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two days ago I adopted a 20 year-old grey from a woman who had her for 8 years. I have never owned any kind of pet before but I care a lot about giving her a good home and I am very worried that I may have scared her away for good two days ago, on my first night with her. I made a sudden move right next to her and she flew off, terrified, and bumped into a few things on the way. she didn't seem to get hurt but I know what hard work it is to get an adult grey to trust new people. I worry that she will associate that feeling of terror with my face and voice. since then she has talked to me and tried to play games (dinging her bell back and forth with me), allowed me to feed her some kale, allowed me to bribe her with treats, etc. But she still is for the most part wary around me... not so with my partner, whose hand she briefly stepped onto, which drives me CRAZY. all he has really done is sit patiently with her and chirp at her--I have done this and more. she even looks for him and chirps when he leaves the room. so I guess what I'm trying to find out is, since I have not done anything differently from my partner (aside from accidentally terrify her), is there any hope that she will forget the negative associations she has of me? is that even what is going on or am I totally off base here? what can I do to build relationship with her?

Hello Cackle and welcome to our family. It has only been 2 days so there is plenty of time to rectify this little mishap and there will be more I am sure. Just continue to do what you are doing, talking to her, feeding her and sit nearby and talk softly to her for it will take some time to build that trust, it has to be earned. We all make mistakes with our greys, its just human nature but she will get over it. It appears she is taken with your partner as it happens a lot and there is not much you can do if she chooses him. I know full well this personally as my grey prefers my hubby, she will do things for him and allow him to touch her anywhere but will not allow me the same privilege. She will give me the stink eye and puff up when I come near her when she is on her beloved one but I can still handle her, she will give me kisses and step up for me. Sometimes we just have to accept what terms they allow us to have as we share our life with these amazing creatures. Don't dwell on the negative aspects of what has been but focus on building that trust and it will take lots of time and much patience but will be so worth the effort.

For sure she will forget the one little incident as long as it doesn't continue. Greys can and do pick their favorites but that doesn't mean you can't interact with the Grey. I have a female who sticks to me like velcro but still interacts with others in the house. We have another male who very much prefers my wife and I'm on a "no need to touch me" basis with him. I still work with him though but will never be able to pick him up and kiss his belly like my wife can. He'd rip my face off. I still love him just as much.

Hello Everyone! So, it's time for a new cage for my grey. He's had his current one for about 7 years and the paint is starting to chip and the metal is beginning to rust in the tray. That makes me nervous, so I've been searching for something but I just can't seem to find a decent one. I can't afford the $700+ cages, although I wish I could because I know they are better quality (his current one was from Amazon.com for under $200). The vet said not to get one with a play top because of his current behavioral concerns. I already have a perch for him so it's not necessary anyway. I keep finding one's that would be perfect if there wasn't play top, or at least a detachable one (for example: https://birdcages4less.com/page/B/PROD/PA5701 ). I've also looked at/ called every local pet store which came up dry. I don't really have a size restriction either. He has a 24"w x 22"d one now, but would prefer larger if possible. If anyone has any suggestions, that would be fantastic. Thank you so much! Lexy

One of the most common cages people get for CAGs is this one. It's big and pretty well made. I have two of them. The bar across the top bolts on, so you could just remove it or not install it. I'm not sure why your vet discourages a 'play top' or what constitutes a play top. If I removed that bar across the top, my bird would still consider the area a play top. Good lucks!

Acappella, that's going to be the difficult part. I see his sweet spirit blossoming, but he primarily tucks it behind his fears. And yes, he was spoiled before she died. Had free roam throughout their home 24/7. After she died? Isolation in a cage that sat inside that horrible shack.

I agree, he's not a shoulder bird for now. You don't want any extra piercings. The best way to avoid bites is to get to know his body language so that you can predict when a bite is coming. There's a good body language thread in the Training forum room. Take a look at it. I got bit this morning because I didn't check Dorian's body language before I moved in for a kiss. I just wasn't thinking. He usually wakes up in a lovely mood, and is all sweet and cuddley, but he sure didn't today. If he starts climbing up to your shoulder, block him with your other arm. Keep him on your hand with your hand held higher than your elbow so that your arm forms a V shape. Most birds don't like to climb from a high point to a lower one, so this may stop him from trying to climb up to your shoulder. Like Timbersmom said, he may not always be truly biting you, but using his beak to steady himself. Check out Barbara Heidenreich at Good Bird Inc. She's got books, lectures, workshops, all sorts of subject matter on how to train your bird using positive reinforcement. She's very well respected in the industry.

Congratulations on welcoming Diego into your home and out of his horrible situation. Sounds like he's well on his way to bonding with your husband. Be grateful that his contact call is something subtle like a microwave beep. Sometimes they chose truly unfortunate contact calls, and then you have to do a lot of work to train it out of them. I don't see anything wrong with picking him up with a dowel. Just this morning the first thing Dorian did was nail me in my bottom lip for no other reason than he woke up on the wrong side of the perch today. So I'm using a perch to pick him up and move him around. Bite me once, shame on him, bite me twice . . . Sometimes I can just take the bite but this morning my chronic pain condition is especially bad and a bite would be agony. If you do want to start training him and you to step up on your hand do what Talon advised and make the skin on your hand hard to get hold of. I believe you'll know when you have enough trust built up to move to your hand. One thing, I'm not sure I'd allow him onto a shoulder yet. You don't know him very well, and on a shoulder you can't see him to read his body language. Neither you nor our husband want any extra ear, nose, or cheek piercings. If he starts to climb up, divert him with your other hand. When he's perched on your hand, hold your hand higher than your elbow so your arm forms a V shape. Most birds don't like to climb down from a higher spot. This worked for Dorian. He doesn't even try to get on my shoulder any more. Sorry about the wing clip. At least it sounds like he knows what his wings are for. Dorian came to me with a bad clip, which I allowed to grow out, but he's never tried to fly. I don't think he was ever allowed to fledge. I'd love to hear the sound of flapping wings around here, but it looks like I'll have to settle for being a birdie taxi lol. You'll just have to make his environment safe until he can protect himself by flying.

I bought an aloe vera plant recently (mainly because they are supposedly easy to look after and I'm not normally very good with plants!). I've had it several weeks now and it hasn't died yet...!! I have read about the qualities of aloe vera and know you can use 100% aloe vera juice/gel with birds. Can I use the plant itself for Alfie in any way? I've seen mixed comments about birds eating the whole stalk so I'm not likely to try that. But I'm assuming there is a way I can safely extract the... sap(?)... from inside the stalks? Can I then mix that in Alfie's water occasionally? Or mix it with water and spray him with it? ...Or am I better off sticking to buying gel and juice and keeping the plant as a decorative feature? 😁

Welcome Crackle. Forget the misstep and focus on building a loving relationship. My adult children are not bird/parrot lovers and my greys know it and react to it. If you are hesitate or afraid Crackle knows it and takes advance. So take a deep breathe, RELAX and start again with a more positive self-assured attitude. You can do this, so relax.

Yes!!! He’s into everything!! And loves all of his toys ❤️❤️ And Thankyou everyone!! It really is amazing having a piece of her with me ❤️

Hello and welcome to the forum Cackle! No harm done, it is early days yet. Greys take a long time to adapt to a new environment, new things, and new people. That "startle" will be forgotten.

I WANT A BABY GREY!!!! Ok, I got that out of my system. Casper is do darn cute! I think it's going to be fine, so long as you always treat Issac as top bird, feed first, out first, etc... I know you know the drill. I love the visual of two huge cages, and one small tv. Speaks volumes about your priorities. lol Have fun with your cuddler. Just watch out. They may join forces and plot to take over the home. Oh wait, too late.

Hi guys, I hope this thread belongs here. I adopted an African grey last night. He's 10 years old and his name is Diego. I was looking on craigslist for a bird cage, planned on getting a Quaker soon, and there in the ads was an African grey for $550. Call me crazy but that was my dream bird and I took the chance and emailed the seller. She said he was being bullied by the family dog and he needed a new home. Me and my husband knew that we were taking a chance but we went and met him. She brought him in a tiny cat carrier, he had to bend over in it. He smelled so bad of cigarette smoke and his cage was so dirty. I couldn't leave him. She handed me his food, which was a Tupperware container containing a mix of seed, what looked like cat food, and salted peanuts. We took him home and bleached and scrubbed his cage. We threw away all his toys that could have held cigarette residue and went and bought him new ones. Also bought him new food. After setting all this up we put him in his cage and talked to him. He whistled and made all kinds of noises and danced. I went to do some work in the office and my husband went to take a shower. My kids start laughing and upon checking, Diego is off his cage wandering around the living room calling out in a microwave beep. So I go in the bathroom and tell my husband that I think Diego is looking for him. My husband calls him and Diego goes in to the bathroom and waits for my husband until he is done in the shower. Anytime he leaves the room Diego beeps at him like a microwave. This morning Diego was talking to me, but so softly I couldn't make out what he was saying. But that's my story of finding Diego. Any advice? I'm scared of his beak and have been using a small dowel rod my husband cut to have him step up with to put him back in his cage. He doesn't like it at all. I do plan on getting him to the avian vet soon to make sure he is ok from all the smoke and salt. The closest one in in St. Louis though, we are in the country. That's a few hours away. Can I take him to the regular vet? His claws are so long they are curling back. Thank you all for any and all advice or how to's or anything you've got for me.

Welcome to you and Mocha. If he's having trouble gripping his perches try wrapping some vet wrap around them, it may help. Just do it with smaller diameter perches like you said you were going to get. On the step up thing, I read once that it's easier to train if you do it in neutral territory away from his cage, like maybe in a bedroom or a bathroom. Have you found a treat that he'll do anything for yet? Some like pieces of walnut or almond, some like pine nuts. Odds are you'll find something he loves. My Dorian is in the minority. There's nothing that will make him step up consistently, but for his first 2 years here he wouldn't step up at all, so we've made some progress. Have fun getting to know your new addition, and if you can't find an answer to a question in the archives ask, and someone will respond.

I'm so glad you and your son were able to get this poor grey out of that horrible situation. It sounds like maybe he was well cared for until he was left alone with the husband, because he seems to know what a good home looks like. Hopefully he'll continue to thrive in his new environment. Now you just have to work on not falling in love with him so that you can re-home him when he's ready lol.

Congratulations!!! How awesome that you have Aura's brother! It's almost as if she's still with you. Welcome home Tau!

Oh Maggie, I am so sorry for you both. Prayers for you and especially Jay that times quickly heals him. Love you both. ❤️

That's horrible! Praying that his sight and hearing will return once his O2 sats return to within normal ranges.

Oh that's awful. I'm sorry you both had to go through that. Fingers crossed for no permanent damage

Remember, there are over 400 species of aloe with each plant providing unique health benefits.

I don't see a problem with you doing that. That's what many people do to use on themselves. It's a great idea in my opinion!

Huey used to be nervous outside of his cage. Unfortunately (not really!) for him, we're a cage-less house except for nighty-night time and he just had to deal with it. It didn't take him but a few months till he was flying around and acting like the place was his - particularly his swingy rope in the kitchen where he now commands his ship, orders the chef around etc... Huey tends to bite, usually only me as he prefers the ladies, when I try to put him on his rope perches. He'll step up and immediately take a swipe a my hand. He's got me a few times at the base of the thumb and ripped me open good. He's super naughty that way. I quickly learned to make him step up to the rope, never step back, because then his rope is between him and my hand. I can pull down and back and he can't get me although he's learned to hang onto me with one foot and can still get me occasionally. We've had him 9 months now and I'm just now getting to the point where he will let me pet him down the back (he doesn't take it as sexual with me at least) and give him a kiss on the beak and give him a hug. 9 long months!

It's going to be a very long and slow process. I am able to get him out of his cage if he's 'in the mood', if you know what I mean. Once he's outside his cage, it's as if a switch has been flicked on, and he immediately becomes very anxious, quivering the shoulder portion of his wings. Near his cage he's a velociraptor. Away from his cage I can at least hold him for a bit before 'the bite' happens. I finally heard the very first phrase he's ever uttered: 'Hey stupid'. 😞 Not surprised.

Any updates on this guy? He reminds me of Huey, looks just like him in the photo above. Huey has trust issues too but he's figured out how to get his hoomans to be at his beck (peck?) and call 😂

Yep, sounds like a crappy wing clip. It will take a few months to grow back but they really do love to fly. Just safe-guard your exits and they'll love you for it.

It's possible that the previous owners had his wings clipped to try and prevent him from flying. So long as they didn't totally butcher his wings in the process then hopefully his missing feathers will grow back over time. the ones which are broken may drop out (moult) naturally and regrow. Depending on what happened to him they may not grow back though. Wing clipping is always up for debate and I believe every bird/flock/home is different and should come to their own conclusions. Personally I have a fully flighted bird because that's what works best for Alfie and his home environment. I second the recommendation of putting blankets/pillows around his cage/perches if he is trying to fly. At least that will soften the blow if he does crash land.

When he spreads his wings all the middle feather arw gone.some broke.

You need to slow things down a bit, give Diego a chance to settle into his new home, remember we talk in "grey time" here which means go slow and be very patient with him, don't rush him to do something he is uncomfortable with and allow him to make choices, greys do not like being forced to do something, they want things on their terms. He will let you know when he is ready for more interaction. I sympathize with the sharp nails as my greys are like needles and I get scratches from her on my hands, some people have luck with pumice type perches but either my grey is not using hers in such a way to wear her nail points down or I have them improperly placed but I usually have to take her and have hers trimmed as she is not willing to let me file them down but some have greys that will allow them to file them, lucky them. He was probably clipped so that's why he doesn't fly but his wings will grow back though it takes time for a full set to grow in. In the meantime if he has a habit of trying to fly off his cage put some pillows, towels or blankets around so he will have soft landings for a hard one could break his keel bone. He looks a darling from the picture you shared, don't hesitate to share more of him as we love photos.

Is it just the flight feathers that are messed up or are the wings mangled?

So the woman told me she had to re-home him because her dog was being aggressive to him. Last night Diego tried to fly and he couldn't. His wings were very messed up.

Thank you for the advice! He did step up last night. Even climbed up my husbands pants legs to get onto his shoulder. Don't worry, I used the bleach outside then sprayed off the cage really well. The cage was that dirty! I didn't even want it in the house. He is still trying to only eat peanuts and sunflower seeds. Adding in veggies but he is scared of them, even when they are in small peices.

Congrats on rescuing this beautiful grey. He is very lucky. I would do away with the dowel, those are scary if they are not used to it. If you put you hand facing down and make a fist, when you ask him to step up, there really is nothing for him to latch onto. This will help gain trust. Does he know how to step up? Please be careful of the bleach, that’s toxic and very bad for them. They have delicate respiring sytems and can die very quickly from toxic fumes. No candles, air fresheners, self cleaning ovens or chemicals.

He's beautiful! They are attention hounds. My Timber rarely talks when I'm in the room. If I go to another room and listen closely, that's when he talks. I always suspect it's the last trick in his bag to get me to come back to the room he is in.

Here is Diego, I'll post more pictures soon. He is doing well. He he gets off his cage and follows us around still. Today he acted like he wanted to step up onto my hand while he was on the floor. But he didn't quite go all the way. He hasn't really talked anymore, just lots of noises and laughs. I'm not sure if he really talks or not. Which I don't care either way. He seems like a very sweet guy so praying he is. He is a little clown. If we don't pay attention he will knock on his cage, pick up and drop his bowl and swing around all silly.

Congratulations for adopting. Sounds like nothing but good things are awaiting him in his new home. I recently adopted a 25 year old CAG and although he was great on my visits to the adoption center and his first day home, he chomped me hard in the second day. This obviously broke the trust for both of us and we are still building it back up. It has been a month and we are making progress. Like you, I began using a dowel rod to pick him up. He would attack that rod with a vengeance. After weeks of this, last night we had a breakthrough. When he comes out of his cage, he likes to go straight to the floor. This is when I usually pick him up to put him on his playgym. BUT, for some reason, yesterday he stepped up on the dowel with no problem at all. No attack, no bites or chomps. I was shocked and thrilled. As many have said, baby steps. It could take a very long time for you to be able to pick him up but keep trying. Look into target training as this has helped me with Morgan.

Thank you for rescuing Diego from his less than ideal situation! I also have to drive 2 hours to see Dr. Kirsting in St. Louis. I was fortunate enough to find a vet who "sees birds" who is only about 20 minutes away. They do a good job on nail trims between trips to St. Louis.

Our Huey does the microwave beep too when he wants one of us (mostly my wife). I would get used to using your hand to get him to step up. Use a treat to distract him onto your hand so he's not contemplating a bite. He may not be a biter. It's sounds like both of you scored a great deal! I would love to see pics of Diego.

Thank you for taking in and rescuing this poor bird from such an awful environment. Sit back, relax and get ready for many wonderful years of learning about your new addition and enjoying his company. I'm going to steal something I wrote on another introductory post as I think it may be helpful here: "One thing you will learn quite quickly is a little thing called "grey time". This is the time it takes for a grey to adjust and accept changes. This can be changes in routine, toys, location, people etc etc. Your bird has just undertaken a very big change and everything is still very new. Your bird is trying to adjust to a new home, new humans, a new routine, new sounds, new toys... everything. This can be a bit overwhelming for a grey as they can be a little change adverse at times. It can take days, weeks or sometimes months for a grey to adapt to these kind of changes and come out of their shell. This is what we call 'grey time'. Some changes may be more readily accepted by the bird than others... so there's no telling how much 'grey time' is needed for different changes. The important thing to remember is that the grey will show you when they are ready to accept a change or a new offering. They will also show you when they are not ready. A lot of this is shown via their body language- so pay attention to what your grey is doing... especially if you receive a nip or a bite...e.g what were the eyes doing, how were the feathers being held? There may be some subtle signs that your bird gives you before he resorts to a bite. Given enough time, you will start to be able to read your birds body language and will be able to know when the bird has had enough or is happy to progress." Allow your bird time to settle in and get used to the comings and goings of his new home. Talk to him often, tell him what you're doing, tell him why you're doing it. Maybe read some books to him or ask your children to read to him. This helps him get used to you being around him and gets him used to all of your voices. He probably doesn't like the dowel rod because he's never seen it before and it's coming straight at him. He will probably bite it in protest of it coming near him. Again, it's going to take 'grey time' for him to get used to it. There is a massive amount of information on these forums available to you so please feel free to look around and use the search tool. If you don't find an answer to your questions then ask - someone will be able to help out. In regards to vets- ALWAYS take your bird to an avian vet. Never take them to a 'regular' vet who isn't qualified or trained in avian care. They won't necessarily know how to handle your bird or treat him and this can lead to unnecessary stress for the bird or incorrect advice being given. I recommend looking into what foods are/aren't safe for your bird. Start giving him some different choices of foods. It may take a little while to wean him off a purely seed based diet but do persevere. He'll find something he likes eventually! Lastly, we like photos. As and when you're able to, we would love to see some photos of your new feathered friend.