Hi,
Long ago I fell in love with African Greys. I planned go get one as soon as I bought a house after graduating from university in 2000. For a variety of reasons it never happened- still always wanted one though.
Fifteen years later my wife (a veterinarian) comes home and says "Do you want an African Grey?". She really knew the answer already... Turns out a client has taken on some as a rescue case and they need homes. I'd pretty much come to the conclusion I'd never be getting a grey, but the fact there was one in need of a home, I couldn't say no..
In something of a rush a cage was purchased in the Internet, and delivery eagerly anticipated. I was able to borrow a small cage while the new one made its way here. Soon the new cage arrived though, so he has much more space. 42"x34"x45" inside dimensions if I remember rightly, so plenty of room for toys as we both work.
His history is somewhat unclear, but he's about 15 years old, has eaten mostly peanuts, seeds and some veggies. His previous owner started off with two greys which bred, Winston is one of the offspring I believe, then got identified as a 'bird person' and ended up taking on a bunch of other birds. This got too much and he didn't have time for them all, and they lived in a heated garage.. He seems pretty healthy, and I don't think he suffered abuse, just lack of attention.
After two months he now talks somewhat when you're in the other room, will come out of his cage occasionally if he thinks you're not looking, and will take food from my hand most of the time. If he's outside the cage he will also step up quite readily. My attempts to positively reinforce this are somewhat thwarted by the fact he'll take the treat and throw it away. What can I say - he's his own bird!
He's also eating his way through every toy I give him.. The lady who rescued him says that she's hearing the same about the others, she thinks that they've been so bored before that now they have toys they've just gone nuts..
Anyway, this is Winston..