Rehomed 22 y/o African Grey

Hello All,

New here and like to introduce myself. Just rehomed a 22 y/o African Grey two weeks ago, his name is Henry. From what I gathered, I am now his third owner. He was originally purchased from a pet store and returned within the first couple years. Supposedly he first had a male owner and hated him. The second owner (female) from whom I just recently acquired Henry from had him for the last 20 years. She gave him up because she was tired, felt like Henry was being neglected, and wanted to give him to a younger owner. (Plus it sounds like he was being tormented by her adult son who did not like him.) This is where I enter although with me turning the big 4-0 next year, don't know if I'm so young anymore.

In the last couple of weeks, things have been going relatively well. Discovered he was on a all seed diet so he's transitioned to pellets. I offer fresh fruits and vegetables daily but it's hit and miss. He tolerates apples and bananas but really won't have anything to do with vegetables. He is incredibly phobic of any new thing really. He'll do a test nibble then turn his head. He loves pumpkin seeds...won't have anything to do with a nutriberry (which is sad because my almost one year old Conure will do anything for one).

He doesn't talk but makes lots of whistles and clucking noises. He adores head scratches and will bend his head endlessly for them. He prefers to stay on his cage and won't step up (instead he'll bend his head downward for scratches). I'm just really going at his own pace, trying to get him healthy and happy. I bought a new cage for him, have toys in there but he doesn't do a whole lot. Just sits on the cage door or on the top of the cage. My bird groomer says he needs more calcium in his diet so I've been putting ground up cuttle bone in his pellet dish.

I would love to hear your advice and thoughts on how to give my new birdie a really good life! Thank you!

I don’t know where you’re living, but if he’s low on calcium either daily visits outside in unfiltered sunlight or a birds UVB light bulb for a while everyday will help him with vitamin D3 and the absorption of any calcium you offer him - either through cuttlefish or calcium rich greens.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you so much for your advice! I don't quite know the symptoms of calcium deficiency but I can tell you he is unsteady on his feet when on my hand/arm. His left foot especially, his claws seem to lack tension and will easily fold when they should be grasping.

At this stage, without him knowing to step up, and us developing trust, I can't take him outside but will look into a bulb for sure.

Any advice on how to get him to eat greens. I even grow kale which is abundance in my garden right now! is appreciated. I have sat by his cage to eat it in front of him with exaggerated enthusiasm. I don't know if hanging it in his cage would interest him due to his phobia of new things. Maybe this is a situation that will only take time.

Thank you again.

Congratulations on Henry! Sounds like you are doing wonderful with him for calcium I have cuttle bones out and I give soft boiled quail eggs with the shell on. Over cooking the eggs change the chemical make up of them. The shell has minerals for calcium absorption.
I adopted a bird with similar behavior- mine has an old injury or birth defect with one of her toes- making her feel unbalanced so that’s why she doesn’t step up- this is the thought I have from observing her. I purchased a few rope perches and have them for her to climb on for when she feels comfortable enough to to go exploring (she also isn’t use to flying around :/) and have wood perches everywhere for her. So far her age space is on her cage.

Sometimes when they see you eating it they want to try it too! Playing videos of African greys eating that particular food while you give it to him. I also make little organic peanut butter (only ingredient is organic peanuts) balls with the foods they won’t try. I am going to be using almond butter next just because peanuts isn’t that great nutritionally.

Intelligent parrots, who have been neglected and stuck in the cage, often shut down. With attention, and care and positive reinforcement you will see so much change over the next year. It might be slow but yiu will see more and more confidence and desire to explore.

Congratulations!!!

Make some veggies and rice meal lije yiu woukd for yourself, and share it with him. Often bring warm and being something you can eat with them really gets them started. Or add cooked vegetables to pasta. Offer lots of things by hand to. The more things yiu get him to try the more confidence he will have to try more things, it really starts to snowball till they love exploring new veggies. For me leaving chunks spread out in big shallow dishes like casserole dish really gets tgrm exploring. Anything you eat that is safe hive him a tidbit, soon he will try more things.

Sounds like we have similar birbs and circumstances Like you, I have some rope perches of which he will need some time to explore. He climbs around the outside and inside of his cage like no other but seems to only perch on the wooden dowel. I've been exploring some perch alternatives to place throughout his cage to especially be kind to his feet. I've seen the NU perch which seems like it might be a good option to help exercise and balance the weight in his feet.

I wonder if regular soft boiled chicken eggs would do the same trick...Do you just put the hard boiled egg in his bowl or on the bottom of the cage?

Thank you Laurasea! That's what it seems, he has shut down. I know it's only been two weeks and will take time to come out of his shell. And he already has been trying new things so all these things are good. I look forward to this first year with him to see and document his growth.

I will offer him foods when I'm eating with him! Looks like I need more vegetables in my life too!! LOL

Keep exposing your bird to safe veggies--- eat them in front of your bird...Never share food if you have eaten off of a spoon and double-dipped back in (human saliva can kill them) but DO let them see you eating what you want them to eat.


It took mine a year to try raw spinach. You will waste a lot of food--- it's part of the process.



If you have a certified avian vet near you, I'd strongly advise a visit and blood work. Vitamin panels and a CBC can be very important in terms of knowing what is going on with them, as they hide illness as a means of self-preservation.

Another thing that I have found helpful--- talk about your household routine and use key phrases when you are about to move an object or something. For instance, "taking out the trash", "sweeping the floor", "emptying the dishwasher", "I'm going to move the chair" etc. This helps them build vocabulary and develop the ability to anticipate--when they can anticipate, they are somewhat less anxious because they know the names of objects and what to expect.

I had no idea human saliva could kill birds...it's no wonder my little conure is still alive! LOL I will stop that practice of refeeding immediately!

Ok well sounds like I need to model what I preach keep on eating my vegetables, especially in front of my birbs. Although it makes me sad to toss the amount of pellets and good food in the trash every evening, I figured it's part of the process. And not to mention all the toys I purchase that end up just hanging. Needless to say, birds can be expensive!!! But I will keep on trying and enjoy the process of learning my birbs that I love so much!

We have gram-negative bacteria in our saliva and they do not, so whenever you introduce that into their systems, you run a risk. It doesn't always harm them if they are healthy, but stress etc can easily wear them down to the point that you run a risk whenever you expose them...They also hide illness, so even a seemingly healthy bird can be vulnerable. You aren't the only person who makes this mistake, but I'm glad you know now


You also have to teach them to play with toys if they do not know. Sometimes, they just don't like a certain type of toy, but once you build trust, try modeling play with the toys and rewarding them for showing any interest (that may be attention, a treat...just depends on what your bird likes)...Also, remember that when you get a new toy (if your bird doesn't like change) to try and introduce it slowly (outside the cage). Maybe set the toy in the room about 8 feet away where they can see it. Then a few days later, move it a few feet closer...eventually, you can put it in the cage etc, but toys can scare them if they are high-strung, so things should be done gradually.

Welcome Galaxy_Girl!! Oh, you're still young at 4-0 and with good fortune Henry will escort you into truly old age!

Your instincts and cautions are spot-on, though Greys are in a league of their own. Highly intelligent, cautions, resistant to change, but capable of deeply bonding. I'd like to offer a superbly written overview of Greys from one of our senior members: http://www.parrotforums.com/congo-timneh-greys/59366-cag-101-a.html

Parrots carry "baggage" from previous homes, behaviors adapted for survival. You're still in the honeymoon phase at two weeks, expect further changes. Kudos for recognizing the woes of all-seed diet. If Henry has already transitioned to pellets, you've done remarkably well and are light-years ahead of the dietary curve!!

Phobic is perfect adjective for Greys, particularly with new foods. Try preparing three identical bowls of fresh veggies/fruits, aka "chop." Offer one each to Henry and your conure, begin eating from yours with gusto. Make "mmmm" sounds, bob your head in enjoyment. Parrots are flock eaters and you are part of the flock! Keep offering nutriberrys - Henry might dis them for years before taking a bite and enjoying.

I’m sure a regular egg is fine I break mine in half and just hand it to her! Quail eggs are significantly smaller. She initially was thrilled with the eggs! Now she’ll have a little then drop it - for later.
It does sound like our birds are very similar. She’s also an older bird. I got her a heated perch that she seems to really enjoy! I wrapped the perch with rope (some people use vet wrap) to give her more of a grip. When she did stopped using it I realized it stopped working so I’m wait for the company to send out another one.
I placed the perch slightly above another perch so she could stand beside it in case she just wanted to get warm.

For hormonal reasons, I would avoid giving full eggs. If Noodles gets eggs, it is bits of cooked egg (not the whole thing). The shape of an egg can be a trigger for parrots to start laying etc.

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

I have another article tgst talks about promoting choice, and natural behaviors. Using tge vertical space above cages, to make a little jungle gym if swings, rope hoopes and spirals. Letting them
choose if its bath day. I put out a big bowl every day so they can choose. Many parrots have had every choice taken away from tgem. So she talks about it being learned helplessness. If he can't fly, try to make bridges and ways fir him to choose movingly around more on his own.
https://blogpamelaclarkonline.com/tag/parrots-and-flight/

Thank you everyone for your advice!

Scott--With everyone's good advice, I'll have the good fortune beside Henry living to a ripe old age! LOL! Love the tip of preparing 3 bowls of identical food and all of us chowing down together! Appreciate the kuddos on transitioning him to pellets! The first week was a real nail-biter....he would throw all the pellets out of the bowl and attempt to pluck and throw the bowl as well. I really was wondering if he'd transition...then late at night with his cage covered, sure enough I heard the ol' familiar pellet crunch! You can only imagine how excited I was!

Laurasea-- Thank you so much for the article. This is especially relevant with Henry's age--he's not a spring chicken anymore and I believe anything forced at this point would serve a miserable existence for the two of us in the realm of relationship building.

I love learning and with having parrots there's always something to learn!

Welcome to you and Henry Galaxy Girl!

My Grey Smokey (rip Smokes) had a calcium deficency once. (before I knew what to look for). She acted drunk,would fall over and stumble about. As soon as I saw this I took her to my CAV and he diagnosed this..gave her a shot and all was fine within minutes.So he gave me a bottle of liquid calcium where I added a table spoon to eight oz of water daily..added a cuttlebone to chew on,when I'd cook scrambled egg's she would get a smidgen then I'd crush the shells up finely and add to her food..never had a problem afterwards.

As far as eating new food's..I had bought her from a pet store that just fed her seed She would run and hide and cower at new foods (until she saw Amy eat them) It took a while but after she would eat or at least try anyting,especially if I was eating it! Try a chicken leg bone (calcium in the marrow) she loved banana..corn, especially on the cob..small piece of cheese (more calcium)


Jim

As one of our Grey experts said in another thread about new Greys in a new home " accept THEIR boundaries, and gradually expand them, getting them to accept more and more." God luck with Henry!

noodles123 said:

Another thing that I have found helpful--- talk about your household routine and use key phrases when you are about to move an object or something. For instance, "taking out the trash", "sweeping the floor", "emptying the dishwasher", "I'm going to move the chair" etc. This helps them build vocabulary and develop the ability to anticipate--when they can anticipate, they are somewhat less anxious because they know the names of objects and what to expect.

Click to expand...

I do this too and she definitely acts differently for each task. She loves when i do the dishes as she sits on my shoulder making all the clanging pan and glass chinking sounds. When I brush the floor...many times a day!, she just wants to attack me, in a nice way