New African Grey

[bigfellasdad]

one thing to add to the advice so far.... try not to allow a parrot to fail, let him succeed and he will keep trying and learning. Try not enforce bad behaviour, only reward good behaviour. eg, if he is learning to fly, start very short little more than a hop and gradually build distance. If a distance is too difficult go back a few inches.

Wrench's advice around consistency is very good as well, im very strict with Enzo in the morning before work as it keeps me on time and Enzo knows the routine and seems to enjoy it.

uncover her, she stands on the cage 'flap' whilst she lays her first and enormous poop whilst i get the kettle on.
She helps me push the cups in line whilst i add coffee and her tea (decaf now!)
we have a drink together whilst her veg steams.
We do the dishes together
She flies to the door as she knows its shower time.
when I go downstairs again she eats her veg/seeds/pellets and i go to work after a scratch or cuddle with her..... and yes, greys DO cuddle!

 

[bigfellasdad]

Any advice on stepping up? Am I doing it wrong or is it that he still doesn't fully trust me? Should I try pushing my finger under his feet and lift him up or is it absolutely necessary to wait for him to do it on his own?

Ive always put a little pressure under the birds belly with my finger when they are learning to step up. Just watch the body language at the start.

 

[LeaKP]

For my grey i use the same command “come” some people say “step up” and i put my hand at his chest. The first time he got it i praised him profusely and now whenever he wants to come he lifts a foot. It may take a bit but it will
Come.


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[artis]

I have a new update. This time it is a bad one. Since yesterday morning the grey is very upset, almost always refuses to come to me while in the cage, sometimes also refuses even though I offer a treat. He plays significantly less, most of the time just sits still and does nothing. He no longer "dances" on music and in general seems depressed. He also no longer allows me to scratch his neck which he loved the previous evening. He avoids biting me, but he doesn't let my girlfriend near him and very quickly tries to bite her. The previous night she was also allowed to scratch his neck.

I believe it is because he was in a pet shop with constant human presense, then we moved him in our appartment on friday night, the weekend we spent the whole day at home with him and from Monday this week it was was the begining of him being alone during the day from arround 8:30 AM till 6:30 PM when we get home. I got him a toy which at first he played with, but then he left it and just sits on the perch for hours without moving while we are not home. Yesterday night something else happened. I woke up by a lot of noise from the living room where he sleeps. I heard wing clapping, banging and so on. I decided to not upset him even further by forcing my presense and I just fell asleep again. Today morning I saw a lot of rubbish scattered around the cage, probably by his wings and a wing feather, which is not the one he broke the other day.

Also today 1 of the times he pooped it was very watery, but since I have grass on the bottom of the cage I cannot examine it, not sure if he has diarrhea.

I am really worried guys. I know there will be ups and downs and I am willing to accept that, but this looks like a BIG DOWN. Any ideas?

P.S. I have a webcam, which I look at from time to time while at work. He is sitting at the exact same place on the perch for hours without moving. He seems to blink, so I don't think he is sleeping.

 

[GaleriaGila]

I like your style... very proactive and open-minded. Welcome to the Forums. I see that you're already getting lots of input!
I'm glad you and your Grey One are here with us!

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

I GUESS it could be what you explained..He was in a pet shop with noise and people about,and you were with him for the weekend,all of a suddwn no one is there for hours..he might be thinking "wth happened? where is everyone??"

Do you leave a radio/tv on for him while you are away? I'd suggest you pay lots of attention to him when you get home..and EXPLAIN to him whats going on..why he is by himself..They DO understand! Tell him that you need to go to work and you'll be home in "x" amount of time..tell him when you leave for whatever reason that you will be back.

What is his name btw??


Jim

 

[DRB]

Something else to keep in mind regarding day to day behavior that you perceive, remember these lovely birds are neurotic and the slightest thing can cause them to take pause.

EG: just the color of the clothes you wear. I took my Perjo at 16wo after visiting her 2x a week for two months. She adjusted well, we got along great and there were zero issues in the first 2-3 mos. Then one day I come into the room and she refuses to come near the cage door, when opened she get visually upset and wanted to bite me. I walked away thinking WTF. About 5 minutes later I had showered and came back, with a different shirt and pants on, she was fine. I was wearing a bright red pair of boxers she did not take kindly to. That's all it was. They need time to adjust to soooo many things. Don't overlook anything when your FID is behaving in a way that seems abnormal.

 

[LeaKP]

It’s early days still. You will go up and down like this for a bit until your grey settles. Don’t let yourself be upset it’s bound to take a bit. Keep a routine, talk to your grey, lots of treats and good food, regular sleep schedule (I always cover my Nigel, he sleeps better that way).


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[bigfellasdad]

It will be the change in scenery and being alone during the day I think.

Some tips.

Never leave the house without making a fuss of him, talk to him telling him you are going to work.. say bye lots and he will associate it to you leaving. Leave a radio/tv on, leave him so he can see out of the window etc.

As soon as I enter the house, literally opening the door, I ALWAYS whistle/shout hello to Enzo and show her that im excited and happy to see her. I often share treats with here as well as soon as im in. I let her know that I have missed her and she is number 1 (dont tell the GF!).

As i said earlier Enzo expects to be out of the cage in the morning and out as soon as i get home and she is always happy to see me and the next 30minutes are just full on play and flight time.

Im letting my secrets out here, you must think im daft, which i probably am....

HTH

 

[LeaKP]

Not daft, just another one of us... [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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[artis]

Honestly.... I don't know what to say guys... Not sure about the Grey, but I was surely about to pluck myself because I was worried. THANK YOU!!!

I am sorry if I am annoying you guys with all these questions, but I couldn't really help myself.

Thanks for all the advice and secrets they are safe with me .
He seems to adjust to the new toy I placed. It was sitting 2 steps away from the cage for 2 days for him to get used to it, because he was terrified of it initially. Then I placed in on the outer side of the cage for a day and finally I moved it in today. He was worried at first but in about 15 minutes he started playing.

He or she (haven't performed a test yet) has no name yet, we are still so excited with him that no name sounds good enough for him/her .

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

It just takes time I had a friend years ago who had a sweet little Budgie and for his life couldn't think of a proper name for him..he ended up calling him "NoName" lol.



Jim

 

[artis]

Hello guys. Today he finally stepped up. Took a lot of bribing and guiding him with a treat very close to his beak but he finally managed. I praised him, gave him even more treats but he was standing very hesitantly and shaking as he was loosing balance even though I tried to keep my hand as steady as possible. A few tries later he managed to do it even without a treat, so YAY.

The problem that I have now is that as soon as he steps up he starts to bite the finger he is standing on. At first he applies very small pressure as if he is playing but every next bite is stronger and stronger to the point that he stripped some skin off my finger and I bled a little. While he is doing that I am resisting the pain and don't shake my hand no matter what but it doesn't help. The technique to push my finger to words him with a firm NO is impossible as he is standing on that very finger.

What should I do in this case?

 

[LeaKP]

When he starts to bite, before it’s too hard, I would move my hand a bit to throw him off balance and once he lets go set him down. Rinse and repeat. Don’t move your had as to make him fall off, just enough to unsettle just a bit so he will let go. When he steps up nicely, praise. When he bites and you have to set him down, a firm no and walk away. Even though he acts like he doesn’t want to come to you, he does. Greys are social and don’t like being alone. He will get it. I also recommend birdman666 threads on training in the grey forum. There isn’t anyone more qualified than he to help in this! All the best!


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