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I buy the raw 'furring strip' boards from HD/Lowes. They're super cheap, super chewable and keeps a beak busy. GreycieMae modeling her furring strips. As you can see, she has decided to go after the door now 😕. That's ok though because this is in her bird room and she can do whatever she wants in her room or aviary. I also forgot to mention that Huey in the photo above is a similar case as your bird. He is formerly abused, we think by a male. He is very untrusting of me, but thinks my wife is the moon and stars. I get lots of bites and evil stares out of him and will never be able to love on him like my wife can but I'm ok with that. I still love him.

Hi there! I'm Trinity, a teen with an interest in Greys. I'm really excited to be here, as, although I'm currently petless, I've been toying with the idea of getting another parrot for nearly three years now. At first I really wanted a Grey, but looked into other species, too. After several years of researching and cycling through several species, I have decided that a Grey really just fits the bill for what I would like in a parrot. In the past, I have owned five fish, four dogs, and a budgie. (Not all at the same time, of course!) I went through the process of rehoming my last dog for a long time a while ago. It was really hard, as I had raised him from eight weeks, but he was a sporting dog to the heart, needed a lot of exercise and a job to do, and we just didn't have a safe area for him to run around in. Mostly for him, I made the difficult choice to give him to a family who had the space and the dedication for a smart, active dog like him. This decision was not made lightly, as I hold a deep love and respect for animals, and am strongly against rehoming unless there is a very good reason, but it would not have been fair to him, me, or any of my family when we did not have the space to keep him active and happy. He was a shelter mix puppy, so it's not like I went out and bought a border collie on impulse, we actually had no idea what the heck he was until he was about four months old. Anyways, I ramble. I think I am finally ready for another pet, in the next few months, and I figured I may as well join a Grey specific forum if I want to know everything possible about African Greys and their behavior in particular. I'm planning to rescue from Craigslist or a similar site (Very carefully, of course!) instead of purchasing a baby, as I want an adult with an already developed personality, likes, and dislikes, a bird that I know will keep a bond with me. We have a large house with no other pets, and no one in my family is allergic to bird dust. At this point I think they are ready to have a pet in the house again as well. I am still working out the details of what it would take to live with a Grey. I am homeschooled and plan to be up until college, and even with college there are several excellent ones near enough to not require boarding. I'm at home for, on average, 10-12 of the 14 hours a day I'm awake, and, although I have a rather demanding school schedule, I am home for all of it, and a companion to not necessarily be constantly cuddling and petting, but a friend to hang around and talk with, maybe not necessarily with words, during those long hours, would be great. I do know that Greys tend to be one-person birds, and I'm fine with that. One of the reasons I'm adopting an older bird is to ensure that once I feel a "click", the Grey wouldn't pass me up for one of my family members at adolescence. I wouldn't trust my younger sisters to handle a large parrot without very close supervision, and I doubt my parents will want to do much with it after the first few weeks. Greys appeal to me a lot due to being: -Smart. I would like an intelligent, interactive companion that would keep surprising me and keep me on my toes. -Relatively Quiet. My family would never be able to handle the calls of a macaw or cockatoo, but our house is rather quiet, with no noises the bird would be able to learn above our tolerance levels. -Not Needy. I do know that Greys need a lot of companionship and enrichment, but they aren't needy in terms of being "on you" like a 'Too would. I can't devote hours a day to cuddling with a bird, but I can spend time with the bird, talking with it, just being in the same room as company. -Talkative. While talking isn't a must, and I would love the Grey nonetheless, I would love to have a bird I can speak with, and even noise mimicking is really cool and entertaining. (I'll probably change my mind the 5,000th time I hear the "doorbell"!) -Trainable. I love to teach animals, and push the limits of what I can do with positive reinforcement. All of my dogs I trained myself, and even our budgie knew a few tricks! I believe strongly in positive reinforcement, and no animal of mine has ever been hit, yelled at, or even spoken to in a loud voice during training. Although I'm not afraid to break out the "stern but calm mom" voice if I need to grab their attention! It's so nice to meet you all, and I hope to have a companion of my own soon!

My only problem with teens getting a Grey is the fact that your life will be a whirlwind of change for the next 10-15 years. You've probably seen the meme that says stuff like "I'm not a until you go to college bird, I'm not a until you have a kid bird...". These birds are at the mercy of those who take them in. So many end up in barns, cages with nothing to do, stuck in garages etc. I lost a Grey, that I got as a teen, to a divorce and I'm very lucky that my ex-wife re-homed the Grey to my aunt that still has her. Greys are a huge commitment, similar to having a child. I've had both, I put more effort into my Greys, as kids kind of learn to take care of themselves for the most part - and they move out! On the flip side, I have seen several posts on the FB Grey pages of people who have had their Greys since they were teens and even kids when it was their parents bird. Those are kind of special. Maybe that could be you. Think strongly about it. You have no idea where you're headed at this point....not many of us do at that age.

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.