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It's going to take time and lots of it. Possibly months or even years. And it's very likely Schooner will never turn into a cuddle muffin. They end up carrying their baggage around just like we do and sometimes it's irreparable. Doesn't mean they won't be a bird that's super fun to be around and play with. Your best bet right now is to just give Schooner lots of time to get to know you. They will change after a few months. Since you're well versed in animal training, research on some methods of training Greys (parrots in general) and you'll find lots of information on engaging their lil brains. They are very receptive to this. I put up wood strips in places that our guys like to go and do their craftsmanship. Of course they'll find places that are off-limits and that requires a lot of removing birdy from the crime-scene over and over again. We finally stopped Huey from chewing our kitchen cabinets after about 3 months.

Howdy! So my husband and I rescued a 6y/o Timneh African Grey, who we have named Schooner, about two weeks ago. He apparently was hand raised and fed by his breeder, then adopted by a woman who suddenly died from cancer a few months later and then ended up with this one family for several years. This family meant well but I think were rather rough with him and didn’t give him the stimulation or kind treatment he needed as a young bird. I’m a marine mammal and dog trainer and I’ve been around birds (although ones who are highly trained/lap birds that have lots of husbandry skills) but this bird is proving difficult. He is only eating a few seeds from his food and seems to ignore the pellets (his old family used to feed him fries and flaming hot Cheetos 🙄), he doesn’t seem to know how to eat fruit or veggies and mostly just flings them if he doesn’t run away from them. He’s started to chew on the wood trim of a door near his cage but won’t touch his toys (but he’ll shred a paper towel with gusto). I let him out for several hours a day and let him walk around on his own (with supervision of course!) so that he can get used to us and our house but if we ask him to “step up” he’ll posture or lunge if we’re close enough. Usually he’ll walk back to his cage and either go in himself or we have to lure him with a green bottle he’s enamored with. He’ll rarely actually step up on our hand and we’ve had a few instances of we’ve asked for it too much that he grabs our hand with one foot to hold us still then gives us a pretty nasty bite/chew. Which makes me laugh later for how clever he is but not in the moment 😂 I’ve been just sitting by his cage while I drink coffee and read and am trying anything at this point to let him know he’s safe, but I’ve also heard that these are the first birds who will walk all over you and run the house. Any help or advice would be extremely appreciated! We just want to give him the best home possible! I realize that at his age he might not turn into a cuddly bird (but it would be so nice!) and that it definitely won’t happen overnight. I just would like to be able to trust him enough to bite us constantly. Thanks in advance!

@SRSeedBurners Thank you so much for your reply! Did you use wood strips that you can get at like Home Depot or do you prefer natural tree branches? Huey looks like quite the character! Glad to hear he’s not helping y’all redecorate as much!