GrayMatter95
New member
- Nov 24, 2022
- 1
- 0
- Parrots
- African gray
Hello,
My father has an African gray, the gray has been with us since I was born. My dad didn’t understand the full scope of how interactive and intelligent these parrots are, no boundaries have been made for most of its life, and it’s had rather low intellectual stimulation for the most part. He refuses to send it to sanctuary, and as of recent the most interaction the gray will get is being let out for 2-3 hours a day with minimal supervision. This gray has a nasty habit of rushing to a specific spot in our home and tends to chew up the wood trim. He’ll get very aggressive if we try to deter him, or will try to bite in retaliation when we get him away from that spot. We don’t hit him, but distract him with something to get his mind off the situation.
I try to keep this bird occupied. I let him roam around while he’s close to me, but when he knows he isn’t being watched, he’ll go straight to the “chewing room”. I give him wood, cardboard, or other safe things to chew on and he gets bored of them.
I give him toys, particularly things that’ll make noise and he hardly plays with them. Recently he has started to pluck himself, Im sure because of boredom, but I’m at a loss of what else I can do. I really try to keep him engaged, I try to help him with his feathers by grooming or rubbing him. I try to give him a wide variety of foods, but he goes straight for the parrot seed mix that he’s been given for the past two decades. I’m taking him to the vet soon to see what the deal is, but I really need some guidance on how to train this 28 year old African gray. I don’t want him to suffer any longer, but I just don’t know what else to do.
My father has an African gray, the gray has been with us since I was born. My dad didn’t understand the full scope of how interactive and intelligent these parrots are, no boundaries have been made for most of its life, and it’s had rather low intellectual stimulation for the most part. He refuses to send it to sanctuary, and as of recent the most interaction the gray will get is being let out for 2-3 hours a day with minimal supervision. This gray has a nasty habit of rushing to a specific spot in our home and tends to chew up the wood trim. He’ll get very aggressive if we try to deter him, or will try to bite in retaliation when we get him away from that spot. We don’t hit him, but distract him with something to get his mind off the situation.
I try to keep this bird occupied. I let him roam around while he’s close to me, but when he knows he isn’t being watched, he’ll go straight to the “chewing room”. I give him wood, cardboard, or other safe things to chew on and he gets bored of them.
I give him toys, particularly things that’ll make noise and he hardly plays with them. Recently he has started to pluck himself, Im sure because of boredom, but I’m at a loss of what else I can do. I really try to keep him engaged, I try to help him with his feathers by grooming or rubbing him. I try to give him a wide variety of foods, but he goes straight for the parrot seed mix that he’s been given for the past two decades. I’m taking him to the vet soon to see what the deal is, but I really need some guidance on how to train this 28 year old African gray. I don’t want him to suffer any longer, but I just don’t know what else to do.