danmcq

I would never say never. But, with a 23 year old that has been stuffed in a cage and not interacted with all those years. It is going to show whether you have the patience of Job or not. It actually sounds like you have made progress and are very diligently and patiently taking it tiny bit by bit. Many parrots do not like a perch coming at them, my Grey included. Perhaps yours had a bad experience or maybe even many with perches coming at him for unknown reasons. I can only imagine the bites you have suffered. But, if getting up on your arm is one means of step-up in the beginning. Then leverage that by perhaps wrapping a towel or thicker cloth around you arm. Many times they will bite to "test" a perch and in reality it is just a "strong" clamp down for testing the solidness of the perch. If it jiggles and moves, then they fly off and start deciding it is not a safe perch. I am amazed at just how much progress you have made in 5 months, to tell you the truth with the background you have described. I would imagine the viciousness i snot only to you, but to anyone even thinking about trying to handle him. I know others like Dave with decades of experience dealing with older Greys will have some rock solid comments on this. Kudos to you for taking in this wonderful, but challenging bird. :-)

Wonderful photos Penny!! Thanks for sharing them. Nilah must be such a joy to have in addition to your Greys. :-)

Georgie is a beautiful baby grey. He is also seemingly fearless with an exploratory personality. It is wonderful to see him just getting right in to the new home, cage and furnishings. Thanks for sharing all these photos. :-) Karma!

Greywings is spot on. I keep a large box with a hole cut in it and shredded paper as well. He loves to go in and play with a plastic easter egg we gave him months ago. It's by instinct how they recognize something and the need to be delicate with or even imagine it is a real egg....even though they have never seen one before. Mother natures in-built instincts are amazing when you think about it. :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2009/12/16 16:28

I would not put it in the drinking water. It would go rancid possibly over a few hours. Just using the aloe juice and spraying your grey 2 or 3 times a week until drenched will keep the skin supple.

Welcome Bea and Flock!!! It's GreYt having you here. :-) Looking forward to hearing more and kudos for taking in a Grey in need of a loving home.

What a heart warming story that just makes you smile and say "Awwwwwwwww". Thanks for sharing this. :-)

It is serious though and "Old" earth has been through several "Hot" and Ice Ages cycling ~ every 26,000 years. But, all the emissions we are adding to our atmosphere is not helping to slow down the process. We need to be respectful residents of the earth and take care of it. Our human lives and all other creatures rely on it for everything we need to survive.

I know the "Truth". Dairy farms. Those cows emit more Gas than most cars and factories!! I won't go into the cow paddies...... :-)

It sounds like she became cage bound in that little cage. Do you know the history from the previous owner? Did they have her out of the cage and stepping up, head scratches etc? At 2 years old, they are a handful as they try to enforce their will upon everyone that will let them get away with it. The fear and aggression you describe sounds like she has not had a good life up to this point. The cage being so small is another issue and kudos to you for getting a large cage she can romp and flap around in. It's good that you are recognizing her need for space and where the limits are. The first thing to convince her of, is not to fear you. If she is growling etc. as you describe, you just past the "comfort zone". Just keep letting her come out on her own and try putting one of her favorite treats or foods in the cage when you wish for her to go back in. This way you avoid a confrontation and not induce any fear. It will make you a good guy. :-) It would be good, if you don't already have one. To buy a tree stand with stainless cups on it you can put her favorite foods in. This should induce her to venture out past the limits of her cage and to learn everything is ok without hanging on to the cage as her security blanket. Just step by step and inch by inch. You will make it through this with more time and patience. :-)

Hahahahahahah, Good one Dave!!!! :-) How long did it take you to make all those snowmen? ;-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2009/12/15 20:38

Greywings suggestion is exactly what I did when first transporting my grey as a chick between my house and the breeders, vet etc. It is very roomy, perch in place and food|water dishes mounted. I believe I only paid like $39 for it. A pak-0-bird is great for outside walks, but rather a small space if you going to travel by car for hours. It is also around a $140 last time I purchased one.

One question on the biting. It seems he is fine when he fly's and lands on them. Then a few minutes later he bites? If this is true, it is not an aerial attack and clipping is not needed. The key is to change the landing target. I assume he is landing on the shoulder. If so, have them place their arm up as a landing perch rather than allowing him on the shoulder. With a 7 year old Grey. It is going to take a lot of time, patience and bribing with treats by the other house members. One thing to keep in mind also. A Grey always has a favored one that they will cuddle with, get scratches and not bite. All other people are normally just flock members and are not their cuddle muffin. This means the relationship is tolerance and respect for anothers space. Also, when they get a reaction that they think is fun, like giving a nip and having the person yell, flail their arms or hop around. It is BIG FUN and therefore a reward for their bad behaviour. The method of reaction needs to be very deliberate, no loud yelling or arm flailing unless it's simply to shoo the bird off which is then a negative for the bird. Cage timeouts with a firm no bite is also a good enforcer and have everyone leave the room for a while. They like being with the flock. If the flock shuns him for a bad behaviour. He will stop it. Wing clipping is not the correct cure all for behaviour issues. It also damages the relationship you have with the bird and also results in a safety issue if you have any dogs or cats and the bird can not fly to safety. Another thing that could be going on is hormones pulsing due to mating season and also molting which causes irritation. Please think carefully about what you can do to modify that bad behavior. Know also that with a seven year old bird. It will not change over night or in a week. :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2009/12/15 16:09

Welcome to the forum!! You say she asks to come out and states "No Bite". Once she is out of the cage. How does she interact with you? The reason I ask, is she may just be "Cage Aggressive".

Happy Hatch Day Darwin!!! You have certainly grown into a beatiful Grey and have developed quite a toolkit of sounds and words. Enjoy your new toys and have a GreYt day!!! :-)

Beau is a fine looking Grey. Thanks for sharing this photo of him. :-)

GreYt photos of your flock. Thanks for sharing them. :-)

Wonderful photos Dave. I hate to see this thread come an end. It is been great following it. Thanks for sharing this journey with us. :-)

LOL - Ok, now I can add one more thing to the list that Dayo has destroyed.... My reputation. Think I am going to give Tiger a call for advice.

Hahahahaha, what a smart baby grey!! Yes, you need to check screws for tightness every so often. It's good to hear Juno is feeling and acting more energetic. :-)

Hahahahahahahahaha Bernie/......Good One!!! {Feel-good-0002006E}{Feel-good-0002006E}{Feel-good-0002006E}{Feel-good-0002006E}

Joolesgreyuk wrote: LOL - Yeah, I purposefully left out zippers. ;-) Sorry I messed up on the "Only one item". :-)

LOL Jill. Your the first woman ever to ask me to put my shirt on.

Welcome Pep!! It's GreYt having your here. Looking forward to hearing more about your grey and seeing photos and videos when you get a chance. :-)

Welcome Spmartin and flock!! It's GreYt having you here. :-) In addition to the good advice Judy and Jill gave. You can also just make your head a bad landing spot by ducking or just bending your head down so your grey will just fall or slide off. Normally once they have found a perching item to be unstable, they will no longer try to use it. If you have had him for a year. This has perhaps turned into a game to him that you may have once thought was funny, but now has become a liability. It will take time and consistency to stop a behavior that a grey has become used to if that is the case. Looking forward to hearing more from you and seeing some photos and videos when you get a chance. :-)