dazdncnfusd

Well..... I just realized it's been over 2 years since I posted here, and I figured I'd give an update. We still have Jake, and I still don't handle him. I do give him treats almost every day, and he and I talk a decent bit. (He screeches, and I yell "CHEEP!" back at him...lol.) As you'll see from the pics below, I kept to my word, and upgraded his living conditions. When we got him, he was in a cockatiel cage, and could barely stand upright on his perches. Now, he has a nice, big parrot cage, several toys he plays with, and sits next to the window, in the corner of our living room. He doesn't get as much outside the cage time as we'd like, because of the "great striped hunter" (our orange tabby, Rufus, who honestly prolly can't catch his own shadow....LOL), but we did have a scare with the bird, so he stays up when the cat is about. (Bird was out, got spooked and flew to the floor. Cat almost pounced, but was scared off by all of us reacting to Jake's dive....) He also managed to exit the house once, and we were very lucky to get him back. So, because of those things, his freedom of movement is limited. But, we try to give him attention by talking to him, and my wife reaches in to scratch and interact with him often. I honestly haven't tried to handle him, other than trying to pick him up from the floor, which has caused him to dart under furniture. But, I'm ok with it if he doesn't want to trust me. We have plenty of time to work it out. The new house: His goofy body chowing on shredded mild cheddar. He loves the stuff: As I noted in another post, we discovered that the largest parrot rescue in the US is located less than 10 miles from our house here, and we've gone there several times with fresh fruit and veggies in tow to feed the birds. They currently have 600+ in residence. The birds like the treats, the staff likes the help, and we enjoy the interaction, so everybody wins. B) I'm set to start volunteering there, so I can help out, and learn more. The link in my signature will take you to the Rescue's homepage, if anyone is interested. We also had a Parrotlet living with us for a bit, and she was a super neat bird to watch. Well, I suppose that's about it from then till now. Take care all, and feel free to reply. Jay

Heya all. It's been a good bit since I've posted here. We still have our Grey, and he's still the same. We have discovered that the largest Parrot Rescue in the country is about 10 minutes from the house, and started going down with some fruit and veggies to feed. The one problem they have is they are desperately under exposed. I figured I'd post here, and help get the word out. If this is the wrong page, please move the post accordingly, and accept my apology. http://www.featheredfriendsforever.org/ Feathered Friends Forever is a Parrot/Companion Bird rescue located in Harlem, GA (about 20 miles from Augusta, where the Masters is played.) They currently have over 600 rescued birds, including approximately 15 Greys. They are a 501©(3) nonprofit organization licensed as an animal shelter by the State of Georgia, and any donations are completely tax deductible. Take a few minutes, and browse the page, if you can. Thanks for your time.<br><br>Post edited by: dazdncnfusd, at: 2009/11/29 23:16

It is designed for office chairs that reside on carpeted floors. And, if you have a WalMart nearby, one can be had for under $20, US funds. Staples, Office Depot, and other office supply stores usually carry them as well. I'd also be willing to be that they can be found online fairly handily. Again, hope this helps! Jay

Thanks for the answers so far. It sounds like I'm on track, for the most part. I have been sitting in the floor, chatting with him for a while when I come home from work. I open his cage door, and just sit there, a few feet back, and talk. Oh, and fear not, he is more than happy to take food from my hand. :laugh: I just want to avoid having him bite the hand that feeds him....literally. He was feeling frisky today, and actually climbed on top of his cage. He then let my wife offer a hand, and cuddled and played with her for a bit. She set him on my shoulder a couple of times, and it went without incident. I discovered today that he LOVES grapes, but is not all that fond of blueberries. We put a grape in his food dish, and he even ate the skin. Then, he started rubbing the juice on his perch, and licking it. I also took some advice, and got some of the cat balls with the bell in them. He seemed to like that as well, and actively played with me for a bit, after I suspended it from a chain in his cage. I would tap the ball at him, and he would tap it back. When I would stop, he'd tap it a few times to get me to continue. Then, he got bored, I suppose, and started shaking the ball, making the bell ring. All in all, he seems to be doing a lot better than when we got him. He spent a lot of time alone before, and was in a bedroom, away from people. Here, he's in the kitchen, and can see most of what happens in the day to day at the house. Like I said before, we're living here until we can move, and when we do, he'll be getting a huge quality of life upgrade. Thanks again all, and take care! Jay

Heya all. As I've mentioned, I'm trying to become involved with, and gain the trust of our TAG, Jake. I got a new pic with the cage door open today B) : He's all puffy in the pic. My, how big and tough...:laugh: Anyway, I have a question about behavior trends. When trying to gain the trust of a Grey, does the position you are interacting FROM make a huge difference? What I mean is, does it matter if I am standing, which puts me above him, or sitting, where I am below him. I have seen this in cats, where if you tower over a strange cat, they are far less likely to come to you, but if you get more on their level, it helps. Also, are there any indicators I should look for as a signal that he's ready to interact with me? Or, and prolly more importantly, are there any indicators that should tell me NOT to try to interact with him? Like I said, I know almost nothing about birds, but I want to learn.

Heya all. I'm assuming this is what she meant: Obviously, I use it at my desk, but, we had discussed moving Jake into the living room, and putting this under him. Hope this helps!

Heya. Thanks for the reply. Actually, what you see in the picture are scars, not bruises. In the larger one, the nerves are even dead. He latched on so hard my hand went numb. He held on for about 30 seconds on the larger one, and bit and released on the smaller one. This happenned about 3-4 months ago. Even still, I really do want to earn his trust, though, as I think it'd be neat to have him watch tv, and computer, and stuff with me. We're in kind of a transient situation now, but I'm already looking at improving his quality of life once we settle down. Bigger cage, strategically located, all that stuff. And, the reading I'm doing so far has really surprised me with how interesting it's been. Thanks again for the reply, and the advice. Take care!

Heya all. Ours, Jake, will rip your arm off for a banana. The first grape I gave him, he actually held it with his foot, and scraped the skin clean. Took him like 5 minutes, and was neat to watch. He seems to like all the junk food too, and the stuff in a fruit cup.

Heya all. This is my first post here, so I'll give a bit of background. My wife kinda "force-adopted" her niece's African Grey. The niece is about to graduate high school, and doesn't have time to deal properly with the bird. So he/she (I'ma go with he, since that's how we refer to him...) lives with us. Here's a pic of him in his cage: He's in his cage in the pic because he and I don't quite see eye to eye. The picture below is what happenned the first, and only time I handled him: It's kinda hard to see, but the mark on the right is a scar about the size of a dime, and the one on the left is about 1/8 of an inch. Fear not, I didn't hurt him. I thought it odd, though, because I had him on my hand for at least 10 minutes before he did that. But, I got him to someone he trusts, and he was placed back into his cage. So, today, I started looking at info on the internet, and quickly realized that he's gonna live a LONG time, so we should prolly come to terms. One of the links I got from Google led me here. One thing we're seeing is that he favors my wife a lot more than me. We think this might be due to neglect or not the best treatment from the niece's father. So, I have to overcome that. So far, I'm using food and talking, as those are effective with most animals. He LOVES bananas. I mean, he will almost dent the cage when he sees one. Also on his list is anything from a fruit cup (like the DelMonte ones..) He likes popcorn and he loves grapes. To be honest, I'm not much of a bird person yet, but in reading, it looks like it might be worth trying to get to know the one we have. From my reading, he looks to be a TAG. One question about them: Do they typically have muted tail feathers? I mean most of the shots I see, the birds had RED tail feathers. Jake's (that's his name, btw...) are a very subtle deep red. But, if you aren't looking, you'd almost never see the red. I guess that's a good start for now. Hopefully, I can develop the relationship and love you guys seems to have. Take care, thanks for any input, and please feel free to reply.