A possible new addition?

[stlbirdgirl]

Hey guys. I just posted my introduction over in the new members forum. I have a few questions about an African Grey that I might be adding to my family though. I met this bird Tuesday. One of my SO's friends from growing up just recently moved into his parent's old house which is really close to us so we went over there. I didn't know until we got there that he had birds. Apparently his parents left their CAG and cockatiel in the house when they moved. I heard the tiel making noise in the basement so of course I got curious and asked to see them. He told me that they are both around twelve years old and warned me that the grey was mean and would not let me get her out of the cage. I guess neither bird has been out of their cage much. The CAG's cage is WAY too small. To give you an idea I would say that the tiels cage is good for a tiel but might be a little small (although I tend to go overboard on my cage sizes) the CAG's cage is only slighter bigger than the one the tiel is in though so it is definitely too small.

Anyway, after about fifteen minutes of letting her get used to me she came out of her cage and basically started cuddling with me. Brian is a cop and was telling us that he really doesn't feel he has the time to take care of the birds and he asked me to take her home. I would love to do that but I have a few questions for you Grey owners out there first.

1) I have a two year old. I know that I have always heard that greys can be pretty phobic and I know that being basically cage bound for her entire life will make socializing her properly a problem. Do greys normally do well with little kids? I would hate to get her and then find that Liam is a big problem for her.
2) If I do decide to bring her home I know the first thing I will have to do (well other than taking her to my avian vet) is get her a larger cage. Would it be better if I brought her current cage over too and let her decide when to move into the bigger cage? I don't want to force her into things too fast.
3) Her current diet is just like a cheap walmart blend. I know that needs to be switched too (my other birds get Harrisons). I'm thinking that might be better to switch slowly too?
4) I guess I could have included this in number one but oh well... I currently only have a senegal and gold capped conure and a senegal and Liam is great with them but they are obviously a lot smaller than a grey. Do you guys have any tips on socializing a toddler with a bigger bird?

Thanks for reading guys and I look forward to any input you guys have.

 

[MonicaMc]

1) I have a two year old. I know that I have always heard that greys can be pretty phobic and I know that being basically cage bound for her entire life will make socializing her properly a problem. Do greys normally do well with little kids? I would hate to get her and then find that Liam is a big problem for her.

Can't answer this directly as I neither have greys nor do I have kids, however I have not heard of greys in general being phobic of kids.

2) If I do decide to bring her home I know the first thing I will have to do (well other than taking her to my avian vet) is get her a larger cage. Would it be better if I brought her current cage over too and let her decide when to move into the bigger cage? I don't want to force her into things too fast.

You might want to set up the new cage with her next to you. Once the cage is set up, start putting in food, treats and water. Follow this by a few things from the old cage that she's familiar with (if there is anything from the old cage worth moving over). Once that's done, place the old and new cage together and open the door. See if she's willing to check out the new cage. If yes, great! But don't take the old cage away unless she decides she enjoys sleeping in the new cage instead of the old one. If she doesn't take to the new cage then give her time.

3) Her current diet is just like a cheap walmart blend. I know that needs to be switched too (my other birds get Harrisons). I'm thinking that might be better to switch slowly too?

If she doesn't take to pellets immediately, you can always start feeding her sprouted seeds instead of dry seeds as you make the transition from bad diet to good.

4) I guess I could have included this in number one but oh well... I currently only have a senegal and gold capped conure and a senegal and Liam is great with them but they are obviously a lot smaller than a grey. Do you guys have any tips on socializing a toddler with a bigger bird?

You might want to take Liam over to visit the grey before bring the grey home. In this way, you can better judge the grey's reaction to Liam. If the bird isn't terrified, you can try bringing the grey out as Liam watches, but don't allow Liam to touch the grey. Make sure to tell Liam that the bird may be afraid and not ready to be handled.

The greys behavior could change once you get him/her home, but it may also give you an idea how this particular bird reacts to little kids.




I have my nephew coming "home" this month, and I bet it'll be the first time that the majority, if not all of my birds will have with toddlers. My nephew will be 2 in January and he was born and raised (so far) in New Zealand. My sister and her family will be moving in with me until they can save up enough money to get a place of their own... so really, all my pets will have the joys of learning how to deal with a toddler! And honestly, I'm more afraid of the cats not getting along than anything else! Her cats are ok with other cats but my cats absolutely hate other cats!