KrystalG

Thank you for your reply. I edited my post because she is 13 months old now - you mentioned that she was only 8 months old. So 13 months old is still a very young African Grey. We take her out of the cage from 1 - 5 hours per day depending upon her attitude. If she remains calm and not too noisey we keep her out longer. If she continuously screams and shreiks - we put her back. Our home is not that big and the screaming is just too much when she is out on her perch in the living room which is right next to the kitchen and my den. But I am glad that you touched upon the overclipped wings in your response. I definitely think this is a big part of her behaviour problems. We also believe that the breeder did this intentionally to her to get back at us for not choosing another bird. This breeder has been breeding African Greys for more than 5 years and his Vet is the same Vet that I go to. The Vet did mention that he always clips the baby Greys 3 on each side. The Vet could not understand why he would clip 8/6 with her? It is very suspicious and I think this has greatly affected her self esteem/self confidance. How could a breeder be so cruel? Thanks. Krystal

Hello - I am new to this forum. I was searching the web for some help and I came across this forum. I bought a baby African Grey parrot about 8 months ago. (She is 13 months old now.)I thought that I had done the appropriate amount of research before purchasing this bird from a private breeder. I also purchased several books and talked to other African Grey owners. From her attitude, I quickly decided that she was not going to be a good fit for our family. I have tried selling her on various online boards - but I keep getting strange email responses to my advertisements and have decided that I do not know which of these responses I can trust. This bird acts very strange to me - although her behaviour could be normal. I just don't know for sure because I have never owned a Grey before. She acts VERY needy - almost to the point of being handicapped! I keep lots of toys in the cage. I give her fresh food and water every morning - sometimes I cook veggies and macaroni for her. And I take her out of the cage 1-2 times per day for various amounts of time. I also like to take her outside in the backyard when weather permits and we take her out and play with her on the carpet from time to time. She likes the floor. My kids talk to her too! However, even after all of this, she cannot keep herself occupied for even (1) darn minute. She screams, yells, shrieks and carries on constantly - even when I do take her out of the cage. She acts more like a noisey Cockutoo than an African Grey. But it has gotten to the point that I cannot stand it much longer. I spent about $2000 for the bird/cage/accessories. A huge amount of money for us -I had no idea that this could have happened to me!! I do know that the breeder grossly overclipped her wings! HE clipped 8 wings on one side and 6 on the other when he should have only clipped 3-4 MAX on both sides. I don't know if this overclipping of the wings has caused her to develop a neurotic/needy behaviour or not? I felt really sorry for her for a few months when the Vet informed me of this overclipping. But the noises she makes are driving us all nuts. Maybe she would do better in a home that has another bird that could keep her busy every single minute of the day and night. Does anyone have any advice at all? I could really use the advice from some experienced Grey owners. Thank you for all your help. Krystal<br><br>Post edited by: KrystalG, at: 2009/03/14 22:39