chelleb
Just Hatched
Joined: March 2023
Posts: 3
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Post by chelleb on Mar 11, 2023 1:57:08 GMT -7
Hi all me and my partner rescued a 20yr old grey. We are told he’s a male and came from an old lady that sadly passed away. He was left alone just being fed for three weeks. He is a bit bald and skinny but we are working on that. We were told he couldn’t fly. But he does now so will fly and land on the floor but won’t step up at all on a hand or a perch. We also have 2 dogs which he isn’t fazed with he will go up up and kiss their noses. I don’t think he has had much human contact more a sit in the cage all his life situation. We can’t handle him or touch him which is understandable and we are working with him. Watching his body language etc But any help or advice would be great. We want to give him the best life he can have
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Post by Jane on Mar 11, 2023 2:25:03 GMT -7
Hello and welcome to the forum.
Spend a lot of time talking to him and reassuring him. He sounds quite confident if he will go up to the dogs. Greys can be very fussy about being touched - who can touch them and where they can be touched - so that isn't unusual, especially if he hasn't had much contact in the past and hasn't been trained to step up. Offer him treats by beak, pine nuts are good, and you can also try spoon feeding him with a little baby food puree (the vegetable type that comes in sachets) and mix a little peanut butter in with it. This is good for both bonding and helping to increase his weight.
Jane
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chelleb
Just Hatched
Joined: March 2023
Posts: 3
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Post by chelleb on Mar 11, 2023 11:11:58 GMT -7
Hello and welcome to the forum. Spend a lot of time talking to him and reassuring him. He sounds quite confident if he will go up to the dogs. Greys can be very fussy about being touched - who can touch them and where they can be touched - so that isn't unusual, especially if he hasn't had much contact in the past and hasn't been trained to step up. Offer him treats by beak, pine nuts are good, and you can also try spoon feeding him with a little baby food puree (the vegetable type that comes in sachets) and mix a little peanut butter in with it. This is good for both bonding and helping to increase his weight. Jane Thank you will try this and see how we go 😊. |
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Post by Haz on Mar 11, 2023 13:17:33 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum.
Jane is our resident expert on greys. You can't go wrong following her advice. The rest of us may chime in from time to time.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Haz
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chelleb
Just Hatched
Joined: March 2023
Posts: 3
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Post by chelleb on Mar 14, 2023 14:13:42 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum. Jane is our resident expert on greys. You can't go wrong following her advice. The rest of us may chime in from time to time. Good luck and let us know how it goes. Haz The veg and peanut butter worked really well now he lets my husband give him tickles on his head which is amazing He’s not my biggest fan but he is ok with me near the cage and he will chat away. I’m just on his no touch list 😂😂. I’m just really pleased he’s allowing affection from one us. So thank you for the advice. If anyone has any more advice or tips I’m all ears. |
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Post by Jane on Mar 15, 2023 5:23:40 GMT -7
I am glad the veg puree and peanut butter has been a success. Have you both been feeding him with it?
The thing about African Greys is that they tend to treat each family member differently and will often choose a favourite person. They might also prefer males to females or vice versa. It is a very good sign that he is ok with you near the cage and will happily talk but letting you touch him might take more time. Try offering him treats at these times.
Jane
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Post by Haz on Mar 15, 2023 6:49:07 GMT -7
He could become friends with you later. When my grey was young, she would only let my husband pick her up if she was in trouble. For example, if she fell behind a sofa, he could reach over and pick her up. Later they became good friends. She is still my baby.
Haz
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Post by Scratchpost on Mar 18, 2023 2:05:36 GMT -7
Hi,
My husband and I have a Grey that we adopted when he was 5 weeks old (we hand-fed him until he was weaned). When he was a baby and until about eight-nine months, he only tolerated my husband and allowed some scritches before he would have enoygh and bite my husband, and our thing was that he sat on my shoulder and I could scratch him whenever I wanted. He is a year and four months now, and the affection has completely changed haha.
He allows my husband to scratch him for a long time, he asks for the scritches by making a clicking sound, and when my husband scratches him he bows his head and turns his neck so he can scratch under his neck, but he refuses to sit on my shoulder anymore. I have tried but I can't force him so now I get to scratch him for about half the time he allows my husband to scratch him.
Just be patient, and if possible, you can focus on bringing the food and toys to your parrot's cage so he knows he can trust you. That helps me sometimes because Aka lets me scratch him after he see's me clean his toys or pick up the odd 'toilet' I find in his cage when he is too lazy or too busy eating to use his toilet outside the cage. It's the same thing when I bring his food, when he is finished eating, if he climbs to his top perch, he lets me scratch him through the bars or on the perch outside.
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