Hello and I need a little help

[michell448]

Hi I am new to African grey's so I have a few questions. I am a mother of 5 the oldest being 15 and the youngest 11. I have recently acquired an 8 year old TAG.
She lived with her first home 7 1/2 years and her second home for 6 month. She is very unhappy. I have had her for 2 days. I know this is normal for her, what should I do to make her transition easier? They told me she does not eat any bird food what so ever just what ever they ate for dinner she at too. Right now she does not want to be taken out of her cage and she will bite if you try. If I put a towel over my arm or have long sleeves on I can get her out with the bite not hurting too bad. Once she is out she is OK, but very jumpy. Any advise would be great I want her to be a happy healthy bird. One other thing I did notice one side of her beak seems to have a thin over growth what causes that and what should I do? I was also told that her first home hand fed her until she was 3 years old. Thank you for any suggestions, Michell

 

[AndrewH]

I do not have a grey but there are some very experience grey owner on this forum. Also, please don't take my advice the wrong way. I'm not trying to be rude.

I can tell you with certainty that you should not force her out of her cage onto your arm. This can be counterproducive in your sincere effort to build trust. Under supervised conditions, let her come out of her cage and (potentially) step up, but only if she want to. I would avoid towels and gloves at all costs. You won't need to coerce once the bird trusts you.

As a priority, you should make an appointment to have her seen by an avian vet.

Continue giving her table food (treats), but you might try a pellet diet to ensure she gets the nutrition she requires (this is important for so many reasons). One of the TAG owners (Spiritbird) uses Harrison's (one of the best foods out there) and swears by it...she might give you some advice.

Just be patient and don't handle her unless she wants you to. Greys are intelligent birds (maybe the most intelligent) and require a comfortable, low-stress environment to thrive.

Can you be more specific on the growth on the beak?

 

[CrypticDelirium]

Hi, welcome!
Oh my, what a poor baby! You'll definitely want to get her on a proper diet for starters! If you can buy harrisons pellets, the high potency formula would be great for getting her into eating right. Another thing you'll need to do is a vet check, they'll be able to tell you exactly what the beak growth is and if there's any other issues going on. With the way she's been living, the sooner a good avian vet can see her the BETTER!
After that's taken care of, you could start slowly by offering treats from your hand. Good organic fruits and veggies or bird treats from the pet store would be perfect. She'll need time to settle in and get accustomed to her new home, and too much at once could cause her unnecessary stress. There are great videos on youtube for clicker/target training, and it may be a good first step if it's something you check out and would like to try. Also, you can try opening the cage and letting her come to you, if there's room enough and it's parrot proofed it's a perfect way to begin earning trust and letting her explore her new environment, which will make her much calmer and she'll feel safer.
Hope this helps and best of luck! = )

 

[michell448]

I will not take offence thank you for the input. The only experience I have with birds is I had a Sun conure. She was absolutely wonderful playful and a squawker and all that fun stuff. I got her when she was a baby so I had no problems with her at all. I know TAG's are more complicated. I will not try to make her step on on the towel again thank you! One side of her beak looks normal, but the other side just looks like a thin piece of beak growing down. Like from almost the tip of her beak and then it is straight across instead of the curvature that a beak has.

 

[nofearengineer]

Wow...I know I'm going to regret this...but, can we see a pic of that beak?

Poor little thing.

 

[AndrewH]

**Please don't accept this speculation in lieu of a vet check** She may have broken her beak at one time. Sometimes when a beak breaks (from a fall or flying into something or another bird) it will grow back split or malformed. But again, this is only my speculation.

Ultimately, though, it will probably require a trim from a vet or a skilled groomer.

 

[michell448]

I am not sure how to post a picture. I am trying to create an album and put the pictures there, what pictures I do have of her.

 

[michell448]

Thank you for all the advice. I used to buy Roudybush pellets for my Conure. Is that brand a good brand for a TAG or should I go with Harrisons? As it stands right now she won't eat pellets. Maybe pellet pancakes? She wants to eat off of your plate.

 

[AndrewH]

Roudybush is a respectable brand (I use a mix of Roudybush and Zupreem for my macaw and cockatoo). I'll defer to TAG owners on any specific diet needs. Like I said, our resident TAG expert uses Harrison's...

 

[nofearengineer]

Whew,

I had visions of some terrible beak deformity, but that looks like it will just need a careful trim, and some watching to make sure it stays properly shaped.

Definitely take that baby to the vet!

 

[AndrewH]

Whew,

I had visions of some terrible beak deformity, but that looks like it will just need a careful trim, and some watching to make sure it stays properly shaped.

Definitely take that baby to the vet!

Yeah, just looks like a needed trim. Maybe toys and food that will keep that beak in shape, too...?

 

[michell448]

Thanks Guys!!!!! I have an appointment for Saturday morning for her to get a full check up!!! Any advice on what else to feed her would be great. Right now I can get her to eat apples, Sweet potatoes, Broccolli, She loves baby food vegies and apple sauce. For Breakfast I guess they always fed her instant oatmeal and scrambled eggs. So I have been feeding her scrambled eggs with spinach and shells mixed in. I sure hope I am doing the right thing..

 

[antoinette]

Welcome, great forum, congrat's with your new addiction.
Great advise from the members above.
Top on your list, a visit to an avian vet is a must. Let the bird be checked over, peace of mind for a healthy bird, as well as having the beak seen to.
Your bird (name please) must have time to settle down and adjust. Just imagine how many new things the bird has encountered, in these two days. So many new faces and voices, it must be so scary.
To gain your trust could take days, weeks, months even years. Each and every bird is so different. He obviously feels a comfort zone is his cage.
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.
For the diet Harrisons pellets are recommended. As well as fresh fruit and veggies, and some plain nuts.

Below is a fantastic link, explaining and showing exactly how clicker training is done.
Not sure about anything please just ask, so many knowledgeable members on board, always willing to go the extra mile, with a smile


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkI9PvOsjS0"]YouTube - Building Trust With Your Bird[/ame]

 

[Spiritbird]

Welcome Michell. I am one of the few on the forum who has a TAG and not a CAG Love them both equally. I have seen Rosie's beak look like that just recently. It looks like sloughing to me. See if the bird will eat some nuts in the shell (I pre crack them) but not peanuts. This may help speed up the process of normal sloughig. Of course I am not a vet either so I could be wrong.
They are delightful birds. I feed my Rosie Harrisons and she loves them. If you have any more questions please ask.

 

[michell448]

Any Suggestions on how to get her to eat pellets? I don't want her to go hungry. I feel terrible for her, she must be just terrified. I did not think about my large family size when agreeing to take her. I wonder if I put her cage in my bedroom where it is quieter if that would help her adjust to our home? I will talk more to the vet on Saturday about her beak and I will go get her some nuts and see if she will take them. Thank you so much for the advise!

 

[JawzX]

moving her to a quieter room might be a good step, could ease the stress of transition a lttle, but you also don't want to isolate her entirely... Leave a door open or something?

modeling good eating habbits goes a long way. There's nothing my bird won't atleast try if she sees me eat it and enjoy it. Luckily most bird pellets are rather innoffesive tasting and Harrison's border on tatsy

 

[michell448]

Well I think we did good last night. I put Gabby in her cage last night when I went to go take a shower and My husband was able to take her out. When I got out of the shower she heard me talking and started making some adorable noises, I think she was looking for me. When I would say her name she would call back!!! Then when Gabby did see me she started gently flapping her wings and when I walked up to my husband she jumped on to me!!! I think I am head over heals in love. I am anxious to take her to the vet on Saturday I hope she is a healthy bird. Do TAG's bond with just one person? Thanks again for everyone's help you have no idea how much I appreciate it.

 

[nofearengineer]

That is great news, Michelle! The bonding thin can be like a rolling snowball...it just grows and grows.

Get used to that flapping of the wings thing. That is parrot body language for "GET OVER HERE, I WANT TO SEE YOU!!!" Think of it as a baby, with an outstretched hand, grasping in the direction of something it wants.

African Greys do tend to pick a favorite person, but I have to say it is not a hard and fast rule. My CAG, Gandalf loved me to pieces, but sometimes I got the feeling he would have gladly gone home with my mother when she came over to visit. The majority of cute things he learned to say were all copied from her, not me! He definitely loved to step up on her finger while she sang to him.

 

[Spiritbird]

Hey there Michelle: About getting your bird to eat the pellets. I will share with you what my vet told me 2 years ago that worked. I purchased Harrisons pellets. I took all food out of the cage at night and just left water. That way she was hungry in the morning. Pellets go in one dish and seed in another dish. Measure your seed prior to feeding. In the beginning just give a few pellets so you do not waste too much. At the end of the day try to blow off the seed husks and measure how much is left. Next feeding ruduce the amt. of seed by what was left the previous day. Keep doing this and you should see the bird interested in the pellets at some point. Remember you need to teach your bird that the pellets are a food source just like her mom would in the wild. You may have to chew on one to let her know they are safe. My Rosie took to the pellets in 2 weeks and to this day has not liked any more seeds except the better ones such as pumpkin and sesame (in the hull) for calcium.

 

[michell448]

I just contacted Harrison's today and asked them for a sample of food and they responded very quickly with great feeding advice and said that they will send out a sample tomorrow!!! Kudos to Harrison's! There is a lot to say about a company that will do that.