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I recently got a young citron, it is about 8 months old. i know she is pretty young but is that too young? Also she still makes that baby kind of dragged on qiuet screeching with the head bobbing, but it is only when it gets closer to bed time, is there anything i should be doing i might not be to confort her, it is only her fourth day in a new home. also she paces and stresses a bit when i put her in her cage, do i ignore this behavior or try and work it out with her? other than that she is a joy to keep. She is lively and eating well. I hope these questions aren't a bit silly i just cant find much info on the topic of properly raising and socializing citrons? thank you very much for reading my post.
-Jon

Hi Jon:

You might try giving her a bit of warm soft food just before bed and get into a routine so she knows what to expect.

Now is the time to teach her how to be independent but you cannot give her too much attention as long as it is the right kind of attention. Teach her how to play independently, teach her that she doesn't need to be glued to your body 24/7. Alot of people cuddle their birds too much when they get them and all that does is create a clingy cockatoo and trust me, it will get old when the novelty wears off. I would start teaching her a contact call that is acceptable instead of the ear piercing cockatoo scream that so many people inadvertently teach their Toos. Get her used to different things/people. Have them offer her favourite treats.

Your one goal is to set her up to succeed and you can do that by only using positive reinforcement.

Bev

thanks bev, appreciate the help. i am trying to teach her to be independent by just showing her new toys and things to chew, i think thats how right. how do you set a contact call? is their a training technique ? and i would like to start training, how long should i let her get settled before i start taking her on outings and stuff? i'll try the warm foods thing thank you.

-Jon

Jon, Barb Heidenreich has 3 DVDs on training your bird using positive reinforcement. Go to her web site and get the DVDs. She also has some free downloads and you can subscribe to her magazine. If you follow what she teaches, you can't go wrong. I think the DVDs are about $20 each. Her web site is www.goodbirdinc.com

Another excellent site is Sid Price who is at www.avianambassadors.com

If that's wrong, let me know and I'll get the right web addy.

Parrots keep in touch with each other by calling out. In homes, this gets out of control because people don't acknowledge this call. When I go into another room, I sometimes will talk to my birds so they know where I am or I sing so they know where I am. Because I do this, their contact calls do not escalate into yelling/screaming.

My first cockatoo was a citron. She was given to me when she was 3 & 1/'2 years old. She died 2 years later from ingesting plastic from a toy. Sugar changed my life. I still miss her and she died in 2000.

Jon, you will get out of this bird what you put into her. Set her up to succeed. Only use positive reinforcement. I've written some articles on it and would be happy to share them with you.

Bev