Quote: Originally Posted by
Melissa2019
Hi I have recently taken on an African grey that is around 10 years old, he has never had much interaction before we got him, he did not speak or make any sounds but this has improved since coming to us, the problem we have is he cannot be handled at all, we struggle to clean his cage, water etc as he gets defensive and attack’s, he dive bombs us causing harm with claws and beak, even if we try to talk to him or get him to go back into his cage he will run on the top smashing his toys about puffed up, I no there is a sweet parrot under all this anger and fear and I’m just looking for advice on how we can try to let him see he can trust us, he will climb into the cage to give my husband a kiss through the bars and even put his head down for a kiss in the cage but outside he would just attack, any suggestions you have would be much appreciated, thanks in advance!!
Give him time and please DON’T clip his wings. It’ll make things worse. He’s in a new environment and has to settle. If he doesn’t want to be handled don’t push it for now. He needs to adapt to his new home, sounds, food and so on. What are you feeding him? Give him fresh foods, cooked and raw vegetables- NO avocados, fruit, cooked pasta, cooked lentils, chickpeas, legumes. Healthy food helps.
He’s defending his cage. That’s why he behaves like that. What you can also do is play classical music. It soothes many tempers. This may help calm him down. Greys are highly intelligent. He’s scared and needs time to adjust. Take your time with him-it’ll be worth it.