Caz

Yes I see what you mean about them being territorial about their cages. Alfie gets quite defensive while he is in his cage if anyone tries to interact with him in there, but seems better when he is out. I will keep this in mind, thanks for your quick reply x

I have started to allow Alfie to come out of his cage and go back in when he is ready. Last night when he went back into his cage I left him for a few minutes and then went over to close his door, but he came over to me so I put my hand in towards him and he gently nibbled my finger. He didn't apply much pressure, but when he got to my nail he snapped it. Was he being aggressive or is the nibbling ok? Thanks for any help x

Just to let you know that going on from some advice I came across while browsing around on here, I opened Alfie's cage door and left him. I sat at the other side of the room and he came out straightaway. He climbed on top of his cage and began frantic wing flapping. He also did a couple of poos lol. He then flew across to my cockatiel's cage and perched on top of it. If I stood up or appraoched him he would immediately go back inside his cage so I didn't push him any further. Just want to know if all this is a good sign, and what I ought to be doing when he is out of his cage, if anything. Thanks again x

Hi all, thankyou for your responses. The link to body language really helped. Going from that he does seem to be uite happy and content. However the only thing that unnerves me a little is that he has now stopped ruffling up and trembling when I get close, but today I had to enter his cage to adjust a toy that had come loose and as soon as I opened the cage door he screamed at me. It seems like a bit of a set back to me as he had just started to come out of himself and was making good noises and comical movements. Now I feel like I have just undone the progress.

I don't really like that saying 'second hand', but I have seen this expression used frequently to decribe a Grey you have acquired from a previous owner. I am just wondering if there are any other people who have bought their Grey from someone else and what steps they took to gain the trust and friendship of him/her. I will give you some background on the story of my CAG Alfie. I saw an advert for 2 CAg's, with cage and accessories,and the seller asked anyone interested to make an offer. I emailed her explaining that I had previously had a CAG but had to leave him behind when I seperated from my ex husband as he belonged to him. I explained that I had been looking to get another Grey ever since but could never afford to.I made an offer of £400 thinking she would not accept such a small amount for 2 Grey's with accessories. However she did accept my offer, saying she and her husband were not really bothered about the money but wanted a good home for the parrots. The information she gave me about them was that they were male and female. The male (Alfie)is 4 years old and she had had him from a baby. He used to talk but went mute when they rehomed the 8 year old female and put her in the cage with Alfie. The reason for sale was that she was working full time now and did not have the time for them. My friend, who owns 3 CAG's, told me that putting the rehomed female into his cage was a really bad thing to do, and would have caused him alot of stress hence him going mute. So we agreed between us to go halves on the money and she would take in the female and I would take the male and the original cage. As I lived quite some distance away, my friend, who lives closer, said she would go and collect them. When she got them home she seperated them, leaving Alfie in his cage, and putting the female into a new cage she had bought for her. A week later I travelled down to my friend's house and collected Alfie. So as you can imagine he has been through quite alot recently. The cage he is in is approx 2 feet wide, so as my frien said it really was not big enough to house 2 Grey's together. I have now had Alfie at home with me since Sunday. He is eating and drinking well, and looks in perfect condition. He is very wary of us, and he trembles and ruffles his feathers when we get too close to him, occasionally screaming. I understand that it will take time to gain his trust and it will be on his terms the whole way. I won't force him, or put pressure on him in any way. Basically I was wondering if there are any members who have been in a similar situation to me, and I would welcome any advice anyone can offer having read my post. Thankyou for taking the time to read through all of this, I appreciate it x

Hi I have just acquired my African Grey Alfie. I have owned an African Grey before, but it has been a while so I am here to hopefully make new friends and also gain some more knowledge and understanding of my baby. I say baby, he is actually 4 years old and is 'second hand' as I have heard it referred to.