Please help me learn. Adopting second hand African grey parrot.

Hi- I am adopting a 10 year old CAG from a family who with two young toddlers have made the painful decision to do what they think is best for the bird and rehome it to me who can spend more time with it.
I need input and information from you knowledgable grey people on what I should be doing the first day and week(s) the grey is with us. Do I keep it covered, half covered a few days? Do I immediately spend time with it or leave it alone? Do I try getting it out of its cage and when? Please give me your thought!! Any help is deeply appreciated

I have a timneh grey. Before i start i wanted to say good luck and congrats! Some tips are to little bit little talk to to him more and moe each day. Sit by his cage and talk to him with the door open. Start feeding him treats from the hand so he gets used to your hands. Im not gonna lie, he will bite. All birds bite. No matter what they will bite. It can go from a balancing grasp on your hand to a defencful harsh pericing painful bite which is rare. They dont mean to bite. They might go to mouth you which isnt bad. They just use therr tounge to get used to you. I also reccomend getting closer and closer each day. Start offering scratches behind his neck once hes much moe settled in. They are very territorial birds so he might not come out on you hand out of his cage. I normally open the cage and let him out on his own. They offer your hand and show him you are safe. He might step up, might nip, my threathen to bite you or might sit there and be confused. I also like you get a perch to get him to step up to train him. My grey is just 6 months old and had never bitten me once. He nibbles on my ears but he prunes them if that makes sense. I never got bit by a grey and i am 13 and have been handling large parrots since age 9. I only was bitten 2 time by a cockatoo and amazom on purpose. Ive gotten nipped many tips but it didnt hurt one bit. But with my baby he hasnt laid his beak on my hand or anything once. I cover mines cage over ith a old bed sheet at night incase of drafts and it puts him to sleep and so there is no distractions. I reccomend you doing this if it is chilly or drafty wherever the bird is. Also let it settle in for as long a it takes but no longer then a week. even if it isnt fully settled in still hang out with it. But everyday sit by it and talk to it for about a minimum of 15 minutes. Enjoy your new bird!

Hi and welcome to the forum. There are lots of people here that can help you with your questions. You can also get lots of info from previous posts. All I can say is give him time to adjust. Dont put to much on him at first. Offer treats and scritches but if he isnt ready just try again later. Ask questioms when ya need help/ Thank you for adopting and giving this gut a new home.

What happened with the baby? Are you gonna get both?

birdlover74 said:

Hi- I am adopting a 10 year old CAG from a family who with two young toddlers have made the painful decision to do what they think is best for the bird and rehome it to me who can spend more time with it.
I need input and information from you knowledgable grey people on what I should be doing the first day and week(s) the grey is with us. Do I keep it covered, half covered a few days? Do I immediately spend time with it or leave it alone? Do I try getting it out of its cage and when? Please give me your thought!! Any help is deeply appreciated

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You get your cue from the bird...

The big question is how much was this guy handled? If he was handled at least a little bit daily, it's probably going to make getting used to you easier. These parrots are exceedingly intelligent and social.

Some things to look for in his behavior is how he looks at you. Is the neck stretched out and head cocked looking at you with one eye? If so, this is "friendship" behavior. Being 10 years old, he may "beak" your finger, by grabbing it firmly to test how secure it is for him to "step up." Hopefully, he know's the "step up" command. Does he bend his head forward with feathers fluffed up for you to gently scritch(scratch) his neck? They like their feathers ruffled in the opposite direction to the way they grow and gently rubbed between your fingers. Sometimes they like you to scratch under the chin. The final thing is if he'll take a peanut (shelled) or almond from you. That's also a good way to "bribe" him. Good luck. It sounds like he'll have a good home.

How is he doing? I see this post was in June ... Is he adjusting well to you and you to him ?