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One of my 3 greys, Sydney, was extremely neglected, living in a cage inside an outside shack for 8 years. Rats had chewed holes through the screen and would enter the shack every night to eat the seed. He was rescued on a day when the outside temperatures hit 116 degrees. All he had was a tiny fan on the top of his cage, and his water bowl was completely dry. It's a miracle he even survived! (see pics below) When we got him, he would puff himself up like a porcupine whenever we'd approach his cage. With a heap of tenderness and patience and doing things in 'Grey time', I was able to get him to step up on the 6th week with us. To this day he loathes men, much the same way Huey seems to. He's my little bubba bird. To this day he has never bit me. (Now I'm knocking on wood!) Even severely abused or neglected birds can become incredibly loving and bonded birds. But they ALWAYS choose who they prefer to bond with regardless of your efforts and desires.

My grey is on his third home -- I've had him 25 years this year (adopted mine in 1997). No regrets. Mine was considered un-adoptable -- an aggressive biter I was warned. But he became a real sweetheart for me -- with the right care, diet, attention, and a lot of love. Mine had been returned to his breeder... twice. First couple I think divorced and second home found him to be a real handful (biting, etc.). The breeder only let me adopt him on trial, she seriously doubted I'd have any luck with him as he was returned to her quite aggressive. I often forget about his past -- he's been such a sweetie for me. I suppose we gave each other a chance! While mine has learned a lot of words and sentences here, he did arrive already knowing many words and phrases -- so by getting an adult I already knew I'd have a good talker (and whistler!). There are certainly no guarantees with a re-homed parrot or a baby parrot. But I admit, I definitely encourage giving parrots a second chance - they so deserve it!

The majority of birds get rehomed due to people not realizing what they were getting into and tiring of their 'nuisance pet' that requires a lot of work to take care of. My opinion only, but I think you have to be wired right to think of these birds as more than pets. Around our house my human girls (wife and daughter) were in for a little shock when I got GreycieMae and they saw how I interacted with her. I treat her like she's my feathered daughter - she gets spoiled completely rotten. Created a little jealousy with my wife but she finally wrapped her head around it and now has bonded with our Grey Huey in the same way. Birds definitely do have their preferences about who they like and don't like, part of their higher intelligence baggage, just like us. A lot of people recommend letting a bird pick you, I don't think that's really possible with a baby bird. An adult for sure.

That’s true, and my AG will be with me for a long time (hopefully) Is it true that the majority of birds are rehomed because of plucking issues, PBFD, cancer, or other diseases? Would the majority also be, like your Huey, abused? Is it true that in some cases, a AG will see you, and just love you, or hate you? I’ve heard of things like that happening… Thanks for the answers, this is such a lovely, caring community. I will definitely come back, most likely with more questions… 😂

With a weaned baby you have no idea what you are getting as they are not developed yet may or may not be important to you. A rehomed older bird is already set in their ways and you can actually see if the bird even likes you, if so it will probably stay that way. Babies can switch, some do, some don't. My girl has always been my baby once she got over her stand-offish ways a few months down the road. Huey our male is a rehome and he doesn't much care for me, even on day one, and will attack me on occasion. I believe he sees me as competition for the love of his life, my wife and I'm fairly certain he was abused by a male early in his life as he will flinch when I make certain moves - sad. Huey has pretty much stolen my wife with all his affections towards her. Also, we have seven birds currently and have had 2-3 others that have passed on. In every case, the males are attracted to my wife and and vice-versa with our female birds. Our female hawkshead will go after my wife if given any little chance or will go around and around in her cage making threats non-stop. Goofy girl. This is a non-scientific, N=1 sample here but it's very peculiar that they have lined up like this.

Okay. Well, is it true that male AG will treat females as their mate, and be aggressive to other humans of the same gender? Rescues are a good idea, but I’ve never bought from them. I’ve only bought from private breeders, and my experience was great. I’ve encountered several scam sites though, but Jean Patterson seems like the best option for me. I don’t think I have the time, or experience to wean a baby bird, so I’m planning to getting an already weaned CAG.

I have no idea if there's much difference between males/females temperament wise. I call Alfie a male but actually have no idea if he's male or female. I was told he was a male but I've never had him DNA tested to confirm either way. Some people suggest males will bond better with female humans and females will bond better with male humans but I don't know how true that is. Alfie previously bonded to my male lodger and he also goes absolutely gooey for my mum. I've only ever had Alfie, so I have no other birds to compare him to on that point I'm afraid! I got Alfie as a baby (approx 11 weeks old) and finished off his weaning process. If I was going to get a second bird, I'd check rescues first I think. There are lots of birds in need of homes. Several members here have rescued birds and have amazing relationships with them.

Okay… Yeah, I treasure my sleep, so looks like I’ll only spend like with him/her after work… I only said ‘wake up early,’ because I thought I wasn’t spending enough time after work. Would you recommend getting a female or male (I’m a female, if that helps)? Also, what age? I know they can start looking for mates during their 2s or 3s, but a baby would be easier to tame.

They seem to like a routine and will fall in line with yours. They do benefit from getting a lot of sleep overnight in a dark/quiet space so you may have to consider this if you're getting a bird up early. With Alfie I work 8-9 hours a day and whilst most of that is working from home these days previously I had to be on site all day, 5 days a week. So Alfie would come out of his cage to play in the evenings for 2-3 hours and longer at the weekends where possible. When I'm working from home I have a second cage upstairs in my office so he can come and join me and we keep each other company. On quieter days I'll let him out in the office so he can play on his tree and around the room. When I let him out of his bigger cage downstairs he has the whole downstairs of the house to play in. I also have two cats so he doesn't get the full run of the house, I have to keep them separated when Alfie is out and about. When I'm on site for work and Alfie is left in his cage he has plenty of toys to play with and foraging opportunities and I leave the radio on for him.