GANDALF THE GREY - AFRICAN GREY PARROT
"Gandalf The Grey" an African Grey Parrot at Nancy Foresters Secret Garden, accepted by Nancy for behavior modification. Reported to be a biting cage bound parrot.
Definition of Cage-bound behavior
It is a type of anxiety disorder in parrots, often the result of neglect and the lack of socialization. Parrots develop this issue when they are not let out of the cage frequently or not provided with much needed social interaction. These birds may become afraid of the world outside the cage. They learn that the cage is a safe sanctuary and can refuse to leave it. This may lead to aggression and attacking anyone attempting to remove them from the cage. This behavior is common among rescue birds. It is very likely that Gandalf suffered this kind of neglect by previous owners. Birds don’t become cage-bound overnight, it results from long periods of neglect.
Definition of Cage-bound behavior
It is a type of anxiety disorder in parrots, often the result of neglect and the lack of socialization. Parrots develop this issue when they are not let out of the cage frequently or not provided with much needed social interaction. These birds may become afraid of the world outside the cage. They learn that the cage is a safe sanctuary and can refuse to leave it. This may lead to aggression and attacking anyone attempting to remove them from the cage. This behavior is common among rescue birds. It is very likely that Gandalf suffered this kind of neglect by previous owners. Birds don’t become cage-bound overnight, it results from long periods of neglect.
GANDALF'S SKETCHY HISTORY
Gandalf's age, sex and background are unknown. He is at least a three times re-homed parrot. For the year prior to his coming to stay with me at Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden his caregiver kept him outdoors in a cage where he was described as cage bound because he had the reputation of biting people. According to this caregiver this bird bit him once and he did not handle him again, same story years before when he was rehomed to Big John at NY Pasta Garden story has it he bit John who never handled him again. He was let out of the cage at Johns to exit and reenter at his will. Story has it he spent most of the day on top of his cage. I met Gandalf around 2017 when he came to Big John proprietor at NY Pasta Garden. He was on display for the outdoor restaurant clientele but not handled or given much individual attention. He and his cage were kept far enough away in the plant/flower beds behind a rope barricade that Gandalf could not be touched by the diners. Living very close by were three other African greys Bobo, Emma and Lola and two macaws who got lavish daily attention and handling. A tarp was pulled over Gandalf's cage at night when the restaurant closed. Mid-day when the staff came to work the tarp was peeled back and the door to his cage was opened. He entered and exited his cage on his own and spent the days on top of his cage. He did not stray off his cage top. He put himself to bed at night by going back inside his cage after dark. Staff would then close the door and apply the tarp. The restaurant closed in the wee hours of the morning. Not sure if he was labeled a mean bird but everyone knew not to touch him. He did not receive much attention. interaction or stimulation by the public or staff. I knew all these birds because Big John was my friend, I ate at his restaurant often and I helped him trim his birds wings and toenails. Shortly before March 2000 the restaurants chapter in these bird's lives ended, Big John died. Since then, the greys have had a single caregiver who has moved from apartment to apartment annually. At first, they were well housed indoors but for the last three years they were house outdoors and last two years not on the same property where their primary caregiver lived. Gandalf continued to be in close proximately to the other three African Greys Parrots who always received much more attention because they were easy to handle.
A new chapter for Gandolf. As a new arrival at Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden, I gave Gandalf several weeks to get accustomed to his new surroundings, like being indoors instead of outdoors, being in a house and a different cage (his old one fell apart), getting used to different perches and toys, a more enhanced diet, new humans, new birds, new sounds, new smells. new schedule, etc.
I closely observed him. He did not appear to be fearful of anything. He was slow moving or devoid of quick movements. He was silent. I placed his cage near my computer workstation so he could get used to seeing me and being near me. All of my behavior towards him was carefully measured to be calm and gentle including my English spoken words and phrases. He did not seem interested or responsive to my words or actions, I did not attempt to touch him, I did not reach inside his cage. Gandolf did not appeared to be a fearful parrot or an aggressive bird. No trembling, lunging or moving away when I approached his cage or changed his food and water bowls. He did not appear to be afraid of the world outside the cage, nor did he appear to be curious about it. Based on his past, I assumed he wanted the cage door to be opened so he could be on top of his cage and exit and reenter as he pleased. I assumed he regarded his cage inside and outside cage especially the top as a safe sanctuary. I assumed that trying to get him back in the cage would lead to resistance, aggression and biting. I assumed that it would be hard and traumatic to both of us to get him back in his cage, so he was not allowed to come out of his cage.
After his initial two week settling in period. I decided to start target training, using a stick, clicker and treat.
I closely observed him. He did not appear to be fearful of anything. He was slow moving or devoid of quick movements. He was silent. I placed his cage near my computer workstation so he could get used to seeing me and being near me. All of my behavior towards him was carefully measured to be calm and gentle including my English spoken words and phrases. He did not seem interested or responsive to my words or actions, I did not attempt to touch him, I did not reach inside his cage. Gandolf did not appeared to be a fearful parrot or an aggressive bird. No trembling, lunging or moving away when I approached his cage or changed his food and water bowls. He did not appear to be afraid of the world outside the cage, nor did he appear to be curious about it. Based on his past, I assumed he wanted the cage door to be opened so he could be on top of his cage and exit and reenter as he pleased. I assumed he regarded his cage inside and outside cage especially the top as a safe sanctuary. I assumed that trying to get him back in the cage would lead to resistance, aggression and biting. I assumed that it would be hard and traumatic to both of us to get him back in his cage, so he was not allowed to come out of his cage.
After his initial two week settling in period. I decided to start target training, using a stick, clicker and treat.
DEFINATION OF TARGET CLICKER TRAINING
Clicker training. Clicker training is a type of positive reinforcement training that uses an audible sound, a click, to precisely mark a desired behavior. The clicking sound does not generate any feeling or emotion. Clickers are small devices that create a clicking sound when pressed. They are widely available as a pet training tool.
The first step in training is to pair the sound with a food reward so the sound itself means a food reward is forthcoming. Start by pairing the sound with delivering a food treat. Sound the clicker and immediately hand your parrot a highly valued food treat. Repeat numerous times during each session. Sessions can be as short as 5 to 7 minutes, once or twice a twice a day, seven days a week or 3 to 5 five times a week. During the first session none of the parrots I have trained were afraid of the stick or clicker and all of these parrots alerted in a good way to the sound of the click. The click becomes positive because it signals that a food reward is forthcoming. The click becomes a conditioned stimulus. The sound can become as rewarding as food itself.
The click can now be used to mark correct responses during training. When the clicker makes the clicking sound, a food treat should be delivered as soon as possible after the click, particularly during initial training.
The click should happen the instant the desired behavior occurs. The clicker allows you to communicate precisely what the bird did to earn a treat. It also allows you to communicate even when your bird is more than an arm’s reach away.
The first step in training is to pair the sound with a food reward so the sound itself means a food reward is forthcoming. Start by pairing the sound with delivering a food treat. Sound the clicker and immediately hand your parrot a highly valued food treat. Repeat numerous times during each session. Sessions can be as short as 5 to 7 minutes, once or twice a twice a day, seven days a week or 3 to 5 five times a week. During the first session none of the parrots I have trained were afraid of the stick or clicker and all of these parrots alerted in a good way to the sound of the click. The click becomes positive because it signals that a food reward is forthcoming. The click becomes a conditioned stimulus. The sound can become as rewarding as food itself.
The click can now be used to mark correct responses during training. When the clicker makes the clicking sound, a food treat should be delivered as soon as possible after the click, particularly during initial training.
The click should happen the instant the desired behavior occurs. The clicker allows you to communicate precisely what the bird did to earn a treat. It also allows you to communicate even when your bird is more than an arm’s reach away.
Targeting” is a training concept which teaches a parrot to touch a target (hand/spot/stick) with a part of their body – their beak or foot. I use a common plastic chop stick. Many behaviors we teach our parrots are complex, and are broken down into smaller steps, targeting makes it easier to communicate the next step to the bird.
TRAINING GOAL FOR GANDALF - Beginning Feb 2024
Teach Gandalf to move in and out of his cage easily by stepping up on to a hand or perch. Biting not allowed
Preparation for target training, needed a target stick (I use a white plastic chop stick, a simple clicker & a valued treat in this case a piece of food I was able to open the door to his cage and affixed a bowl with no angst for him. A bowl where I could drop treats to avoid the possibility of him biting my fingers. He has breakfast at 9 AM, dinner at 3 PM, so I decided to train him at 2 PM when I thought he would be hungrier for treats. I identified a food treat reinforcer with which to reward him by trying a variety of nut pieces. He did not eat pine nuts or almonds but ate and seemed to like walnuts and pecans equally. I cut walnut pieces in two sizes, mostly small with some larger pieces to provide bigger rewards for wanted "break thru" behavior. Training is the only time he receives walnuts. I resolved to be very observant of his behavior to be patient and to work at his pace! He does not react to things with quick movements. His behavior or physical movement to all stimuli is the slowest paced of all the birds here. I know that "Labels" are inappropriate when describing animal behavior, but I cannot help thinking he is a "laid back" "stoic do nothing non motivated parrot", nothing seems to ring his bells, he is nonplus to sounds, movements or exploration. He does like soft rope toys and likes to shred paper when in hos cage.
Preparation for target training, needed a target stick (I use a white plastic chop stick, a simple clicker & a valued treat in this case a piece of food I was able to open the door to his cage and affixed a bowl with no angst for him. A bowl where I could drop treats to avoid the possibility of him biting my fingers. He has breakfast at 9 AM, dinner at 3 PM, so I decided to train him at 2 PM when I thought he would be hungrier for treats. I identified a food treat reinforcer with which to reward him by trying a variety of nut pieces. He did not eat pine nuts or almonds but ate and seemed to like walnuts and pecans equally. I cut walnut pieces in two sizes, mostly small with some larger pieces to provide bigger rewards for wanted "break thru" behavior. Training is the only time he receives walnuts. I resolved to be very observant of his behavior to be patient and to work at his pace! He does not react to things with quick movements. His behavior or physical movement to all stimuli is the slowest paced of all the birds here. I know that "Labels" are inappropriate when describing animal behavior, but I cannot help thinking he is a "laid back" "stoic do nothing non motivated parrot", nothing seems to ring his bells, he is nonplus to sounds, movements or exploration. He does like soft rope toys and likes to shred paper when in hos cage.
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Video of Gandalf's very first lesson in target training. He quickly understood what I was teaching him but he was very slow to interact. He was not afraid of the stick, slowly came forward & chomped the target stick (not an aggressive hard chomp but nevertheless a chomp). I clicked & drop a treat in the bowl. He ate the treat. He would only move to touch the stick if it was entered near the top of his cage or the upper half of his cage. He did not engage with the stick when offered anywhere in the lower half of his cage. I moved the stick to enter at different upper locations. I maneuvered the stick to encourage a soft touch rather than a chomp.
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The clicker sound is the only audible training sound at this early stage of training.
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Timeline
Many weeks of in cage target training ensued. Most days he engaged with the target stick when offered at the upper parts of his cage. All his movements when moving from point a to b are never quick including moving towards the target stick. After the first day of training I removed the treat bowl and delivered his treats by hand as he showed no signs of fear or aggression towards my fingers. Shortly after that I felt comfortable to open the door and extend my hand into his cage to do light maintenance. When I had to replace toys or perches I did so when he was out of his cage to avoid any possibility of making him uncomfortable/
It took many weeks of repetition for him to be comfortable to follow the target stick and touch it at the bottom half of his cage and all the sides of the cage, I bought a special target stick with a ball on the end so he
he could learn to touch gently, this was successful right away. Early on I realized he understood what I wanted but was slow to respond. Most days he showed interest in training and interest in the walnut pieces as treats. The most notable thing that I have learned is that mentally he is a very smart quick learner but a very slow mover when it comes to making bodily movements. I do not detect any body ailments. Some prompts get faster action like learning new tricks other basic prompts are followed by delayed or slower action, perhaps this is a sign of boredom. He rarely speaks. He does have a repertoire of English words and sentences which are mimicked from his past, these are only revealed during out of cage training. He occasionally wags his tail. I read that as he is happy. He constantly rubs his beak on perches more than other bird I have known, He has his own vocalization sound (a dull click) to greet me in the morning and just before lights out at night. I copy his sound. It is now a necessary ritual to demark two times of the day. On the four or five times that I have had to towel him, he has not struggled, put up much of a fight or carried a grudge.
Many weeks of in cage target training ensued. Most days he engaged with the target stick when offered at the upper parts of his cage. All his movements when moving from point a to b are never quick including moving towards the target stick. After the first day of training I removed the treat bowl and delivered his treats by hand as he showed no signs of fear or aggression towards my fingers. Shortly after that I felt comfortable to open the door and extend my hand into his cage to do light maintenance. When I had to replace toys or perches I did so when he was out of his cage to avoid any possibility of making him uncomfortable/
It took many weeks of repetition for him to be comfortable to follow the target stick and touch it at the bottom half of his cage and all the sides of the cage, I bought a special target stick with a ball on the end so he
he could learn to touch gently, this was successful right away. Early on I realized he understood what I wanted but was slow to respond. Most days he showed interest in training and interest in the walnut pieces as treats. The most notable thing that I have learned is that mentally he is a very smart quick learner but a very slow mover when it comes to making bodily movements. I do not detect any body ailments. Some prompts get faster action like learning new tricks other basic prompts are followed by delayed or slower action, perhaps this is a sign of boredom. He rarely speaks. He does have a repertoire of English words and sentences which are mimicked from his past, these are only revealed during out of cage training. He occasionally wags his tail. I read that as he is happy. He constantly rubs his beak on perches more than other bird I have known, He has his own vocalization sound (a dull click) to greet me in the morning and just before lights out at night. I copy his sound. It is now a necessary ritual to demark two times of the day. On the four or five times that I have had to towel him, he has not struggled, put up much of a fight or carried a grudge.
When he got the follow the stick, don't chomp the stick touch it lightly and then a treat follows clicker training down pat, he was ready for the next phase. I needed to direct Gandolf to come out of his cage, not immediately climb to the top of his cage but onto a desired stationary perch mounted near the open cage door. breaking his many years long habit of travelling to the top of his cage when the door was open.
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Since he had the habit of spending most of his day on top of his cage and coming and going inside and outside at free will, I suspected that when I opened the door of his cage, he would make a bee line for the outside top of his cage and then it would be difficult to get him back inside, I as correct. This happened and I had to towel him to get him back inside, I had to be creative in ways to get him out of his cage and more important to be able to move him away from his cage and then direct him back inside the cage. This is where target training became invaluable. It took about six months, a lot of repeat ion and patience to redirect a behavior that he practiced for a least six years
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Gandolf has been with me a whole year now. I was his sole trainer for six months with the exception of Michele who helped trained him in February. I wanted him to be trainable by others, both men and women To understand that other people can also deliver "this new language" he has learned to enjoy and trust. Joe became a trainer here about six months ago
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Additional goal, separate Gandalf from the safety and proximity of his cage by moving him away from it on a parrot stand slowly increasing the distance over time but staying in the same room where he can still see his cage. I used one of my telescoping parrot travel stands. The one with a narrower plain tan wooden dowel worked best as long as there was zero movement in the dowl on the stand. He learned to trust stepping on to it. I target trained him to step on to the wooden dowl attached to the metal stand and ultimately to step back and forth on the dowl and target him back into his cage. j a forth on the dowl on the standbut ar first he would take the tret and go back inside his cage to eat it.
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Video. I train Gandolf daily if he is interested in coming out for training. Michele trains Gandolf when she is in town. Joe trains Gandolf twice a week on his days off. As a team we train the same way using the same prompts, inflections, timing etc. Joe sets up the travel perch near the door of his cage and clicker trains him unto the dowel on the adjustable travel perch. Joe then carries him outside on the travel perch and continues training him on the back porch or front porch. Gandolf is always asked to step up on Joes hand, arm, or stick he always polightly refuses. He encourages him to step up onto his hand and a handheld perch. Gandalf politely refuses. He is not pushed past his comfort level. They usually go for a walk around the property. Joe does a beak snug touch that Gandolf seems to like.
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Gandalf does a great deal of beak rubbing on his perch. Over time he has become more interested in socializing, learning tricks, exploring objects on a nearby table and engaging with toys than learning our basic goal for him to step up
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Visitors admiring Gandalf in all his glory with their eyes, smiles and gentle words focused on him. For Gandalf it is a lesson in socializing with human attention on him when he is out of his cage.
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Video Goal Achieved A rare occurrence. Gandalf on Joes arm. This has happened only once, early on when Joe jie and Aldo are experimenting with vocalizations and hand movements to get a response Joe does what I call a beek snug which Gandolf seems to like Joe goes fluttering hand movement and calls it dance. Gandalf seldom respondes.started.
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A video Gandalf trains with three different humans me, Michele and Joe. He seems to prefer Joe and sometimes exhibits sexual behavior towards Joes hand. He will put one-foot forward to touch Joes hand or arm but will not step up on to his hand or arm. He drops his wings and wags his tail. We discourage this sexual behavior by either putting him back in his cage or redirecting his behavior. Joe is able to redirect his behavior and continue training.
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A video Gandalf learning to lift each of his feet to grasp and release the target stack. I am continuing to use the clicker sound also integrating English spoken words when training by calling him by his name, using the words foot and beak to teach body parts and the word good synonymous with the clicker sound.
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Exploring new places and objects
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To invite him to come out of the cage I opened the door. I worried about him coming out and going to the top of his cage and me not being able to get him back inside. I rigged a stationary perch by his open cage door and target train him to step on to it and move out onto it by using a portable telescoping perch with a simple wooden perch attached to it
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Reevaluating The Original Goal of moving Gandalf in and out of his cage on hand or movable stick
a hand heldHe has achieved the goal of stepping up on a handheld stick only when he is out of his cage and only with Joe about five times during the span of six months. This is a recent photo of Gandalf going for a walk on a handheld perch by Joe.
Teaching Socialization
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Birthday celebration
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Birthday Celebration
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Teamwork helps when training Gandolf (Michele, Joe and Nancy take turns)
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Practice, Practice Practice "STEP UPS" on all perches whether handheld or not and on human hands
Try handheld perches of different lengths, different materials different textures different colors different circumferences including vet wrapped and held by the hands different people. More target training and trick training and out of cage socialization, Buy him a new
cage with a play top and allow him to play and spend time on top of cage making sure he will target train to go back inside cage when directed.
cage with a play top and allow him to play and spend time on top of cage making sure he will target train to go back inside cage when directed.