katana600

Since he has been in a small cage in the garage, it might be his "safety zone". One of the early mistakes I made with our ten year old rehomed Timneh was to try to give him too much too soon and it might have gone a little better if I had given him a little time to acclimate before making too many changes at once. Even though you have wonderful things in store for him, he doesn't know that yet. Find a good vet to be your partner because they will be able to access in person what kind of traits are innate to greys and what things might be health or trauma based. Our vet made a recommendation for Gilbert that changed his life with a homeopathic formula. Congratulations on taking a big step. Thanks for reading and preparing and for joining our forum. We will learn with you as you make this little fellow feel like a valued flock member.

Thanks for the tips, I think I will try to get a photo of him when he is happy on the table stand perch at dinner. That is the most engaged and delighted I have ever seen him. Of course, it has only happened once and I get so "into" his little self that I can't think to stop for a second to take a photo. That will be number one on my holiday list, I will charge the batteries. One thing about the journey we have taken with Gilbert is that his very description from previous failed rehomes was that he had "issues" and indeed he has baggage. There have been disappointing days that we wondered what we have gotten ourselves into and all I can do is to think how it must look from his perspective. For the most part, we have taken the mainstream advice from all the experienced grey companion people on this forum and given him the room, the respect and gentleness he deserves and while it may have taken a long time, it is tried and true advice and it does work. Whether we are bringing home a delightful new baby, a well-loved older parrot going through hard times or a genuine hard case, we are going to have ups and downs, great joys and great dissapointments and it really does take everyone working together, finding new solutions, reminding us of where we have been and most of all encouraging all the parrot lovers through those dark days to see that glimmer of hope that eventuallly does blossom. I think the hardest thing I have had to learn from Gilbert is to back off and give him the time and space to find his own courage and spirit and willingness to try with us.

Welcome and thanks for joining us. The people who read and get to know what to expect before making the huge decision to commit to a lifetime with one of these wonderful and exquisite parrots are the ones who are successful. I was a lurker for a long time trying to understand our other little parrot from Africa and what do you know but it wasn't long before we brought home an African grey also. It is going to be great to share the journey with Zeke and your family.

What a great name, Becker. It is wonderful to see that he is so good to let your girls handle him. Your photos are beautiful, of course, your subjects are too. I was thinking how much bigger Becker looked in the photos with you until I read that it was a different macaw. When I was young and newly married, my husband didn't want to get any pets and I would go to the pet store to see a beautiful blue and gold macaw named Yoda. He had escaped my memory until I saw your pictures, thanks so much for that.

The changes coming over Gilbert are remarkable. In the eight weeks that he has been given the rescue remedy, he is more outgoing and confident. He is not destroying his feathers. For the first time, with his back turned to me, I don't see white downy feathers because his wings are covering his back. He has a full chest of feathers for the first time since he has been with us. Best of all is his activity level, he climbs all over the cage, floor stand and down to the floor now. He is definitely beginning to have a bond with David. It is good for both of them. As we were preparing to leave he postured for David to rub his head, then offered a step up and when David took him to sit on his lap I heard him ask Gilbert if we were going to have to start back at square one when we returned from this trip. How pleased we are that he weathered that absence. Today he has asked David for step ups several times since he came home from work. For the first time, Gilbert was calm and confident away from his comfort zone. He came to the table to have dinner with us. We put a table stand right on the kitchen table and shared a bit of tomato soup, crackers and grilled cheese sandwich with him. It was magical. Gilbert was blushing. I have waited for this opportunity with Gilbert for almost two years. Watching him overcome his great fear and start to show a willingness to share our life is more than I hoped for when we brought him home.

Off we went Thursday morning in a U-Haul to set our youngster off on an independent life of her own. We drove straight through and landed in Midland TX around four am Friday morning. Our help to unload was stricken with food poisoning so we not only unloaded one truck but went to storage and brought a second load. When we flew home Sunday, my first concern was to run to see how Gilbert fared our absence. He loved his sitter and we only found a few feathers in the bottom of his cage. He has become so much more confident and able to withstand the stressors of life. He was delighted to see David again and he stepped up from inside the cage to him. Wonders never cease. For my part, he is giving me a bit of the cold shoulder and stinkeye, but this morning he was happy enough to offer me a little scratch on his head. I was close enough to inspect his chest and most of his feathers are intact, so he didn't get too bothered by our time away. He had a lot of time out of his cage and Sandi said all she had to do at night was ask if he was ready to go night night and he ran inside as fast as he could. Java wasn't so cooperative and she had to be caged so she was in rare form last night flying around and challenging "the favored son". He was up to her challenge and we are seeing more of his courage as he stood his ground and chased her off his cage. They are getting closer and closer to working out their differences and our home is changing. Once Java flew off his cage, Gilbert practiced flapping so hard, I thought he might lift the cage airborne, he is catching some wind with his wing feathers starting to get stronger. Someday, he is going to chase her off his cage and follow right behind her.

Wow, she is fearless. Look at her getting right on her new home before the construction is even finished. She is beautiful perched up there as the queen of her castle.

Such happy news for Bongo and your family. It changes things a bit in your home, but I can see your smiles all the way from here.

Your macaw is beautiful. What is its name? So glad you could come by and share your thoughts with us. You may not have a grey (yet, LOL) but we are happy to hear from all our fellow parrot-people.

One of the hardest things I have done in life was to let my heart open up a second time when we lost Juno, then yet again after losing Kopi. If I had read this article, Gilbert may have come home five months sooner. How nice to look at it from the little feathered perspective. It is a tribute to our ability to share our love again after devastating loss. Great find Judy, thanks for sharing.

It was so good to wake up this morning and hear from you and Timmy again. Those twists and turns in our life when we get too busy to get online are what makes life so interesting. Glad to hear all is well with you and your family.

Dorian was enjoying his stroke of good luck finding a new toy nearby. If he was lucky he may have even found a morsel of cereal in there. Great idea by the way, now that Gilbert is getting more brave, I will see what he thinks of a small box.

It would almost be like trying to choose a favorite child in this case. We adopted a ten year old Timneh grey with known issues from having been in several homes. He was a stress plucker and he had a lot of stress. He was biting, he was scared to the point of standing like a statue all day. It has taken a long time on our calendar to wait and earn his trust, but it is coming and it is glorious. There are some greys who have been in horrible situations and their spirit is intact and they come into a new home with a fresh outlook. With the two year old, it might have experienced a life change and started plucking and with vet care and patience you may find he is just needing a safe place to grow and grieve. With any rehome situation we have to take a deep breath, ask if we are up to the task of getting through the baggage and make a choice from our head as well as our heart. If either of these greys have a vet, it may be helpful for you to make an appointment and discuss the pros and cons with someone who knows the bird or birds and go from there. Also, if they are local, you may be able to meet each of them and see their surroundings and see what you think then.

We dutifully read everything we could find about African Greys, set up a home with everything the breeder suggested, bought toys and anticipated the arrival of our baby grey Juno. I went every few weeks to visit him and held him for hours and he was an adorable little bundle waiting for the day he would come home. On the big day, he was in a travel carrier in the back seat, I could touch his head and reassure him for the long ride home. As we got him out of the car and brought him into the house he let loose of a demon growl that made the hair stand right up on my neck and I wondered what have I gotten myself into. His first couple of weeks was as you describe but with the advice from this forum, I gave him space and let him adjust to leaving the only home and familiar place he had ever known. It seemed like forever but he did finally step up with pleasure and would sit on my lap, play with his toys and he loved his new home in no time. Like you, we had such a build up of anticipation and research to give him the best home and he seemed a little standoffish but we finally realized he was just scared and needed to evaluate us a little before he trusted us.

Hi Tori, Welcome to the grey forum, I'm glad you found us and are willing to figure out the photo posting to share Peanut with us. We also have a rehomed Timneh, he was about ten years old when he came and he knew his name well and it fits, so he is still Gilbert. On the other hand, he has renamed one of our dogs to suit him and recently he has taken to calling me "Lulu" which is decidedly not my name, so I might come up with a nickname for Gilbert someday too, turnabout is fair play. LOL. If you want to rename him, give it a go. Jayd renamed a rescued parrot and later the little guy let him know he was Joe, not Jim.

We also have had company who have joked that they were going to teach Gilbert some naughty words to say after they left. I told them, that if he does say it, it will be in your voice and I will know you did it and it is only a thousand miles for me to get to your house, but I will have worked up a pretty good case of "mad" by the time I get there so think twice Mr. Funnyman. LOL. I can just see the gears turning in Gilbert's head if he could understand the zoo rejection for cussing... "Who would want to live in a zoo anyway? Sheeeit."

While I agree with Nancy that when the birds are out of the cage I take the dogs with me when I am going to be preoccupied or even briefly leave the room to get the mail or anything, or I will close the door on the bird cage and open them again when I return to the room. But, if I recall, correct me if I am wrong Nancy, but you also don't believe in shutting cage doors so your birds have total freedom, so it makes good sense to lock the dogs elsewhere. I also agree with Nancy that when I am home all of us benefit from being together in the same room. Many of our members keep our greys in the "hub" of the home, some have dedicated bird rooms where the spend a great deal of time and also allow the parrots freedom in the rest of the house. Every home and every grey is unique and individual, so if you do make the decision to move the cage to the living room it will give you the chance to try it and you can move it back if it doesn't work for you. Since your grey already spends a lot of time in there on his java tree while you are home he seems comfortable there while you are home. Some members have tragically lost a parrrot left alone with their dogs because the parrot unexpectedly opened the cage door, or escaped through a food door etc. so for a while it would be prudent to secure those doors to his cage to keep him safe while you sort out what is best in your home.

This day has been a long time coming in my grey journey, but I started a couple of years before Gilbert came to me. Come to think of it his story started with humans about ten years ahead of me. We took another huge step forward this morning, or I should rather say, a step up. I was up before the dawn and got a little ahead of him. He generally will go to his favored "touching" perch and position himself for a scratch session. He previously only permitted that at night, but over the past months, he has gone through stages of no touching permitted, to recently wanting to have a scratch every time I am walking near him. He has been coaxing me back out of bed at night after lights out for a little reassurance and a scratch before he goes to sleep. This morning he was barely awake when I came out and he tried to position himself for a scratch on his roost perch but it was too far to stretch his head. He has never been comfortable with me reaching into his cage, but he looked so sleepy and sweet and was trying so hard to get a grip on the bars to get a scratch I reached in and asked if he wanted a scratch. Much to my surprise he let me scratch his head inside the cage. This is a first. Then, he keep looking and hesitating like he wanted "something" so I offered him a step up. I do that often and he usually will push me away. When I asked for a step up, he postured and lowered his head so I couldn't reach his feet and nudged me away as usual and I said "it's okay buddy, when you're ready"... as usual. Much to my surprise he lifted his foot and stepped up from inside his cage. I was enthralled. He has not offered me a step up since the braces were installed on my teeth a year ago, and never from inside his cage. I carried him to my chair and he had his first real relaxed head rub and when he started "pacing" I asked if he wanted to go back. He stepped up, but going back was not what was on his mind. He was getting up to let go of the mother lode of all morning bombs. That was a near hit, phew, thank you Gilbert. We have had more closeness and he is making it very difficult to think of driving to Odessa Thursday morning. We are flying back early Sunday, but I am really really not wanting to leave while it is so good between us. I have faith that he knows his live-in sitter well and we will pick up where we left off, it is just so good and so hard won a trust that I am mindful of the saying "always leave them wanting more". We couldn't have made it here without all of you from the forum advising from years of experience and giving me the encouragement to hang in there and learn grey time and make this Gilbert's forever and ever amen, home. I am beyond over the moon in love with his little guy.

There must be something in the air! Gilbert and Java are making mischief too. I may be looking for a beer soon too. That picture of Pat and Bubba is just too cute. I am finding it hard to believe Bubba is making those raspberry sounds, Pat is a ventriloquist. LOL. Now, the cat in the plant is just too too much. I get citronella oil from the drugstore, the essential oil, not the burning kind. If I put it on a cotton ball, it makes a good cat deterrent.

In the past couple of years, we have had to curtail Java's activity with quarantines for new parrots and to give Gilbert time to find his way. We always found a way to give her time out of her cage and with family but it was with careful supervision. In the last few weeks, we are giving her more freedom and she is making up for lost time. Java is not a prolific talker, but she always seems to get a word in here and there to make her wishes known. She is learning some things from Gilbert, good things mostly. As we were having a lay about weekend morning about 7:30 Saturday, Gilbert was chatting sweetly trying to coax us to come out when she made a few of her grumblings and her famous game show buzzer sound. I called out that I loved her too and she made a big kiss. Then, much to my surprise, she gave us a Gilbert phrase "gotta cracker?" It was so funny. As Gilbert gains confidence, she is showing more interest in him too. Unfortunately it is usually to heckle him or bother him. We are letting them work it out as much as possible but yesterday she tried a new tactic to irritate him. While he was in the center of his play stand minding his own business, she did a few flyovers and had him worked up a little. Then she stirred the pot with her crooked little wicked stick and went into his cage and ate his food. He was running back and forth on his play stand but he didn't try going in after her. I did take the initiative to remove her back to her own cage top and she was being a little demon seed. So much is changing as Gilbert is feeling so good and getting out and about. Java just needs some air time in her own right. She is still the reigning queen here.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/a-look-back-potty-mouthed-parrot-shocks-visitors-to-st/article_4de7f545-f0ba-59b2-9b73-58d625526587.html When I saw this article, I told Gilbert that his Cussin' Cajun business could be a newspaper article if he doesn't mend his ways. He laughed. So did I.

Gilbert has been getting in the middle of his floor stand and just playing and having a big time. You can barely see him in there, he is still camera shy. He has been climbing up and down the ropes and just being a creative little fellow lately.

You did it! Cleo's lovely little face is worth the effort. She looks relaxed and comfortable in her forum debut. I had a hard time posting pictures at first too. Now it has been so long, I would probably have to learn it all over again. Thanks for having the perseverence to keep trying so we can see your baby.

I have learned a lot of things on this thread today. Thanks to all the contributors. The series of pictures Dave posted show there is hope for change over time. Henni Penni may decided to accept your offerings of nuts over time. In the beginning, Gilbert rejected every kind of treat I offered him and then started to accept the almonds, pistachios and pine nuts and now he is eager for them. Henni Penni really has a lovely home now and she is beautiful. I am so grateful for this forum to help with fresh new ideas as well as tried and true suggestions like the aloe sprays. Something as simple as a night light made a world of difference for Gilbert. I hope Henni Penni flourishes as you work to give her the life she deserves. Kudos to all of you making a difference one parrot at a time.

It does give new meaning to "ring my bell". I have never given this a thought, but haven't noticed any of this. Probably Gilbert just hasn't gotten that comfortable yet.