devildog999
New member
Good afternoon and I thank all in advance for any help you can give me.
I bought my new baby Grey from an awesome private breeder in the beginning of February and he is currently 7 months old. I am having some difficulties with handling him though so I thought I would describe some of his behaviors and maybe y'all experts can help me
First off, Hedwig is awesome. But getting him to trust me is leaving me perplexed. He spends a large part of his time outside of his cage in my man cave. He has a large cage with a dome top and play top and I have a large perch stand next to the cage for when he comes out (the kind with a rolling base and big branches in a circle for him to climb around on and chill on). He certainly enjoys his time outside of his cage. When I approach his cage, he will usually retreat from me and go to the top of the cage on the dome top side..
He avoids stepping up while on his cage or perch at all. He will actually fly to the bathroom instead but this also seems to be a game to him. He will often times wait at the top of his cage and I know he wants me to approach so he can have a reason to fly to the bathroom. Once landing in the bathroom, he will gladly let me have him step up. But this is the only reliable way to get him to step up. Any other attempts cause him to retreat or just stand there and kinda sink back down to avoid me. That being said, he does not bite me when I push him.
It has been 2 months and this has not changed at all. I have put him on my shoulder to get used to be being close to me, on small perches next to me so he is stuck being close to me, etc. Heck, he will act like he doesn't want anything to do with me but if I put him on my shoulder, he DOES NOT want to come down. I will lean next to the cage and squat so he can climb up and he will straight up go to my other shoulder so he doesn't have to get off. It will usually take me putting seed out for him to climb back up. He does not try to get on top of my head, he just wants to sit on my shoulder... I cannot pet any more than just his beak. He will follow the hand with his head so there is no way to actually show him physical affection. The only way I have been able to actually give him any neck rubs is if he is on my arm facing away from me (very rare to get him to do this, usually only happens if he is stepping up from a precarious place he flew to, such as a towel hanging from a towel rod). Even then, he quickly turns his head and follows the hand.
He is an awesome bird though with lots of personality already. He whistles to me when I am in the shower or leave my man cave. I just wish I knew what to do to get him to trust me more. I try not to push too much because I don't want to cause him to have a negative view of me. I have even tried some training but right now, it is a no go. No matter what treat I give him as a reward, he throws it away. Maybe I need a better reward than pine nuts or sunflower seeds so if you have a recommendation, please give it. So there is no positive reward I can give him at this point. I'm sure I could give him unhealthy human foods that he would love as a treat but I am making sure to give him a healthy diet.
With all that being said, I do believe part of it is me being a male. My breeder was the only one to interact with the birds, meaning her birds do not interact much with men (her fiance' has no contact but her birds do interact occasionally with her young sons). My wife can come in and Hedwig will actually come out to say hi to her. But he pretty much ends it there with her as well. He will not step up for her but he does not retreat and she can pet the top of his head. He will let her do that but not me. So I think SOME of this has to do with me being a male and his first interaction with a male was the guy who transported him to the airport to fly him out to me as carry on.
So what can I do here ladies and gents? I want my bird to be happy and healthy and I want to be able to physically interact with him. Just in case diet matters or is questioned: He has a fresh veggie, legume, grains, etc mix every morning. He has pellets available throughout the day. He gets 1 Tbsp of seed a day and his dinner varies from an egg recipe, potato recipe, banana, etc. I bought the recipe books from BirdTricks.com to make sure he gets a well balanced diet and stays happy and healthy.
Again, thank you in advance for any help and I apologize for the book I have just wrote. I just wanted to make sure I gave the full picture.
I bought my new baby Grey from an awesome private breeder in the beginning of February and he is currently 7 months old. I am having some difficulties with handling him though so I thought I would describe some of his behaviors and maybe y'all experts can help me
First off, Hedwig is awesome. But getting him to trust me is leaving me perplexed. He spends a large part of his time outside of his cage in my man cave. He has a large cage with a dome top and play top and I have a large perch stand next to the cage for when he comes out (the kind with a rolling base and big branches in a circle for him to climb around on and chill on). He certainly enjoys his time outside of his cage. When I approach his cage, he will usually retreat from me and go to the top of the cage on the dome top side..
He avoids stepping up while on his cage or perch at all. He will actually fly to the bathroom instead but this also seems to be a game to him. He will often times wait at the top of his cage and I know he wants me to approach so he can have a reason to fly to the bathroom. Once landing in the bathroom, he will gladly let me have him step up. But this is the only reliable way to get him to step up. Any other attempts cause him to retreat or just stand there and kinda sink back down to avoid me. That being said, he does not bite me when I push him.
It has been 2 months and this has not changed at all. I have put him on my shoulder to get used to be being close to me, on small perches next to me so he is stuck being close to me, etc. Heck, he will act like he doesn't want anything to do with me but if I put him on my shoulder, he DOES NOT want to come down. I will lean next to the cage and squat so he can climb up and he will straight up go to my other shoulder so he doesn't have to get off. It will usually take me putting seed out for him to climb back up. He does not try to get on top of my head, he just wants to sit on my shoulder... I cannot pet any more than just his beak. He will follow the hand with his head so there is no way to actually show him physical affection. The only way I have been able to actually give him any neck rubs is if he is on my arm facing away from me (very rare to get him to do this, usually only happens if he is stepping up from a precarious place he flew to, such as a towel hanging from a towel rod). Even then, he quickly turns his head and follows the hand.
He is an awesome bird though with lots of personality already. He whistles to me when I am in the shower or leave my man cave. I just wish I knew what to do to get him to trust me more. I try not to push too much because I don't want to cause him to have a negative view of me. I have even tried some training but right now, it is a no go. No matter what treat I give him as a reward, he throws it away. Maybe I need a better reward than pine nuts or sunflower seeds so if you have a recommendation, please give it. So there is no positive reward I can give him at this point. I'm sure I could give him unhealthy human foods that he would love as a treat but I am making sure to give him a healthy diet.
With all that being said, I do believe part of it is me being a male. My breeder was the only one to interact with the birds, meaning her birds do not interact much with men (her fiance' has no contact but her birds do interact occasionally with her young sons). My wife can come in and Hedwig will actually come out to say hi to her. But he pretty much ends it there with her as well. He will not step up for her but he does not retreat and she can pet the top of his head. He will let her do that but not me. So I think SOME of this has to do with me being a male and his first interaction with a male was the guy who transported him to the airport to fly him out to me as carry on.
So what can I do here ladies and gents? I want my bird to be happy and healthy and I want to be able to physically interact with him. Just in case diet matters or is questioned: He has a fresh veggie, legume, grains, etc mix every morning. He has pellets available throughout the day. He gets 1 Tbsp of seed a day and his dinner varies from an egg recipe, potato recipe, banana, etc. I bought the recipe books from BirdTricks.com to make sure he gets a well balanced diet and stays happy and healthy.
Again, thank you in advance for any help and I apologize for the book I have just wrote. I just wanted to make sure I gave the full picture.