New here and to parrots!

Hi everyone, my name is Megan and I recently obtained an almost 2 year old Congo African Grey named Norton. So far he likes us, but doesn't love us! I cared for him when his owners were on vacation and he regurgitated for me (at the time I didn't understand what that meant). When the owners returned from vacation they decided they didn't have time for him anymore, and offered him to me since they knew he liked me. He gets to come out of his cage every day, and has started talking a bit more than when we first got him, but I feel like he still doesn't trust us and I'm not sure what I can do to earn his trust. I want to be able to cut his nails and clip his wings without taking him to the vet each time and stressing him out so much, but I need help! He lets me pet and scratch his head and neck, but doesn't like me touching his wings or back at all. I would like to be able to eventually take him outside with a flight harness (I know this is far in the future, but I think he would enjoy being able to travel again as his last owners took him all over when he was little). Any tips or suggestions are greatly appreciated! Oh, and also, they never fed him anything other than his pellet diet, and I'd like him to enjoy some fruits and veggies, but he doesn't seem interested?

-Megan

Wow! Congrats and lucky for him that he found you....there are lots of Gray Lovers on here who are full of knowledge. Your in the right place!

First and foremost, welcome and congrats!!

Now... the fact that he regurgitated for you speaks volumes! Neither of mine have ever done that, and I know that Sugar absolutely adores me over anyone else. So don't count yourself short in the "love" department.

Trust takes time. It doesn't happen overnight, you can't force it, all you can really do is keeping showing Norton that he can trust you, and eventually he will. In regards to nail and wing trimmings, maybe see if there's a local bird specific shop that give complimentary grooming? We try really hard not to do the grooming (nails and wing) so that someone else can be the "bad guy". It may always stress him out, my mom's B&G still freaks out over grooming time.

Him not letting you touch certain parts of him may just be his preference. I'm ticklish, but I hate being tickled. That's just a personal preference. Loki hates having his underwings or tail touched but pretty much everywhere else is fair game. Some birds don't care for a harness no matter how hard you try, so be prepared for that. There are backpack-style bird carriers you can get for traveling, I have one and take my guys on hikes and such whenever the weather permits.

Persistence is the only thing that is going to pay off in regards to fresh foods. You're not alone in that, lots of people here have or are having issues with getting their fids to eat fresh things, myself included.

Good luck!

Congrats and welcome!!! Sounds like you are doing great, things come with time. I have hand fed baby linnies and are still scared of hands but everyday we make a little progress everyday. I have got them to step up and can now pet their beaks with my finger. A month ago I would of thought that was so far from happening. Trust is so important to these birds and totally know what you mean when you say they love/ don't love you, depends on the day lol

Its his choice. Just give him everything you can.

Hi, and welcome to the forums...

It sounds like you've only had this bird for a little while? How long?

It can take weeks, months even years for a parrot to bond to a new family...

You should only scratch the bird's head and neck, not pat down the back or under wings... it seems like a sexual gesture to them...

Regurgitation is also a mating gesture, so you wouldn't want to encourage that.

To feed fruit and vegies: Take out his seed/pellets in the evening... then put in 1 of each fruit and vegetable in the morning... Mark on a chart, what he does chew on... Same the next morning with 2 different items.. Repeat...

Give his normal foods in the evenings, but remove before bedtime...

Trust and love takes time, so be patiance with him. Regarding veg and fruit, just give him soner or later he will eat. You can eat fruit and veg in front of him. That normaly trigger a perrot

Greys are not a touchy feely bird. Head and neck are ok but not the rest of it. Go slowly and let him let you know when he is ready to get to know you. Greys like to bow their head for scratches. Norton may be more interested in the foods if you sit down with him and let him eat from your plate. Let him also see you eat the same food.

Like Spiritbird said, not all CAGS are touchy feely! Mine like their head scratches but that's about it (I've only had them since feburary.) Also let him see you trying the fruits and vegetables, he may begin to be interested.

Birds are hungriest in the morning, so you could try Lene's suggestion, but I would do it in the AM and not the evening.

Spiritbird said:

Norton may be more interested in the foods if you sit down with him and let him eat from your plate. Let him also see you eat the same food.

Click to expand...

I second this 1000000 times over. My GCC Chia will eat EVERYTHING. Not because I was pushy with her but because I would have her with me whenever I ate, eventually she got curious and would give things a try and now the problem is getting her to NOT eat everything I do........... like doritos:54:

Thanks for the tips everyone! We've had Norton for a few months now, and he has only regurgitated twice...once when I was pet sitting, and once since then after I was away for a few days and my hubby was watching him while I was away.

Also, on a side note, how can you tell if their beak needs to be trimmed? The last few days I've noticed it looks a bit longer than usual, but I really don't have anything to compare it to?

The reason I mentioned him not letting me pet his back or wings is because his past owner told me he loved being petted all over, and they could handle him, stretch his wings out, trim his nails etc without toweling and he would just lay still for them on his back. What things should I be doing to get him used to me?

I also read you shouldn't let parrots perch on your shoulder because of height being part of a dominance thing, is this true?

It's not safe especially if you are starting from scratch. Shouldering gives the bird height so if someone upsets it or it gets spooked, or even just because Grays especially are known to be temperamental....your face, ears -OUCH! Basic training and best practice for a bird is to keep them on the arm. Shouldering is not recommended. Even hand fed Grays or any species...it's better to be safe then sorry.

I developed my product partly because I can't pick up Greybeard, can't see him on my shoulder, and don't like poo down the back.

My birds get the privilege of being on my shoulder if they don't bite... I have had parrots for many years, and only had one aggressive GCC, who I clicker trained over a period of a couple of months, and after that he got the privilege, too...

Rosie is on my shoulder once in a while. As far as what you can do to get him used to you. Play with him some like the game peek a boo. Be near him and read stories so he will hear you voice. Act very silly, jump up and down, laugh. Birds love crazy guardians. They say now the height dominance thing is an old wives tale. Birds naturally love to be up high. They do not dominate what is below. Do you have a parrot stand for the bird? This way he can be out with you on a safe perch. Also, a shower perch so you can take showers with him. OH don't forget to sing in the shower.

Sorry I haven't responded recently! We just bought a house, so things have been crazy!!

Spiritbird said:

Rosie is on my shoulder once in a while. As far as what you can do to get him used to you. Play with him some like the game peek a boo. Be near him and read stories so he will hear you voice. Act very silly, jump up and down, laugh. Birds love crazy guardians. They say now the height dominance thing is an old wives tale. Birds naturally love to be up high. They do not dominate what is below. Do you have a parrot stand for the bird? This way he can be out with you on a safe perch. Also, a shower perch so you can take showers with him. OH don't forget to sing in the shower.

Click to expand...

I thought about getting a shower perch for him, but I'm a bit nervous he's going to get startled and hurt himself falling in the tub?


I feel like a bad mama, but lately he's been out of his cage all day and night after we get home from work, sitting on his perch, and we've gotten so used to it, I left the room tonight to give my hubby a hair cut, didn't even THINK to bring him with me or to put him back in his cage, and he flew/glided off his perch to get to me! Our one dog started barking so I went out to see what was going on, and there's Norton waddling across the floor towards me, and one dog on the sofa seeming to cheer him on, the other one a few paces away from him sounding the alarm! Our dogs wouldn't hurt a fly, but I know animals can get excited and harm something in the name of playing, so I'm glad our larger dog was smart enough to steer clear of him!!

I know it will take time, but any more tips on making him feel more comfortable with me in case something startles him? He used to be terrified of the vacuum but we started vacuuming every day, but we would do it in another room, then gradually throughout the week we moved closer until he was calm with it in the same room and even right up next to his cage. I know from his previous owners that he was taken all kinds of places when he was younger, and should be used to traveling, and normal household routines as well as going on outings on shoulders, but I feel like he doesn't trust me enough to want to be near me when he's nervous, rather than fly away from me...sorry for the rambling!

*Both of our dogs have been raised around many small animals, and we do NOT make it a habit to leave them alone together unattended!! I don't want it to sound like this is the case!*