b00bear

Thank you for encouraging me to post an introduction. I usually do that but I think I was extremely worried that things wouldn't work out between Buddy and I. My mind tends to do that a lot. I was imagining him just being a cage bird and me not being able to do anything with him at all, but I remember him to be very affectionate and the ex has also confirmed that he maintained an affectionate relationship with Buddy. "Up up" or "step up" is a command he knows on the spot so I was VERY happy that even if he was unsure about me the first night I had him, all I had to do was say it and he'd have one foot up in the air waiting for my hand to come near for a perch. It's so cute when he does that!!!! My bf from the US is coming to visit me tomorrow for about a week and a half. I'm not sure how Buddy is going to take it but he'll definitely be bringing a camera and I will definitely get pics!

I found these forums and pretty much just jumped right in and went straight to posting without and introduction. I've been kindly nudged in this direction so here I am! My name is Abbey and I live in Manitoba, Canada. I've owned many birds in the past including Eclectus, Alexandrines, Mollies, Budgies, and Parrotlets. It wasn't until a friend of mine that told me about African Greys that I decided on owning one and so, Buddy came into my life. I first got Buddy about 6 years ago from a breeder in Ontario. I had experiencing in weaning birds so they allowed me to take him home earlier than they normally would. We bonded and I became his best friend and companion as he did me. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, I had to pack up and leave behind all my birds to move away to a different city all together. I couldn't bring them with me because under the circumstances, I had no idea where I was going to live. My parrots were left in the care of the ex. 5 years later, the ex has finally come to his senses and shipped me Buddy on Friday night. It was about a 2 hour flight but the entire ordeal for Buddy was more like 4 hours. Understandably, he's been under some stress and has a lot of readjusting to do with a new cage, a new environment, and essentially a new caregiver. Buddy and I are making extreme progress and I have no doubt that he remembers me now. Our bonding has gone a lot faster than I was expecting. Still need some work to do, but we're getting there. Thank you for having us and I will post pictures soon once my camera is out of the repair shop. :laugh:

I'll have to add that it must have been a nighttime thing. I spent time with him this morning and he was very interested in seeing me and spending time with me, but no scritches lol *sigh* I'm still happy that he's allowed me to finally touch him but I think he's still nervous about his new surroundings so anything makes him jumpy.

Thank you so much for all your replies. I just wanted to post that as of last night, Buddy has finally accepted me and trusts me enough to give him scritches!! I was SOOOOOOO happy. He's been snuggling with me too while sitting on my shoulder. He bows down his head under my chin. OMG! I'm so happy! The bonding process did not take long at all. I got him on Friday night, and Monday night he was all mine.

Hi everyone! I got a Grey about 6 years ago when he was still a baby. Buddy was the most loving bird ever to me. We were bonded and he really thought of me as his one and only. He would be so excited to see me home from work and want my attention immediately. He'd allow me to scratch his head and touch him all over (beak, head, body, under the wings, etc.) without any fuss, extremely tame. He never bit down on my hand at all, only using his beak to anchor himself if he needed to. Unfortunately, due to personal issues, I had to leave the home I was in and after 5 years he and I are reunited again (as of yesterday). Quite obviously, the bond is not there anymore so what I was wondering is, is it possible to recreate the bond we once had? If so, what must I do to achieve this? I know our bond the first time around was built around me weaning him and having a lot of contact but I can't apply that to the current situation since he is already grown. Any advice would be appreciate. I would really love to have the relationship we once had. Thanks in advance for your replies!