Baby African Grey... Need some advice

Laurasea said:

As they grow and their minds develop, they are less satisfied by being alone.

Hopefully with this new thread you get more responses
Love to see a pic of your baby !!

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itzjbean said:

Beautiful baby!

Your baby will need to learn to be independent when you cannot be with him! Does his/her cage have a plays and on top or do you have a separate java tree stand?

I would recommend you get one if you don't have an area outside of the cage for parrot playtime and set it up and begin training your grey to stay on the stand for alone time. You must teach your bird to be independent and play on its own, or it will be a terror once you have to leave the house and go anywhere without it. So you must teach him that independent play time is necessary and okay. Leave the room for 10 minute period after getting her put on the stand/on top of the cage and begin leaving her for a fw minutes at a time, and giving her a treat once you are back. Time on the play stand alone and if I'm quiet means I get treats, yum! It will be a learning process but must be done to teach a parrot to not be so dependent on you.

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Laurasea said:

Awww such a cutie!
How is his weight tracking?
Weaning and just after weaning, is an important time in a burds life,
They need coaching and guidance, and calm confident exposure to lots of new foods, people and activity, it’s kinda a time when they need a little e tea social contact to.

HELP show him how to interact with toys and foraging, and praise and reinforce those good behaviors..

There are a lot of articles on weaning since it’s such a big milestone in a parrots life.

If he is getting bored you’re gonna have to get creative and see what sorts of things interest him. Set up good routine.

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Laurasea said:

Reem12,
I do understand what you are saying , that your baby African Grey used to be content in the cage, played with toys, and entering himself. Now he does not. He wants to be with you and out of the cage. You see this as dependent. I see this as a parrot who might need more time out if the cage, ways to burn off physical energy, an teaching how to forage ( much harder since you are still weaning )

We have several African Grey owners on this forum, I wish they would post in your thread...

“‘African grey parrots are uncommonly intelligent. In fact, bringing one into your home can often feel like you’re bringing a new human into the mix! Some research shows that African grey parrots operate at the cognitive level of a six-year-old human! This news may be exciting if you’re looking for a bird that will be a true companion and mind match! However, it’s important to know that owning an African grey can be overwhelming if you’ve never owned a bird before. In fact, African grey parrots are not typically recommended for people with particularly busy lifestyles.”

This is agreeat article, and might help, creating a routine, pattern to music. On the part on clicker training, I don’t need a clicker , I can shape behavior and say good birdie as the “ bridge” between treats, it works the same

https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/stress-reduction-for-parrot-companions/

Try and have training, interact, show puzzle toys and show how they work. Then try having cage time near when he would nap, play soothing music low volume.. or set up the cage to have the most favorite type of food waiting fir him..

Also look to ways to incorporate him with your daily activity. I use a perch stand that I can move around the house and have birdds near while I do stuff, but not have to have them on me.

Parrots are not easy pets, they are smart, social, and active... and they are not good st entertaining themselves inside the cage for hours... we have to work hard at ways to keep them busy and stimulate in the cage, and work hard to have them out of the cage most of the time and part of our daily lives.


I use the cage for when I leave the house, fir brief safety reasons and for sleep, the rest of he time they are out.. I do cage them fir an hour during the day, I time it fir their after bath or nap time, and they always have a treat worked into something to shred or chew up.

How much time are you aiming for to have him caged?

Is there a way to have a small outdoor aviary that is shaded and secure ?? That he could spend some time outside each day? Safe from snakes or predators, safe from theft, safe from escaping, sbd safe from the elements? Or a patio or balcony that is safe to move his cage to fir an hour a day? It’s a possible help, and he would enjoy it.

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Gemster said:

When you are talking about toys, what do you mean exactly?
Some people call a plastic chain a toy. While birds may play with it at times, it does not give them the satisfaction of destruction. Make sure you have different types of wood which include balsa, sola, pine, bamboo etc. Balsa and sola allow your bird to easily tear apart the wood, that is great considering that your bird is not interested in toys at the moment. Since they are so soft, you could stuff it with nuts and seeds to entice your AG. Woven toys are also great for a destructible foraging.
Have you tried any puzzle forging toys?
If you do catch him tearing up a toy, like Laurasea mentioned, give him a treat or reinforce it some other way.

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Laurasea said:

Sounds like you are trying all the things that work.
Hopefully you can get him past this phase,
And I feel like we had a post like this last year.. tge scratching on the bottom of the cage, can’t remember what people suggested then...

All I can think is keep postive reinforcement with cage time, maybe try a few short cage times, then slowly length the time? I did that when I wanted my burds to be able to have an hour cage time during the afternoon. I tried to have good treat then hit them back out before in my case screaming, trying to build on a positive habit..

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