Squeekmouse
Well-known member
Hi Folks,
I've got a few books on African Greys and I've done a ton of research and reading through these forums. And yet Trigger doesn't fail to mystify me in many ways... sometimes he seems as different from Yoda as a hurricane is to a breeze.
So anyway, here's a bunch of questions that I hope some of you can help me with.
1. He's 9 months old now. He's been mimicking and talking for about 3 months. He also mimicks Yoda's screaming for attention. I love the former, but the latter drives us nuts. Any suggestions for how to let Trigger know that screaming won't help him any more than it does Yoda? Is it normal for him to be such a good talker already?
2. The breeder said his parents were larger than most Greys, his older brother was 525 grams last I heard, and his older sister was 516 grams. Trigger started out with us about 450, eventually hitting 500 then dropping down to 480 as he got better at flying. Since then he's been slowly and steadily gaining weight. He's 512 this morning. He is fully flighted and flies around the house every day. I feed him Harrison's Adult Lifetime Coarse pellets three times a day, along with peas, corn and fruit for breakfast, and a chop of at least 6 veggies for lunch and dinner. He gets almond slivers and sunflower seeds as treats, in moderation. At what point should I start to worry about his weight getting too high?
3. When we first brought him home, he was nervous around strangers and new experiences, but handled it well. He'd calm down within a few minutes and tolerate new people being nearby, but moved away if they tried to touch him. Nowadays, he flies and hides up on the balcony over the living room, avoiding unknown people or objects. He won't stand being in the same room with a stranger and shivers and breathes hard till they leave. The only people besides me and my husband he will tolerate are my husband's parents whom he has met a few times. He's pretty accepting of them. He loathes the vet, growling, flailing, biting and fighting for all his worth to avoid when the vet tries to approach him. It breaks my heart to see him so upset. It's not the towel that scares him, he is fine with towels when we are home. It's the stranger he is terrified of. Is this normal? Is this ok? Is there anything I can do to help him deal with new people better? SHOULD I?
4. What will I do if/when my husband and I need to travel? Mom is willing to come around and feed and care for them, but she refuses to try getting him out of his cage because she'd never be able to catch him again. I've heard horror stories about birds (especially greys) who are emotionally scarred for life after being boarded by a parrot boarding service. I would never forgive myself if Trigger started plucking or worse...
5. He leaves down feathers all over, but hasn't lost any longer feathers yet. I don't see any pinfeathers either, but they'd be hard to see with his light coloring maybe. Will he molt like Yoda did around 8 months? Do Greys go through regular moltings like conures?
That's all for now. Thanks for any help!
I've got a few books on African Greys and I've done a ton of research and reading through these forums. And yet Trigger doesn't fail to mystify me in many ways... sometimes he seems as different from Yoda as a hurricane is to a breeze.
So anyway, here's a bunch of questions that I hope some of you can help me with.
1. He's 9 months old now. He's been mimicking and talking for about 3 months. He also mimicks Yoda's screaming for attention. I love the former, but the latter drives us nuts. Any suggestions for how to let Trigger know that screaming won't help him any more than it does Yoda? Is it normal for him to be such a good talker already?
2. The breeder said his parents were larger than most Greys, his older brother was 525 grams last I heard, and his older sister was 516 grams. Trigger started out with us about 450, eventually hitting 500 then dropping down to 480 as he got better at flying. Since then he's been slowly and steadily gaining weight. He's 512 this morning. He is fully flighted and flies around the house every day. I feed him Harrison's Adult Lifetime Coarse pellets three times a day, along with peas, corn and fruit for breakfast, and a chop of at least 6 veggies for lunch and dinner. He gets almond slivers and sunflower seeds as treats, in moderation. At what point should I start to worry about his weight getting too high?
3. When we first brought him home, he was nervous around strangers and new experiences, but handled it well. He'd calm down within a few minutes and tolerate new people being nearby, but moved away if they tried to touch him. Nowadays, he flies and hides up on the balcony over the living room, avoiding unknown people or objects. He won't stand being in the same room with a stranger and shivers and breathes hard till they leave. The only people besides me and my husband he will tolerate are my husband's parents whom he has met a few times. He's pretty accepting of them. He loathes the vet, growling, flailing, biting and fighting for all his worth to avoid when the vet tries to approach him. It breaks my heart to see him so upset. It's not the towel that scares him, he is fine with towels when we are home. It's the stranger he is terrified of. Is this normal? Is this ok? Is there anything I can do to help him deal with new people better? SHOULD I?
4. What will I do if/when my husband and I need to travel? Mom is willing to come around and feed and care for them, but she refuses to try getting him out of his cage because she'd never be able to catch him again. I've heard horror stories about birds (especially greys) who are emotionally scarred for life after being boarded by a parrot boarding service. I would never forgive myself if Trigger started plucking or worse...
5. He leaves down feathers all over, but hasn't lost any longer feathers yet. I don't see any pinfeathers either, but they'd be hard to see with his light coloring maybe. Will he molt like Yoda did around 8 months? Do Greys go through regular moltings like conures?
That's all for now. Thanks for any help!