untamed goffin cockatoo

[hadin]

i got a goffin about 2 weeks ago and he is two years old. the pet store owner told me that for his first year he was hand fed and tamed. but the second year he lived mostly in the pet store where he got very little free time or direct attention.
im wondering if he'll come around to getting comfortble with me and tamed again or will he stay this way. is there anything in paticular i can do to make it better.
thank you

[dlaura]

You should sit near his cage and talk quietly to the bird. Give the bird about a week or so to settle into it's new surroundings. Did you ask at the petstore what it's diet was - if not you should do that. Also start to offer treats thru the bars as you talk quietly. Treats being a nut, small piece of fruit, maybe a small piece of toast. Let me know how that goes and we can go from there. Good luck.

[hadin]

i'll let you know how it goes, thanks for the help.

[krazy4birds]

Good advice dlaura....I am anxious to see how this goes so please update us!

[hadin]

my girlfriend who has handled many birds before is telling me i should catch him with a small towel and hold him while i pet his head. to sort of get him to get used to me. is this going to do more harm than good.?

[curiousmama]

Grabbing them with a towel can stress them out..I tried that with one of mine at first and he was terrified. Sitting next to his cage and talking softly to him brought him around. I used a protective sleeve for him to step up at first...he is a macaw. Now I can say step up and point up with the other hand and he will come to me. After seeing how my macaw reacted to the towel method...I wouldn't do it again. Good luck.


Ruthie

[beaburley]

I agree. You have to do this gradually. I have a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo and she is very tame but her last 5 to 6 years, she was never in a cage and I have to have her in a cage for her safety because I have 2 inside cats. She is very territorial now. You can pet her in her cage but she won't step up in her cage. If she's out of her cage, she'll step up just fine. Time and patience is the key to everything. Good luck.

[curiousmama]

I'm working with a goffin in a rescue situation....she is afraid of hands.
I put a towel over my hands..flat..and she stepped right up on it...after getting out she walked to my arm herself. She is afraid of hands in her cage.
I wouldn't ever grab her with the towel though.

[hadin]

all your replies have helped tremendously because all of the situations you have had i seem to be experiencing a bit of all of them. The towel seems to stress is him out more and going into the cage to get him seems to frighten him much more than when i approach him while hes out. Ive been talking to him and letting him get used to my presence and now he only get frightened when i get near him by about a foot versus about a meter in distance. So thank you all and ill keep you all posted.

[hadin]

i forgot to mention that he is missing a toe nail and his left foot looks like its always cramped up when he walks on a flat surface.

[themtkid]

Hey just wondering how its going with him now since i just my first bird he is a cockatiel and around a year or so old. He likes to sit at the bottom of his cage and in the corner scared. But i have only had him for 24 hours and i talk to him alot when he isnt sleeping because he is sleeping alot right now i guess because he is scared. So just wanted to know how its going