TRAUMATIZED GREY...please help

[Donn]

I hope this doesn't turn out to be too long a post, but I really need some guidance. We have inherited my brothers four year old Congo African Grey parrot about six weeks ago. My brother had only had the bird for about 6-8 months and when he got her she was very happy and trusting with everybody. My brother had to go into the hospital for six days and left the bird with a friend ???? For safekeeping. Since then Yata has been absolutely terrified of fast movement and men's hands. I was making some progress with her so that she would step up for me, but uneasily. Then she fell from her cage and I made the mistake of trying to corral her and now she is even more frightened. I have been talking to her quietly, giving her treats (which she will take from me), but she is one very insecure, panicky bird. I'm looking for any suggestions on how to calm Yata and get her to feel safe with us. And if it could happen in the next week or so, that would be nice ;^). Thanks in advance.
Donn

 

[kerry]

I had a gray years ago who was very shy. She was terrified of my father & my ex-husband. What happened when you "tried to corral her? How did she fall from her cage? Birds don't usually fall. Did she get injured when she fell from the cage? Are her wings clipped? She needs time to recover from all these recent changes. I would just take time & move slowly & try to eventually re-gain her trust. Sometimes things happen very slowly with birds in my experience especially with loss of trust. Keep hand feeding her the treats, sit near the cage & just talk softly to her & hang out there for periods of time. Give it time. Don't force more new things on her. Let her adjust now for a while.

 

[Donn]

Yata can be startled by a loud noise in the room or a quick movement to the extent that she runs off the roof of her cage (where she spends most of her time). It has only happened three or four times and she appears totally unhurt, thank goodness there is moderately thick carpeting.

Not only had her wings been clipped, but she had pulled a lot of her flying feathers out. Since she has been with us, I can see she has stopped pulling them and has almost enough to fly.

I have been doing as you suggest for about ten days, but there has been little improvement. I suppose I was looking for some magic pill in bird psychology to speed things up.

Thanks for the reply.

Donn

 

[brianlinkles]

Hi, We just adopted a lilac crown amazon that had been very neglected. She is 15 years old and is afraid of EVERYTHING! I have been sitting by her cage talking to her, hand feeding her, reading by her and to her. My goodness she even has her own playlist on my iphone! LOL I can tell you that this cannot be rushed, if you try you will be moving backwards and not forwards. There has been so much help on this forum and I have been working on building trust with her every moment! I have finally been able to get her out of her cage, I have slowly been showing her how much fun life could be if she would just leave her cage! She is very territorial around and in her cage! We make progress everyday, somedays I feel like we go backwards a bit and I feel discouraged however I have to remember that birds are unlike any other animal I have ever had. Sometimes just sitting by her cage and not facing her but sitting sideways and talking/reading has worked to get her a little interested in me. I try and approach her looking with one eye not full on. I feel like this has made a difference in our relationship! Good luck, take it slow, don't try and rush this, that will never work!

 

[kerry]

Donn, I am sorry, I know of no magic parrot pill to offer you. Sometimes building trust in my personal experience in the human world & in the world of parrots is a very long process.

 

[Spiritbird]

Greys are naturally weary because they think they see predators all around. Even a new book on a shelf or a new nick nack can frighten them. As said time and patience heals their freights but they never really go away. She needs gentle handling and voice tones and treats and perhaps soft music. Good luck.

 

[saved45653]

i bought a Congo African grey he lost his owner due to death she was old now he has bitten me i try to get him to accept me but ive only had him to weeks they say he talks but i am having a time trying to get him to trust me he has taken up with my grand daughter he will dance but does nothing for me except trys to bit me what can i do to make him like me help i for got to say he is 14 years old

 

[Printer bird]

How long have you had him? This process, especially with an older bird takes months if not years to build trust. Was his previous owner a different gender than you? That can take a bit of time to overcome. Greys, like most birds, won't talk around strangers or people they're not comfortable with so that will take a lot of time too.

 

[freya]

Im really new to birds but not traumatised animals and the old saying.. time is a great healer...its true...

You cannot rush any animal or bird into accepting or trusting you..Thats the secret if you are calm and patient , if you prove to them you will wait and let things happen at thier pace they will (in most cases) come round to you.
Basil was very badly treated by his former owner and we know its going to be a long time before he fully trusts us but every tiny step he takes is one we rejoyce in.

 

[antoinette]

[FONT=&quot]To gain your trust could take days, weeks, months even years. Each and every bird is so different.
Sit near the cage, talking and singing to the bird. Let him become familiar with your voice. Leaving the cage door open, offer him treats through the bars at first. When he willingly accepts them, try placing a treat near the open door. Eventually he will starts taking the treats from the door, make no attempt to touch him. When he does come out, he will probably climb around on the cage. Let him explore in his own time. To get him back in, place a treat inside the cage, making sure it's visible.
When out the cage, he is jumpy. Are there perhaps not to many children surrounding him at one time. He might not be used to children, they may be excited being near him. Let them sit quietly, (which is difficult for any child) in the same room, for him to to become familiar with them as well. Please always be present, when the children are in the same room as him, especially if he is outside the cage. Birds can be extremely unpredictable, one of them could make a loud noise, and startled the bird, resulting in the bird biting one of them.
Please keep us updated
[/FONT]

 

[Donn]

Well, all your thoughts and suggestions have been appreciated. Here's a six month update.

Yata seems much more comfortable and happy in her surroundings, singing and talking away quite often. She has quite a large vocabulary of sounds, words, animal sounds, singing and whistling...very fun to hear though sometimes it can make hearing the TV a little difficult, especially when she does the hammer hitting a metal plate sound continuously. She has grown her wings out fully, but still cannot fly.

She will seldom allow me to bring her out of her cage on my finger, giving me a gentle bite as warning or harder if I persist. However, she will step up onto my finger from the top of the cage, where she spends most of her time and let me put her to bed for the night. I can now get her to step up and be carried about the room and even visit on a chair or couch back for awhile. She is still not totally happy being away from her cage, but I think as time goes by she will continue to get more comfortable being away from her cage. Though for sure it is not something she desires.

Very occasionally she will put her head down for a scritch and that is quite a treat for me. My goal is to be able to cuddle with her and pet her and for her to desire it. Interestingly enough, though she is much more prone to strike at my wife, she is much less fearful of her and even cuddled on her chest and allowed her to really pet her back for a time...was I jealous!

So, it has been about six months that we have had her and by what I have read on the forums, I have nothing to complain about with the progress we have made, though I am still impatient.

Donn

 

[Remy]

It sounds like you're doing great!

 

[IcyWolf]

That's really good progress in six months! Keep doing what you're doing cuz it seems to be working. I wouldn't be overly upset if he never gets to be a very cuddly bird, most grey's aren't, at least from the one's I've known.

 

[Spiritbird]

Appreciate your update. We so seldom get them. Please do not feel bad if she does not cuddle with you. Greys are not the cuddle type of bird.

 

[antoinette]

You are doing a great job, keep it up.
As Spiritbird mentioned most Grey's are not cuddly birds.
Mishka cuddles now and again, moments like these I treasure.

 

[nofearengineer]

It sounds like you are doing great! Greys can be very fearful and cautious. That is just the price of doing business with a very intelligent animal. True, a grey's natural tendency is to not be overly cuddly, but it can be encouraged, and some of them become absolute snuggle bunnies. Just keep doing what you're doing, and she will become more and more trusting. Greys have very long memories. Sometimes getting them to forget past bad care can take a long time.

 

[roxynoodle]

She may be a bit cage aggressive and that's why she nips when you ask her to step up in the cage. My Nanday has always been that way, It's only been the past couple of years that I can put my hands in there to do things and not get nipped.

What we do instead is I open her cage door, she climbs down to the open side and then she steps up just fine. There are people who will say I need to continue training her to do it from in her cage, but so what? It's worked for us for 12 years. Her cage is her castle, lol! And she defends it.

She has also never been the cuddly type, but she is so much fun anyway. And she has surprised me with some cuddling behavior during the last few years. But, it's not really her thing other than giving kisses.

It sounds like you have come a long way. Keep up the good work!