday and Friday he
screams all day wanting his Sunday treat! Of course if I give him the treat he will stop the noise but that defeats the “specialness” of the Sunday treat. Suggestions?
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:09 am
My African Grey and my husband have a mutual hate for each other. The moment he comes in the door in the evening from work, my parrot starts screaming. My husband covers her cage and tells her to shut up!!!. Weekends are no piece of cake either. This can go on all day long. She also screams when you are eating, she wants some of your food. If you give her some and she decides it is not what she wants, she unmercifully screams and throws it. Even when you give her something that she loves, she grabs it out of you hand sharply as if to say” Give that to me”.
She is only nice during the day when she, myself and my two dogs are here.
My husband is going to retire very soon and I am looking to rehome my baby. I just cant take the tension of what the two of them project.
April 22nd, 2008 at 4:17 pm
My eldest girl grey {40} has always screamed to get attention especially when you leave a room. She taught the 7 year old boy to do the same, plus he does it just to hear and enjoy the sound of his own voice. The youngest 9 months girl has not picked it up yet. She shouts like a litter full of puppies I think she must have been reared with a puppy breader. They all scream when they are frightened. The reason I rescued the last grey was to create a flock so that there was not so much seperation fear when they were left alone and hopefully to cut down on the screaming
April 22nd, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Chevy screams when she is wanting my attention. She will also scream when we are walking and other birds are flying over head.
April 22nd, 2008 at 6:31 pm
My Parrot screams early in the morning as soon as any little light comes in and when you go to touch him or pick him up he screams, and sometimes through out the day when nobody pays attention to him.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:54 am
my lesser cockatoo screams all the time and most of the time i think its just for the sheer joy of screaming
she screams when i walk out of the room and my brother refuses to listen to me and tries to shut him up by shouting back ive told him this aint gonna work
i know that thats just making it happy because its getting atention and might just take it as a game and scream louder
i’ve heard that if you blow on the parrots face then distract it it will stop
but is this gonna stop it or just make him lose trust he has with me
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:56 am
My Quaker Parrot - Phoenix screams when i have just left the room or when i walk past the room he is in without acknowledging him. He doesnt scream much but he does talk alot and very loudly when hes by himself. i think he screams because he wants to have some attention from me.
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:38 am
I have a snow white cocateil I rescued after she had been hurt by a previously owner. As a fledgling, they had clipped her litttle wings so close, she almost bled to death. When she was given to me they were still in bad shape, and my heart went out to her. She didnt even have a name so I named her Lily.
Well at first I counld’t even go near her or she would scream loudly and fly about her cage wildley till her over clipped wings would bleed again. SO I covered her cage and kept her in a softly lit, quiet room. I couldnt get near her for another day or so to even feed her. But she did let me lightly mist her bloody feathers with water bottle, (which to my suprise she really seamed to love). But she would still scream her head off if we even came near her cage for anything else. By the 3rd day I was afraid of her starving and knew I had to get to let me at least put clean food and water in her feed cups, which again to my suprise she actualy did let me, but only after I misted her first!! She had even moved about an inch or two closer to me while misting her. Eventually I had gained her trust enough that I could slowly put my hand in her cage to change her food and water. All the while though, she watched and hissed at me from the far end of her cage.
About 3 months has gone by now, and she still has a bit of a problem trusting me or my husband. She allows us to do whatever we need to in her cage, but she still wont step UP on our hand or finger. She doesnt like any special foods,
only the cocateil food from Petland, (and millet seed) for me to promt her with. She does now come out of her cage sometimes, but only when she wants to, and she still hasnt really learned to fly so she kinda flies wildly, but she is getting the hang of it. 
Usually she lands on the floor, which then she WILL let me near her and she will hop on my wrist and let me talk to her and she even let me pet her yesterday. YAY!
Lately my husband and I knowticed that as soon as we leave her room, she will start to scream for us to come back in, and when we do, she hushes up, and just kinda looks at us with her head either tilted to one or the other.
I have tried to train her some using Chet’s training technics, but so far all I have gotten was bitten. Well, she doesnt bite me anymore, she did stop that after she seen it wasnt doing her any good, all it was doing was causing herself to have a sore beak.
( I was told to wear soft leather gloves so her bite wouldnt hurt me.)
Strange little bird my little Lily is. I think with her hsitory and all, I have made alot of progress with her, but she has aloooong way to go yet. I WILL eventualy win her over completly, but man is she stubborn!!!!!LOL
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:50 am
I have a cockateil that screams when I leave the room, Is quiet when I’m in sight, screams when my husband comes home, screams when my husband and I talk, and has started acting like it will bite when I put my hand out for him to step-up. He use to step-up willingly with no problem but within the last 3 weeks has started the hissing and holds his beak open as if to bite. He doesn’t bite, it’s a bluff, but it’s even when I try to get him out of his cage. When this doesn’t scare me off he then runs from my hand. During this time I can pet him on his head with no problem, but when I put my finger out for him to step-up he starts this biting act, without the biting. I then wait until he is willing to step-up. ( I say he but I don’t really know if he is a he or she.)
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:02 am
I forgot to mention my cockateil is almost 1 year old.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:03 am
My 9 year old Moluccan Cocaktoo, Jasmine, is a model bird, except when I get home from work or school. My husband claims she just plays in her cage, talks to the dogs once in a while but as soon as I get home, all heck breaks loose. She even knows the sound of my car. As soon as my car door shuts, I can hear her in the garage. She is also very vocal when it comes to dinner time. She can see us sit at the table and feels the need to scream. She’s definitely a people bird and loves to be around others, but only when I am home. She has developed a very close bond with my daughter, 12, but she doesn’t scream at her. Only with me. Oops, one more, she will start up if she doesn’t get uncovered early enough to her liking.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:33 am
my cockatiel benny squawks whenever i give my othe cockatiel billy atention and stroke him. benny gets jelous and pecks at billy. but whenever i try to stroke benny he hisses at me or runs away.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:04 am
chet you ask and i will tell my bird weto only screem when we cover him at night or i holler at the dog next door all the outher times he just crakles real low talk a little but not a lot would love to hear him talk a lot he is about 15 years old have had him sence he was oroung 6to 8 mo old.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:05 am
chet my bird weto only screem when we cover him at night.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:13 am
When I first brought my bird home..it attacked my family especially my husband. We have worked very very hard with him/her. I believe she was abused by a male from what prior owner told me without telling me. We are now at the point that buffy does not attack him in the approp. situation(at least not lately but did lounge at my daughter very recently )and he can now begin to pick her up for a very short time & pet her in & out of cage. She grabs onto his shirt and tears it but has not bit him.. Still nervous & may attack easily. This is very new to know yet. But our biggest problem is every weekend she screams 24/7. The family is home. It begins Sat morning and continues ALL weekend. It is really bad. Also more aggressive. Acts different on weekends. Buffy will scream even if I am holding her at times. And believe it or not she is now also screaming for my husbands attention now ?? But no matter how much attention we give her..its not enough. She wants it all day & night. Nothing is working with her. The house is so out of control on weekends that I may have to consider rehoming her which I dont want to do. She will do this at times during the week especially mon-tue it lingers over then settles until the weekend. She does not know how to entertain herself with toys..She was only given boxes to chew with prior owner. No toys. If she sees a box she goes crazy trying to get at it and at times screams at her loudest. If she has a box she will chew and not even want to come out of her cage. We are teaching her to play with toys but it is hard. The only thing that she will do is take a box when shes on her own..and this I believe is what could be causing her to scream for attention so much. She does not know how to entertain herself. But keep in mind her screaming also has something to do with my husband being home even though she seems to like him alittle more????Help???
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:36 am
I HAVE 7 PARROTS.A BLUE & GOLD,FEMALE ECLECTUS,2 RED BELLIES,A BROWN HEAD,BLACK CAP CONURE,AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST A WHITE EAR CONURE. THEY ARE ALL VERY GOOD ABOUT NOT SCREAMING…FOR THE MOST PART,MY GIRL RUBIE (ECLECTUS)TENDS TO GET A LITTLE EXCITED IN THE EVENING.ISNT THAT NORMAL?OR MABEY IM JUST USED TO IT.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:40 pm
I have a cockatiel and he sits and screams for no reason. My husband does not like it so he puts him in the other room. I think we sould let him scream …but he can do it for hours.we don’t know much about him,he used to sing alot now he does not and we would like to know if we should get him a playmate.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I gave my breeding pair of Blue Fronts to someone that is better able to breed. I bought an Alexandrine from her. It is only three months old, and I have already decreased the screaming by not giving it treats or food until he stops (don’t know the sex, but he is dimorphic so his sex will not known until he is about 18 months). The breeder let me have it very early, because I knew how to hand-feed. Even at his young age, I already have him flying to me at command with a walnut or a pine nut. This bird is one of the most intelligent birds I have ever had. My husband and I live in Georgia (I turned him into a bird lover). This past weekend there was a EBSOA bird show. It was a wonderful learning experience. They have a bird trainer that does three shows a day. After the show, I came home and started training immediately; and it started working. My suggestion is patience, and if, you don’t have it, don’t have a bird. They need love and attention just as much as we do. They will get bored and lonely and stop trusting you. Then you have to start allover again, but it can be done.
Chet thanks for your insight.
Janice & John Lopipero
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Hope U Feel Better Soon!!!!
Yea I think it is great!
April 27th, 2008 at 12:53 am
I saved a grey that was maybe two years old and had never been trained to be a pet only mistreated. After a few weeks getting his trust I used a glove to take him out of his cage. the glove for I knew he would bite as he had lost his safety net. I tied him to my wrist like a falcon so he would not fly off as I took him outside. We took a long drive in my car and a walk outside. By the time our day was over he trusted me completely. It seems he was more scared of the things he saw than me and I had kept him safe. I would hold him close and pet him when he was scared. By the time we got home he seemed to feel my holding him close and petting him was a good thing. No more gloves for that once mistreated boy. He jumps on my hand and wants to coudle. Odly enough he was not a screamer. I think he was too scared of things to scream at them. He just cowed in his cage when i first got him.