urgent help needed baby african grey

help needed baby grey (now tamed)

hello to all members my first post on the forum,
i have owned many types of birds over the years from budgies,
canary, to large parrots i never usualy have problems with parrots,
as i have had some of them from 6 weeks old and always they are very playfull,
but now i bought an african grey 5 months old since 36 hours ago,
taken from his mother, when he came out his nest he started eating by
himself, so the owner said he should be ok with me,

but problems from the start, i was shocked because he is terrified since
i put him in his cage, he screams in terror when i go near him, and he hasn,t eaten anything at all
try to give him a piece of bannana or other soft food, also i put food in his tray.
but he wont touch it as it seemes to think im trying to hurt him and my
family cannot go near him because of his screams, when we are far away
from him he is quiet, but any sudden movements he is petrified and climbes
up to the corner of the cage trembling with fear.
sad story but my kids are heartbroken that he wont eat and might die of hunger, i tried for a few hours
to talk gently but he wont have it.

im very worried he might have a heart attack or something.

long story but it never happened to a bird i owned before and i would
very much appreciate any suggestions

Well if he was parent raised without socialization and was just taken from his mother of cource he is going to be afraid of everything. He hasn't seen those things before. Has he had any socialization? Did the people you got him from ever play with him or feed him or do anything with him?
And you cant take a bird from his parents and the same day expect him to be okay with it. He has to have time to adjust. They aren't good breeders if they sell you a bird right out of the nest. They needed to introduce him to things slowly.

well i dont think the people who had him did anything at all, as
he was in a largr cage with his mother,father and sister,
i think the people dindnt even talk to him, or try to tame him,
as they didnt have time because the have lots of other birds
and animals,
so it looks like its going to be a long time taming.
but i worried about him not eating or even drinking water.

im not willing to take him back, they probably wont take him anyway.

Since he's in a new place, he may be eating and drinking when you're not in the room.

Leave him alone in the cage and alone in a room and he will eat when he gets hungry. Don't overwhelm him, give him time to adjust. And may I ask why you went for a "wild" bird in the first place?

i wouldnt think hes wild is he ?
he was reared at home, and was ok in the nest with mother,
not in a jungle or anything, thats why i was supprised
and as you said before the people who reared him probably
never gave him attension.,
it wont be easy, to tame him but ill keep this topic updated on his
i would apprieciate more suggestions, thanks for your time.

whoa, my son just fed him some egg with his hand, and water from a syringe,
looks like a breakthrough, he was still screaming though.
i will keep updating the post.

If he was raised by his parents(birds) with no interaction from humans then he is basically wild, not knowing about hands, people, toys or other objects...

cdog said:

Leave him alone in the cage and alone in a room and he will eat when he gets hungry. Don't overwhelm him, give him time to adjust. And may I ask why you went for a "wild" bird in the first place?

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I totaly agrea, leve him alone until he eat and drink,

It is not a problem that he is "wild", as soon as he trust you and adapted to the new home he will bond and be a great perrot.

Just take it slowly forward

Good luck

Happy you chose us. We can help you. Yes, this will take a long time. Try sitting at a table with hiim and a bowl of thin warm oatmeal (no milk or sugar) but you can add a little Cinnamon. Ok to feed from a spoon once he gets used to seeing the spoon. Let him see you eat it too. Later on add some small pieces of fruit, grapes, berries, apples to the oatmeal. You will most likely be wasting food until he learns to eat this way. Then start adding veggies such as peas, carrots, sweet potato. You may need to cook them a little bit at first. Give him some small pieces of Kale as it it very good for him. You will be setting the foods he likes at this young age. Soft sweet potato is also nutritious. Squashes also. Can you find pellets for you bird? Start out by placing them in the cage in a bowl. He may not go for them right away but Harrisons High Potency is good for greys. They need lots of calcium. Cooked egg, small portions of yogurt, cooked chicken will add protein. Keep this up and he will eventually be used to this diet and the food coming from you instead of his parents. Greys to not enjoy a cuddle but please handle him several times a day out of the cage. You should bird proof you home also. Something you can read about on the internet. You should have no telfon in your home, no room sprays, no candles, no self cleaning ovens. No avocado, apple seeds, peanuts of any kind, chocolate, alcohol, salty foods, sugar. Here is a link for you to study and please come back to us for more questions. You will be training him to step up when he gets used to your hands. Welcome to Africangreys.com

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15+1912&aid=3110 Suggest very llittle seed be fed. It is like feeding french fries. Volkman's hookbill seed has no sunflower seeds or peanuts. sunflower seeds make them fat.

thanks spiritbird, im working on it,
he,s nibbling small bits of food from my hand but not from his tray.
and thats a wonderfull sign (to eat from my hand) and im ingecting water
to him with a small syringe. but he.s still terrified though,
and thanks for the fast replys.

It sounds like you are doing a great job with your new baby! I think with a lot of patience and time you will have a FOREVER friend!!!!! Good luck!

I wish you the best. I think your baby will get used to you quicker than you think. This is just all brand new. It would be like dropping us into a foreign country or something with no interpreter in the middle a village. Most of us would be lost with no idea who to trust or what to do.

Is he 5 weeks old or did you mean to say 5 months old. you could also put some extra food and shallow water dish in the bottom of his cage un til he is using his regular dishes. Do you know what the previous owners were feeding him. Alison and sweetie pie

hi again everyone just to mention, he,s 5 months old.
and for some of the questions,
i made some research on the guy i bought the bird from, and it
seems the man is a total idiot ! i found out that as soon as he was
going to sell it to me he clipped the birds wings !!
that might explain why he is partly terrified also from other people
he only reares birds but knows nothing about them.

so just a couple of pics,
here he is as you know, still growing feathers, and you can see where
his wings were clipped.

and the second pic he,s keeping fit climbing.

I can't really tell from the pictures, but is that rust forming on the cage bars or is it just dirty? I would suggest in getting him a bigger better cage....He'll be handsome after some TLC.

MikeyTN said:

I can't really tell from the pictures, but is that rust forming on the cage bars or is it just dirty? I would suggest in getting him a bigger better cage....He'll be handsome after some TLC.

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no its not rust, and i cleaned the cage thoroughly as its an old one,
i once kept a blue headed amazon in there' which was brilliant and clever
named freddy, he used to shout out my sons name johnny so loud you could
hear him the othe side of the village i live in, but sadly died olny after
4 years old from bird flu, and also my beloved 22 year old timneh died at
that time, along with some canarys, the vets said it was from bird flue.
oh and the cage is 4 foot tall, big enough i think.

Could you please post a picture of the full cage? I have a vision of what the cage looks like from looking at part of the design of the cage but need a picture to confirm. If its the cage I'm thinking of, it ised to be very popular and I still see them often....

MikeyTN said:

Could you please post a picture of the full cage? I have a vision of what the cage looks like from looking at part of the design of the cage but need a picture to confirm. If its the cage I'm thinking of, it ised to be very popular and I still see them often....

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yes here is the cage, as i said, its old, but kept very clean.

thanks the the advice MickeysMum i appreciate it i am trying what you said,
did i mention that even though hes afraid, he now only takes food from my hand,
and hes afraid to take from his tray? i think thats a large step forward after only
two days, but then so he might be taking from my hand thinking im forcing him,
anyway it might tame him quicker, and the best of all he doesnt bite.
i put his cage near the t.v. and at first he was terrified at the people moving but
after a while he got used to it, so he might become a soap show addict.
also when i put him outside, i have a few budgies and canarys that might give him
the incentive to start chirping (like a canary heh heh )

i must add that im overwhelmed by the support from members on this lovely forom.

I had a Grey that imitated a canary. They both belonged to my grandparents. I inherited the Grey.