Sidhe

Thanks all! She already knew step up so "shake" was easy, I just extended one finger and said "shake" while she tried to step up. As soon as she had one foot on my finger, I pulled away and rewarded her. She now knows the difference between step up and shake. She already blew kisses so I said "gimme kiss" and reward her. She eventually got it and started doing it on command. Same as "chirp". "Turn around" was a little more tricky because it was something that she didn't already do. I motioned with my hand above her head that she was supposed to spin all the way around. I showed her the treat so she followed my hand, hence the treat, and I said "turn around, good girl" and rewarded her. She now does that without me making the motion. She's so smart

Today was a marvelous day for Lucy and the whole household. She said her first words ("WOW! Lucy-Goosey") and learned two new tricks: "turn around" and "shake hands". BEYOND AMAZED!! Furthermore, she has a MONSTER appetite; she eats everything we offer her and nothing is ever enough! Also she is bananas for bananas! I love her so much, she is the best African Grey we could have ever hoped for. I love her I love her I love her!!! She is just the best. I just needed to get this out! Haha. Thanks for reading and feel free to post your own appreciation notes! <3

Ahahah, yeah I might've introduced them a little too quickly. It's strange though because she's not ever afraid of new toys/objects. Then again Lucy is a bit of a weirdo. She has never been afraid of the cats or dog, even when we first brought her home and the dog was jumping up and down in excitement. She blows kisses at the other animals, climbs down her cage and walks straight up to them etc. She also likes Irish music only. Strange little one, that one...

I think Lucy is terrified of plants. Since we passed on the Giant Reed we got an olive branch to make a new perch (she pretty much destroyed her fig branch), I put the leaves inside her cage for a little natural decor and she FREAKED out. She practically threw herself out of the cage. I was like dude chill and took the leaves out then she was fine.

Thank you for this information! We will definitely not be using this plant now!

We recently discovered these plants around our house that we initially thought were bamboo, but further research revealed that they were in fact a plant called Giant Reed (it's easy to confuse it with bamboo since the stems look so much alike). What I can't find is any information on whether or not this Giant Reed is safe for African Greys. If you know anything about it, please let me know!

Yeah, it's quite sad that she got used to her owners and then got abandoned. It will probably take a while to gain full trust and for her to realize this is her permanent home. I understand that and will give all the time she needs. Acappella, "if she does make a sound make it a big deal." I cannot thank you enough for saying this because when you did, something clicked. When she made the faintest little chirpy sound I immediately rewarded her and praised her. Then I taught her the "chirp" command in like 2 minutes, she's so smart. She now chirps on command. You saved the day lol.

Thank you very much talon. Her previous owners thought she was male and named her Jacob, so for the first week when I called her Lucy she would correct me by saying "Jacob" LOL. Poor thing is going through an identity crisis... Anyway, she stopped talking altogether now Hopefully she will cheer up eventually.

Thank you for your quick response neoow. Luckily she has a healthy appetite, climbs around her cage all the time, climbs down and explores the house multiple times a day and is generally very active. The only thing to have changed is the chirping... Maybe she has begun to accept us as her new flock (as she now lets us scritch her) and kisses us by touching her beak to our lips (very cute!) so she no longer feels the need to contact call, if that's what she was doing before... But it's still very strange to me. It just doesn't seem natural for her to be this quiet. Birds are supposed to chirp, right? At least make some noise a little bit? As I've said, the ONLY sound she makes is the kissing sound. She went from a talking bird (who would literally say sentences) to a mute bird. Her eerie silence is making me think she's not happy anymore. I play her Irish music (her favorite) which used to cheer her right up and she'd be singing along with it. Now she seems... apathetic to stimuli. If she wasn't eating or moving I'd take her to the vet right away of course. I'm still keeping a close eye on her... So far there is nothing alarming other than her quietness.

Lucy is a rehome, we bought her from the pet store because her previous owner didn't want her/couldn't keep her due to marital issues or something. She stayed in that pet store for about a month before we could pay her off, during that whole month she was super cheery, making all sorts of sounds and even uttering a few words whenever we went to visit. We finally brought Lucy home a little over 2 weeks ago. She has showed INCREDIBLE progress ever since. For the whole first week, she continued being extremely vocal (especially in the morning, she would chirp so loud she would make our ears ring!). With every day training, we got her to finally trust us enough to step up without hesitation, perch on our shoulders, and as of a few days ago, pet her! Whenever we have her cage door open, she climbs down and explores the house. We have other pets in the house and she's not afraid of them in the least. She blows kisses at us and the other pets, it's absolutely adorable... We also switched her to organic pellets, and although at first she only nibbled on them and dropped the rest to the bottom of her cage, we started mashing it and adding steamed carrots, broccoli, a few pomegranates etc. and now she scarfs it all down. Ok so, everything is perfect up until this point. What has been concerning me lately is that for the past week, she has been extremely quiet. She continues to show great progress, is the same level of active, curious and likes to explore, and is otherwise herself. The only difference is the cheery chirping has stopped completely. She used to make 20+ different sounds as well as speak a few words, now she only blows kisses every now and then. That's the only sound she has been making for the past week - which incidentally was right around the time we switched to pellets. I'm not sure if the two is connected... She used to eat only seeds before we brought her home, so she should be healthier now if anything. A lot of the time she will produce a clear liquid (urine?) probably because she drinks a lot of water but her poop is solid and normal consistency. I have tried cheering her up by playing music, which used to work EVERY TIME but now doesn't at all. I'm just wondering where did my ray of sunshine go? Why is she so quiet? Should I be concerned? We have a vet appointment in 10 days for a general check-up. Should we get blood tests done as well? This is our first grey. Thanks in advance.

What a sweet girl, thanks for posting. Her cell phone impression was freakishly spot on! I can't wait to bring my Lucy home.

Mutilate is the correct definition in this sense, sadly, because I cannot imagine why they would clip half of her wings off... The person gave her to a petshop so that is where she is now. It's so good to hear they will eventually grow back, thank you! I'm usually impartial to clipping but after what she's been through you BET I will let her be flighted! I've had budgies before, this is my first African grey. She will be forever loved as this will be her permanent, awesome home

Hello everyone. I am going to be rehoming an African grey in a couple weeks, the problem is that her previous owners clearly had no idea what they were doing and clipped her wings straight across Will they ever grow back? She doesn't seem to mind it at all (about having half wings or change of environment) as she is bubbly and cheery and makes all sorts of happy sounds. I just feel so bad for her.... She's such a sweet girl and I can't wait to bring her home. I've never seen a bird with wings clipped like that, so I have no idea how long it would take for them to grow back, if ever...