katana600

Welcome to the forum. Bless you for taking Lucy home and giving her a better life. I have an older , rehomed Timneh African Grey. Our vet said not to expect her to ever fly but I thought that was due to her plucking her flight feathers and damaging follicles prior to coming to our home about 4 1/2 years ago. I would be interested as to why your vet believes Lucy has brain damage due to malnutrition. Miss Gilbert can not fly and also has balance issues but our vet hasn't mentioned possible brain damage. We are due for an annual visit and I may learn some more at that time.

It's been slow going but seems we get a high speed progression... And a few steps back. She came in my room again tonight but panicked and jumped off the bed. I heard a loud thump and she may have bitten her tongue. She had a drop or two of blood from inside her beak. After that she was in no mood to try anything new. I watched closely and there was no more bleeding after a few minutes. Val, you hit on something I have watched for a while. Her eyes didn't pin for more than her first year with us. Even now, its not rapid like I see with Java. I will pay attention more closely. Welcome home with us Dan, hopefully Kim is on the mend and gaining strength. Dayo and Jake must be good company for her recuperation plan. You have been missed. I'm always glad to see when you have thanked a post so its a sign you are okay but very busy. There just isn't enough thanks I can say for every encouragement to just be patient and kind and let Miss Gilbert lead the way all in grey time. The thunderstorm was definitely the "any port in a storm" opening. My husband mentioned that was probably why she was so sweet and I told him I have seen thunderstorm DVDs if she gets too grumpy. Bwahahaha.

It is wonderful to read about Grey Bird and his new beginnings with you in your home. Seven months in grey time is a blink of an eye. He really is doing amazingly well with you. You now can count yourself having grey experience! How would you get it if you didn't take that chance and bring him into your flock? I love how you two are becoming close friends.

Congrats to Sophie for weathering the storm and getting back to normal in a quieter home. Every milestone in life has ups and downs for us. We have gotten through the college years and accepting our kids living a thousand miles away, getting married and are about to deal with having our first grandchild with the miles between us. It is exciting to see the kids grow up and take the world by the tail and kind of bittersweet as it creates challenges to the family structure. No matter how far Ryan is from Sophie, you all seem to work together to bridge the gap.

Sorry about that. I haven't figured out exactly what it was, but I posted the link in a different way and it seems to work now for me while I am not signed into YouTube. Please let me know if you still can't get to it.

Considering the shape of her when she came into our lives, I really never dared hope for this day. But, when she finally surrendered and relaxed I may have been calm and gentle with her on the outside but on the inside I was jumping up and down, cheering wildly and shouting "Look! Look at Gilgirl! She did it, she did it. She let me touch her!" It feels like I have waited all my life for this. Thank you all for reading along, cheering us forward and repeatedly assuring us that with enough grey time and patience we would get here.

This is the video on just her second night of willingly leaving the safety of her cage and requesting a head rub while on the outside of her cage. Note: Trying again to fix the link to the short video clip:

This was the first time she was willing to come away from her cage to another room. She was very nervous and wanted to go night night to be returned to the safety of her cage. Whew! That was scary for her. Her feathers are more chewed than usual as in the past week she has been working up courage for a change in the trust level she has had with us. She just last week started permitting me to rub her head without cage bars separating us. Now she is graduating to stepping up and into new territory. Edit: trying video link again

Fast and furious, better and better. Much has changed in two days. First, as I turned to return Miss Gilbert to her cage after a recent routine of step ups, she hesitated. A little later she stopped completely and held onto my hand rather than clamoring in a panic to her safety zone. I upped the ante and carried her to my bedroom for a change of scenery. I was able to get a short video, will post it soon. You can see her looking disheveled and nervous. She signaled her desire to go back to her cage by announcing "night night". Tonight she stayed longer, for more than an hour. Her best record time for being away from her comfort zone. Then, I awakened about three am to the low fog horn distress call. I went to her in near darkness just to reassure her, she rarely gets up in the night but we have had thunder storms. When I scratched her head she wanted more but I wanted to return to bed. She reached out and grasped my hand so I took her back to my room to read and give her a few minutes. Slowly she made her way up my leg, said "hey" and bowed her head for the very first head rub away from her cage. She held tight to my knit pajamas like a little security blanket. It was so endearing I didn't mind being up in the wee hours. When I would quit rubbing her head she would move closer until she was on my shoulder. She pressed the upper curve of her beak against my cheek and softly said "hey". This seems too good to be true. We spent more than an hour together and she kept asking for more. I know its a combination of her finally letting down her guard by also seeking solace from the storm. The scent of her warm feathers was intoxicating. It must have been for her too. She leaned close and I kissed her tattered little shoulder. She moved closer. I kissed her on the top of her head. She has finally surrendered her fear to accept human contact in a meaningful way. This is the four year anniversary of Martha's passing when Miss Gilbert was still new to our family and spent many weeks on the hospice team making her laugh with silly antics.

Hi Leo! Thanks for joining us. There is a lot to read and its hard to decide what to read first. It wasn't that long ago when I read for six months before even joining. The best thing is you get a well rounded view and support from many people because all of us have a love for our parrots and are committed to learning more. It is a lot of hard work and dedication to relate to our companions and well worth it.

Your dad didn't do anything intentionally to disturb Bailey and you didn't do anything to "turn him against" dad and take affection away. They are thinking individuals. He may be grateful to you for now and he may be mad at your dad but this is early in a new relationship. For my part with it taking a long long time to get through to our little rehomed Timneh female, anyone who has the slightest bit of trust is a tremendous tool to help Miss Gilbert trust humans in general and has been really instrumental in gaining favor with her. This is a bonus, not something you want to intentionally reverse.

Well there goes my theory that they might get along better if they came to the same home near the same age. We haven't tried having two greys at the same time. We do have two parrots and now about 4 1/2 years in they have a sort of peace agreement, but if the flighted one would get close enough the other one would most certainly bite her. It will be interesting as time passes whether Dixon and Novalee will become friends or if they have a peace agreement. They are both beautiful greys.

Congratulations Devin for having the patience with Korra to work toward a resolution and give her the space she needed to come around and be your buddy again.

You have had Alex about three and a half months now. I am in awe at how well he has made this transition. The two of you seem like old friends and he is very talkative and responsive to you. This is a match that is meant to be, you are both very lucky! You are such a natural with him and he already has a lot of rapport with you and just seems like you have been together forever. Congratulations on being such a great companion to him. He seems so happy!

Hi Speedygo, welcome to the forum. How did you come to have two young greys at the same time? It must be a lot of fun at your house. Do they like each other and play together? I have always wondered if two babies near the same age might have a closer bond then getting a second baby when the first is an adult. I look forward to reading more about your life with your flock. Thanks for joining us.

You clearly have good instincts and Alex is lucky to be in your care. We have waited a long time while Miss Gilbert overcomes her past and have not medicated her because a little tattering of feathers and nervousness were not urgent enough to medicate her. It is time and trust that is helping her find her way. Of course if you were seeing extreme growling/screaming or severe self mutilation it would be a different matter. The first weeks and months with a rehomed or baby grey even leaves us with great self doubts if we are going to rise to the honor bestowed upon us to live with such a magnificent individual. Alex is studying you to determine if you can be trusted. It is already evident that you have his best interest at heart and will be successful in understanding his needs. Thanks for joining us and adding to the collective knowledge of our forum. Your work with Alex will teach us something too.

What a magical time watching him grow from a darling, helpless little chick. Your photos are eagerly awaited and the numbers just keep climbing with his weight gain. He is going to be a very special companion. Thanks for all the countless hours you have put into your flock and for sharing with us.

Thank you for all the encouragement. I couldn't have gotten through this without all of you. Every day I learn more about her and it is starting to show real progress. There is something magical about watching her gain trust and for her to relax her little wings a bit. Last night I was sitting for so long, speaking softly to her while I gently rubbed her head when I noticed her eyes got teary. I think she has waited longer for "my breakthrough" than I have for hers. As much as I enjoy the warmth of her head on my fingertips and the soft scent of her I think the best thing is how many times now she will wave her foot as I approach to give me the joy of her willfully asking to step up. She turns right around and wants to go back, she is just showing me she is willing to come to me. Tiny little talon steps in grey time we are beginning to dance.

My little Timneh grey has taken an exceptionally long time to accept new things. She was rehomed and I know little about her former life except she had been rehomed several times. One of our members, birdhouse recommended that when adding new things, make sure they are lower than her favored perch. It really upsets them to have something new above them. Maybe since they are a prey species it is an instinct because something above them may pounce on them. As Sterling says... they are sure the new thing is about to kill them. Some things I have done trying to get Gil to learn to play was to use paper adding machine rolls. At first I would tear off a slip and put it in her cage just woven between a few bars or leave a few strips lying on the cage play top when she was up there. Many times, I had to take everything out of her cage and start over trying to figure out which thing was causing her to be so upset. Be patient and choose your battles. New things may never be okay or good things as she is concerned. As others have said, approach it gradually from a safe distance, introduce things when she is at her best time of day, never at bedtime to frighten her overnight etc.

From advice on this forum I have learned that when we have a breakthrough there are insights and promise of more. More is what we are getting from Gil. Her little scritch sessions are getting better and better. Last night she sat enjoying a head rub for almost a half hour. She is most receptive in early morning and late evening and I suspect that is because the light is dim and she has less outside stimulation. She was not only asking for attention, she was getting the African grey blush. This is something she has never done. Her little white area was so pink as to be almost purple as she pushed her head into my hand. When she is receptive, she says a quiet little "hey" to get my attention, then tucks her head to present the back of her neck to me. This morning I heard a loud clanging and she was banging on the latched door. When I opened it, she immediately posed for a head rub. As I stopped to make coffee she banged on the door and called out "hey" followed by louder versions. She called me back several times for more. I had to move her cage a bit to get a better "roosting" position for myself because my arm was getting to tired to keep up with her demands for more. I love this! Also, now I have her permission to speak to her while I am rubbing her head. Even a few days ago, if I told her she was a pretty girl during a scratch session, she would pull back and it was over. She is changing so fast I don't recognize her. She also asks me several times a day to pick her up. She doesn't want to go anywhere yet, she just wants to test me, get what she wants and go right back to her cage. Even while she is getting greedy for close up attention, I can see signs that she is still scared and nervous about it. During a scratch session she still holds her chest feathers for dear life. As I rub and scratch she "preens" and chews on her leg and chest feathers. She has worn the chest feathers in a spot the size of a quarter right down to the skin. While that is not a desired effect, I am going to follow her lead and keep giving her the close up attention. The first few days home, she was biting her foot, leg and toenails in a nervous frenzy when she was a little off kilter. That let up and I think with time the other nervous chewing will subside as well. She is also branching out to play with toys that were left untouched for literally years. She is overcoming a lot of baggage all at once now. It is amazing... and of course... I want more. Hahahaha. I sit with her in those wee hours watching her grow more at ease and content and dream of her coming to me out of the cage, sitting on my lap and letting me have a little comfort instead of roosting on the back of the sofa or a chair.

It seems as if every time we travel we get a new "honeymoon" period with Gil girl. She is continuing to request head rubs morning and evening from the open door of her cage. She is so cute, she will stand on her perch with the door open and first she slowly rubs her chin and head with her talon. It reminds me of a wise old man thinking through a conundrum. As I approach, she quickly assumes her receptive position and our scritch sessions last upwards of ten minutes. She has "startled" a time or two and she immediately swings around as if she would bite me, but she does not bite. Then as quickly as it came on, she tucks her head again and keeps one wary eye on me but after a moment of scratching and rubbing her head she now is relaxed enough to close her eyes and make the cutest little murmurs of contentedness. On those occasions during the day when I think she might want a scratch and I approach the open door, she will reach out and grab the door and close it. She is much less subtle than her "old days". Hahaha. She also has taken a new approach to the dogs. I got my pizza oven so we are eating pizza every night while I obsess about "getting it right". She is enjoying a little crumb of crust with us. She will intentionally drop morsels to the dogs waiting below on the arm of the sofa. But.. when she rush over to get her offerings, she has been skittering down the outside of her cage and trying to take a swipe at them. When that happens I just move the cage a few inches so they get their scraps from the floor instead.

Izzy has had a great introduction to your home and family. Congratulations to you and Krystal and thank you for joining us. Great intro post and with pictures yet! Nicely done. You are lucky to have such a wonderful transition into your home with her, she is clearly well loved and well prepared for her to be this sociable right from the get go.

She is a beauty! I just loved seeing those pictures, thanks. I chuckled a bit at the part where you think she is the one in training. Just kidding of course, but we humans are the ones being trained to look after and adore our feathered friends and jump to their commands. It's all good, hahaha. You and your wife are really doing a great job with her and she is obviously an integral part of your family. Thanks for the update.

Hi and thanks for joining us. I am happy to read that you have previous experience with greys and even more happy to read that you have infinite patience. In the early days with Miss Gilbert, I had a lot of luck with establishing a night time routine. I would let her out of her cage when it was evening time, then turn off three lamps in the room in the same sequence, about fifteen minutes apart so she knew the ritual was getting ready for bedtime. As I turned off the second light, I would put an almond in her food dish after I showed it to her and said it's time to go night night (she already knew that phrase). Of course, she didn't want much to do with me in those early days and she was in a big hurry to return to the safety of her cage. The routine made a big difference to her though.

While I am not ready for a jump to a new vet today because I am not sure what he prescribed for Alex and what he is thinking, I have reservations about giving him drugs at this time if that is the case. My vet recommended Rescue Remedy for Miss Gilbert after we had her for a little while and she was chewing her chest feathers out of anxiety. Alex is still very new to your home, it is hard to say if his feather barbering is due to the change or if it was an already established habit. Use your own judgment regarding your instincts with this vet. If there is another avian vet close to your home and you wish for a second opinion, what would it hurt to watch Alex, give him the best foods you can, let him relax a little more in his new home and see the other vet in a few months or sooner if you suspect a problem? Since I am not a vet, and don't know the type of medication prescribed or the reasons behind it, I really can't say too much. Miss Gilbert was in a bad way for the first year in our lives, but with gentle encouragement and a routine she could predict we were able to avoid putting her on any sedatives etc. and our vet never suggested them.