Leaderboard

Oh poor baby. He's terrified of humans. So far they haven't been good to him, and right now he doesn't know you're any different. I agree you should be talking to him gently while you approach the cage to get him used to the sound of your voice. Sit in that brown armchair and just talk to him, read to him. Having seen him now I think you should spend as much time as you can with him. When you have to be out of the room, leave a radio on very low so he gets used to some ambient noise. I know your intentions are good, but I hate the industry that pulled this baby from his home and dropped him in among humans. I hope you've signed on for the long haul because it could take months just for the fear screaming to stop and years before you're able to handle him. I wish I had more optimistic news for you, but he's terrified and time is the only thing that's going to help. We're here for support as you go along on this journey.

Are you spending most of your time in your room with him? Having a small child running around isn't ideal, but I agree with Maggie, I'd put the cage where the family is and ask people not to get within so many metres of the cage. If possible, ask your nephew to walk when in the same room as the bird. At 4 he might be able to understand that the bird is a scared baby and that running makes him more scared. Maybe other members of your family could join in reading to the bird and getting him used to everybody. Everything and everybody is scary right now so try to get the other members of your family to help you.

Hello guys , it’s been 31 days i guess , and this i my Parrot’s behavior I can’t clean his cage properly , when he’s reacting like this. What do you think guys ? And since he was afraid of his toy , i put him far away somewhere he can see it , and i put it closer and closer everyday , until he gets use to it .

Oh my! Talk to your grey when you enter the room. Tell him what you are doing. I would dim the lights and detach the bottom of the cage to clean it. Hand out pieces of apple through the wires. Trust is the first thing you must earn and hand feeding a favorite food is a great way to do this.

I'm still hand-feeding....five years later. We're not real sure when she'll be weaned

Pretty girl! I agree with what Jayd said. Greys shouldn't be isolated away from their flock. They love to watch, observe, and eventually learn from you! So, if you can keep her primarily wherever you are, that will be ideal. Take things very slow with her. They definitely take awhile to warm up to their new humans.

Nice looking CAG. Congratulations on your new friend. Looking forward to learning more about the two of you.

Her wings are clipped. Her current owner says it's been about 6 months since she has had it done. I don't plan on clipping her wings in the future either. Here are a couple pictures of Bella. We have another visit with her on Friday, can't wait!

Thank you Acapella! Great response! I am proud to say that the posted threads are from Jay who dictates ( he really is a dictator LOL) to me because he has trouble typing so I type for him. ( I also proofread, add commas, period, colons, am a spellchecker, etc., etc., LOL) Love, Maggie and Jay

Is she flighted?

I wouldn't worry about training yet. You have to build up a trusting relationship with your bird first. If he's still screaming when you get close to the cage he's not ready for training in my opinion.

They smuggle them from Africa:( , and I’m sure if I hadn’t bought him he would stay in petstore maybe for ever. When i sit in that brown chair he screams should I ignore him ?

Well usually I talk to him while approaching but this time i was filming . about hand feeding I haven’t tried it , should i try ? Because actually I don’t expect him to come and take a sunflower seed from my hand when he is terrified like this

Thank you for posting this video...It clears up so much, this poor baby was improperly treated early on. He could have been physically abused or possibly he is a breeder. (Explain this later). This situation will take a long time...there are a couple ways you might handle this. You can do as was suggested by Luvparrots and Acapella or you can do the exact opposite. Basically ignore him when cleaning his cage and let him come to you. You can get him a companion...it doesn't have to be another Grey, a small Conure is a possibility and put them in a room together out of their cages. Any of these suggestions could take years with little change. They are ALL equally GREAT! What is a breeder? A breeder is a Grey in the wild that never has anything to do with humans. As far as they are concerned, their whole purpose is to breed. Most Greys, after breeding once, turn this way, having nothing more to do with humans. This also is a possibility. You need the patience of Job...your baby is going to need all the love and understanding that you can give. You also need to be aware that he may never be more than a captive bird (I am sorry), but he will know your love and will repay you with love in his own way. I would like you to try something, if you would. Get some chamomile tea and in the mornings, replace his water with a weak chamomile tea to start with and then switch it out for water after a few hours. When you approach his cage to put something in it, don't do it cautiously, just walk up, change and then walk away quickly as if nothing happened to show him that you are not sticking around or have plans to hurt him. This, too, will get him used to this. Don't stand around the cage when you are done...You want to show him that he is part of the family, not the centerpiece. In a sense, you are basically have to ignore him and just let him fit in as he chooses to. Each day, by ignoring him, he will require more and more of your attention. We do not know how much baggage he has or what stories he has not told us yet. You might want to step aside and have someone of the opposite sex do as you are doing. He may have a per-determined feeling toward a certain sex. In our years of taking care of taking in rescue and abused parrots, we had a Cockatoo that would have NOTHING to do with me and would only calm down when Maggie, my wife, approached her and cleaned, etc. More recently, we had Pistachio and Buddy (a Ringneck and a Conure both who recently flew over the Rainbow Bridge), who for many years would act this way and cower when Maggie had to clean and change their cage and bowls. After many years, they would let Maggie near them to clean and change without cowering or attacking and Pistachio let Maggie handle him occasionally. Love ya

What a pretty girl!

My son and his wife built my aviary off the birdroom so the parrots can fly in and out the window. The birds love it it makes life very easy for me. No cement on the ground just grass and it cleans itself. Bottom half of the aviary is wood so dogs/animals can't break in.

What happened here? Neighbor still being a turd? Birdy's getting to use the aviary now?

Beautiful Gray...Thank you for sharing

If there's a place in a living or dining room where his cage can be up against at least one wall, and where he can see the activity in the house and people can talk to him from a safe distance that would be ideal. Unless you spend all your time in your room, then your room is fine.

It's going to take time to get your bird used to you. Right now he's scared of everything and everybody. When greys are scared they fluff up their feather to make themselves look bigger. Sit as close to him as you can without him fluffing up or screaming. Then just talk to him in a normal tone of voice. Read a book to him. You're just trying to get him used to your voice and presence. When you do have to get close to his cage to change food and water dishes approach from below him and from the side so he can only see one eye at a time. This way you look less like a predator and less scary. The guy at the pet store clearly has no idea what is good for his birds - that cage is way too small like others have said. It's good to have it in a corner right now so that he doesn't have to look out for danger from all sides. Move toys closer to the cage slowly so that he can get used to them before you put them in the cage. Like I said, this is going to take time, especially if he was captured from the wild. All he knows about humans is that some of them grabbed him from his home and his flock, shoved him in a cage with a bunch of other scared birds, then shoved him in this small cage and sent him home with you. Building trust is your first job. Oh, and the sounds he's making sound like contact calls to me. Answer him in a sound you'd like him to learn so that he knows where you are at all times. You're his flock now.

Hi Maggie , he’ Been in my room for 24 days I guess,, if I change his place and put him in living room isn’t it backward in my improvement?? I have a large family and we are a little bit noisy:D including a 4 years child,( my nephew) , so if i put him in a one corner of our living room won’t he be nervous? Because my nephew usually runs 🏃‍♀️ he is so energetic 😂

I didn’t know about whistling back, I will do it tnx a lot 🙏🙏🙏🙏 And yes. I Think for prey animals, fear is their best way to stay alive in nature

Trust me, you'll want that oversize safety area. I built mine too small on my outdoor aviary and it's a pain in the butt. I'm going to rebuild it and make it double or triple the size. I get tired of having to shuffle things around and squeeze things through.

All the panels have been brought over. They'll begin installation on Monday! The only thing that isn't the way I'd envisioned it is with regards to the double door holding area. It's huge. It's the size of a small aviary. I'll post pictures next week. Very excited!!!

Frustrating! Hope they get started Thursday.

Well darn. They've moved the installation date to either Thursday or Friday. Hoping they won't reschedule it again!